red q ? asia one ? or failure ?, page-3

KL does not connect with QF and JQ services in Singapore !
This is a poor mans option if it goes ahead?
The only winners will be TF and MAS !
GLTA@QF !

ONE of the biggest barriers to Qantas striking a deal on setting up an ultra-premium carrier in south-east Asia in partnership with Malaysia Airlines will be each side agreeing to their ownership stakes in a new venture, says the boss of the long-haul airline AirAsia X.

Azran Osman-Rani's comments come as AirAsia X confirmed it will launch direct flights between Sydney and Kuala Lumpur in April, after four years of lobbying Malaysian regulators to allow it to enter the route.

Although he is not involved in the talks, his comments about Qantas's plans for Asia carry weight because his airline is an affiliate of AirAsia, whose chief executive, Tony Fernandes, will be key to whether Qantas can form a joint venture with Malaysia Airlines. Mr Fernandes took almost a 21 per cent stake in Malaysia's flag carrier in August, giving him considerable influence over its direction.

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''One thing they are going to have to sort out is the whole ownership issue, because that is one of the barriers from their previous efforts,'' Mr Osman-Rani said in Sydney yesterday.

''If both sides want to have a majority, someone has to give in.''

Qantas attempted a full-blown merger with Malaysia Airlines in 2008, but the talks broke down over the ratio of shareholdings each carrier had in a merged entity.

Pressure from investors has been building on Qantas to offer more clarity about its expansion in Asia.

''Firstly they just need to make a decision and stick with it - which hub and which partner - because right now there seems to be a lot of talk but not a lot of things moving,'' Mr Osman-Rani said. ''The longer you wait, the further back you will be.''

Qantas has been favouring Kuala Lumpur over Singapore as a hub for a new carrier.

Mr Osman-Rani doubted Qantas would face the same regulatory barriers in Malaysia to have beset AirAsia X in recent years.

''I don't think that is going to be a big issue because Malaysia, as a matter of policy, is actively encouraging foreign airlines to come in, obviously because Malaysia's aspiration is to catch up to Singapore,'' he said.

AirAsia X - in which Richard Branson has a 10 per cent stake - will launch daily flights between Sydney and Kuala Lumpur on April 2, several months before Singapore Airlines's new low-cost offshoot, Scoot, will make Sydney its first destination. Their entry will intensify pressure on Qantas's budget offshoot, Jetstar.

AirAsia X is focusing on markets in the Asia-Pacific such as Australia after announcing last week that it will ditch services to Europe and India because of high jet fuel prices and weak economic conditions. Mr Osman-Rani said the airline would not be boosting the Sydney service to a double-daily flight until next year at the earliest. But it is keen to launch flights to a fifth Australian city - most likely Adelaide - next year, when it will take delivery of new A330 aircraft.

AirAsia X already flies to the Gold Coast, Melbourne and Perth from Kuala Lumpur.



Read more: http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/business/qantass-asia-plan-may-hinge-on-how-to-split-joint-venture-20120117-1q4nn.html#ixzz1kQiLMkaP