AirAsia considers mounting PH-US flights by 2025
Tony Fernandes
MANILA —By 2025, passengers may be able to fly directly from Manila to the United States via AirAsia as the budget carrier headquartered in Malaysia looks into expanding its international network along with its operational fleet.
Tony Fernandes, CEO of AirAsia parent Capital A Berhad, said in a hybrid event on Monday that they were leveraging their operations across Asia to connect their passengers all over the world.
“Manila will be a very good hub into America,” he said. This means its passengers can fly to the United States via Manila as their connecting flight.
This is part of the multi-hub strategy by the low-cost airline, which is present in Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines and Thailand.
“With Thailand, Jakarta and Manila and Kuala Lumpur, we can cover the world,” he said.
In addition, Fernades said they were targeting to launch flights to Europe via Thailand this year.
Direct flights
At present, flag carrier Philippine Airlines flies to Los Angeles, San Francisco, New York, Honolulu and Guam. United Airlines also launched in October last year a direct flight from Manila to San Francisco.
Amid the expansion plan, AirAsia is eyeing to have 200 aircraft operating this year. It has 190 jets in its fleet as of end-2023.
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Fernandes also announced on Monday that Capital A’s aviation business was sold to AirAsia X Berhad, a sister company of AirAsia Malaysia, to raise funds. AirAsia X is a long-haul budget airline.
He said further details about the transaction would only be disclosed after its completion.
The aviation business includes AirAsia Malaysia and AirAsia Aviation Group Ltd. comprising subsidiaries in Thailand, Indonesia and Philippines. By the conclusion of the sale, Capital A will no longer have airline operations under its portfolio that includes logistics, digital payment solutions and aviation support services.
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All airline operations will then be handled separately by AirAsia X.
“Following the disposal, the aviation business is poised to benefit from focused management and a well-defined strategic direction, which will boost the aviation business’ capacity to seize growth opportunities, expand market share, and ultimately achieve enhanced profitability,” Fernandes said. INQ
