KUALA LUMPUR - Malaysian budget carrier AirAsia said yesterday it would make a major announcement on a new service on Friday after a report that it was considering an alliance with Britain's easyJet and the Virgin group.
"It's a huge announcement. The transport minister will be attending theevent in Kuala Lumpur at 10am [3pm NZT] on Friday," a company spokeswoman said by telephone. "It's about a new service."
AirAsia's chief executive Tony Fernandes declined on Monday to comment on a Malaysian newspaper report on the alliance.
The Star said the three airlines were in talks to form a global no-frills alliance that would offer cheap flights within Asia as well between Europe and Australia via Kuala Lumpur.
It said the tie-up would give AirAsia access to London's Stansted airport. In return, Richard Branson's Virgin and easyJet would have access to Kuala Lumpur airport's low-cost terminal.
Fernandes told Malaysia's New Straits Times on Saturday that there was a potential for a budget long-haul air service model. But a spokesman for easyJet said it had not discussed any such alliance with AirAsia.
The Times newspaper in London reported yesterday that Virgin had re-entered talks with AirAsia about taking a stake in the group, which was founded in 2001 by Fernandes, who began his career in the finance department of Virgin Records.
Virgin Blue discussed investment possibilities with AirAsia in 2003 but nothing materialised.
