FMT Reporters | July 14, 2016

Tony Fernandes and Norwegian Air’s boss discuss possibility of sending passengers into each other’s network routes.

Oslo: More tourists from Scandinavian countries and Europe might be flying into Kuala Lumpur and Asia if a move by AirAsia to tie-up with Norwegian Air materialises.

AirAsia and Norwegian Air are exploring a possible joint venture, according to Norwegian newspaper Dagens Naeringsliv (DN).

AirAsia founder Tony Fernandes met Norwegian Air founder and chief executive Bjorn Kjos for the first time at the Farnborough International Airshow, it said.

The newspaper said they discussed the possibility of sending their passengers into each other’s route networks in Europe and Asia.

Newsinenglish.no quoted DN as saying the cooperation could start in about a year and that it would create a new era in route offerings for Norwegian passengers in Asia.

The two airlines, it said, had a lot in common, growing at a rapid pace on the back of relatively cheap airline tickets and creating wide route networks in their respective markets.

AirAsia has more than 200 routes in Asia using mostly Airbus aircraft while Norwegian Air has an extensive route system within Scandinavia and Europe, and is keen on expanding its intercontinental routes as well.

DN reported that Fernandes pointed to a Norwegian Air button he was wearing on his lapel, asked Kjos for his phone number and said he wanted to fly to Oslo for a serious talk.

It quoted Fernandes as telling Kjos at the airshow: “We’ve never had the opportunity to meet each other before now. If I get the opportunity to come to Oslo, we should sit down and talk. Why not?”

The two airlines could soon be competing on intercontinental routes between Europe and Asia as Fernandes intends to re-launch a route between Kuala Lumpur and London.

He had also mentioned flying into one of the Scandinavian capitals as well, feeding passengers into Norwegian Air’s route system for onward travel. Kjos, the report said, didn’t reject the idea.

“We wish him welcome and like competition,” Kjos told DN, calling Fernandes “a great guy” who leads “a very good airline”.

At Farnborough, Norwegian Air won the Skytrax Award as Europe’s best airline for the fourth time, and as the best long-distance low fare airline for the second time. The Skytrax prizes are based on votes from passengers worldwide.

AirAsia, meanwhile, won four prizes including the one for the best low-fare airline in the world.

“These are the world’s two best airlines,” Kjos claimed as he stood with Fernandes at Farnborough, according to DN. The prizes “show that the customers like our product. They’re the ones who voted for us.”

http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/highlight/2016/07/14/airasia-norwegian-air-cooperation-in-the-works/