"We are very proud to cooperate with a fantastic company like Batavia Air. The acquisition is a great opportunity for Air Asia to expand into the Indonesian market," Air Asia CEO Tony Fernandes said.
Jakarta (ANTARA News) - Malaysian low-cost airline Air Asia has announced that it will fully acquire Indonesian Batavia Air by paying US$80 million in cash.

"We are very proud to cooperate with a fantastic company like Batavia Air. The acquisition is a great opportunity for Air Asia to expand into the Indonesian market," Air Asia CEO Tony Fernandes told a press conference here on Thursday.

Tony said the Indonesian tourism market was currently growing at a fast rate, with more people wanting to travel by air.

"We hope, in our small way, we can help Indonesians travel around the country and abroad, while also allowing foreigners to visit Indonesia," he added.

Asked about the reason for acquiring Batavia Air, Tony explained that the airline operated 33 airplanes (more than Air Asia, which has 21 planes) and had consistently been able to hold a significant share of the Indonesian market by serving 41 domestic routes and six international routes. "Batavia Air also has an aviation school and machine maintenance facilities," he pointed out.

Meanwhile, Batavia Air President Director Yudiawan Tansari said he welcomed the acquisition because Batavia Air needed a partner to develop its business "in an era of tough competition".

"I am happy that Air Asia will let Batavia Air fly higher," he added.

When asked whether Batavia Air would provide low-cost services like Air Asia, Yudiawan stated that the company would continue to focus on middle-class passengers and future business plans would be discussed later.

The 100 percent acquisition of PT Metro Batavia Air by Airasia Berhad and PT Fersindo Nusaperkasa (Airasia`s partner in Indonesia) will take place in two stages.

"First, Air Asia will acquire 76.95 percent of Batavia Air shares, followed later by the acquisition of the remaining 23.05 percent. The acquisition is expected to be completed by the second quarter of 2013," Tony explained.

With the acquisition of Batavia Air, Air Asia expects to expand its network in Indonesia. After acquisition is completed next year, Air Asia will serve more than eight million passengers across 42 cities in Indonesia, as well as 12 international routes. (*)

Editor: Heru Purwanto
Copyright © ANTARA 2012