Thai AirAsia X bankruptcy proceedings to delay merger

Folding the AirAsia and AirAsia X brands into a single corporate entity may take several years to finalise, according to Tassapon Bijleveld, the executive chairman of Thai AirAsia and Thai AirAsia X. He says the planned merger cannot close until Thai AirAsia X wraps up its rehabilitation process. Last week, AirAsia X told the Malaysian bourse that it had signed a non-binding letter of intent to acquire AirAsia and AirAsia Aviation Group from Capital A. AAX plans to merge the airlines operated by AAB and AAAGL into a single business. AAB operates AirAsia while AAAGL owns and operates AirAsia Cambodia, Indonesia AirAsia, AirAsia Philippines, and Thai AirAsia in conjunction with local partners. However, the executive chairman of Thai AirAsia and Thai AirAsia X told The Nation newspaper late last week that those two entities may continue to operate under their present ownership structure until as far out as 2027. "The merger of two airlines in Thailand may have to wait two to three years until Thai AirAsia X leaves the business rehabilitation plan, which should happen around late 2025,” Tassapon Bijleveld said. Thai AirAsia entered into bankruptcy protection in May 2022, at the time saying doing so would allow it to manage better debts incurred earlier in the pandemic.<br/>