RM8 flights as AirAsia celebrates eighth anniversary

08 December 2009

SEPANG: AirAsia is offering all-in fares starting from as low as RM8 for domestic flights and from RM25 for international flights in conjunction with its eighth year anniversary celebrations and achievements.

The special fares are for flights to destinations including Kuala Lum­pur, Singapore, Bangkok, Jakarta, Bali, Phuket, Taipei, Hanoi, Trichy, Abu Dhabi, Macau, Hong Kong and others.

To enjoy the promotions, customers must book seats online from Dec 8 to Dec 18 and fly between July 5 and Oct 30 next year.

Guests may also book tour packages and make hotel bookings on goholiday.airasia.com.

Happy Birthday: Fernandes cutting a cake with AirAsia chairman Datuk Aziz Bakar and deputy group CEO Datuk Kamarudin Meranun at the company’s anniversary celebration at the LCCT concourse, Sepang, Monday. Celebrating with them is Datuk Nicol David (left) .

Airline CEO Datuk Tony Fernandes also announced that AirAsia would be introducing Sydney and Seoul as its new routes in mid-2010 through the AirAsia X package, followed by 12 new routes in India.

On another matter, Fernandes said the airline’s website airasia.com had attracted 20 million unique visitors per month with its blogsite blog.airasia.com, ranking it as the world’s second most popular blog site by an airline.

“Tapping into the new media and social networking sites has given an advantage to AirAsia to keep its customers informed of the latest promotions and other updates.”

Announcing the recent success at its eighth year anniversary celebration here yesterday, he said: “AirAsia has attracted a large following using the Internet including those from places we don’t fly to yet, like the United States.”

The airline information dissemination system included updates in Twitter, Flickr and Facebook.

AirAsia’s facebook at facebook.airasia.com has a fan base of some 100,000 since it was launched nine months ago.

The Star

AirAsia Plans To Fly To Seoul And Sydney By Middle Of Next Year

07 December 2009

SEPANG-- AirAsia is in the midst of securing rights to land in Seoul and Sidney by the middle of next year.

The budget airline is also spreading its wings in India to 12 new routes in 2010, said its group chief executive officer Datuk Seri Tony Fernandes.

He said AirAsia received tremendous response from the South Korean's Government, and it is in the process of obtaining approval for flight to Seoul.

"South Korea is the new country and they are very excited about it. As for India, it has been a very successful destination so far and we are looking into 12 new routes including Hyderabad, Bangalore, Delhi, Mumbai and Chennai," he told reporters after celebrating AirAsia's eighth anniversary here Monday.

Todate, the budget airline flies to four destinations in India, Trichy, Trivandrum, Kolkata and Kochin, while its current destinations in Australia are Gold Coast, Perth and Melbourne.

Tony said Thailand and Indonesia will also be two strong countries for AirAsia next year.

Commenting on the airline's outlook next year, he said AirAsia was confident it will be an "amazing year".

"For the past three quarters, we have recorded profit amid the sluggish economic environment, and the fourth quarter looks very strong," he said.

-- BERNAMA

Flight night in Dewan over AirAsia

06 December 2009

Debate goes on and on about budget carrier and airport tax arrears

MALAYSIAN MPs have a love-hate relationship with AirAsia. Those who love the low-budget carrier are full of praise but those who are against it go all out to criticise the carrier, from its business model to airport tax arrears.

This mixed feelings towards AirAsia kept the debate in the House going till late at night last Tuesday.

So intense was the debate that Speaker Tan Sri Pandikar Amin Mulia was forced to intervene, telling Wangsa Maju’s PKR MP Wee Choo Keong to go easy on the low-budget carrier.

“Yang Berhormat, please don’t go after AirAsia to the extent that it will have to close shop. It will be a problem for me as I always fly with AirAsia,” he said half in jest.

This remark took place when Wee was going after Deputy Transport Minister Datuk Abdul Rahim Bakri while the latter was replying on a series of issues related to AirAsia raised during the debate on his ministry, ranging from advance purchase of air tickets to the airport tax that the budget carrier still owed to Malaysia Airport Holdings Bhd (MAHB).

Abdul Rahim earlier had told Wee during question time that AirAsia had paid MAHB RM111.6mil in airport tax after an incentive of RM25mil was given.

