Capital A Optimistic About Exiting PN17 Status By Year-end -- Tony Fernandes

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 15 (Bernama) -- Capital A Bhd is poised to be in a positive equity position and optimistic about exiting its Practice Note 17 (PN17) status by the end of December this year, according to chief executive officer Tan Sri Tony Fernandes.

He said Capital A hopes to secure the approval of AirAsia X Bhd (AAX) shareholders at AAX’s extraordinary general meeting (EGM) tomorrow for the sale of the group’s aviation business to the latter.

“Once that is approved, we’ll be cash positive, and when AAX and the aviation group are combined, we have every shot of becoming number one from being positioned as number two in the world at the moment. 

“I cannot predict (what) the shareholders (will do), but I can say that the share price has reacted very well since we put out the proposal. That would tend to indicate the market wants this to happen,” he said during a media briefing on Capital A’s post-EGM and growth plans here today. 

He said more clarity on the proposed disposal of its entire equity interest in AirAsia Aviation Group Ltd and AirAsia Bhd to AAX could be expected by end of this week.

Capital A fell into Bursa Malaysia's PN17 category of financially distressed entities in January 2022.

Post-divestment, Capital A would focus on the four strategic pillars that will drive its transformation into a future-proofed tech-driven aviation services company via Capital A Aviation Services (CAPAS), MOVE Digital, Teleport (Logistics), and the Brand AA company.

On the network growth plans, Fernandes said AirAsia aims to expand its network worldwide by 2030 and establish Malaysia as the leading low-cost carrier centre. 

He said AirAsia will see its network strengthening in China and India next year while growing its markets in Australia, Japan and South Korea as well as opening more destinations in Africa between 2026 and 2027. 

“We also plan to have more destinations in the Middle East such as the United Arab Emirates and Oman in 2028, and are exploring (flying to) Europe and the west coast of the United States (US) via Japan,” he said. 

Fernandes said the low-cost airline, which still has the approval from the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), will be looking at resuming its Honolulu route and hence returning to the US by 2030.

On the fleet expansion, he said a total of four new A321neo aircraft have been delivered in 2024 and five more will be delivered by the end of the year with 361 units of A321 on order for fleet growth. 

“We are also looking into other possible aircraft manufacturers such as Embraer and Comac to cater for growth potential especially with the merger of AAX and the aviation group takes place (after the disposal),” he said. 

At noon, Capital A’s share price remained unchanged at 92.5 sen with 11.8 million shares traded.

-- BERNAMA