Malaysia's second national airline AirAsia has been re-launched as a low-fare carrier, and is to more than double its fleet as part of a wide-ranging revamp.
The domestic airline has been struggling since its November 1996 launch. It was acquired from local conglomerate DRB-Hicom by a group of local investors through Tune Air in December and was re-launched at the beginning of the year.
The new owners, some with backgrounds in the music industry, have retained the AirAsia name, but converted the carrier into a "no frills" operator, with ticket prices cut by up to 60%. A third leased Boeing 737-300 has been added to the fleet and two more are due by April. Ryanair's former director of operations, Connor McCarthy, has been hired as an advisor.
Source: Airline Business
