AirAsia to get MAS routes

AirAsia to get MAS routes

KUALA LUMPUR: National carrier Malaysia Airlines may pass on most of its loss-making domestic flight routes to budget airline AirAsia, the News Straits Times daily reported on Saturday.

The newspaper quoted unidentified sources as saying that Malaysian Airline System Bhd (MAS) would probably concentrate on flights to major cities -- Penang, Langkawi, Kuching and Kota Kinabalu -- and give the rest to AirAsia.

The deal is likely to be announced by the end of the month, the report said.

It said MAS had operational losses of 281 million ringgit (US$74 million) for domestic flights in fiscal 2004, about 80 percent more than the 156.7 million ringgit in losses it incurred the previous year.

AirAsia chief executive Tony Fernandes did not confirm the reported deal, but told the Times he supported the idea.

"Consumers will benefit from the ability to get services at a cheaper rate for domestic routes ... and have more choices in terms of cheaper fares," he was quoted as saying.

AirAsia, which currently serves 15 destinations within Malaysia, is in competition with MAS. It also flies to China, Indonesia, Macau, Singapore and Thailand, and is planning flights to Laos, Vietnam and Cambodia.

It carried 1.8 million passengers in 2003, an estimated 3.2 million passengers in 2004, and expects passenger numbers to rise to six million in 2005. -- AP