Malaysian budget carrier bullish on PH unit

Brand gaining popularity in growing domestic market

MALAYSIA’S AirAsia Group is hopeful that operations in the Philippines will finally turn profitable this year as the brand gains popularity in the country’s growing domestic travel market.

AirAsia Berhad reported last week that its revenues reached a record 1.4 billion ringgit for the fourth quarter of 2012, up 10 percent year-onyear, driving the firm’s profit after tax up 168 percent to 350.65 million ringgit in the same period.

These came from the holding firm’s profitable affiliates in Thailand and Indonesia and its own operations in Malaysia.

However, its affiliate here—AirAsia Inc.—continued to operate in the red even as it expanded to new international routes and rationalized domestic operations to divert capacity away from low-demand destinations.

AirAsia Inc., a joint venture between AirAsia Berhad (60 percent) and local investors that included CEO Marianne Hontiveros, Antonio “Tonyboy” Cojuangco Jr. and Michael Romero, operates two Airbus A320 jets out of the Clark Freeport, Pampanga.

“We are in a privileged position with thousands of islands separating one another and the only mode of travel is by air. We have been working hard in brand awareness and will look to see some profit upside this year,” Hontiveros said in a statement.

The group’s CEO, Tony Fernandes, said the Philippines and Japan remained growth areas for the company. The group’s operations in these two countries would help solidify the company’s position as the biggest budget carrier in the Asia-Pacific region, Fernandes said.