Friday 29 Mar 2024
By
main news image

KUALA LUMPUR (Dec 31): Former Civil Aviation Authority of Malaysia (CAAM) chief executive officer Datuk Captain Chester Voo Chee Soon is set to join AirAsia Aviation Group Ltd (AAAGL), the aviation arm of Capital A Bhd, as the group chief operating officer, The Edge has learned.

Sources said Voo is expected to join AAAGL as its group COO at the start of the new year. According to sources, he will report to Bo Lingam, the group CEO of AAAGL.

Earlier this month, it was announced that Voo, 47, will step down from his CEO role at the CAAM on Dec 31, 2022. The CAAM said Voo told the authority's board he had expressed his intent to step down as early as October 2022, having helped lead the aviation safety regulator through the Covid-19 crisis and regained its Category 1 rating from the US Federal Aviation Administration, allowing Malaysian carriers to launch and add flights to the US.

Voo took over the CEO post at the CAAM in June 2020, shortly after the authority's downgrade to the Category 2 rating.

In an interview with The Edge on Dec 23, Voo revealed that there were several job offers on the table, all of which were aviation-related.

"I would like to do work that has a lot of opportunities to touch people, to motivate and build them. It might or might not be in the aviation industry, but I want to create a lot of value.

“I am a strong believer of giving opportunities to younger people to move up fast in leadership with the right guidance. We often hear of people with lots of ideas. I want to focus on being able to implement them. I want a chance to build something and be part of it,” he said.

If Voo joins AAAGL, it will be his second stint with the low-cost airline group, having previously served at AirAsia Bhd for 12 years, holding various management roles, including as a ground instructor, crew resource instructor, chief of pilot operations, and director of flight operations prior to joining the CAAM. He started his commercial flying career with Malaysia Airlines in 1993 as a cadet pilot.

Voo's appointment comes ahead of a proposed disposal of Capital A’s aviation assets to its medium-haul affiliate AirAsia X Bhd (AAX) in exchange for AAX shares. This exercise will help lift the two companies out of their Practice Note 17 status.

Post-restructuring, Capital A will be a pure digital group with maintenance, repair and overhaul (Asia Digital Engineering), logistics (Teleport), digital (airasia Super App) and fintech (BigPay Malaysia Sdn Bhd) businesses. AAX, which will be rebranded as AirAsia Group, will comprise six airlines — AirAsia Bhd, Thai AirAsia, AirAsia Indonesia, AirAsia Philippines, AAX Malaysia and Thai AAX.

On Dec 9, 2022, AAAGL signed a joint-venture (JV) agreement with Sivilai Asia to establish AirAsia Cambodia, a new low-cost airline in Cambodia. Subject to obtaining the relevant regulatory approvals, the JV is expected to commence operations in late 2023.

With the lifting of Covid-19 travel restrictions in most Asian countries, Capital A has benefited from the revival of international air traffic as well as increased domestic demand in Malaysia. To cope with rising demand, Capital A CEO Tan Sri Tony Fernandes recently said it has been gradually redeploying its fleet, with a total of 140 of its aircraft returning to the skies this year, and an additional 65 aircraft becoming operational in 2023.

Shares in Capital A are down 20.9% this year to close at 62.5 sen per share on Friday (Dec 30), valuing the group at RM2.58 billion. During the same period, AAX shares declined 12.3% to close at 57 sen apiece, translating into a market capitalisation of RM236.44 million.

      Print
      Text Size
      Share