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AIRASIA TO FOCUS ON COLLABORATION WITH MALAYSIA AIRLINES
Announces Supplementary Collaboration Agreement, Signs Collaboration MOUs
KUALA LUMPUR, 2 MAY 2012 – AirAsiaBerhad (“AirAsia”), AirAsiaXSdn. Bhd. (“AirAsiaX”) and Malaysian Airline System Berhad (“MAS”), have entered into a Supplemental Collaboration Agreement (“SA”) to explore areas of mutual-need to realize savings and boost efficiencies.
Through the understanding and work carried out in relation to the Collaboration Agreement (“CobA”), signed on 9th of August 2011, AirAsia, AirAsiaX and MAS have refined the focus of the CobA by means of the SA. The SA will focus on specific areas of collaboration while continuing to comply with all relevant anti-trust laws.
The signing of this SA between AirAsia, AirAsiaX and MAS is also part of the preparations by Malaysia’s three biggest airlines to meet the challenges brought by Asean Open Skies which comes into force in 2015.
Under the SA, the airlines have identified key areas for collaboration, which would result in efficiencies and cost savings to the airlines, eventually translating into benefits for the shareholders, consumers and Malaysia in general. Key areas identified are procurement, aircraft component repairs, training initiatives, technical and operational efficiency, as well as mutually championing common industry issues.
Additionally, the airlines will also continue working to further identify and evaluate opportunities to collaborate on a broad range of areas both at operational and strategic levels.
To push forward with the collaboration initiative, AirAsia, AirAsiaX and MAS earlier today signed Memorandums of Understanding (“MoU”) to cooperate on two initial areas – joint procurement and aircraft component maintenance, support and repair services.
“The Supplemental Collaboration 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 Group Chief Executive Officer Tan Sri 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,” added Tony.
Procurement initiatives between the airlines are expected to lead to efficiencies by exploring the potential of outsourcing their procurement activities to a mutually owned joint venture company (“JV”). Key areas in procurement to be explored could include high spend items such as fuel, insurance, IT and communications.
In aircraft component maintenance, support and repair services, the airlines will jointly explore the setting up of a JV including identifying its viability and structure.
“We are very conscious of the increasingly more competitive environment, given ASEAN Open Skies, and have been heartened by the meeting of minds between the three airlines in progressing the collaboration efforts which will set us in good stead for the future,” added Tan Sri Tony.
Pursuant to the announcement that Tune Air Sdn. Bhd. (“Tune Air”) and Khazanah Nasional Berhad (“Khazanah”) will be unwinding of the share swap agreement signed in August 2011, AirAsia and MAS will terminate the agreement to issue warrants to each other’s shareholders.
The unwinding of the share swap will also see the resignation of the nominee directors of Tune Air on MAS’ Board of Directors (“Board”) and Khazanah’s nominee director on AirAsia’s Board.
