National carrier Malaysia Airlines is willing to work with its no-frills competitor AirAsia for mutual benefit, signalling a possible end to months of bitter rivalry, a report said yesterday.
"Of course we can work with AirAsia where it is mutually beneficial," Malaysia Airlines chairman Munir Majid was quoted as saying in the New Sunday Times.
"No problem. If there is, let us not exaggerate it, as that is not a good start for looking into possibilities of cooperation," Munir said.
Malaysia Airlines provided training facilities for AirAsia pilots and engineering maintenance facilities, he said.
"If we had wanted to throw a spanner in the works, we could have asked them to do all this at some costly foreign locations," he said.
AirAsia, the region's no-frills pioneer, has criticized its rival's plans to launch a budget carrier with other regional airlines and called for a chance to work together to turn the country into a regional low-cost aviation hub.
Transport Minister Chan Kong Choy has in the past called on the national carrier to cooperate with AirAsia instead of pursuing its own plans.
Munir pointed out the budget aviation sector was different from the Malaysia Airlines full service model.
"Even if Malaysia Airlines were to set up its own LCC [low-cost carrier], it can only be run successfully by a management oriented to and experienced in the budget airline business," Munir said.
However, Munir disagreed with AirAsia's proposal to turn the unused terminal in Subang into a no-frills aviation hub, saying it "would spell the end of any hope of developing Kuala Lumpur International Airport into a meaningful aviation hub."
From its humble beginnings with just two Boeing 737-300 jets in 2001 plying Malaysia's domestic routes, AirAsia has expanded at a furious pace. It now flies to 30 destinations in Malaysia and the region, including Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia and Macau and hopes to fly to China by year-end.
AirAsia expects to carry about 7.5 million people next year after 6 million this year. It plans to expand its fleet to 26 next year from the current 18 and acquire 80 new aircraft in the next four to eight years.
The carrier recently gained full regulatory approval for its initial public offering and will issue 700.51 million shares in what is expected to be the country's largest listing this year.
AirAsia also has a 49-51 joint venture low-cost airline in Thailand.
ROLLER-COASTER RIDE: More than five earthquakes ranging from magnitude 4.4 to 5.5 on the Richter scale shook eastern Taiwan in rapid succession yesterday afternoon Back-to-back weather fronts are forecast to hit Taiwan this week, resulting in rain across the nation in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration said yesterday, as it also warned residents in mountainous regions to be wary of landslides and rockfalls. As the first front approached, sporadic rainfall began in central and northern parts of Taiwan yesterday, the agency said, adding that rain is forecast to intensify in those regions today, while brief showers would also affect other parts of the nation. A second weather system is forecast to arrive on Thursday, bringing additional rain to the whole nation until Sunday, it
CONDITIONAL: The PRC imposes secret requirements that the funding it provides cannot be spent in states with diplomatic relations with Taiwan, Emma Reilly said China has been bribing UN officials to obtain “special benefits” and to block funding from countries that have diplomatic ties with Taiwan, a former UN employee told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. At a House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee hearing into “international relations within the multilateral system,” former Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) employee Emma Reilly said in a written statement that “Beijing paid bribes to the two successive Presidents of the [UN] General Assembly” during the two-year negotiation of the Sustainable Development Goals. Another way China exercises influence within the UN Secretariat is
CHINA REACTS: The patrol and reconnaissance plane ‘transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,’ the 7th Fleet said, while Taipei said it saw nothing unusual The US 7th Fleet yesterday said that a US Navy P-8A Poseidon flew through the Taiwan Strait, a day after US and Chinese defense heads held their first talks since November 2022 in an effort to reduce regional tensions. The patrol and reconnaissance plane “transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,” the 7th Fleet said in a news release. “By operating within the Taiwan Strait in accordance with international law, the United States upholds the navigational rights and freedoms of all nations.” In a separate statement, the Ministry of National Defense said that it monitored nearby waters and airspace as the aircraft
Taiwan’s first drag queen to compete on the internationally acclaimed RuPaul’s Drag Race, Nymphia Wind (妮妃雅), was on Friday crowned the “Next Drag Superstar.” Dressed in a sparkling banana dress, Nymphia Wind swept onto the stage for the final, and stole the show. “Taiwan this is for you,” she said right after show host RuPaul announced her as the winner. “To those who feel like they don’t belong, just remember to live fearlessly and to live their truth,” she said on stage. One of the frontrunners for the past 15 episodes, the 28-year-old breezed through to the final after weeks of showcasing her unique