No-frills airline AirAsia today announced the addition of eleven Boeing 737-300 aircraft, in line with its regional expansion plans.

The carrier is leasing seven and purchasing four of the aircraft from GE Capital Aviation Services (GECAS) to add to its current fleet of seven, it said in a statement.

This will bring AirAsia's fleet to 18 aircraft by the end of 2004.

Delivery of the first aircraft from this deal is expected to take place before October 2003 with the eleventh arriving by June 2004.

Affordable flying

"AirAsia's expansion comes at a controlled level and the airline is focused on making flying a more affordable, convenient and enjoyable experience for eveyone," it said.

"The introduction of these eleven aircraft enables AirAsia to meet the huge demand for more low fares in Malaysia," AirAsia chief executive Tony Fernandes said.

"It helps us to further reduce our unit costs which are already the lowest in the world and that in turn means even lower fares for our customers," he said.

The move will also provide AirAsia the boost it needs to start flying regionally by January 2004.

AirAsia has said it plans to launch flights to Thailand, Indonesia, Philippines and China, and may select smaller airports to keep costs low.

The carrier, which started operations in December 2001, confounded critics when it achieved a profitable first year in which it flew 1.1 million passengers and logged a net income of RM12.03 million.

To date, the airline has carried over 1.8 million passengers. - AFP