AirAsia keen to consolidate its airlines under One AirAsia

AirAsia Group Chief Executive Officer Tony Fernandes has told Forbes India that he would like to integrate all of the group's operations into a single airline entity.

"I'm trying to unify AirAsia into one airline — a unique corporate structure within ASEAN," Fernandes told the news site. "What we would like to do is create one holding company that would own 100 percent of all our airline companies operating in ASEAN countries. This would allow us to invest more, reduce costs and enable us to be much more efficient."

The ASEAN [Association of Southeast Asian Nations] region comprises ten states, covering 4.4 million square kilometres and 625 million people. It does not include India or Japan, where AirAsia also operates.

When asked about timing, Fernandes said his target was two years, according to news site Bernama. "The first step is to create the group company, and AirAsia Group Deputy Chief Executive Officer Rozman Omar is working hard on it. Is a lot of work to do 'One AirAsia' as a corporate structure. But 'One AirAsia' as a company within a company is working really well," he added.
27/07/17 ch-aviation

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AirAsia India CEO Amar Abrol says airline to achieve breakeven by 2019

New Delhi: Air Asia India — a joint venture between Tata Sons and Air Asia – is likely to break-even or report profit by 2019 despite substantial rise in fuel and staff cost which took a toll on its bottom-line during January-March quarter of the current calendar year which is the first quarter of its financial year. Apart from expanding in the domestic market, the management is in the process of finalising the plan for the international operations which is expected to start by the end of next year. The no-frill carrier is also focussed on increasing the fleet size and utilisation of its existing A320 aircraft besides enhancing profit margins by improving its offering for corporate travelers. Amar Abrol, chief executive officer, Air Asia India told FE that the airline will continue to invest in the right products and is adequately funded to expand its domestic operations. “Financially we are headed in the right direction and confident of breaking even by 2019. We have trimmed our losses and increased our fleet size. The average utilisation of our aircrafts are more than 13 hours which is quite good and load factor (PLF) is also close to 90%. Though fuel cost has increased our CASK is probably the lowest in the industry,” Abrol said.
In the first two quarters of the current fiscal the no-frills carrier made revenues worth Rs 100-110 crore per month from ticket sales. The ancillary revenue has also increased to 9-12% of the total revenues. “Yields have been under pressure and the second quarter is usually very lean but we have registered better yields than our competitors. We can’t control the fuel price but will have to increase staff because of expansion of our operation. The top-line has improved and we will continue to innovate our new products,” explained Abrol.
25/07/17 Financial Express

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I am not in a rush to fly international out of India: AirAsia Group CEO Tony Fernandes

Tony Fernandes, group CEO of Asia’s largest low-cost carrier AirAsia, has set his sights on integrating all of the airline’s operations in Southeast Asia into one holding company and creating a single airline entity that would represent the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) region. “If you look at it, we are probably the most successful Asean brand,” Fernandes, 53, says in an exclusive interview to Forbes India on the sidelines of the 52nd International Paris Air Show at Le Bourget. At present, the different entities of the AirAsia Group include AirAsia Berhad (Malaysia), AirAsia Indonesia, Thai AirAsia, Philippines AirAsia, AirAsia X, Indonesia AirAsia X and Thai AirAsia X. Outside of the Asean countries, there is AirAsia Japan and AirAsia India, which, since its start in 2013, has had a bumpy ride. “India is a country I don’t want to screw up [in]! I want to do it right,” Fernandes says, going on to talk about AirAsia India’s shift in strategy: From eyeing international operations to focusing on the domestic market. Edited excerpts:


Q. Your India operations have been plagued by controversy and slow growth. What went wrong?
Many airlines have come, made a lot of noise in India and disappeared. It’s all about doing it properly and doing it right. For me, the India story is all about when a taxi driver who picked me up from New Delhi airport told me that it took him four days to go from the capital to Chennai. I was shocked. I asked him how much did it cost and what price would he would pay to fly, and he gave me a figure. We are about two-thirds of the way in making him fly.

There has been so much opposition to us, some of it our doing and some mistakes of our own.

