AirAsia - Airbus reseller?

DISCLAIMER

I read with interest on a posting by malaysiaairlinesfamilies today. Somewhere in that posting (here) it alleged that Tony Fernandes is no longer interested in running the airline but more interested in selling planes. Is that where his "extra" airbuses are going? The ones he isn't going to use to "grow" his airline or keep his fleet younger.



So in a way he'll be an Airbus re-seller or lessor? I wouldn't be surprised if he started another venture to lease aircraft to other airlines with the excess capacity. Maybe that was the original plan. Lease or sell them them to MAS perhaps?

Now for those readers who may not be familiar how things work in the aviation industry let me explain. Mind you, i'm not that knowledgeable myself but i read plenty of aviation forums to have an understanding.
An aircraft manufacturer usually gives discount and other incentives to entice customers to purchase their aircraft depending on the quantity and types of equipment ordered.

Unlike buying car, where one goes into a showroom and picks the model the manufacturer has pre-made for you (most offering plenty of colours and some offering cosmetic "upgrades"), ordering aircraft is a very lengthy affair. The aircraft in question is the Airbus320 (A320) model. It can be configured to seat anything from 30 (as a business jet) to 180 (high density) passengers. One has a variety of manufacturers to choose from for their seats, each providing differing designs, fabrics and accessories. One also has a choice in In-flight entertainment (IFE) units. You can choose from 2 different types of engines. Flying into different parts of the world, an aircraft is subjected to different meteorological conditions daily. So the engine manufacturer can tune your aircraft to be efficient for certain conditions, high altitude airports, cold cllimates etc... so you see... its not easy...

Now if a customer were to order 200-300 (maybe even 500) of an aircraft that was similar in specifications then a manufacturer is more than likely to give you a bulk discount and preferential treatment.... For arguments sake, lets say its 20% and maybe throw in one free paintjob for a few aircraft. (if i was in that situation, i would sell companies advertising space on my aircraft and use my free paintjob... More revenue...!! Hahaha...!! I'm a genius...  oh wait, maybe AA is already doing it ?!?!).

Now what all this means is someone could get aircraft for really cheap, way below "market list prices" AND then re-sell them at a discount from market prices but above purchase price. As long as the buying airline agrees to the specs being produced, much like buying a car....

The maths:

Assume an aircraft cost USD110 million (for a high-density model with the works) and orders of less than (arbitrarily) 20.
Assume an order for 250 aircraft comes with the 25% discount, that works out to be USD82.5 million per aircraft (and USD20.625 billion for the whole order). Wow! that's a lot of "cheap" aircraft...

Now, if someone wanted these aircraft (not too fussy about the configuration et al) and is unable to purchase them at full list prices direct from Airbus then maybe i would be able to help. I'll use my position to re-sell them at maybe..oh i don't know..USD93 million. That's a neat USD10 million profit right there and a savings of USD17 million for the buying airline..

Of course this is just conjecture, as i am not that connected to the internal workings of the airline industry. I'm sure Airbus has clauses in the sales agreement to avoid this arbitrage being used by big order customers.


Just food for thought.. The posting i read earlierbrought that idea into my head... Ho-hum..

السلام عليكم
Peace be unto you