15 October 2009
KUALA LUMPUR -- AirAsia Bhd's chief executive officer Tony Fernandes was recently awarded the 2009 Frost & Sullivan Excellence in Leadership Award.
The award, AirAsia said was presented to Tony for his exemplary leadership skills in driving excellence within the organisation.
"This testifies to our belief at AirAsia that when we work together, we can achieve anything," Tony said in a statement on Thursday.
Tony, it said has led the low-cost carrier into the world stage through innovative marketing that includes the offering of revolutionary low fares that come with premium products and services.
Beginning with only two aircraft, the airlines quickly expanded under his leadership, grown to approximately 80 new airbus A320 aircraft, 113 routes and a staff of 6,500.
Saturday, October 17, 2009
Thai AirAsia on track for 2009 profit, Gol and Ryanair higher
Thai AirAsia CEO, Tassapon Bijleveld, stated the carrier is “definitely making a profit for the year”.
Mr Bijleveld added, “how much of a profit...will depend on the load factor in the fourth quarter of the year”. The carrier is anticipating a load factor of 82-85% in the last quarter, and is on track to handle 5.2 million passengers for the year.
Malaysia's AirAsia meanwhile announced plans to launch daily services form Kuala Lumpur to Kochi, Thiruvananthapuram (Trivandrum) and Kolkata on 12-Nov-2009, 16-Nov-2009 and 19-Nov-2009, respectively - see Route Changes Table for more information. The three new Indian services follow the launch of services to Tiruchirappalli (Trichy) in Dec-2008.
Gol and Ryanair higher
Shares in Brazilian LCC GOL jumped 8.9% yesterday, as Brazilian stocks rose the most in three months, due to increased confidence that an economic recovery is strengthening.
In Europe, Ryanair’s shares were 2.7% stronger, with easyJet’s shares edging up 0.3%.
Selected LCCs daily share price movements (% change): 14-Oct-09
Thursday, October 15, 2009
AirAsia’s three new daily flights to India
14 October 2009
PETALING JAYA: AirAsia will start daily direct flights to Kolkata, Kochi and Thiruvananthapuram (Trivandrum) in India from Kuala Lumpur beginning November, the low-cost carrier said in a statement Wednesday.
It will be offering all-inclusive fares from as low as RM129 one-way for the booking period of Oct 15 to 20 to travel between Nov 12 and July 31, 2010 for Kochi; Nov 16 to July 31, 2010 for Thiruvananthapuram; and Nov 19 to July 31 for Kolkata.
AirAsia launched its first Indian route to Trichy, in the south Indian state of Tamil Nadu on Dec 1, 2008.
Wildcard a permanent fixture
14 October 2009
THE Malaysian Motorcycle Grand Prix wildcard programme is set to be a permanent annual fixture tied to the Malaysian Super Series (MSS) organised by the Sepang International Circuit (SIC).
And it doesn't matter if the AirAsia Malaysia 125cc GP Team evolves into a full-fledged racing team on the World Motorcycle Championships, as this programme will be geared as an incentive scheme for riders racing full-framed bikes locally.
The AirAsia Malaysia team, launched on Monday, will feature Elly Idzlianizar Ilias and Modh Zulfahmi Khairuddin as wildcards in the 125cc in this year's Malaysian Grand Prix at Sepang Circuit on Oct 23-25.
It will be the first time since 2003 that a Malaysian rider will feature in the race.
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| Elly Idzlianizar Ilias (left) and Zulfahmi Khairuddin will be the Malaysian wildcards in this year’s 125cc class of the Malaysian Grand Prix. — Pic: AIZUDDIN SAAD |
SIC chief executive officer Razlan Razali said riders from a new Supersports class of the MSS to be introduced next year will have two wildcard slots in the Malaysian Grand Prix to race for.
"The best rider under the age of 21 will ride as a wildcard in the 125cc class and the best rider above that age will get a wildcard in the new Moto 2 class," said Razlan.
The incentive scheme comes into place for next year's MSS series, from which the riders will win wildcard slots for the 2011 Malaysian Grand Prix.
This provides a more open opportunity than the wildcard programme this year, which was based on a five-month long selection and training programme through which Elly Idzlianizar and Mohd Zulfahmi progressed.
Razlan said for next year, Zulfahmi, 18, will be retained as a wildcard entry with the same format of selection (this year) to be used to identify another rider for an extra slot.
"We expect to place Zulfahmi, who is young and with potential, in three other races on the MotoGP calendar as a wildcard next year," said Razlan.
With main sponsors AirAsia already expressing interest in supporting a long-term project that could see the team running a full season in the 125cc World Championship in three years' time, development on the local front will be addressed by this new scheme.
"We expect that by 2011, Zulfahmi will already be fully developed and ready for a full season in the 125cc World Championship," said Razlan.
"We hope to blood the wildcard winners from the 2010 MSS season in some races in the Spanish or Italian championships.
"By using the Supersports 600cc class as a platform, we will be able to develop riders who can adapt quickly to the 125cc and the new Moto 2 class bikes."
Thai AirAsia builds Phuket's international potential
14 October 2009
PHUKET : Thai AirAsia intends to open more routes connecting Phuket directly with other Asian cities as it moves aggressively to develop its second hub on the southern resort island.
The no-frills carrier wants to link Phuket with Bali, Surabaya, Shenzhen, Guangzhou and Manila through non-stop services as new city-pairs after the first links due to open in mid-November.
