Ascend Airways has commenced the ASP (Air Service Provider) application process for a sister carrier in Malaysia, Ascend Airways Malaysia. This strategic move aims to address the seasonality in flight demand by enabling flexible capacity management between the UK and Southeast Asia.
The objective of Ascend Airways Malaysia is to provide access to the fast-growing Southeast Asia market and enable Ascend Airways to move its capacity seasonally between the UK and Southeast Asia. This strategy is designed to optimize aircraft and crew utilization and improve service offerings across different regions during peak and off-peak seasons.
The UK and Malaysia enjoy a liberal bilateral air services agreement, which permits 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th and 9th freedom flights, as well as wet and damp leasing. These provisions offer Ascend Airways significant flexibility in its operations, allowing it to better meet the dynamic demands of the market and maintain year-round utilization.
To maximize efficiency, Ascend Airways and Ascend Airways Malaysia will operate a common fleet and share critical systems and services.
As part of the UK’s membership in the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), Ascend Airways already enjoys several advantages in the ASEAN market. These benefits include reduced taxation better market access and favourable taxation agreements on good and services,.
Ascend Airways’ innovative approach to addressing seasonality and leveraging international agreements positions the airline for robust growth and improved service delivery. The establishment of Ascend Airways Malaysia is a significant step towards realizing these strategic goals.
Alastair Willson, CEO of Ascend Airways, will act as a director for Ascend Airways Malaysia, while a seasoned local partner has been appointed as CEO of the Malaysian AOC.
Alastair Wilson commented, “As part of the world’s largest ACMI (Aircraft, Crew, Maintenance, and Insurance) provider, Avia Solutions Group, sharing aircraft capacity across wider global regions has always been part of our strategy. This is a significant step in growing the business and achieving our short and longer-term objectives. We are working to satisfy regulatory requirement and meeting potential partners with the aim of commencing operations with our Malaysia AOC in Q1 2025.”
Ascend Airways plan to operate two B737-800s and four B737 MAX 8s by the end of 2025.
