AirAsia X ready to team up at right price

KUALA LUMPUR: AirAsia X Bhd is ready to team up with potential investors but only if the price is right, its acting chief executive officer Benyamin Ismail said. 

He said several carriers, businesses and partners had shown interest in investing in AirAsia X over the last few years, but the company never found the right partner. 

"At the moment we are not closing it (the door). It helps in terms of the profile of the company, assuming there is a big carrier wanting to team up with us," he told reporters after announcing AirAsia X's four times weekly direct flights from Kuala Lumpur to Sapporo, Japan from Oct 1 here on Tuesday. 

It was reported that the long-haul affiliate of AirAsia Group has received attention from two foreign premium airlines to buy a stake in the company. 

On the weakening ringgit, Benyamin said it had a minor impact on the company's topline as 45% of its revenue was in Australian dollar, followed by ringgit (30%) and US dollar (20%). 

"We manage it very well, so the impact is not as much as what people think it is," he added. 

On AirAsia X's performance, he said the second-quarter results to June 30, 2015, would be similar to the first quarter, but the second-half results would be better than that of last year. 

"We are on track on our revamped business plan. We have cut capacity on routes where we were not performing due to irrational competition," he said. 

It is important for the carrier to conserve cash and build business, and focus on routes that could make money, he said, adding that the company had cancelled flights to Adelaide, Nagoya, Narita and might take a relook at India as AirAsia India has grown significantly. 

To a question, he said AirAsia X's share price would see some upside in two years due to its recovery plan. 

However, he said, it is hard to predict whether the price will rebound to the initial public offering price of RM1.25 per share. - Bernama