We have had so much noise on this airline [AirAsia India]—we were involved in things, with issues concerning the Tatas, that we weren’t even involved in. But the Tatas have been great partners. They have stuck in with us and we have stuck in with them.

India is not a simple country. It’s a complicated country and further complicated by very aggressive competitors. I have been in 10 other countries and we have never had this kind of reaction: The level of trying to get rid of us is much worse here in India.

Q. Can you elaborate on the ‘mistakes of our own’?
Well, actually, only one I think, which I don’t want to talk about. Everything else we have done well. We are three years old in India, that’s baby steps for an airline compared to Jet Airways that has been around for more than 20 years. I’m really happy with the way we are going. We have 10 planes now and will get to 20 aircraft next year. India is a country I don’t want to screw up [in]! I want to do it right.

Q. What are your plans for flying to international destinations from India?
Initially we thought we couldn’t make money in the domestic market, but now we know that we can. I thought domestic was crowded and we were late into the game. But we are not. In some markets, we are leaders. We are the lowest cost airline—we are lower than IndiGo, which is quite impressive. So, international is not such a rush for me anymore. But when it happens, which would be sometime next year, we would offer a good mix of domestic and international routes.
24/07/17 Anshul Dhamija/Forbes India

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AirAsia To Start Domestic Flight Services In Bhubaneswar

Bhubaneswar: After international flights AirAsia is now planning for domestic services with morning and evening flights running from Bhubaneswar to Kolkata and Bengaluru.

Currently 26 flights of Air India, IndiGo, GoAir and Vistara are providing daily services at Biju Patnaik International Airport (BPIA). It will increase to 28 after AirAsia starts it service.
“AirAsia’s domestic flights will start from August 1 and connectivity to Kolkata, Bhubaneswar and Bengaluru will be available every day morning and evening,” said Director of BPIA Suresh Chandra Hota.

Not only for the passengers, special services will also be made available for guests arriving at the airport. Canopy will be set up outside the new terminal building. Tea, coffee and other items will be available inside and outside the terminal at cheap prices.
24/07/17 Odishatv.in

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Cochin bound AirAsia flight AK37 returns to klia2 due to technical reasons

Putrajaya: The AirAsia flight AK37 bound for Cochin from Kuala Lumpur today returned to Kuala Lumpur International Airport (klia2) due to technical reasons, said AirAsia in a statement here.

It said the flight left for India at 6.25am, and the aircraft has landed safely at klia2 after two hours into the flight.
Without elaborating further, AirAsia said the flight was re-scheduled for a 3.45pm departure time today.
22/07/17 Bernama/Astro Awani

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AirAsia flight aborted after bird hit stalls takeoff from Ranchi airport

Ranchi: An AirAsia India flight aborted its take off here in Jharkhand on Saturday after a bird hit but there was no emergency evacuation as reported earlier.

The airline said the flight, I5 541, from Ranchi to New Delhi suffered a bird hit on its take off roll at the Birsa Munda Airport.

"The crew immediately discontinued the takeoff and taxied back to the ramp and passengers deboarded the aircraft normally," said Amar Abrol, Managing Director and CEO, AirAsia India.


"There were no injuries or damage (to passengers) as a result of this incident and the aircraft has since been grounded at the Ranchi airport."

The blades of the plane got damaged because of the hit.

The airline said all the passengers were provided with necessary alternatives.
16/07/17 Business Standard

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Delhi-Ranchi flyer tries to open emergency door midair

New Delhi: A passenger flying from Delhi to Ranchi on Monday night allegedly tried to open the aircraft's emergency door just before the flight was about to land.
The 32-year-old flyer, Aftab Ahmed, also injured some co-passengers and crew members who tried to stop him, said a CISF official.
Luckily, the unruly flyer was unable to open the Airbus A-320 emergency gate and the plane landed safely, following which he was handed over to the local police.
This latest incident of a passenger causing midair ruckus took place on AirAsia flight I5-546 (Delhi-Ranchi-Kolkata).
11/07/17 Saurabh Sinha/Times of India

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Odia Girl Proves ‘Nothing Is Impossible’

Bhubaneswar: She had a childhood dream to fly in the skies. It was indeed a big dream for a village girl coming from a middle class family. For many, it was just a fairy tale and every day dreams of a little girl. But she was confident, determined and stuck to her goal till she achieved what was once seen as impossible by many.

