AirAsia X to seek IPO for Thai arm soon as it looks to restructure: co-CEO

Long-haul carrier AirAsia X will pursue an IPO of its Thai arm “soon” as it looks to restructure itself into a group holding company along the lines of affiliate AirAsia Group, co-CEO Tony Fernandes said Friday. In a series of tweets a day after AirAsia X expanded a jet order to 100 Airbus A330neo widebodies worth $30b, Fernandes also said the airline would report “pain” in the second and third quarters as it cancelled ineffective routes and business partnerships to focus on building a sustainable model. AirAsia X would focus on countries where it would dominate, such as Japan, Korea, Australia, China and India and remove “peripheral routes where there is no growth in frequency or country”, he said, without specifying the routes. On Thursday, Fernandes said that when two more leased jets arrive in April 2019, the Thai arm will launch new flights from Bangkok to Prague, Vienna and Stockholm. <br/>