AirAsia, AirAsia X and Malaysian Airlines (MAS) have entered into a new joint venture agreement aimed at cutting costs and streamlining operations.
The move follows the abandonment of the proposed share swap, but includes a range of collaborative measures, including joint procurement, maintenance and training. The airlines have initially signed two Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) focusing on procurement and aircraft component maintenance, support and repair services.
“[This agreement] provides increased focus and prioritisation on the areas of collaboration and represents a culmination of the hard work put in by the parties over the last eight months. The MoUs also provide a platform for the three airlines to move towards the implementation phase,” said AirAsia’s Group CEO, Tony Fernandes.
“We are very excited with this latest development that we can now have a clear focus on developing the ASEAN and now Asian low cost carrier market which has enormous growth potential,” he added.
The joint procurement is likely to include fuel, insurance, IT and communications systems.
