International travel is likely to recover soon although progress is slowed by omicron variation AirAsia CEO Tony Fernandes.
“I believe we’re at the top end,” he told CNBC’s “Squawk Box Asia” on Monday, note that the recovery has begun in earnest.
“The good thing is that this time last year, we didn’t have any planes flying. Now we have a large fleet of our fleet flying domestically in Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia,” he said. demand has been “very, very strong,” adds that demand.
International travel will return to pre-Covid levels about six months after borders begin to reopen, he predicted, and said he expects borders to start reopening in March.
Following a flurry of non-quarantine travel announcements in Asia last year, several countries including Thailand and India reinstates restrictions for some people come, when the omicron drives the tank.
Fernandes also acknowledged that China continues to be a “big question” about reopening, as the country is in still pursuing zero-Covid policy.
AirAsia’s ride-hailing service
Separately, Fernandes said the company’s ride-hailing business has performed “extremely well” and “far exceeds” expectations. since its launch in August 2021.
He said AirAsia’s strategy is “identical” to the one it used when it entered the low-cost airline market years ago – high efficiency leads to lower prices for consumers.
As a late entrant, AirAsia Ride was able to observe successful models and not have to spend a lot of money on research, development or technology, he said. It also acquired part of the operations of Indonesian startup Gojek in Thailand.
“The market is still very low penetration,” said Fernandes. “There’s a very, very big down side.”
