(From left): Capital A chairman Datuk Kamaruddin Meranun with Fernandes and Lim at the airasia ride drivers’ gathering and press conference on Wednesday (June 1) (Photo by Mohd Suhaimi Mohamed Yusuf/The Edge)

KUALA LUMPUR (June 1): Capital A Bhd’s e-hailing service airasia ride will remain committed to ensuring fair fares for its drivers and passengers, according to the group’s chief executive officer (CEO) Tan Sri Tony Fernandes.

During the airasia ride drivers’ gathering and press conference on Wednesday (June 1), Fernandes noted that the recent spike in e-hailing fares was a result of a supply demand imbalance — drivers on service and riders seeking e-hailing services — as well as increased congestion.

airasia ride regional CEO Lim Chiew Shan explained that as Malaysia’s economic activities began to return to pre-pandemic levels, traffic congestion increased in tandem and thus resulted in increased fares — more time and fuel used.

“As e-hailing fares in the market have evidently been spiking in recent weeks, airasia ride would like to reassure customers that our fares have always been fair for both drivers and customers.

“As the market has fully reopened in Malaysia and economic activities have been going back to pre-pandemic levels, we have seen a surge in traffic jams across major highways during peak hours,” he said.

Lim noted that airasia ride’s fare policy will remain as before and will not punish its passengers by asking them to pay double or triple the normal fares even if there is a shortage of drivers on service.

“We always believe that fares have to be fair to both passengers and drivers to achieve a win-win situation, and we will make sure the fare surge, when it occurs, will be able to cover the extra time in traffic for our drivers during peak hours,” he added.

Lim noted that the e-hailing platform currently has more than 30,000 registered drivers and has recently reached one million completed rides milestone.

“Based on the forecast we foresee in the next six months, I think by end of year we should have at least 40,000 to 50,000 [registered drivers],” he added when asked on airasia ride's driver recruitment target.

In the quarter ended March 31, 2022, Capital A reported a net loss of RM1.08 billion, 10.35% higher than the net loss reported in the previous year’s corresponding quarter.

This was despite its revenue for the quarter doubling — a 153% increase — on a year-on-year (y-o-y) basis to RM812 million, on the back of its aviation revenue jumping 226% y-o-y to RM601 million on improved demand during the festive season, coupled with the further easing of travel restrictions during the quarter.

However, the larger loss was attributed to higher operation costs on fuel and maintenance, as well as a share of loss of RM143.1 million from an associate, following the completion of the restructuring and recapitalisation plan of the associate.

Shares in Capital A finished half a sen or 0.77% higher at 65.5 sen, giving the group a market capitalisation of RM2.73 billion.