Capital A, the parent company of AirAsia, plans to open a new branch of the low-cost airline in Cambodia, its CEO announced on Friday, as the company resumes expansion plans thwarted by the pandemic.
The latest move to reorganize the Malaysia-based firm’s network follows recent setbacks that saw it exit Japan and India.
“2022 was about restarting our airline to pre-Covid levels. That machine is in place and will be completed by the second quarter of 2023,” tycoon Tony Fernandes said in a statement.
“The second half of 2023 will be when we focus on our continued efforts in growth.”
Fernandes told Bloomberg Television that the venture would begin with two planes and eventually grow to 15.
He added that the new airline would serve routes within a four-hour radius of Cambodia.
Fernandes also stated that the company’s future airlines would be based in Southeast Asia because it is a familiar region.
“We are confident of profitability in the first year,” he said.
Capital A, which operates budget airlines in Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, and the Philippines, plans to begin Cambodian operations in late 2023, pending regulatory approval.
According to Bo Lingam, AirAsia’s chief executive officer, the airline now operates 49 weekly flights from Malaysia and Thailand to Cambodia, down from 90 prior to the pandemic.
According to the International Air Transport Association, airlines are expected to return to profitability next year for the first time since 2019, before the Covid pandemic wreaked havoc on the travel industry (IATA).
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