AirAsia

IATA ICAO Callsign AK AXM RED CAP
Founded	20 December 1993; 30 years ago (1993-12-20)
Commenced operations	18 November 1996; 27 years ago (1996-11-18)
Operating bases	Johor Bahru Kota Kinabalu Kuala Lumpur–International Kuching Penang
Frequent-flyer program	AirAsia Rewards[1]
Subsidiaries	AirAsia Cambodia AirAsia X Indonesia AirAsia Philippines AirAsia Thai AirAsia Thai AirAsia X
Fleet size	255 (including subsidiaries)
Destinations	166 (including subsidiaries)
Parent company	Tune Group
Traded as	MYX: 5099
ISIN	MYL5099OO006
Headquarters	Kuala Lumpur International Airport Sepang, Selangor, Malaysia
Key people	Tony Fernandes (Group CEO of Capital A Berhad) Kamarudin Meranun (Chairman)
Revenue	RM 14.77 billion (2023)
Operating income	RM −918.88 million (2023)
Net income	RM 507.59 million (2023)
Employees	23,000 (2023)
Website	www.airasia.com
Notes
Financials are from Bursa Malaysia.[2]

Capital A Berhad (MYX: 5099), operating as AirAsia (stylized as airasia), is a Malaysian multinational low-cost airline headquartered near Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. It is the largest airline in Malaysia by fleet size and destinations. AirAsia operates scheduled domestic and international flights to more than 166 destinations spanning 25 countries.^[3] Its main base is KLIA Terminal 2, the low-cost carrier terminal at Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) in Sepang, Selangor, Malaysia. Its affiliate airlines AirAsia Cambodia, Thai AirAsia, Indonesia AirAsia, and Philippines AirAsia have bases in Phnom Penh, Bangkok–Don Mueang, Jakarta–Soekarno-Hatta, and Manila–Ninoy Aquino airports respectively, while its sister airline, AirAsia X, focuses on long-haul routes. AirAsia's registered office and head office is at Kuala Lumpur International Airport.

In 2007, The New York Times described the airline as a "pioneer" of low-cost travel in Asia.^[4] It has also consistently been named as the world's best low-cost carrier for 14 years by Skytrax in a row in international travel and airline awards, including the latest award for 2023.^[5]

AirAsia is the sponsor of Malaysia national football team, Singapore national football team, Jamshedpur FC and Queens Park Rangers. AirAsia is also a former sponsor of Manchester United and the Asia leg of Taylor Swift's Red Tour.

History

Foundation (1993–2005)

AirAsia was established as a full-service airline in 1993 and began operations on 18 November 1996. It was founded by a government-owned conglomerate, DRB-HICOM. On 5 September 2001, the heavily indebted airline was bought by former Time Warner (now known as Warner Bros. Discovery) executive Tony Fernandes and Kamarudin Meranun's^[6] company Tune Air Sdn Bhd for the token sum of one ringgit (about US$0.26 at the time) with MYR 40 million (US$10.5 million) worth of debts.^[7] Tune Air officially took over AirAsia on 8 December 2001. The partners turned the company around, and AirAsia subsequently announced a rebrand and relaunch on 15 January 2002 as a low-cost airline. It produced a profit in 2002 and launched new routes from its hub in Kuala Lumpur, undercutting former monopoly operator Malaysia Airlines with promotional fares as low as MYR 10 (US$2.63). In 2003, AirAsia opened a second hub at Senai International Airport in Johor Bahru. International flights to Phuket and Bangkok were launched in December 2003 and February 2004, respectively.^[8]

AirAsia subsequently started its Thai AirAsia affiliate and began flights to Singapore and Indonesia. Flights to Macau started in June 2004, and flights to mainland China (Xiamen) and the Philippines (Manila) in April 2005. Flights to Vietnam and Cambodia followed in 2005 and to Brunei and Myanmar in 2006, the latter by Thai AirAsia. AirAsia launched its Indonesian affiliate Indonesia AirAsia, formerly known as Awair, in 2005.^[8] In August 2006, AirAsia took over Malaysia Airlines's Rural Air Service routes in Sabah and Sarawak, operating under the FlyAsianXpress brand. The routes were returned to MASwings a year later, citing commercial reasons.

