AirAsia X to Reveal Foreign Partners
By Anna Maria Samsudin
AIRASIA X will reveal the two foreign investors who will take a combined 20 per cent stake in the long-haul budget airline valued at US$75 million (RM242 million) on February 14, says chief executive officer Azran Osman Rani.
The ceremony, which will be graced by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, will officially introduce its Middle Eastern and Japanese partners who will hold 10 per cent each in the airline.
“This is an exciting development as it reflects foreign investors’ level of confidence in our business model,” Azran told reporters in Sepang yesterday, after launching the airline’s maiden Chinese flights between Kuala Lumpur and Hangzhou.
Its existing investors include budget carrier AirAsia Bhd as well as British tycoon Sir Richard Branson, holding 20 per cent in AirAsia X, respectively.
AirAsia X, which was launched in January last year, is currently valued at US$375 million (RM1.2 billion), based on its budget long- haul business model.
Proceeds from its recent share sale will be used to partly finance its aircraft purchases, comprising 15 firm orders of A330s, with a total value of US$2.63 billion (RM8.5 billion) based on a catalogue price of US$175 million (565 million) per plane.
Meanwhile, Azran said AirAsia X is in the process of determining the second destination for both its Australian and Chinese services and is currently talking to authorities from the countries for this move.
The next Australian destination it plans to operate is either Perth, Melbourne or Newcastle while for China, it is looking to fly to Tianjin or Chengdu.
He said the airline hopes to operate these new routes by September or October this year, upon the delivery of its new A330s.
“The biggest challenge in offering these new flights is getting the landing rights. We are still talking to the respective authorities. Hopefully, we will be able to secure the rights within one to two months,” he added.
On its maiden Chinese service, AirAsia X is offering passengers as low as RM199 for a one-way travel between Kuala Lumpur and Hangzhou.
To date, the airline has already sold 10,000 seats – valued at over RM5 million – for travel in February and March, under its RM99 airfare promotion that was announced on January 15.
The overwhelming response to its five times weekly Hangzou route is in synch with the success of its maiden international flight to Gold Cost, Australia, where 60,000 seats have been sold in the past couple of months since the launch of the service on November 2 last year.
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