Details of business plan out next month

Kuala Lumpur: Details on how Malaysian Airline System Bhd (MAS) and AirAsia Bhd can work together to boost revenue, cut costs and create new business opportunities are likely to be revealed next month, said Tan Sri Tony Fernandes.

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"A lot of it is subject to legal requirements in terms of anti-competitiveness, and so that has to be cleared by lawyers. But I would imagine within the next month or so," Fernandes, AirAsia's chief executive officer, told reporters when asked when more details on the two airlines' collaboration would be unveiled. Fernandes was speaking on the sidelines of the Khazanah Megatrends Forum here yesterday. The major shareholders of MAS and AirAsia last month agreed to a share swap deal in a bid to collaborate as competition in the airline industry heats up. The two can collaborate in areas such as training, cargo, sales and distribution, maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO), catering and logistics, Fernandes said. "If you put the volumes of MAS and AirAsia together, it becomes a mega MRO that, in partnership with someone else, could become a real competitor to Singapore's MRO. I think in the next few months you'll see some very exciting announcements," he remarked. Pitting the academies of MAS and AirAsia together could also create one of the world's biggest training academies amid a surge in demand for pilots, he noted. "Malaysia could become the biggest trainer of pilots in Asia, if not the world, when you put the strengths of MAS and AirAsia academies together. Both airlines have had excellent records of pilot quality, engineering quality ... so this could be a hub," he said. The two airlines could also cut costs in terms of catering. "We don't use LSG, but maybe together we can get a much better deal from LSG and better quality," he said. He was referring to LSG Sky Chef, MAS' caterer. Fernandes said he was optimistic on the MAS-AirAsia collaboration and urged sceptics to give them time to flourish. "The energy between the two airlines is something I never believed I'd see. It's fantastic. "I think we're going to give a lot of airlines a run for their money," he said. The share swap deal will see MAS' biggest shareholder Khazanah Nasional Bhd taking up a 10 per cent stake in AirAsia, and Tune Air Sdn Bhd - the investment arm of Fernandes and Datuk Kamarudin Meranun - getting a 20.5 per cent stake in MAS. On the stock market yesterday, MAS shed 3 sen to RM1.28, while AirAsia eased 6 sen to RM2.76.