OldAce999
16th Jul 2002, 02:54
No-frills airline Air Asia plans to go regional with cheap flights to Asian cities from next year, a report said today.
The small carrier, which currently flies within Malaysia, will offer flights to various Asian destinations at about half the normal fares, chairman Pahamin A Rajab told The Star.
"Going regional is in our masterplan," he said, adding Air Asia aimed to be the region's premier low-cost airline.
The carrier is focussing on Jakarta, Palembang and Medan in Indonesia; Phuket, Pattaya and Bangkok in Thailand; Manila and Subic Bay in the Philippines; and China.
Chief executive Tony Fernandez was quoted as saying that Air Asia expected to become a regional carrier within six months to a year after buying another five to six new aircraft to add to its current five.
The airline, which has an average passenger load of 75 percent, aims to increase its passenger numbers to 1.2 million this year from 280,000 last year, the newspaper said.
Tune Air Sdn Bhd owns 99.25 percent of Air Asia, with the remaining 0.75 percent held by Mofaz Air.
Pahamin last month said Tune Air planned to sell a 30 percent stake in the airline. The daily said that the state goverment of eastern Sarawak on Borneo island was a potential buyer. — AFP
The small carrier, which currently flies within Malaysia, will offer flights to various Asian destinations at about half the normal fares, chairman Pahamin A Rajab told The Star.
"Going regional is in our masterplan," he said, adding Air Asia aimed to be the region's premier low-cost airline.
The carrier is focussing on Jakarta, Palembang and Medan in Indonesia; Phuket, Pattaya and Bangkok in Thailand; Manila and Subic Bay in the Philippines; and China.
Chief executive Tony Fernandez was quoted as saying that Air Asia expected to become a regional carrier within six months to a year after buying another five to six new aircraft to add to its current five.
The airline, which has an average passenger load of 75 percent, aims to increase its passenger numbers to 1.2 million this year from 280,000 last year, the newspaper said.
Tune Air Sdn Bhd owns 99.25 percent of Air Asia, with the remaining 0.75 percent held by Mofaz Air.
Pahamin last month said Tune Air planned to sell a 30 percent stake in the airline. The daily said that the state goverment of eastern Sarawak on Borneo island was a potential buyer. — AFP