Aireen Omar will become the regional CEO of AirAsia Malaysia from the beginning of July. The former head of corporate finance, treasury and investor relations replaces Tony Fernandes as CEO of Malaysian operations at the Asia-focused budget airline, headquartered in Kuala Lumpur. Fernandes will continue as group CEO of the airline, relocating to Jakarta in Indonesia to concentrate on AirAsia’s regional expansion.
Omar joined the company in 2006. Her tenure as head of investor relations culminated in the company coming seventh in IR magazine’s best investor relations by a Malaysian company award, which was won by CIMB at the IR Magazine Asia Awards in December last year.
AirAsia is currently ranked joint 59th in IR magazine’s overall rankings of companies in South East Asia. Tiger Airways, its Singapore-based low-cost competitor, is joint 36th, while Singapore Airlines, the international carrier, is the highest-placed airline in the rankings, at number 21.
In the first quarter of 2012, AirAsia reported net operating profits up 4 percent year on year. Increased profits come on the back of a 12 percent growth in passenger numbers and record quarterly revenues up 11 percent compared with last year.
‘We have defied industry trends again by achieving 4 percent growth in net operating profit,’ says Fernandes in a press release accompanying the results announcement. ‘This remarkable performance, relative to our peers, signifies our resilient business model in the volatile and cyclical airline business, coupled with current stubborn high oil prices.’
An additional boost to group profits came from increased revenues at AirAsia’s regional affiliates in Thailand and Indonesia. Thai AirAsia listed in Bangkok in May this year, while Indonesia AirAsia, its 49-percent-owned Indonesian operation, is set to list in Jakarta early next year.
