One holding firm for AirAsia in Asean possible
Published on: Tuesday, May 10, 2016
SEPANG: AirAsia Group has a long-term plan to consolidate its operations in Asean under one roof, says Chief Executive Officer Tan Sri Tony Fernandes.He said the move was to establish a holding company, as well as, make the 10 member-state region more connected and "smaller" in the future."(The establishment of) (AirAsia) Asean consolidated (company) or (AirAsia) Asean holding is very possible," he told reporters after the AirAsia Bhd's extraordinary general meeting here Monday.
ADVERTISEMENT
Fernandes said he has held talks on the plan with several Asean member governments and the response was promising. "But this (plan) is (still) in its early stage. There is no timeline because we have to deal with 10 different governments," he said. Asean groups Brunei, Cambodia, Laos, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.At present, AirAsia Group consists of AirAsia Bhd (Malaysia), Thai AirAsia Co. Ltd, PT Indonesia AirAsia, Philippines AirAsia Inc, AirAsia X Bhd (Malaysia), Thai AirAsia X Co Ltd and AirAsia (India) Ltd.
ADVERTISEMENT
In terms of routes and destinations, Fernandes said the low-cost carrier planned to expand its operations in India, the Philippines and Indonesia.Earlier at the EGM, company shareholders unanimously approved a proposal for Fernandes and the Group Executive Chairman Datuk Kamarudin Meranun to increase their stake in the company to 32 per cent each from 19 per cent each at present.
ADVERTISEMENT
Meanwhile, the low-cost carrier recorded a higher load factor of 86 per cent in the first quarter of this year, up 9.0 percentage points against the same period last year."The number of passengers carried increased 17 per cent, year-on-year, (YoY) to 13.9 million, well ahead of the 6.0 per cent increase in capacity," it said in a statement Monday.At the end of the quarter under review, AirAsia said the group's total fleet size stood at 171 aircraft, including one aircraft that was delivered to AirAsia Japan which has not commenced operations.For Malaysia, AirAsia posted a load factor of 85 per cent in the first quarter, up 10 percentage points year-on-year."Demand exceeded capacity with a 17 per cent increase in the number of passengers carried at 6.48 million and 3.0 per cent year-on-year increase in capacity," it added. Malaysia AirAsia ended the quarter with a total fleet of 80 aircraft.Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
Daily Express Malaysia
