Malaysia Airlines and AirAsia have one month to sign cooperation pact

Airline Industry Information, Oct 12, 2004

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Malaysian low-cost carrier AirAsia and national carrier Malaysia Airlines have been given one month to work out a cooperation plan after months of fighting over various issues.

Chan Kong Choy, the Malaysian Transport Minister, chaired a meeting between the heads of the two airlines on Monday (11 October 2004) where a decision was made for the airlines to cooperate in marketing, ground services, engineering and spare parts procurement.

A spokesperson for AirAsia said on Monday that it was ready to cooperate and that if a deal was signed it would be the first low-cost and full service carrier cooperation pact in aviation history.

One of the main sticking points between the two is the location of a proposed low-cost carrier hub in Malaysia, reports AFP.

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