Thursday 28 Mar 2024
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KUALA LUMPUR (Oct 6): AirAsia Japan Co Ltd has been granted an air operator's certificate (AOC), required by the Civil Aeronautics Act, from Japan's Civil Aviation Bureau of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism.

In a statement today, AirAsia Japan chief executive officer (CEO) Yoshinori Odagiri said the new airline is scheduled to commence operations from its base at Chubu Centrair International Airport in Aichi Prefecture in 2016.

AirAsia Japan's maiden flights will be to Sapporo and Sendai in Japan and Taipei, Taiwan in spring 2016 (March to May).
 
“We are very excited to be back in Japan. We have fantastic partners here and we are united in the vision to change the way people travel in Japan," said AirAsia group CEO Tan Sri Tony Fernandes said.

"Centrair Airport is a fantastic base and with our new routes, we look forward not only to enable the Japanese to enjoy our direct destinations, but to connect them to the rest of Asia and beyond on our extensive network," he added.

In June 2013, AirAsia had parted ways with Japan's ANA Holdings Inc, when it sold its 33% stake in the venture, then known as AirAsia Japan, after less than two years. It was reported that differences in opinion on issues ranging from cost management to where the business should be based, contributed to the breakup. The airline has since been rebranded as Vanilla Air, and is now wholly owned by ANA.

Under the new AirAsia Japan, AirAsia Investment Ltd holds a 49% stake, while Rakuten Inc owns an 18% stake in the new airline, and Noevir Holdings Co Ltd owns 9%. Octave Japan Infrastructure Fund owns 19% and sports firm Alpen Co Ltd 5%.

Shares in AirAsia closed 2 sen or 1.57% lower at RM1.25 today, for a market capitalisation of RM3.53 billion.

(Note: The Edge Research's fundamental score reflects a company’s profitability and balance sheet strength, calculated based on historical numbers. The valuation score determines if a stock is attractively valued or not, also based on historical numbers. A score of 3 suggests strong fundamentals and attractive valuations.)

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