AirAsia’s Fernandes on Domestic Market

AirAsia Group Chief Executive Tony Fernandes reiterated comments made earlier that its domestic and short-haul flights will recover faster, with the low-cost model better poised than its full-service counterparts. Fernandes was speaking at the launch of AirAsia Digital, which brings together the low-cost carrier group’s various digital initiatives — including its mobile application, website, as well as logistics and e-commerce arms. Fernandes said that while they did not know what a post-COVID-19 world be like, he noted that the low-cost carrier group’s domestic network “is a great snapshot”. In August this year, the AirAsia Group had said that by the end of the year, it expects to run at up to 75 per cent of pre-pandemic domestic capacity for its Malaysia and India operations, with 60 per cent and 35 per cent for its units in Philippines and Indonesia respectively. Its Thai unit is expected to see five per cent domestic capacity growth year-on-year, by the final quarter of the year.

Fernandes did not address the fate of long-haul sister carrier AirAsia X, which in recent months has been beset by mounting financial troubles.