Shelbi Mishra was born in Padampur village of Keonjhar district. As her father Bipin Mishra is in Navy, she used to listen to stories about aircraft and fighter planes, and gradually a dream to become a pilot took birth in her.
Having done her graduation in Aviation from Mumbai, she had to move to Texas for a flying course. It was a difficult time for the family as it was not easy to afford her aviation studies abroad. But neither the family nor Shelbi ever broke down.

At the age of 18 she became a pilot and today she is the youngest pilot of the State and the only female to be recruited as a commercial pilot by AirAsia.
Having done her graduation in Aviation from Mumbai, she had to move to Texas for a flying course. It was a difficult time for the family as it was not easy to afford her aviation studies abroad. But neither the family nor Shelbi ever broke down.
09/07/17 Odisha tv

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Bengaluru court orders attachment of former AirAsia India CEO Mittu Chandilya assets

Mumbai: A Bengaluru court ordered the attachment of property belonging to former AirAsia India CEO Mittu Chandilya following a complaint filed by the airline that accused him of fund diversion.

The court said in a June 29 order that moveable and immoveable property be seized until Chandilya appears before it. It also asked him to explain why he should not be asked to furnish security to the tune of Rs 24.32 crore. Chandilya didn’t respond to questions but an associate told ET he wasn’t guilty of any wrongdoing and was being needlessly dragged into the Tata group’s battle with ousted Tata Sons chairman Cyrus Mistry.

AirAsia India, promoted by Tony Fernandes’ AirAsia and the Tata Group, had sought recovery of the amount cited above at 18% interest from Chandilya from the date of its “siphoning” off till the date of actual payment.

The airline said Chandilya had been evading legal processes and had not appeared before the Enforcement Directorate, which issued a notice calling for an inquiry. Chandilya is said to be out of India.
ET reported on November 5 last year that a Deloitte Touche audit of AirAsia India appeared to show financial irregularities.

The initial findings suggested that Chandilya ordered payments to a Singaporebased entity for bogus services and to an Indian firm that didn’t exist in government records. The payments totalled about Rs 22 crore, the report said.

The person close to Chandilya said he was being made a scapegoat in the Tata-Mistry battle. He said Chandilya will file a counter suit and seek a hearing to set aside the ex parte order. The person said Chandilya could prove his innocence and that all transactions had the approval of the AirAsia India board.
08/08/17 Satish John/Economic Times

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Revealed: Ajay Singh Took Over SpiceJet For The Princely Sum Of Rs 2

Never before in India Inc.’s M&A history has a listed company been sold for less than Rs 5, the deal closed in 15 days and the acquirer exempted from the mandatory open offer to public shareholders.
This was the luck that backed Ajay Singh’s acquisition of then beleaguered SpiceJet Ltd., one of India’s three listed airlines.
SpiceJet has turned around since co-Founder Singh returned more than two years ago. Not many know though, how much he paid to take control of the budget carrier.
Rs 2 Or 3 U.S. cents. That’s what Singh shelled out to buy a 58.46 percent stake in SpiceJet from then promoter Kalanithi Maran and his investment company Kal Airways Pvt. Ltd. in January 2015, according to disclosures made in the Delhi High Court's judgement in a dispute between the two over convertible securities.
At the then prevailing price of Rs 21.8 per share, Maran’s stake was worth Rs 765 crore before he sold it to Singh, the disclosure said. The stock has since risen to Rs 125. Which means, Singh’s holding in SpiceJet is now worth Rs 4,400 crore.
Curiously, none of this information was disclosed by Singh, SpiceJet or Maran at the time of the transaction. Neither did market regulator Securities Exchange Board of India insist on a disclosure, allowing this to be the first-ever acquisition of a listed company with no price disclosure and at a 100 percent discount to its share price.
It is only now that this information has accidentally come to light as Maran battles Singh in court for failing to meet a deal condition. BloombergQuint's emailed queries to Singh and Maran to confirm the valuation remained unanswered.
06/07/17 Sajeet Manghat/Bloomberg Quint

