• AirAsia Consulting offers airline management consultancy services to Bangladesh’s Fly Dhaka

• AirAsia’s new entity offers strategic knowledge and expertise for clients Fly Dhaka aims to become the best LCC in Bangladesh by adopting AirAsia’s best practices

KUALA LUMPUR, 12 May 2022 - AirAsia Consulting, a new aviation consultancy arm under AirAsia Aviation Group Limited (AAAGL), has announced its appointment by Bangladesh’s Fly Dhaka for the provision of consulting services to the new start up airline.

Established in April 2021, AirAsia Consulting utilises AAAGL’s vast experience, expertise and best in class performance to offer a wide range of services for airline clients. These include areas such as airline strategy, fleet evaluation and planning, network strategy, scheduling, turnaround time, on-time performance and crew optimisation, aircraft induction support, operational excellence in various areas, fuel saving initiatives, as well as industry leading low cost airline (LCC) best practises and initiatives.

AirAsia Consulting Chief Executive Officer Subashini Silvadas said: “AirAsia Consulting was born with the mission to provide world-leading LCC consultancy services to clients who are either looking to establish new LCC airline brands, or improve their own existing operations, by emulating AirAsia’s successful business model. We are excited to be able to help Fly Dhaka take flight as a new up-and-coming low cost airline and help it create a strong foundation for its operations based on AirAsia’s best practices as guiding principles.

“Given the low LCC penetration of only 11 percent in the country, both AirAsia and Fly Dhaka see huge potential in the Bangladeshi aviation industry. Eventually, Fly Dhaka will also be able to tap into AirAsia’s vast network and hubs to allow its passengers to connect to other places in the region. Fly Dhaka, with AirAsia's support, is expected to become a world-class LCC offering low fares and value for a new generation of passengers, boosted by its active adoption of technology in their operations."

Fly Dhaka Chief Executive Officer Lt Gen M Fazle Akbar (Retd) said: “We are thrilled to partner with AirAsia, which has been hailed as the world’s best low cost airline for more than a decade. AirAsia’s two decades-long experience as a pioneer in the Asean region will help us learn from the very best and build our capabilities to establish our own robust efficient operations. With AirAsia Consulting’s guidance, we will seek new opportunities and ultimately achieve our main goal of being recognised as the country’s best low cost airline. We also believe this partnership will give AirAsia greater access to Bangladesh which is proving to be an exciting market with significant potential given the recent investment boost in the country’s aviation infrastructure.

“Fly Dhaka has secured the No Objection Certificate (NOC) in October 2021 and is currently in the final stages of securing its Air Operator’s Certificate (AOC). Fly Dhaka has also made significant progress in securing the appropriate aircraft for its soon to be launched domestic operations. We are also excited that we will likely be the only local Airbus operator in Bangladesh, utilising AirAsia’s vast experience of the A320 Family of aircraft.”

The latest partnership comes as AAAGL is actively exploring opportunities for a new local airline presence in the region and its consultancy arm AirAsia Consulting is providing advisory services to selected third parties interested in establishing a new low cost airline or existing airline businesses who wish to enhance their efficiency and performance. Partners and clients who are interested in engaging AirAsia Consulting can send enquiries to info@airasiaconsulting.com.

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About AirAsia Aviation Group Limited (AAAGL)

AAAGL is the holding company under Capital A for the AirAsia Group of airlines and airline investments portfolio companies. Underpinned by a relentless pursuit of operational excellence as the world’s leading low cost carrier, AAAGL maintains a continued focus on cost and delivers the best value across all portfolio businesses. Other portfolio companies in the AAAGL group include AirAsia Consulting, the food and beverage restaurant division, Santan as well as AirAsia SEA - the shared services corporate division. GTR completes the airline group ecosystem, providing industry leading ground services capabilities for not only AirAsia, but also to third party airlines. The airlines within the group have used the downtime in flying over the past two years to introduce numerous contactless procedures to make flying not only safe and affordable but also more contactless and hygienic than ever before including contactless check in via the airasia Super App and facial recognition technology (FACES).

About AirAsia Consulting

AirAsia Consulting is a newly formed company within AAAGL, tasked at reviewing new airline partnerships, franchise opportunities and providing airline consulting services to not only AirAsia airlines but also to other airlines globally. Partners and clients who are interested in engaging AirAsia Consulting can send an inquiry to info@airasiaconsulting.com