The CEO of Philippines AirAsia (Z2, Manila Ninoy Aquino International) told journalists at an aviation forum this week that any IPO will not happen for several years.
"We have a plan to go public, [...] it’s in the roadmap, but not immediate, not in the next two to four years," Ricardo Isla said, adding that the airline remains lossmaking and needs to return to profitability before considering any public float. Previously, Philippines AirAsia had valued an IPO at around USD200 million.
The ch-aviation PRO airlines module shows Philippines AirAsia flies to 27 airports in nine countries with a fleet of twenty-five A320-200s.
However, the chief executive also said the airline would soon suspend its flights between Manila and China, preferring to redeploy its aircraft onto higher-demand routes. Isla said Philippines AirAsia had yet to recover to its pre-Covid-19 traffic levels on the country pair, which had previously accounted for more than 30% of the carrier's passenger traffic.
"By the fourth quarter, no more China flights for us," he said. "At the end of the day, we have to make sure that we are building profitability."
The low-cost carrier will do that by expanding routes, opening new destinations, and tightening its fleet. "We just have to concentrate on the other destinations," Isla said. “We are building muscle in countries like Japan, which is good for tourism, [...] there’s Tokyo Narita, there's Osaka Kansai. Now we’re going to add Okinawa Naha, and very soon Nagoya Chubu. So you have to look at the pluses and the minus."
