Regional Round-Up
One more 'biggie' in me - Fernandes
December 1st 2012
AirAsia founder and serial entrepreneur, Tony Fernandes, has said he has the “energy for another biggie” to add to his successful stable of airlines “and maybe a few small ones”. Read More »
Fernandes was speaking as AirAsia announced its third consecutive quarterly profit last month. However, said the Bloomberg news agency, he intended in the next three years to concentrate on his three major markets in Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia. AirAsia also has interests in Japan and the Philippines.
The goal is to increase the annual profit of the three main hubs to one billion ringgit (US$316.25 million) each, said the group chief executive.
Fernandes said India, Taiwan, South Korea and Vietnam were other potential markets for a new hub. Laos, Cambodia and Myanmar were among the smaller options, he said.
The AirAsia boss expects to complete negotiations for 100 more A320s by the end of this month. The carrier has 112 A320s in service. It intends to take delivery of another 266 A320s by 2026.
The net income of the Kuala-Lumpur based carrier increased 3.6% to 157.8 million ringgit in the quarter to September 30. Revenue rose 15% to 1.24 billion ringgit.
Thai AirAsia posted a profit of 199 million baht (US$6.48 million) year-on-year, while its Indonesian counterpart recorded net income of 74.5 billion rupiah (US$7.75 million), said AirAsia.
