AirAsia (AK, Kuala Lumpur International) has been at the forefront of consolidation speculations this week with the low-cost carrier group denying being interested in Serbian national carrier Jat Airways (Belgrade Nikola Tesla) as previously declared by Serbia's transportation minister Milutin Mrkonjic. At the same time, Aviation Week has reported of talks between AirAsia and competitor Zest Air (Manila Ninoy Aquino International) about a potential acquisition of the carrier in a similar fashion to its recent deal to purchase Batavia Air (Jakarta Soekarno-Hatta). Similar to its weak competitive position in Indonesia prior to the Batavia acquisition, AirAsia Philippines (Manila Ninoy Aquino International) having just started currently has a very small market share in the Filipino market.
AirAsia denies interest in Jat Airways, reportedly considering Zest Air acquisition
AirAsia Airbus A320-200,
© Airbus Industrie