BC Tam 2 Report post Posted May 8, 2012 AirAsia to start Singapore hub soon, widening its network By Jahabar Sadiq Editor May 08, 2012 KUALA LUMPUR, May 8 — AirAsia has received Singapore’s approval to start a hub in the island republic soon, say sources, allowing the Malaysian airline to expand its network in the growing regional low-cost market segment just a week after Putrajaya aborted its share swap with loss-making Malaysia Airlines (MAS). The Malaysian Insider understands that Singapore has informed AirAsia it will get an air operator’s certificate (AOC) as soon as possible, ending years of lobbying by Asia’s biggest low-cost carrier to set up operations in the city-state, a leading Asian financial centre. “Singapore has agreed in principle to issue the AOC. It will be issued soon,” an industry source told The Malaysian Insider. File photo of an AirAsia aircraft departing Kuala Lumpur International Airport in Sepang. The airline has received the nod to start a hub in Singapore.AirAsia chief executive Tan Sri Tony Fernandes was quoted last February as saying he aims to get clearance this year from the Singapore aviation authorities to fly to more destinations from Singapore. Fernandes told Channel NewsAsia he proposed to make the country a regional hub for his low-cost airline, alongside Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines and Japan, naming India and China as key countries to which AirAsia is seeking approval to fly to. source (and read the rest here) : http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/airasia-to-start-singapore-hub-soon-widening-its-network/ Congrats ! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JuliusWong 0 Report post Posted May 8, 2012 Finally, AirAsia's patience has paid off!! AirAsia is retreating to South East Asia for now, Jetstar is going for Hong Kong. Will AK going for Hong Kong as well? I find it quite interesting that AK Group is still looking at India and China for growth potential after suspending quite a number of routes. Air Asia Singapore will become the 7th home-based airline in Singapore!! That's a lot for small island nation! Hopefully they can get approval to station its A330s at Singapore as well for Air Asia X. With this, AK may resume delivery of new A320 and A330. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Adrian M 0 Report post Posted May 8, 2012 AASin should be up in no time since they have most ops structure up and running, they have SIN based crews, own Ground Ops, one A320 nightstop in SIN, SIN based finance cashier for SIN Crew to drop their inflight sales collection and ground ops payment collection. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
flee 5 Report post Posted May 8, 2012 Hopefully they can get approval to station its A330s at Singapore as well for Air Asia X. With this, AK may resume delivery of new A320 and A330. I think that it should be a no brainer that the night stopping A320 will soon be replaced by a 9V registered A320. AirAsia Singapore could start with around 5 planes, like AirAsia Japan. However, Tony Fernandes has already said that it is difficult to get more new planes from Airbus. So some leased aircraft will be required. As for AirAsia X, I doubt they will do anything this year. With high jet fuel prices, they are now consolidating their routes and are not planning any new route launches. I think they are waiting for the new KLIA2 to come online before making their next steps. I do not rule out AirAsia Singapore operating both A320s and A330s. They can easily lease the wide bodies from AirAsia X. Why? Because most of the short haul routes to Singapore are already covered by the other AirAsia affiliates. Therefore, they can only add one or two A320 frequencies. But AirAsia Singapore SIN-HKG, SIN-ICN, SIN-PER, SIN-MEL, SIN-SYD or SIN-TPE using the A330 would probably be very popular. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
calvinoeh 0 Report post Posted May 8, 2012 Kudos to TF for thinking about the larger picture. Would this have happened if the MAS/AK swap was still on? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
flee 5 Report post Posted May 8, 2012 Kudos to TF for thinking about the larger picture. Would this have happened if the MAS/AK swap was still on? The answer is "Yes", just check the date of this post: http://www.malaysianwings.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=16100&&do=findComment&comment=281847 They have been working on this for a long time! As you have said, AirAsia is looking at the big picture. It is not just interested in being jaguh kampung (village champion). It wants to be an ASEAN and Asian airline, not just a Malaysian one. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Naim 6 Report post Posted May 8, 2012 I hope not fast expansian à la Groupon. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
calvinoeh 0 Report post Posted May 8, 2012 I hope not fast expansian à la Groupon. Wat's wrong with that?? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Naim 6 Report post Posted May 8, 2012 Wat's wrong with that?? http://www.portfolio.com/views/blogs/executive-style/2012/05/07/as-stock-declines-groupon-ceo-encourages-shareholders-to-hang-in Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Sandeep G 1 Report post Posted May 8, 2012 WSSS is already a nightmare during peak hours... that third runway is really in need now... hopefully they'll expedite connecting it with the existing infrastructure.. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mohd Suhaimi Fariz 2 Report post Posted May 9, 2012 Report about AirAsia hub here not true: CAAS The Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) has dismissed a report claiming that Malaysian low-cost carrier AirAsia has received approval to start a hub in the Republic. The Malaysian Insider - citing an unidentified industry source - reported yesterday that Singapore "has agreed in principle" to issue an air operator's certificate to AirAsia and the certificate will be issued "as soon as possible". AirAsia CEO Tony Fernandes had previously spoken to the media about his wish to make Singapore a regional hub for his low-cost airline, alongside Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines and Japan. But a CAAS spokesperson told Today that the report is "not true". She added: "The CAAS has not granted an air operator's certificate to AirAsia, neither are we processing any application from AirAsia at this point in time." CHEOW XIN YI http://www.todayonli...-not-true--CAAS Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mike P 0 Report post Posted May 9, 2012 Now who is spreading the rumour... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BC Tam 2 Report post Posted May 9, 2012 Whoops ! My apologies for assisting in rumour mongering Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
