Refund policy for disrupted AirAsia flights

01 July 2009

AIRASIA passengers will get their money back if the low-cost carrier cancels flights or discontinues a route.

Transport Minister Datuk Seri Ong Tee Keat said for flights that were cancelled due to technical factors, passengers who bought their tickets early would get a refund in their credit card account or via a “credit shell”. A credit shell is a separate account, which is valid for three months, created for customers to pre-book other flights.

For routes which had been discontinued, Ong said passengers would be offered alternative routes.

“For passengers who have difficulties taking up the alternative route, or if there is no alternative route available, AirAsia will refund the ticket price to the credit card account or the credit shell,” Ong said in a written reply to Wee Choo Keong (PKR - Wangsa Maju).

However, Ong said there was no specific mechanism that provides a 100% guarantee to passengers for a full refund should the airline go bankrupt.

AirAsia placement to raise RM500mil

01 July 2009

Low-cost carrier hopes to complete exercise in two months

KUALA LUMPUR: AirAsia Bhd, which has announced its intention to do a 20% private placement, expects to raise about RM500mil from the exercise.

“The private placement is subject to approval from Bursa Malaysia. We hope to complete the exercise in two months.

“The idea is basically to try to raise around RM500mil to reduce our loans and have more cash,” chief executive officer Datuk Seri Tony Fernandes said on the sidelines of Invest Malaysia 2009 yesterday.

“There’s been a huge appetite for our equity. It’s always good to have cash, especially for an airline; hence we’ve decided to do a private placement,” he said.

Fernandes added the group would be working on the terms of the private placement.

“The first stage is to appoint bankers to see how best to do the exercise; whether it should be in two blocks of 10% each or a straight 20%,” he said.

Fernandes said its plan had been “warmly welcomed” and had received “very good feedback” although many people had been asking about AirAsia’s high gearing.

He said there was ample liquidity in the market and that it was a good environment to raise equity.

On the new measures announced by the Government, Fernandes said: “Today is a very big day for AirAsia. It’s what I’ve been asking for seven years and today we get a level playing field.”

“The Government has created a level playing field and, hopefully, this will prevent any excursion to hospital,” he joked.

Fernandes was admitted to a hospital recently after he fainted at the low-cost carrier terminal due to exhaustion.

Asked if the setting up of Ekuiti Nasional Bhd (Ekuinas) would help AirAsia, he said: “I think so. When we started seven years ago, we couldn’t get a cup of coffee from any bank for private equity.”

Fernandes said there was enormous talent in the country and there could be many more (like) AirAsia but lacked funding and hoped that Ekuinas would provide them support to grow.

“There’ll be mistakes but if they (Ekuinas) are too conservative in their approach, they will miss some fantastic opportunities,” he added.

AirAsia to sell new shares to raise up to $143 mln

30 June 2009

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) - Malaysian budget carrier AirAsia plans to sell new shares to raise as much as 500 million ringgit ($143 million) as it expands amid a global downturn, Chief Executive Tony Fernandes said Tuesday.

The airline will appoint bankers soon to sell the stock, which would expand the number of its shares by a fifth, in a share placement expected in the next two months, he told reporters on the sidelines of an investment conference.

"The key is that there is a demand for it.

It will put us in a good position. We will grow our market share and increase our capacity," Fernandes said. He didn't give further details.

Airlines worldwide are reeling from the global economic slump that has choked passenger and cargo traffic.

But AirAsia is increasing its routes and buying new planes, saying it is benefiting as travelers cut costs and downgrade to budget carriers amid the global economic slump.

In the quarter through March, it has expanded capacity by 19 percent as it launched seven new routes. Its net profit in the quarter hit a record 203.2 million ringgit ($57 million), up 26 percent from a year earlier.

AirAsia may sell as much as 20% more stock to cut debt

30 June 2009

KUALA LUMPUR: AirAsia Bhd, South-East Asia’s largest low-cost airline, said it plans to sell new shares to reduce debt in what would be the Malaysian company’s biggest share sale since listing in 2004.

The Sepang-based company plans to issue as much as 20% more stock, it said in a statement to Malaysia’s stock exchange after the close of trading yesterday.

Chief executive officer Datuk Seri Tony Fernandes said last month the company was considering raising about RM500mil in either a stock sale or rights offer.

AirAsia expects to take delivery of about 24 Airbus SAS planes annually from an order of 175 as the carrier adds routes to India and boosts flights to China.

The company will probably sell the stock in a rights offer to shareholders and use the money to lower its ratio of debt to equity, also known as gearing, Mohshin Aziz, AirAsia’s head of investor relations, said by phone.

AirAsia is “trying to reduce risk, trying to get structures where we can reduce the fluctuation impact of the markets, be it interest rates, forex, fuel if we can, to make the business more stable and predictable in terms of our cost component,” he said, adding that a price had yet to be set for the rights offer.