Wee raised the same issue during the debate on the Transport Ministry at the committee stage of the Budget.

“Why must AirAsia be given the incentive as the airport tax is actually paid by passengers? What is the rationale when a person can be dragged to court for owing the Government RM3,000 or even face bankruptcy, but AirAsia gets to enjoy an incentive to settle arrears since 2002?

“Is there any interest charged for the amount owed since 2002? Why is there no penalty?” he asked.

Fong Kui Lun (DAP-Bukit Bintang) joined the fray by questioning the convenience fee charged by AirAsia on those who buy tickets using credit cards while Ismail Mohamed Said (BN-Kuala Kurau) asked the Transport Ministry about floating price for AirAsia tickets.

Salahuddin Ayub (PAS-Kubang Kerian) and N. Gobalakrishnan (PKR-Padang Serai), however, did not share the sentiments of Wee, Fong and Ismail.

Both had only nice things to say about AirAsia.

“We should not regard AirAsia as an enemy. It should be seen as a competitor company.

“We can learn from its achievement. It started from zero and look at where it is now.

“We should not link flying AirAsia with being less patriotic. Does flying AirAsia means one is not patriotic but flying MAS is? That is not the mentality of the 21st century... the Government is still subsidising MAS for its domestic flights.

“How long will this go on?” asked Salahuddin.

Gobalakrishnan hailed AirAsia for making it possible for people to travel cheaply.

“AirAsia has shown the way. Perhaps the ministry should consider giving two to three more licences to other new budget airlines,” he said.

The issue of independent power producers (IPP) saw Energy, Green Technology and Water Minister Datuk Peter Chin getting into a war of words with Machang MP Saifuddin Nasution Ismail of PKR.

“The way Machang puts it, it seems that the Government is stupid and merely make payments to the IPPs for nothing,” said Chin.

He also dismissed the MP’s claim that IPPs were getting excessive profits from their deals with the Government.

Saifuddin, however, claimed that it was so and cited an agreement between one IPP and the power authority in United Kingdom in which the company was only making a reasonable profit compared to the one signed with the Government.

“Apart from actual electricity consumption and capacity charge, there is payment for standby charge and the subsidy on gas which are not included in the agreement signed in UK. The agreements signed here are lopsided,” he told Chin.

“Prove your allegations. We can also discuss outside the House,” Chin replied.

The exchange of words between Chin and Saifuddin was so fiery that the Speaker had to stop Datuk Dr Marcus Mojigoh (BN-Putatan) from interjecting.

Despite that, Dr Marcus managed to do so and asked Saifuddin who was the Finance Minister who had approved the IPP agreements back in 1993 and was now in the opposition (referring to Opposition Leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim).

Dewan resumes its sitting tomorrow.

By Lee Yuk Peng

The Star

Budget airport deal shuts out Air Asia hopes

04 December 2009

But infrastructure firm WCT's shares get a boost on RM363m award

THE award of a RM363 million (S$148.5 million) contract for the first phase of a new low cost carrier terminal (LCCT) to a Malaysian infrastructure firm by airports owner Malaysia Airports Holdings (MAHB) appears to have shut out budget carrier Air Asia which had wanted to build the LCCT.

But it's boosted the fortunes of infrastructure firm WCT whose shares moved up 1.5 per cent to RM2.63 apiece.

On Wednesday, WCT told the stock exchange that it had been awarded a RM363 million earthworks and drainage job for the new RM2 billion LCCT by MAHB.

The contract is the first awarded by MAHB which has promised to deliver the LCCT - designed for 30-45 million passengers a year - by the third quarter of 2011. But its enforcement seems to have shut the door on budget carrier Air Asia which has been lobbying Prime Minister Najib Razak - most recently in New York last week - to take over the project.

The budget carrier, which will be the main user of the new terminal, feels that MAHB will not make the deadline and is likely to overshoot the RM2 billion budget, according to industry executives familiar with the matter.

According to the executives, Air Asia is also peeved that MAHB will not furnish an indemnity to the budget carrier in case of late completion.

The standoff, which has been going on for almost 10 months, illustrates the dynamic tensions between an entrepreneur-driven firm and a government-linked company that doubles as the operator and owner of almost all the nation's airports.

But the award has also boosted the fortunes of WCT which most analysts have now rated a 'buy'.