Chief executive Tassapon Bijleveld said the airline was upbeat about the growth opportunities Phuket could provide in addition to its main hub at Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi Airport.
Thai AirAsia is preparing to begin daily services on the Phuket-Hong Kong and Phuket-Jakarta routes on Nov 15, followed by flights from Phuket to Chiang Mai, Medan in Indonesia and Ho Chi Minh City in December.
Pending positive results, Mr Tassapon said the second set of direct air links with Asian cities could open in 18 months
"We need three or four months to prove that our decision to make Phuket our second hub is right commercially before we make further stride," he said.
"We could easily fly in 2,000 tourists a day from those foreign cities to Phuket, ramping up from 600 people a day initially we expect from the first batch of cities."
That means Thai AirAsia would need to base four A320 jetliners at Phuket to accommodate the direct connections, up from the two that it will station there in the next one or two months.
The sister carrier of Malaysia-based AirAsia, Asia's largest budget carrier, is also looking at other airports in Thailand including Chiang Mai, Udon Thani and U-tapao as potential hubs for new flight markets.
Chiang Mai is the most likely candidate for a third hub but Mr Tassapon stressed that the bulk of Thai AirAsia's services would continue through Suvarnabhumi.
"The problem is that we cannot open as many new routes through Suvarnabhumi as we wanted to as the network through Bangkok has thickened already," he explained, adding that the airline's fleet had also been growing and needed new routes to match it.
The airline now operates a fleet of ten Airbus A320s and six Boeing B737- 300s. Over the next two months it will take delivery of two new A320s. Next year it will receive eight more A320s and retire its six B737-300s, giving it a fleet of 20 aircraft, all A320s.
Mr Tassapon believes that its initial flights through Phuket will be 80% full, due largely to the high-season factor and heavy promotions.
"Phuket is a probably the second most well-known Thai city internationally, so that helps a lot to sell our flights," he said.
The airline has already sold more than 20,000 Phuket-Hong Kong tickets since they went on sale on Oct 5.
AirAsia links Jakarta with Ho Chi Minh City
Budget carrier AirAsia has officially opened its latest route between Ho Chi Minh City and Indonesian capital Jakarta, a month after it had a soft opening.
Dharmadi, PT Indonesia AirAsia president director said the carrier’s fifth route will operate four weekly flights that would bring more opportunities for travel between the two destinations and foster new economic tie ups between Vietnam and Indonesia.
The director told Thanh Nien the carrier’s occupancy was about 65 percent in a month of soft opening and expected it to reach 75 percent in a year. When this happened, the carrier plans to open a new route between HCMC and Bali, he added.
The carrier has no plans for other routes between cities in Vietnam and Indonesia. The low cost carrier operates daily routes from HCMC and Hanoi to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and Bangkok, Thailand.
Last year, 30,000 Vietnamese visitors traveled to Indonesia and 22,000 Indonesia tourists arrived in Vietnam, according to the tourism ministrieAir Asia X looks at Jeddah for second hub in Middle East
13 October 2009
Air Asia X, the long-haul budget carrier, is keen to add Jeddah as its second destination in the Middle East and has filed an application with its authorities.
If accepted, the airline hopes to launch its service to the Saudi city by the second half of next year, Azran Osman-Rani, CEO of Air Asia X, told Emirates Business on the sidelines of the Low Cost Airlines World Mena 2009 conference at Al Ain.
A possible third destination in 2011 would likely emerge from a non-GCC country, said Osman-Rani.
"I do think there's scope for a third. Probably not next year but certainly beyond that," he said.
He said the first hub in Abu Dhabi covered the Gulf, while Jeddah in Saudi was also a huge market. "There is a lot of room [for a hub] in a non-Gulf, non-Saudi area," he said.
"Assuming we get a good airport deal and get planes we would add a third destination in 2011," he said.
The airline will add three Airbus A330-300s this year at an approximate cost of $300 million (Dh1.1 billion), which has been financed by Barclays.
Air Asia X is nearly 50 per cent sold for the first month of its Abu Dhabi-Kuala Lumpur service that will start on November 23.
The route opened for sale in August. Malaysian passengers bought 55 per cent of the seats with the remaining sales coming from the UAE.
Air Asia X, the long-haul budget carrier, is keen to add Jeddah as its second destination in the Middle East and has filed an application with its authorities.
If accepted, the airline hopes to launch its service to the Saudi city by the second half of next year, Azran Osman-Rani, CEO of Air Asia X, told Emirates Business on the sidelines of the Low Cost Airlines World Mena 2009 conference at Al Ain.
A possible third destination in 2011 would likely emerge from a non-GCC country, said Osman-Rani.
"I do think there's scope for a third. Probably not next year but certainly beyond that," he said.
He said the first hub in Abu Dhabi covered the Gulf, while Jeddah in Saudi was also a huge market. "There is a lot of room [for a hub] in a non-Gulf, non-Saudi area," he said.
"Assuming we get a good airport deal and get planes we would add a third destination in 2011," he said.
The airline will add three Airbus A330-300s this year at an approximate cost of $300 million (Dh1.1 billion), which has been financed by Barclays.
Air Asia X is nearly 50 per cent sold for the first month of its Abu Dhabi-Kuala Lumpur service that will start on November 23.
The route opened for sale in August. Malaysian passengers bought 55 per cent of the seats with the remaining sales coming from the UAE.
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