Malaysia-based budget carrier AirAsia is setting up a strategic planning centre in Jakarta to position itself as the airline for the Asean region.
Tony Fernandes, CEO of AirAsia, is expected to move to the new base.
The Jakarta base will also help it lobby the 10-member Association of South East Asian Nations, whose secretariat is in the Indonesian capital.
"Shifting AirAsia’s emphasis to a regional strategy is, we believe, not just good business, but also a move that will keep us ahead of the inevitable competition that is heading our way," Fernandes said in a statement. ‘¨’¨
"While others focus largely on trying to gain market share in domestic markets, we seek to expand our footprint throughout the region.
"After all, no single domestic market in ASEAN, not even Indonesia, can match the potential of a regional ASEAN market of 600 million people and a combined East Asian market of two billion," Fernandes added.
Group headquarters will remain in Malaysia, officials confirmed. ‘¨’¨ ‘¨’¨The group now includes six airlines — AirAsia Malaysia, AirAsia Thailand, AirAsia Indonesia, Philippines’ AirAsia, AirAsia Japan and AirAsia X — serving 80 destinations with more than 100 Airbus A320s.
AirAsia Indonesia is planning to list on the Jakarta Stock Exchange by the end of 2012, and Fernandes said the company was looking to form five more joint ventures with regional airlines over the next two years. Ԭլ
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