AirAsia will try to reduce airfares but ‘have a heart’, says Fernandes

Tan Sri Tony Fernandes says AirAsia will try to reduce its airfares but concedes it would be challenging given the rising oil prices and strong US dollar. The CEO of Capital A Bhd, AirAsia’s parent company, also called on people "to have a heart" as the budget airline recovered from the effects of the pandemic. "Despite the losses in revenue, our airfares are still substantially cheaper compared to others," he told reporters after an event at the Kota Kinabalu International Airport (KKIA) here on Monday. Fernandes said 92% of their domestic flights consisted of low-season airfares, adding deal flights were also offered throughout the year. "But also have a heart on us, we lost RM4b last year (and) last quarter we lost RM400m. I can’t control the price of oil. The US dollar is very strong - 75% of our costs are in Dollars. So when it is strong, my costs go up." There had been numerous calls, particularly from those in Sabah and Sarawak, for airlines to offer cheaper flights, especially during the festive seasons and school breaks.<br/>