KUALA LUMPUR, April 5 – AirAsia Bhd (AirAsia) today received approval from the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) of India for AirAsia Investment Ltd to invest up to 49 per cent in an Indian joint venture (JV) company. The low-cost carrier said the FIPB approval would enable AirAsia (India) Pvt Ltd to apply for an aviation licence from the Indian Directorate General of Civil Aviation to operate an Indian airline.
“As a pioneer of the low-cost carrier (LCC) model in Asia and currently Asia’s largest LCC with 120 aircraft and over 350 orders, AirAsia believes Indian aviation has enormous long-term growth potential,” it said in a statement.
The joint venture plans to operate from Chennai, Tamil Nadu, and would focus on providing domestic Tier II and Tier III city connectivity to Indian travellers. Currently, AirAsia, through its operations based in Thailand and Malaysia, already connects Chennai, Bangalore, Thiruchirapalli, Kochi and Kolkata to Asean and beyond through its group’s operations.
BERNAMA