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Tata Sons refutes Cyrus Mistry's charges in AirAsia case

Mumbai: Tata Sons on Wednesday refuted former chairman Cyrus Mistry's statement of wrongdoings in AirAsia India by R Venkataramanan (Venkat), a close aide of Ratan Tata.
Mistry, in his email written a day after being removed from the chairman's post last October as well as in his filings with the company law tribunal, had stated that fraudulent transactions of about Rs 22 crore took place at AirAsia India involving "non-existent parties" in the country and Singapore. He also stated that Venkat considered these transactions as "non-material and didn't encourage further investigation".
The Rs 22-crore transaction is currently under the scanner of Enforcement Directorate.
Venkat, the managing trustee of Tata Trusts, is a shareholder and director of AirAsia India, a joint venture between Tata Sons and Malaysia's low-fare carrier AirAsia.
Tata Trusts, the majority shareholder of Tata Sons, was the force behind Mistry's removal from the chairmanship.
"We strongly reject the statement from Mistry which seeks to insinuate wrongdoings in the affairs of AirAsia India by (Venkat)," Tata Sons said.
Tata Sons further said that the company, along with AirAsia India, has taken steps in civil and criminal courts "which have cleared the air in relation to the mischievous allegations" by Mistry's family-run companies in the tribunal proceedings.
-06/07/17 Reeba Zachariah/Times of India

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AirAsia India will not pass on GST burden to consumers

Mumbai: AirAsia India is not hiking fares, despite an increase in leasing costs under the new goods and service tax (GST) regime, rolled out on July 1.

Airlines have raised the issue of dual taxation on aircraft leases, that is, the levy on import of aircraft and GST on lease rentals. AirAsia India says its leasing cost will go up by around Rs 10 crore for each aircraft. “There is an anomaly. We have made a presentation to the government on this. We are not passing the charges to customers and hope the issue will be sorted out,” said the airline's managing director, Amar Abrol.

AirAsia India commenced operations in June 2014 and at present, has a market share of around 3 per cent. The airline inducted its 11th aircraft on Tuesday and announced the launch of Bhubaneshwar as its sixteenth destination from August onwards.
04/07/17 Aneesh Phadnis/Business Standard

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AirAsia offers flights on new routes

AirAsia India is set to introduce flights on new routes connecting a host of cities. The airline, which is a joint venture by Tata Sons and Malaysian airline AirAsia, announced about the new fleet on its official Facebook page.
The airline is offering flights connecting Kolkata to Jaipur, Bengaluru, Bhubaneswar, Bagdogra, and New Delhi.
"Kolkata, we're now connecting you to all the 4 parts of India! Fly with us to #Bengaluru, #Bhubaneswar, #Bagdogra, #Jaipur, #NewDelhi for awesome fares...", AirAsia India said in the Facebook post.
The direct flight service between Delhi and Kolkata will begin from August 1, 2017 at an all inclusive fare of Rs 2,990.
Last month, AirAsia had offered discounted all inclusive rates for flights on both international and domestic routes under its "Mid-Year Sale". The budget airline known for its comparative pricing regularly comes up with promotional offers.
05/07/17 Times of India

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Air Asia proposes 3 flights from city

Bhubaneswar:  After successful launch of the first direct international connectivity from Bhubaneswar, Air Asia is set to launch domestic operations from the City. The Malaysia-based airline has proposed a schedule for three flights from the Temple City, said sources.

While authorities at  Biju Patnaik International Airport (BPIA) have confirmed receiving the proposal and schedule from Air Asia, a final call on operations will be taken after receiving mandatory clearance from Director-General Civil Aviation (DGCA). “A schedule has been proposed by Air Asia for operation on three routes - Bhubaneswar-Kolkata, Bhubaneswar-Bengaluru and Kolkata to Bengaluru via Bhubaneswar. We are working on the schedule and awaiting necessary clearances,” BPIA Director S C Hota said.


If things work out, Air Asia would start flying on the routes from August 1, sources added. Currently, there are 26 departures from BPIA which would become 29 once the proposed routes are operational.
01/07/17 New Indian Express

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