Based on yesterday’s closing price of RM1.15, the share sale could raise as much as RM546mil. – Bloomberg

AirAsia first airline in Asia to partner NFL Team

29 June 2009

Partnership with Oakland Raiders set to boost brand globally

For 7 years now, we have conquered the skies. For 49 years and running, they conquered the gridiron. Today, both stand together in unison, the start of an awesome winning combination.

AirAsia, the world’s best low-cost carrier and Oakland Raiders, three-time National Football League (NFL) Super Bowl champions, officially announced a winning partnership at the Low Cost Carrier Terminal today. AirAsia is proud to be a sponsor of an iconic NFL football team like the Oakland Raiders and this partnership is expected to be the catalyst in promoting the AirAsia brand in the United States.
AirAsia will also host a 1,000 FREE SEATS online contest in which one hundred students will be chosen at random for the opportunity to win one free ticket to a Raiders home game. Program and contest details will be made available on www.airasia.com and Raiders.com.
AirAsia Group CEO Dato’ Sri Tony Fernandes said, “This is a very meaningful moment for all of us in AirAsia. We are very excited to associate ourselves with a great, iconic team like the Oakland Raiders as they reflect our own endeavor for excellence. This is actually the latest step we are taking, to boost our brand globally. Despite not operating into the US yet, AirAsia has already captured the attention of the US public and Aviation Week’s Laureate Award that we won recently is a testimony of that.”

Fernandes made history by being the first Asian to be recognized with the Laureate Award for the Commercial Air Transport category in March 2009, alongside other Laureate winners Alan S. Boyd, the first U.S. Transportation secretary, and the U.S. Coast Guard HH-60 Jayhawk, HH-65 Dolphin, HC-130 Hercules rescue teams.

“Being in NFL, a team needs to be performance-driven, and most importantly possess the passion to win. We relate very well to these traits, as they are the same qualities that drive us to excel, as recognized by 16 million air travelers who voted us as the World’s Best Low Cost Airline in the annual World Airline Survey by Skytrax,” concludes Fernandes.

The event also saw the unveiling of the Oakland Raiders aircraft livery, the airline’s latest campaign to establish its position as an innovative and trendsetting brand. At the same time, to inform the American public that through our extensive network, they could enjoy excellent connectivity via our hubs in Malaysia (Kuala Lumpur, Johor Bahru, Kota Kinabalu), Indonesia (Jakarta, Bali) and Thailand (Bangkok) to many fascinating and exotic destinations across Asia and Europe.

The livery is donned by AirAsia X’s latest Airbus A340 aircraft, dubbed ‘Xcellence’, matching the Oakland Raiders’ motto is ‘Commitment to Excellence’.

AirAsia X CEO, Azran Osman-Rani commented, “We're extremely proud to dedicate one of our A340s to the iconic Oakland Raiders brand. This trans-continental aircraft that plies our London-KL route symbolizes our ambition to open up the North American market as our future growth area. We'll be flying this aircraft into Oakland at the start of this coming NFL season, and I'm sure that the groundbreaking livery design will capture the imagination of millions of NFL fans and introduce them to our proud AirAsia brand and Malaysian heritage.

“By promoting Malaysia in North America, we hope to help bring more travellers from that part of the world to this country, which will help boost tourism and the local economy,” Azran said.

AirAsia X is a low–cost long-haul affiliate of low-cost short-haul AirAsia, and proudly the first Asian sponsor of an NFL team, and the owner of the world’s first NFL aircraft livery.

Present at the event was Oakland Raiders’ owner Mark Davis and Raiders legends Ted Hendricks, Rod Martin and Cliff Branch. The team’s famed Raiderettes (official cheerleaders of the Oakland Raiders) were also present, adding glitz and glamour to the event.
“We are absolutely thrilled with our new relationship with AirAsia,” said Oakland Raiders Chief Executive Amy Trask. “It is a unique and audacious relationship between two truly global organizations. As always, we eagerly seek creative opportunities to serve and interact with our fans throughout the world and we are delighted to work with AirAsia on this creative endeavor.”
The Oakland Raiders are a professional American football team formed in 1960, currently based in the city of Oakland, California. Their home ground is the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum.

They currently play in the Western Division of the American Football Conference (AFC) in the National Football League (NFL).

In total, the Raiders have won 3 Super Bowl titles, the last of which was Super Bowl XVIII in 1984.

In its efforts to boost global branding, AirAsia has also partnered other popular sports entities. It is currently a partner of the AT&T Williams Formula One team and was previously the official low cost airline for the Manchester United Football Club.

AirAsia is also committed in supporting local teams and athletes such as the Olympic Council of Malaysia, UPB MyTeam FC, Neesha Thiru (Malaysia’s number 1 junior female tennis player), Axle Motorsport (competing in the Asian Touring Car Championship), Kimberly Yap (Malaysian tri-athlete) and the upcoming Borneo International Marathon 2009.

