KUALA LUMPUR (June 15): AirAsia Cambodia, a new low-cost airline in Cambodia, is expected to start operating in the fourth quarter of this year (4QFY2023), said Capital A Bhd.

“We are expanding across Asean based on a wide network and a strong brand, with the launch of AirAsia Cambodia expected to start operating in 4Q. We are looking for opportunities in the remaining Asean countries that deserve an airline,” said Capital A chief executive officer Tony Fernandes.

He said Capital A’s aviation group — AirAsia Malaysia, AirAsia Thailand, AirAsia Indonesia and AirAsia Philippines — saw a total of 157 aircraft reactivated as of 1Q2023, with enhanced profitability amid rationalised airfares and stabilising external factors.

The aviation group had reactivated 229 routes, with a target to operate 290 routes as of 4Q2023, Fernandes said in a statement issued after the group's annual general meeting (AGM) on Thursday (June 15).

On its logistics venture Teleport, Capital A said it is expecting additional capacity with the delivery of the first of the three new A321F dedicated freighters in June. This is to further tap into the tremendous network to offer accessible, affordable, and inclusive logistics service, and become the market leader in Asean

Meanwhile, at the AGM, all seven resolutions were passed by Capital A shareholders, said Fernanades.

“airasia Digital has received board approval to be renamed to MOVE, comprised of airasia Superapp and fintech provider BigPay to provide the most accessible, affordable and inclusive travel app, aiming to meet the needs of all travellers, including onground travellers with ride hailing offerings on airasia ride,” he said.

Moving forward, Fernandes noted that Capital A has focused on building a more resilient and diversified business model over the past few years. This includes implementing separate dedicated boards to drive the success of its core businesses.

“We feel great that our vision of becoming more than an airline but a low-cost, high value inclusive aviation and travel group has been vindicated by outside investors and the market.

“We are excited to expand our horizons and seek promising fundraising opportunities that lie ahead for Capital A,” he said.

He said that he will remain committed to staying in Capital A for the foreseeable future.

“I do want to emphasise that we do have a robust succession plan in place that involves many of the seasoned leaders in our management team who will continue to deliver on Capital A’s long-term vision, to innovate, disturb and add value to people’s lives,” he added.

Capital A has previously announced that it is carrying out an interim financial review as part of the evaluation of its Practice Note 17 (PN17) status regularisation plan.

The group, who fell into PN17 status on Jan 14, 2022, has until July 7 to submit its proposed regularisation plan to exit the status.

Its sister company AirAsia X Bhd (AAX) is also in the midst of preparing regularisation plans to exit its PN17 status. AAX’s submission deadline is July 28.

On May 9, AAX, which fell into PN17 status on Oct 27, 2021, was granted an additional three-month extension to submit its regularisation plan.

Capital A shares closed half a sen or 0.63% higher at 80 sen on Thursday, valuing the group at RM3.31 billion. AAX fell three sen or 1.62% to RM1.82, giving the company a market capitalisation RM754.96 million.