Corporate Travel News For Asia

AirAsia Group CEO Tony Fernandes, via his official YouTube account, commented (13-May-2018) on alleged interference in the running of the airline by Malaysia's Government ahead of the general election on 09-May-2018. Mr Fernandes said he was "asked to remove" AirAsia X senior independent non-executive chairman Rafidah Aziz due to her involvement in political campaigns. He said: "I refused to do so because I thought it was not the right thing to do", and added: "It was getting harder and harder to resist the pressure from the Prime Minister's Office". Mr Fernandes also decided to add services and reduce airfares to assist Malaysians travelling to vote, even though "I knew it wouldn't be popular with the government". He stated: "Unfortunately that put me under more pressure when it was realised by the government that we were ferrying so many voters. Within 24 hours, we were summoned by the Malaysian Aviation Commission, MAVCOM, and told to cancel all those flights. That put us under, again, tremendous pressure". MAVCOM immediately commenced an investigation into Mr Fernandes' claims, stating it "considers these claims [to be] serious allegations". [more - original PR]

San Vicente Municipal Administrator James Inawasan said the municipality aims to attract up to 100,000 tourists in 2018, with the opening of San Vicente Airport on 10-May-2018 (Rappler.com, 10-May-2018). The opening of the airport is considered "good timing as the municipal government is very aggressive in its preparations when it comes to tourism development", according to Mr Inawasan.

Nok Air reported (10-May-2018) the following financial highlights for the three months ended 31-Mar-2018:

• Revenue: THB4317 million (USD136.8 million), +5.6%;
  • Passenger: THB3789 million (USD120.1 million), +6.8%;
  • Service revenue: THB406.9 million (USD12.9 million), +38.6%;
• Total costs: THB4349 million (USD137.9 million), -0.8%;
• Profit (loss) before tax: (THB32.1 million) (USD1.0 million), compared to a loss of THB294.1 million (USD8.4 million) in p-c-p;
• Net profit (loss): (THB32.1 million) (USD1.0 million), compared to a loss of THB294.1 million (USD8.4 million) in p-c-p;
• Passengers: 2.5 million, +3.8%;
• Passenger load factor: 93.8%, +6.0ppts;
• Passenger yield: THB1.99 (USD 6.3 cents), -13.4%;
• Revenue per ASK: THB2.12 (USD 6.7 cents), -2.7%;
• Cost per ASK: THB2.19 (USD 6.9 cents), -8.2%;
• Cost per ASK excl fuel: THB1.76 (USD 5.6 cents), -7.4%;
• Total assets: THB7245 million (USD229.6 million);
• Total liabilities: THB6555 million (USD207.8 million). [more - original PR]

*Based on the average conversion rate at THB1 = USD0.031697 for 1Q2018
*Based on the average conversion rate at THB1 = USD0.028466 for 1Q2017

European Commission Directorate General for Mobility and Transport (DG MOVE) DG Henrik Hololei, in an editorial, confirmed a new "comprehensive air transportation agreement" is being negotiated between the EU and ASEAN (Jakarta Globe, 04-May-2018). "Both sides wish to deepen transportation links by land, air and sea", Mr Hololei said, adding the air transport agreement "will represent the very first block-to-block accord and contribute substantially to further deepening our aviation links".

European Commission Directorate General for Mobility and Transport (DG MOVE) DG Henrik Hololei, in an editorial, stated for the EU, a "close and deep partnership with member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is of high importance" (Jakarta Globe, 04-May-2018). Mr Hololei added: "Our relationship is well defined already by the fact that the European Union is the first investor and second-largest trading partner of ASEAN".

Qantas confirmed (08-May-2018) it will relocate from terminal 2 to terminal 3 at Jakarta Soekarno-Hatta International Airport, effective 11-May-2018. T2 will become a dedicated domestic terminal later in 2018. Qantas and Jetstar Asia are moving ahead of a plan by the airport operator to move all international airlines to T3 by the end of Jul-2018. The international terminal is expected to provide an improved travel experience, including more retail and dining options. [more - original PR]

Pilots Union Taoyuan, via its official Facebook account, announced (08-May-2018) the appointment of EVA Air captain Li Xinyan as chairman. The union has 1400 members.

JEJU air reported (08-May-2018) the following financial highlights for the three months ended 31-Mar-2018:

• Operating revenue: KRW308.5 billion (USD287.5 million), +28% year-on-year;
  • Passengers: KRW286.6 billion (USD267.1 million), +28%;
    • Japan: KRW87.8 billion (USD81.8 million), +47%;
    • Southeast Asia: KRW77.3 billion (USD72.0 million), +25%;
    • Domestic: KRW47.0 billion (USD43.8 million), +7%;
    • Oceania: KRW33.3 billion (USD31.0 million), +9%;
    • China: KRW30.6 billion (USD28.5 million), +13%;
  • Ancillary: KRW21.8 billion (USD20.3 million), +33%;
    • Excess baggage: KRW3600 million (USD3.4 million), +44%;
• Operating profit: KRW46.2 billion (USD43.1 million), +70%;
• Net profit: KRW36.1 billion (USD33.7 million), +112%;
• Passengers: 2.8 million, +18%;
• Passenger load factor: 91.9%, +1.3ppt;
• Yield:
  • Domestic: USD 8.90 cents, +6%;
  • International: USD 6.58 cents, +16%;
• Fleet: 32 aircraft, +5 aircraft;
• Aircraft utilisation: 14.3 hours, +5%;
• Total assets: KRW884.1 billion (USD824.0 million);
• Total liabilities: KRW529.6 billion (USD493.6 million). [more - original PR - Korean]

*Based on the average conversion rate at KRW1 = USD0.000932 for 1Q2018

ANA Group reported (08-May-2018) the following traffic highlights for Mar-2018:

• Passengers:
  • Domestic: 3.4 million, -0.7% year-on-year;
  • International: 888,267, +7.8%;
    • Asia: 615,944, +8.0%;
    • North America: 197,992, +8.8%;
    • Europe: 74,331, +2.8%;
• Passenger load factor:
  • Domestic: 72.2%
  • International: 79.8%;
    • Europe: 80.2%;
    • Asia: 80.1%;
    • North America: 79.4%;
• Cargo:
  • Domestic: 40,449 tons, -7.6%;
  • International: 75,410 tons, +5.8%.

According to the CAPA Airline Traffic Database, Mar-2018 marked the group's 56th consecutive month of international passenger growth. [more - original PR]

China's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang responded (07-May-2018) to the US response to CAAC's letter to airlines, which requested foreign air carriers change their identification of the Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan regions, compelling private firms to use specific language of a political nature. He commented: "Whatever the US side says or does will never change the objective fact that there is only one China in the world and the Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan regions are an inalienable part of China's territory. China will continue to handle its relations with other countries in accordance with the one-China principle. In the meantime, we have to point out that foreign enterprises operating in China should respect China's sovereignty and territorial integrity, abide by China's law and respect the national sentiment of the Chinese people. This is the basic principle for them to follow when doing business here". As previously reported by CAPA, The White House commented on the situation, stating: "This is Orwellian nonsense and part of a growing trend by the Chinese Communist Party to impose its political views on American citizens and private companies". [more - original PR] [more - original PR - II]