NEW REGIONAL BASE: Fernandes speaks during the announcement that AirAsia and Japan’s All Nippon Airways will form a joint venture to establish a low-cost airline ‘AirAsia Japan’ at a press conference in Tokyo. The AirAsia chief executive’s recent remark on the LCC’s move to set up a regional base in Jakarta has sparked numerous queries and requests for more details on the exercise. — AFP photo
KUCHING: AirAsia Bhd (AirAsia) clarifies its stand towards establishing a Southeast Asian regional representative base in its efforts to broaden its branding as a ‘Truly Asean’ airline.
Late last week, a Jakarta-based media reported that AirAsia’s group chief executive officer Tan Sri Tony Fernandes said the low-cost carrier (LCC) would set up its regional base in South Jakarta’s Equity Building by this October.
Fernades added that the move would be slated towards taking “advantage of easy access to the Asean secretariat in advance of the ‘open skies’ agreement that will go into effect in 2015,” he was quoted as saying.
As a result, Fernandes’ statement generated numerous queries and requests for more details in the wake of the said reports regarding the establishment of a regional office in Jakarta.
“It is unfortunate that some sections of the media have reported incorrectly that we are moving our ‘corporate headquarters’ to Jakarta,” explained a statement from AirAsia released from Sepang yesterday.
“It is incorrect to say, or imply, that AirAsia is moving its ‘corporate headquarters’ from Malaysia to Indonesia. The headquarters will continue to be located where it is – the mezzanine floor of the LCC Terminal (LCCT) in Sepang.
“There are absolutely no plans, nor the inclination, to move the headquarters of this Malaysian-incorporated company out of the country.And our Malaysian-registered fleet of aircraft will continue to operate from the LCCT,” it added.
AirAsia further stated that the office in Jakarta would be called ‘AirAsia Asean’ – an entity set up under the aegis of AirAsia.
“The main goal of AirAsia Asean is to serve as a representative office for AirAsia in our efforts to broaden our branding as a ‘Truly Asean’ airline and extend our outreach to various groups in the region in regards to aviation policies within Asean.
“As AirAsia grows and expands within the region, and in keeping with our own philosophy of the Asean region as our base, we have found that it is imperative we engage with all parties interested in aviation and tourism throughout the region.
“Hence, AirAsia Asean’s mandate is to engage closely with the governments, non-governmental organisations and the media in Asean to put forward our ideas regarding the growth of the tourism industry and aviation policies in this region we all call home,” it stressed.
The airline also underlined that the decision to locate this representative office in Jakarta was based solely on this rationale, as mentioned by Fernandes in Tokyo on July 21, who remarked, “Because the Asean Secretariat is based in Jakarta, and a regional office there would help AirAsia present its ideas regarding regional aviation and tourism growth much more effectively.
“This is particularly relevant at this time given that Indonesia is currently the chairman of Asean and is firmly committed to implementing the provisions of the ‘Asean Connectivity’ initiative,” the chief executive said.
Additionally, AirAsia also noted that with Indonesia’s growth trajectory poised towards increasing its share of Asean’s gross domestic product (GDP) in years to come, the LCC would be merely moving ahead of the curve to help increase its visibility and profile in the region’s most-populated nation.
“This is particularly relevant at this time with AirAsia Indonesia heading for a listing on the Indonesian stock exchange soon. We believe that having our Asean representative office in Jakarta will also help our group coordinate more effectively with the Indonesian authorities; at the same time, interact more closely with the 240-million people in that archipelagic nation to better serve them in their increasing need for affordable and convenient air travel,” the statement said.
On the listing of its Indonesian unit, AirAsia had announced that plans would be underway towards launching the initial public offering (IPO) of AirAsia Indonesia by the end of this year, with the targeted IPO proceeds to amount between US$150 million and US$200 million (around RM446.1 million and RM594.8 million).