AirAsia X-Capital A merger set to transform air travel again, says Fernandes

This article first appeared in The Edge Malaysia Weekly on April 29, 2024 – May 5, 2024

AFTER more than two years since Capital A Bhd fell into the Practice Note 17 (PN17) category — Bursa Malaysia’s classification for companies in financial distress — there appears to be hope for the aviation group that it will finally emerge from this category by leveraging the clean balance sheet of its sister company AirAsia X Bhd (AAX).

The restructuring plan, which was unveiled last Thursday (April 26), will see Capital A divesting its short-haul airline to AAX in a RM6.8 billion deal. In a nutshell, the merger will see both the short- and medium-to-long-haul airlines’ business under one roof, bringing the combined fleet size to 249 aircraft this year that are projected to fly 76.6 million passengers.

For Capital A CEO Tan Sri Tony Fernandes, the restructuring is not just about lifting the company out of PN17 status, but also charting the growth trajectory of AAX over the next five…