Cash-strapped AirAsia takes unusual step of unloading new planes

AirAsia Group Bhd has sold six newly-delivered aircraft since the start of last year, including two in July, in an unusual about-face that points to the financial strain gripping the airline.

The Malaysian low-cost carrier, which has received 10 factory-fresh Airbus SE 321neos since the start of 2025, sold half a dozen of them to lessor BBAM LLC, according to a Bloomberg News analysis of aircraft transactions tracked by the Cirium Fleet Analyzer database. They have since been purchased or leased by Vietnamese startup Sun PhuQuoc Airways, the data shows.

While airlines regularly execute sale-and-leaseback deals on new planes to replace large upfront purchase costs with regular lease payments, selling aircraft without ever having put them into service is uncommon. AirAsia’s disposal of the new-generation fuel-efficient jets come at a time that co-founder Tony Fernandes is seeking to modernise the fleet to combat higher fuel costs.

“It’s unusual for a newly delivered aircraft in AirAsia’s livery to not enter service with only the ‘sale’ and no ‘leaseback,’” independent aviation capital markets analyst Andrew Light said. “Selling a newly delivered aircraft is probably the cleanest option, especially to maximise cash.”

AirAsia and its management team didn’t respond to repeated requests for comment. BBAM, Sun PhuQuoc Airways and its parent Sun Group, also didn’t respond to requests for a response.

The airline’s woes have mounted this year following the outbreak of war in the Middle East, which sent oil and jet fuel prices surging. Low-cost carriers can be harder hit than full-service airlines by rising fuel costs because they are harder to pass on to price-conscious passengers. AirAsia doesn’t hedge its fuel purchases, leaving it exposed to volatile swings in prices.

Fuel expenses surged 58% in the second quarter, sparking the company’s largest quarterly loss in four years. Bloomberg reported this week that AirAsia is seeking to use collateral on a private-credit loan to pay lessors. In June, Bloomberg reported that the airline had fallen behind on payments to suppliers and asked for deferrals on at least a dozen planes.

AirAsia had RM954 million (US$233 million) in cash and equivalents as of the end of June, one of the lowest balances among airlines tracked by Bloomberg globally.

The shares have slumped almost 75% since the Iran war started at the end of February, making it the worst-performing stock in the 58-member Bloomberg World Airlines Index.