5/20 or no 5/20, AirAsia India going full steam: Tony Fernandes

The CEO of Malaysia-based Air Asia, Tony Fernandes today told SP’s ShowNews that irrespective of the 5/20 rule (five years and 20 aircraft rule to fly international destinations from India) getting scrapped or not, Air Asia India would be going full steam. “There is no looking back.”

He told SP’s ShowNews that the airline was getting two more aircraft in the next couple of months, adding to its fleet and the destinations it is going to connect in India. “We are highly optimistic of the Indian market and we have been running passenger load factor of 85 per cent and it is good.” The market is big enough, he said and added that Air Asia is here for the long run.

“We are in full force at India Aviation and our aircraft is on display. We are working on different strategies to expand the market here.”

Air Asia has a fleet of six Airbus aircraft and presently connects 10 destinations in India. The airline had deferred aircraft deployment as it was expecting changes in the policy but now is going ahead with plans as it sees the market opening up further on the domestic sector.