flee 5 Report post Posted May 9, 2012 But they are appointing a country manager for Singapore. TF's tweet: Logan farewell who is returning to singapore to become country head of singapore airasia . We have big plans there in our continued journey into creating an asean airline http://via.me/-12k0hls Don't know who Logan is, but it could be Logan Velaitham, Regional Head Customer Experience at AirAsia: http://sg.linkedin.com/pub/logan-velaitham/14/1a3/962 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BC Tam 2 Report post Posted May 9, 2012 Makes sense - I suppose you must have some kepala (Pieter, =head) appointed who can be responsible for everything before one can reasonably expect one's application to be taken seriously Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
flee 5 Report post Posted May 10, 2012 KUALA LUMPUR, May 10 (Bernama) -- AirAsia has appointed its former Regional Head of Customer Experience, Logan Velaitham, as the new Country Head for Singapore, effective May 9, 2012. Logan will be responsible for expanding AirAsia's presence in the island republic and Johor, the low-cost airline said in a statement. Commenting on the appointment, AirAsia Group Chief Executive Officer Tan Sri Tony Fernandes said Logan was poised to lead its operations in Singapore, fully utilizing his industry expertise and business savvy to boost AirAsia's presence in Singapore. "Over the years, we retained unwavering focus on our vision to gain a bigger foothold in Singapore. "With 10 planes and a total of 554 frequencies operating from the virtual hub, AirAsia is currently the second largest airline operating in Singapore," he added. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Teoh Z Yao 0 Report post Posted May 10, 2012 Coupling KLIA with SZB would greatly improve Air Asia's expansion. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
alberttky 0 Report post Posted August 16, 2012 AirAsia Group has promoted Logan Velaitham to CEO of AirAsia Singapore, according to a company statement. He will prepare AirAsia for further growth by working closely with the market, regulators and government agencies in Singapore, the company said. In May, Logan was appointed as country head of the Singapore operations, where he was responsible for expanding AirAsia’s presence in the island republic and Johor. “Our Singapore operations, which service 45 flights per day, has become a very important part of our operations as we continue to grow in Singapore, which is a critical regional and international hub, “AirAsia Group CEO Tony Fernandes said. http://atwonline.com/airline-finance-data/news/velaitham-named-airasia-singapore-ceo-0815 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
alberttky 0 Report post Posted August 23, 2012 AirAsia seeks a home base in Singapore SINGAPORE - After almost a decade of trying and failing to set up a Singapore-based budget carrier, AirAsia is planning to give it another go. Its new Singapore CEO Logan Velaitham has confirmed that Asia's largest budget airline group is preparing to apply for a Singapore Air Operator's Certificate (AOC), effectively enabling it to set up a Singapore-based airline. He said that as a precursor to the application, AirAsia has made a preliminary presentation to the Ministry of Transport to "demonstrate" AirAsia's commitment and contribution to Singapore. He would not say when the actual AOC application would be made. "Singapore is critical for us and we have been delivering the numbers," he said. "Even without an AOC, our arrivals, tourist numbers and contribution to the Singapore economy have been growing rapidly. Imagine what we could do if we have a Singapore-based carrier?" AirAsia is believed to have applied for a Singapore AOC several times in the past eight years; the last time was in December 2010. But in a one-sentence response late yesterday evening, a Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) spokesman said the regulator "has not received any formal AOC application from AirAsia". But having a carrier based out of one of Asia's biggest hub airports would figuratively connect the dots to complete AirAsia founder Tony Fernandes's ambition to establish a pan-Asean carrier group. The now Jakarta-based Mr Fernandes already oversees a thriving airline group headquartered in Malaysia, but with associates in Thailand, Indonesia, the Philippines and Japan. "We are blessed to be in Asean," Mr Fernandes told BT recently. "It's a market that some people ignore, which plays to our advantage. People are fixated on China and India. There are 690 million people here. I see the growth market as Asean as a whole - not an Indonesia, not a Thailand. "Imagine if all 690 million were flying within Asean for their holidays. That's what happened in Europe and that's my goal, and that's why I shifted to Jakarta. "Fifty per cent of our routes in Asean have been never done before. Obviously, China and India will grow but these are markets that we can only scratch. But Asean will be one big market - that's why I am such a big advocate." Mr Logan is confident that AirAsia will finally land its much coveted Singapore AOC. "Perhaps we did not have the numbers to back up our previous application," he said. "But things have changed. Last year alone, we flew 3.52 million passengers into Changi. We operate 277 flights here, employ over 80 people and enjoy a load factor of around 80 per cent on our Singapore services. Over the last eight years, we have brought 10 million travellers to Singapore. " He revealed that AirAsia's Changi operation also provides a significant volume of feeds to the networks of AirAsia and AirAsia X through Kuala Lumpur to destinations like Australia, the Indian sub- continent and elsewhere. Mr Logan added that AirAsia had also "met all the key performance indicators" of Changi Airport Group to qualify for the airport operator's various growth incentives targeted at airlines operating here. "We value Singapore, and I would like to think Changi values us," added the 41-year-old Malaysian who has lived here since 1988 and holds Singapore permanent residency. Under existing rules, a Singapore AirAsia would need to be 51 per cent held by Singaporean entities, with Malaysia's AirAsia Bhd controlling the remaining 49 per cent stake. The airline is evaluating various potential Singapore partners. "Our brand strategy is to be an Asean airline, with cross-border inter-operability, just like in Europe - which is why Mr Fernandes relocated to Indonesia," he said. "This would enable us to redeploy resources, personnel and assets wherever and whenever necessary. Our pan- Asean vision will not be complete without this (Singapore) AOC." Mr Logan conceded that his recent promotion to CEO of the Singapore operation was a precursor to the AOC application. "My job is to keep pushing our growth trajectory in Singapore, while also doing the groundwork and liaising with the decision-makers here." A Singapore AOC could see many of the airline's new jets being based here. AirAsia hit the headlines in June last year when it placed a record order for 200 new A320s at the Paris Air Show. It currently has 105 planes in its fleet. A new airline would also boost budget airline passenger numbers at Changi, where the 13 low-cost carriers currently already account for almost 30 per cent of total traffic. http://www.relax.com.sg/relax/news/1282596/AirAsia_seeks_a_home_base_in_Singapore.html Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mohd Azizul Ramli 2 Report post Posted December 24, 2012 Bus service between Singapore and JHB. http://twitter.com/tonyfernandes/status/283139165783199744/photo/1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
khairuddin abu hanifah 0 Report post Posted January 21, 2013 AirAsia drops plan for new Singapore airline unit Updated: Mon, 21 Jan 2013 11:23:52 GMT | By Agence France-Presse AirAsia, Asia's largest low-cost carrier, has scrapped plans for a Singapore joint venture due to high operating costs and lack of domestic market potential in the island republic. "We are concentrating on markets which have big domestic markets and big populations and markets that are more liberal and market-orientated," Tony Fernandes, group chief executive, was quoted as saying in Monday's Wall Street Journal. Malaysia-based AirAsia flies throughout Asia and has set up subsidiary budget carriers in Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand and Japan. The carrier, one of the biggest customers for European aircraft maker Airbus, has a fleet of 112 A320s and is expecting 266 more aircraft to be delivered up to 2026. Fernandes said it is "very clear that we are in the right markets and capital should go into those countries to maximise return". An AirAsia official confirmed his comments to AFP. The airline was initially keen to establish a unit in Singapore, which would have allowed it to compete with rivals including Jetstar and Tiger Airways and fly to more destinations from the city state, the Wall Street Journal said. More than 50 million passengers travelled through Singapore's Changi Airport in 2012, according to the airport operator. AirAsia has grown rapidly since Fernandes, a former record industry executive, bought the failing airline in 2001. Source: http://news.malaysia.msn.com/regional/airasia-drops-plan-for-new-singapore-airline-unit-2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
alberttky 0 Report post Posted January 21, 2013 I think Changi Airport also cannot cope. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JuliusWong 0 Report post Posted January 21, 2013 (edited) Changi Airport will be able to cope in near future, only of they can bring Terminal 4 forward instead of 2017. However, TF updated his FB status the other day that there will maybe one more joint-venture for the year. Perhaps he was talking about AirAsia India. Below was his status: "Done analysis of all business for next 5 years. We may do one more JV. Then that's it for next 5 to 10 years. No Korea No Cambodia No Vietnam etc. We have got a fantastic spread of countries and we will now build all those to size of Malaysia. No Singapore. We serve it well already from our airlines. No Laos No Brunei. ASEAN is done. We are very strong there. So no more JV." If we read between the fine line, TF may be planning to go all-out to fight against Malindo on domestic front. Only time will tell what is in for AK Group in 2013. Edited January 21, 2013 by JuliusWong Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
khairuddin abu hanifah 0 Report post Posted January 21, 2013 I guess AK is not ready to compete with Scoot, Tiger Singapore/Australia, Jetstar and other full service Singaporean airlines.The local 5 million market is insufficient to justify operations in Singapore. AK is just good for a feeder to other airlines in Changi Airport. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BC Tam 2 Report post Posted January 21, 2013 "We are concentrating on markets which have big domestic markets and big populations and markets that are more liberal and market-orientated," Tony Fernandes, group chief executive, was quoted as saying in Monday's Wall Street Journal. Surely Tan Sri cannot be so naive as to believe there is a Singapore domestic market (aviation wise) Plus, Singapore environment not liberal and market-orientated enough ? As compared to Malaysia and Indonesia ? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
