Air Asia chief to lobby Srettha at Wednesday meeting
Tony Fernandes, the chief executive officer of Capital A, the parent company of AirAsia, said on Monday that he would meet to discuss the aviation industry with Thai Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin on Wednesday (January 10).
According to The Edge Malaysia, Fernandes planned to address Thailand’s rule that forbids airlines to have foreign ownership above 49%.
Also on Fernandes’ agenda is to discuss government support under the ‘One Asean Airline’ initiative, as well as collaboration in tourism promotion.
Prior to announcing his planned Thailand trip, Fernandes on Monday announced the merger of airline businesses under Capital A with its sister company AirAsia X Bhd (AAX).
He said the move was part of a comprehensive consolidation plan to transfer all short-haul business in Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, the Philippines and Cambodia to AAX, which currently operates mid-haul flights.
“This move is aimed at streamlining the group and facilitating a business-centric valuation of the separate entities, potentially unlocking greater value for shareholders,” he said at a media briefing in Malaysia on Monday.
Tassapon Bijleveld, executive chairman of Thai AirAsia, also said on Monday that the move would apply to only AirAsia’s airline business in Malaysia. There is no plan to merge Thai AirAsia and Thai AirAsia X into a single airline, he insisted.
