Fees too high: AirAsia CEO
While AirAsia, one of the world’s largest low-cost airline, is gearing toward an expansion in the region, the company’s chief executive said that serving Cambodia was expensive due to high airport fees. Airport charges are high and restrictive, as are over-flight fees, compared to other countries in the region – a factor that will influence the company’s decision whether to increase flights and destinations in the Kingdom. “I’ve always had a bit of a problem with airports in Cambodia,” Tony Fernandes, AirAsia’s group CEO, said Tuesday at the launch of its ASEAN headquarters in Jakarta. … After 10 years of focusing on the Malaysian hub in which it started, the company will turn expansion efforts toward reaching a wider set of ASEAN destinations, specifically those in the region’s largest market, Indonesia. … While AirAsia flights from Cambodia are limited to Bangkok and Kuala Lumpur, efforts to enhance regional tourism have benefited the Kingdom indirectly, said Meng Hient, a Cambodian Association of Travel Agents member and owner of Exotissimo Travel Group. …
