Tony Fernandes, founder and advisor to the AirAsia group, disclosed that the AirAsia group holds more than 1 billion US dollars in circulating cash on hand, and flatly denied rumours that it had sought financial assistance from the Malaysian government. Meanwhile, the company is still working through a plan to secure a long-term loan facility of roughly 1 billion Malaysian ringgit, for which it has already signed the term sheet agreement, and expects to receive the funds between December and January without relying on high-cost private credit or bridge loans. Over the past two years, it has fully repaid more than 240 million US dollars, or roughly 1 billion Malaysian ringgit, in debt to the Ares fund, without a single default. Separately, Pairat Pornpattananangkul, Chief Executive Officer of Asia Aviation Public Company Limited, or AAV, disclosed that domestic routes, which account for roughly 70% of the aviation portfolio, have seen ticket prices rise from an average of about 1,200 baht to 1,400 baht, and to 1,600 baht in the second quarter. In the fourth quarter, the peak tourism season, the company aims to push average ticket prices up toward 2,000 baht, in line with its oil price assumption of roughly 100 to 150 US dollars per barrel. In the fourth quarter, AAV will bring flights back to full capacity, expecting to operate roughly 50-plus aircraft out of a total fleet of about 60, with more than 90% of the fleet in service, and it still has more than 1,000 million baht in circulating funds within the company. It also plans to issue a new series of debentures next month as originally planned.
Asia Aviation Public Company Limited
Ares Management LP
