Air Asia boss admits high fuel costs are hard to manage
5/7/20269 min
Tony Fernandes, the chief executive of the low cost carrier, has been speaking to the BBC. He says the current high fuel costs are more complex for the airline to manage than covid was.
Danish shipping giant Maersk says it will be able to adapt if charges are introduced for ships transiting the Strait of Hormuz.
And the African nation of Madagascar is struggling to deal with fuel shortages as a result of the war in the Persian Gulf.
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First 90 secondsBisi Adebayo· Host0:00
[intro music] How much longer can airlines and shipping companies absorb the soaring cost of fuel? It's World Business Express from the BBC World Service. I am Bisi Adebayo. [music] AirAsia says the current jet fuel shock is hitting airlines really hard, and Shell reports stronger profits as energy prices remain high. [music] So the co-founder of airline AirAsia has told the BBC that the jet fuel shock triggered by the war in the Middle East is a bigger crisis for global aviation than the COVID-19 pandemic. Tony Fernandes said the company had to slash flights and raise airfares by up to 40% as a result of the conflict. However, the Malaysia-based airline continues to invest, and this week it placed an order for 150 Airbus A220s, and that's the single largest order ever made for that particular aircraft. Well, let's hear from Tony Fernandes, and he's been speaking to my colleague Sally Bundock.
Tony Fernandes· Soundbite1:05
We're not slowing down our growth. We're not slowing down our ambitions, uh, because of this blip. We've just come out of COVID. Uh, so we think this, this aircraft is a great opportunity, and we're grabbing it while we- while that opportunity arises.
Sally Bundock1:19
Tony, your costs have gone up significantly. How are you managing that, and how do you remain a low-cost carrier when jet fuel prices have gone through the roof?