AirAsia Group has formed a new holding company for its four airline units, in a group-wide business reorganisation to better distinguish its airline and digital ventures.
The group says its four airlines â in Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand and Indonesia â will now come under the AirAsia Aviation Limited holding company.
Current group president for airlines Bo Lingam will helm the company as its chief executive.
AirAsia Aviation will be one of the eight âdigital portfolio companiesâ in the groupâs stable â the other companies include cargo and logistics venture Teleport, MRO unit Asia Digital Engineering, as well as its AirAsia âSuper Appâ.
AirAsia Group chief Tony Fernandes said in August that âa splitâ between the groupâs core airline business and its digital ventures is inevitable âat some pointâ.
The group doubled down on its digital offerings amid the coronavirus crisis, which has pummelled its airline business. It first launched AirAsia Digital in September 2020, comprising five portfolio companies in areas such as payment services, logistics, food and travel.
In the latest announcement, Lingam says the âstructural changeâ will help âfacilitate strong projected growthâ across the groupâs offerings.
âThe AirAsia Aviation Limited entity holds our existing airline investments and paves the way for new airline ventures to be formed in due course,â he says.
Lingam hinted at Cambodia as one potential market for such a venture. He says: âWe will continue to review new markets to operate from in the future, like Cambodia for example, when we can connect [Southeast Asia] once again with the best value fares and lifestyle offerings.â
AirAsia in November 2020 said it was âactively exploringâ opportunities for a local airline presence in the Indochina region, though it did not elaborate further.
Separately, AirAsia Aviation has also set up a consulting division, which Lingam says is âtasked at reviewing new airline partnerships and franchise opportunitiesâ.
He remains hopeful of an imminent recovery, helped by a ramp-up in vaccinations in its key operating markets. For instance, Malaysia, where the group is based, has recently eased interstate travel restrictions.
âPleasing progress is also underway in our other airlines in Thailand, Indonesia and the Philippines as services are resuming in line with accelerated vaccination rates and the easing of travel restrictions in our key markets,â he adds.