BUDGET carrier AirAsia claimed that they are looking at the Philippines to further expand their growth with the strong potential of the country and their plans to launch flights to the United States by next year.

In their hybrid briefing, Capital A Berhad Chief Executive Officer Tony Fernandes noted that they are seeking to have an expanded Philippine hub with the carrier looking to  expand its route structure.

“In ASEAN, we really want to grow in Indonesia and Philippines. We think the tourism potential in both those countries are huge obviously — Indonesia has 300 million people, and Philippines has close to a hundred million people,” he said.

“We would really love a license in Vietnam and Singapore, but that’s not achievable right now. So really, our growth is going to be very heavily driven by Philippines and Indonesia on top of Malaysia and Thailand, which has a lot of growth,” he added.

Capital A is a known investment to which a holding company which owns AirAsia Berhad or AirAsia Malaysia, and AirAsia Aviation Group Limited, which counts as subsidiaries AirAsia operates in the Philippines, Cambodia, Indonesia, Thailand.

Meanwhile, Fernandes noted that the Capital A entered a non-binding letter of offer for the disposal of its aviation businesses — AirAsia Berhad and AirAsia Aviation Group Limited — to AirAsia X Berhad (AAX).

“[W]e are strategically pursuing the sale of the aviation business to AAX to create an aviation pure player, consolidating both long and short-haul airlines under the AirAsia brand, subject to the negotiation of a definitive share sale and purchase agreement and its completion,” he said in a separate statement.

“Following the disposal, the aviation business is poised to benefit from focused management and a well-defined strategic direction, which will boost the aviation business’s capacity to seize growth opportunities, expand market share, and ultimately achieve enhanced profitability,” he added.