FE Report

Asia's top budget airline AirAsia has contradicted two reports published in The Financial Express, saying the reports have been published with the "ulterior intention" of tarnishing the image of the carrier.

The Malaysia-based airline, in a rejoinder sent to this paper Monday, said that the reports published on June 04, 2009 and June 23, 2009 have "severely" damaged the goodwill of its business, which is uncalled for.

AirAsia also denied that each allegation made in the reports published in The Financial Express was "baseless," "untrue" and "misleading."

It also asserted that the reporter concerned has acted irresponsibly in procuring information from sources who have not had any dealings with Air Asia and hence have no knowledge or any authority to make such remarks, which are at best, mere opinions of those parties.

The carrier said the allegations made in the articles regarding tax evasion and exploitation of passengers are "wholly untrue" and have been made with an ulterior motive and malafide intention to defame the airline.

AirAsia is the biggest low-cost carrier in Asia, the airline said, adding since the start of its operations in Bangladesh has provided a valuable service to the Bangladeshi migrant workers, students and other travellers by offering "low-cost" flights between Kuala Lumpur and Dhaka.

"… The said publications were made for defaming the carrier's reputation, tarnish its image and to destroy its business," the Kuala Lumpur-based carrier said.

"AirAsia has obtained all the necessary permission from the Board of Investment (BoI) to set up its branch office in Bangladesh."

In what it called a spate of irresponsible journalism, AirAsia said the newspaper has published "untrue" statements about the carrier without ascertaining true facts.



The Reporter's Reply

This correspondent as part of professional ethics has contacted Sky Bangla Aviation Limited, AirAsia's authorised dealer in Bangladesh, for comments on the allegations made by local travel traders, but the agency has declined requests for the official reply.

However, this reporter obtained comments from top officials of the Bangladesh Bank and the National Board of Revenue on the charges brought against the low-fare airline by travel agencies.

In the rejoinder, the airline said that it is in the process of opening a branch office in Dhaka, the absence of which has put passengers at difficulty. And the problems facing passengers were one of main foci of the report.

The paper, however, regrets if any misunderstanding or inconvenience caused to the airline by the report concerned.