We have also supported the Malaysian Hockey Confederation by being the title sponsors of the previous 8th AirAsia Men’s Asia Cup held in Kuantan and the Women’s World Table Tennis Championships 2008 in Kuala Lumpur.

AirAsia’s latest effort is extending support to a Malaysian media sepak takraw team for an upcoming friendly match against the Thai media selection, in conjunction of the 24th World Championship Sepak Takraw King’s Cup in Thailand.

Cradling ‘Xcellence’: Oakland Raiders owner Mark Davis holds a model of ‘Xcellence’, the Airbus A340 dedicated to the Oakland Raiders presented to him by AirAsia Group CEO Dato’ Sri Tony Fernandes (with helmet) and AirAsia X CEO Azran Osman-Rani. With them are (from L-R) Raiders legends Cliff Branch, Rod Martin, Ted Hendricks and AirAsia Deputy Group CEO Dato’ Kamarudin Meranun.

From L-R: AirAsia Director Mr. Fam Lee Ee, AirAsia Deputy Group CEO Dato’ Kamarudin Meranun, AirAsia Group CEO Dato’ Sri Tony Fernandes, Oakland Raiders owner Mark Davis, AirAsia X CEO Azran Osman-Rani and AirAsia Chairman Dato’ Aziz Bakar. Behind them are Raiders legends Ted Hendricks and Rod Martin and Thai AirAsia CEO Tassapon Bijleveld. At the background is ‘Xcellence’, the Airbus A340 dedicated to the Oakland Raiders.

AirAsia X launches daily service to Kuala Lumpur

29 June 2009

Travellers from London Stansted Airport can now fly to Kuala Lumpur on a daily basis with AirAsia X.

The low-cost, long haul carrier brings its daily service to Stansted along with its 'Xcellence' aircraft, decked out in the colours of the Oakland Raiders NFL team. AirAsia X has recently linked up with the NFL franchise to promote both brands to a global audience.

Nick Barton, Stansted's commercial and development director, said: "AirAsia X's service between Stansted and Kuala Lumpur has been a fantastic success story so far, and the arrival of this striking new aircraft will enable them to go from strength to strength by offering flights every day of the week from now on.

"This is a great boost for everyone connected with the airport, and a real vote of confidence by AirAsia X in Stansted as it demonstrates we are delivering the high levels of service they demand from us. And it's even better news for our passengers and the region as it provides even greater choice and opportunity, and proves that demand between Stansted, Europe's point-to-point airport of choice for low-cost travel, and AirAsia's Kuala Lumpur hub and onward connections to Australia, China and India remains strong despite the current challenging economic conditions.

"I fully expect 'Xcellence' to be the talk of Stansted whenever it's at the airport - I'm sure its very eye-catching livery will ensure we all become big fans of the Raiders too!"

For further information on AirAsia X services to Kuala Lumpur and beyond, visit www.airasia.com.

Indonesia AirAsia to launch Jakarta-Manila flights

29 June 2009

SEPANG, Malaysia - Indonesia AirAsia is all set to commence daily flights between Jakarta and Manila in September, competing against the lone budget carrier servicing this route, a top official of the airline said at the sidelines of a partnership unveiling with the Oakland Raiders here on Friday.

"We are just finalizing some things but we are ready to begin our Manila service in September," Indonesia AirAsia president director Dharmadi told abs-cbnNEWS.com, noting that the new service signifies their optimism that demand for low-cost travel will be sustained this year.

Dharmadi said they are hoping to capture a substantial share of the volume of passengers traveling back and forth Jakarta and Manila, a route currently dominated by Philippine budget carrier Cebu Pacific.

The Philippines is just one of the new destinations Indonesia AirAsia is adding in an effort to grow its regional services. The airline is also flying to Denpasar-Perth, Australia starting July, and Saigon, Vietnam beginning September.

It is also boosting services on existing routes. Its Jakarta-Singapore and Denpasar-Singapore flights, for instance, would be doubled to 4 times a day while its Kuala Lumpur flights would be increased from 2 to 3 per day, according to Dharmadi.

While airlines worldwide cut capacity and ground planes to cope with the economic crisis, Dharmadi said Indonesia AirAsia continues to expand to take advantage of travelers' growing preference for budget carriers in order to trim costs.

"I think the crisis has affected long-haul flights. But for short-haul, the growth is stable in terms of capacity and load factor. Passenger volume is still growing," he said.

Dharmadi noted that they also remain unfazed by the spread of the A(H1N1) influenza virus across Asia Pacific where, based on data from the International Air Transport Association, a 14.3 percent drop in passenger air traffic was recorded in May.

"We are still expecting our passenger volume across the region to grow 5 percent this year," he said.

Dharmadi said Indonesia AirAsia is determined to bolster ticket sales through several measures such as scrapping administrative fees and surcharges to further reduce air fares.

"Lowering fares is the only way to get volume and encourage traveling these days," he explained.