AirAsia enters ground handling deal with PT Indonesia AirAsia Extra

epa05400645 An AirAsia aircraft are seen at Kuala Lumpur International Airport 2 (KLIA2) in Sepang near Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, 01 July 2016. Malaysian Minister of Transport Liow Tiong Lai said at a press conference on 01 July 2016, that Kuala Lumpur International Airport 2 (KLIA2)'s name will remain the same while AirAsia will be allowed to continue to market the airport to its customer as Low Cost Carrier Terminal - KL (LCCT-KL). EPA/AHMAD YUSNI

KUALA LUMPUR: AirAsia Bhd, which currently provides ground handling services for PT Indonesia AirAsia, will extend the services to PT Indonesia AirAsia Extra (IAX), a 49:51 joint venture between AirAsia X Bhd and PT Kirana Anugerah Perkasa.

In a filing with Bursa Malaysia, AirAsia Bhd said it would provide technical handling on the affiliate’s aircraft during the transit in Kuala Lumpur, Johor Baru, Penang, Kuching, and Kota Kinabalu for the year to May 31, 2017.

IAX offers low-cost, long-haul transportation services under the AirAsia X brand in Indonesia.

AirAsia entered into a standard ground handling agreement with IAX on Friday. AirAsia has previously signed such a ground handling agreement with Indonesia, Thailand and Philippines AirAsia.

On the benefits of the agreement, AirAsia said both it and IAX would be able to reduce headcount and lower operational costs.

“For example, a licensed aircraft engineer of AirAsia will be able to work on an IAX aircraft, and it can go vice versa if IAX applies to the Department of Civil Aviation Malaysia for the same services,” it explained.