The new contract will add to WCT's growing reputation as a can-do specialist whose resume for main infrastructure works include the Kuala Lumpur International Airport, the Guthrie Corridor, a highway, and the Medini precinct in the Iskandar Region.

It is also represented overseas but, to widespread analyst approval, has no exposure to Dubai which has been roiled recently by the debt problems of Dubai World. Instead, the firm has RM914 million worth of contracts in the oil producing Gulf kingdoms of Abu Dhabi, Qatar and Bahrain which are cash-rich because of petrodollars.

According to analysts, the new award will push WCT's outstanding order book to RM3.6 billion.

According to AmResearch, the firm is trading at 13 to 15 times 2010/2011 earnings which is at a 5-27 per cent discount to its peers like IJM Corporation and Gamuda. The research house pegged WCT's fair value at RM3.74 a share.

By S JAYASANKARAN

The Business Times

AirAsia to add more flights to HK

03 December 2009

PETALING JAYA: AirAsia will increase direct flights to Hong Kong to three times daily from the current two.

The no-frills airline will be introducing all-in-one fares — from as low as RM129 — in conjunction with the increase, it said in a statement.

The third flight will commence on Jan 21 and are open for booking from today to Monday for travel period of Jan 21 to Oct 30.

The promotional seats are limited and available on a first come, first serve basis.

The seats can be booked online via www.airasia.com.

The Star

AirAsia Never Given Preferential Rights To Owe RM65 Mil Airport Tax, Dewan Rakyat Told

01 December 2009

KUALA LUMPUR-- Budget airline, AirAsia, was never given preferential rights to owe RM65 million airport tax but instead the low-cost carrier and Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd (MAHB) have contrasting figures in the amount to be paid, the Dewan Rakyat was told on Tuesday.

However, as of September 2009, the airline had settled all its debts to MAHB totalling RM112.06 million, said Feputy Minister of Transport Datuk Abdul Rahim Bakri when replying to Wee Choo Keong (PKR-Wangsa Maju) during question time.

Wee asked Transport Minister Datuk Seri Ong Tee Keat why AirAsia was given preferential treatment to owe RM65 million airport tax paid by air travellers as of Feb 28, 2009.

He also wanted to know what action MAHB, Low Cost Carrier Terminal operator, took against AirAsia to recover the debt and what was the debt amount todate.

Abdul Rahim said the MAHB had given RM25 million discount to the airline from the actual debt amount.

While offering such incentives was a normal practice in the airline industry, the MAHB saw the incentive as a "win-win" situation as AirAsia had flew in large number of foreign tourists to the country, he said.

Responding to a supplementary question on AirAsia indulging in "deposit-taking", Abdul Rahim said other sectors, including the hotel industry, was doing the same thing.

On Open Sky Policy, the deputy minister said Malaysia is to sign Open Sky Policy agreements with several countries, specifically with Asean member states, soon.

The policy would be a boon to the tourism industy, he added.

BERNAMA

Air Asia paid RM111 million in airport tax

01 December 2009

KUALA LUMPUR— The transport ministry today confirmed that the low cost carrier AirAsia had paid a sum of RM111 million to Malaysian Airport Holdings Berhad (MAHB) for airport tax arrears.

Deputy Transport Minister Datuk Abdul Rahim Bakri told the Dewan Rakyat AirAsia owed the MAHB some RM132 million but the airline was given a discount for its efforts in encouraging tourist arrivals in the country.

He was responding to a question by Wangsa Maju MP Wee Choo Keong who had questioned why the airline was given a special privilege to owe airport tax.

The PKR man added that any incentive should be channeled to the people and not to AirAsia.

“They sold the ticket months in advance, I have nothing against this business model, but I am just worried that AirAsia is allowed to delay airport tax payment,” said Wee.

Early this year, the House was told that AirAsia owed MAHB RM65 million.

Last June, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak told the House that the airline was in negotiations with MAHB to resolve the airport tax issue.

Najib had said that MAHB did not take any drastic action to claim the arrears owed by AirAsia because it would only adversely affect the operation of the low-cost carrier terminal.

He added that it would also give a negative impact to MAHB as the operator and manager of airports.

AirAsia has also been pushing for reduction in airport tax at the low cost carrier terminal due to the limited facilities.

By Adib Zalkapli

The Malaysian Insider