Expansion (2006–2023)

At the end of 2006, Fernandes unveiled a five-year plan to further enhance AirAsia's presence in Asia.^[9] Under the plan, AirAsia proposed enhancing its route network by connecting all of its existing destinations throughout the region and expanding further into Vietnam, Indonesia, Southern China (Kunming, Xiamen, Shenzhen) and India. Through its sister companies, Thai AirAsia and Indonesia AirAsia, the plan called for a focus on developing its hubs in Bangkok and Jakarta. With increased frequency and the addition of new routes, AirAsia carried 13.9 million passengers in 2007, an improvement over the 5.7 million passengers it carried in 2006.^[10]

In August 2011, AirAsia agreed to form an alliance with Malaysia Airlines by means of a share swap.^[11] This would have reduced competition and help the Malaysian flag carrier return to profitability. However, the deal was terminated in 2012.^[12]

AirAsia would continue its regional expansion in Asia, launching its affiliates Philippines AirAsia in 2012 and AirAsia India in 2014. In 2017, it planned to set up a new affiliate in China but failed.^[13] Plans were also made since 2005 to enter the Vietnam market by establishing an affiliate airline of its own there; however, after four attempts, AirAsia terminated its plan to set up its own airline in Vietnam.^[14]

AirAsia suspended its operations in March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It later resumed domestic operations in April 2020, followed by its affiliates soon after.^[15] In October 2021, AirAsia restarted international flights after the Malaysian government lifted travel restrictions.^[16]

On 3 January 2022, AirAsia proposed its corporate name change to Capital A, which was subject to shareholders' approval. The proposed name has been approved by the Companies Commission of Malaysia (SSM) and reserved by the company on 28 December 2021.^[17] On 28 January 2022, the company changed its corporate name from AirAsia Group Bhd to Capital A Bhd to reflect the expansion of its business portfolio beyond the core budget airline. However, its airline business continued to use the AirAsia brand.^[18]

AirAsia's origin, corporate identity and livery timeline

A Boeing 737-300 with the original livery as a government-owned full-service carrier (1996–2002 livery)

A Boeing 737-300 after the Tune Group takeover as a low-cost carrier (2002–2005 livery)

Airbus A320, the workhorse fleet on the airline since 2005 (2005–2008 livery)

An A320 with the second iteration of the 2005 scheme (2008–2012 livery)

An A320 with its current colour scheme (2012–2016 livery)

An A320neo with the second iteration of the current livery (2016–present livery)

Restructuring (2024–present)

On 8 January 2024, AirAsia X entered into a non-binding letter of acceptance with Capital A to fully acquire AirAsia Bhd and AirAsia Aviation Group (AAAGL), which operates the other AirAsia affiliates outside Malaysia. Under the terms of agreement, AirAsia Malaysia, Indonesia AirAsia, Philippines AirAsia, and AirAsia Cambodia would merge into the AirAsia X brand.^[19]

Corporate affairs

The head office is the Red Quarters (RedQ) at Kuala Lumpur International Airport in Sepang, Selangor.^[20] This facility also serves as the company's registered office.^[21]

The airline has moved its head office to a new 56,985.1 m² (613,383 sq ft), RM140mil facility constructed at klia2 on 7 November 2016.^[22] Until the new head office opened, the airline's head office was located in the KLIA LCCT. The new klia2 head office has been scheduled to open at the end of 2015.^[23] The former registered office was on level 13 of the Menara Prima Tower B in Petaling Jaya.^[24]

RedQ is scheduled to hold about 2,000 AirAsia and AirAsia X employees.^[22] Aireen Omar, the AirAsia Country CEO of Malaysia, stated that the headquarters needed to be redesigned because in the klia2 plans the location of the control tower had been changed.^[25] Construction on the facility was scheduled to begin in July 2014.^[26] Malaysia Airports Holdings is leasing the land that will be occupied by the headquarters.^[25] An AirAsia X flight attendant gave the building the name "RedQuarters" or "RedQ", and its groundbreaking ceremony was held in November 2014.^[22]

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