AirAsia invests in Lanka's HolidayAir

Colombo: HolidayAir, the new Sri Lankan no-frills airline has brought in Malaysian budget carrier AirAsia on board as an investor and plans to launch operations from March 2007.
Chief executive officer Arjun Ruzaik said the airline hoped to open its office at the Colombo International Airport next month and launch the first flight on March 10.
Initially it plans to fly to Cochin, Calicut, Trichy and Trivandrum in India.
A consortium of local and foreign investors has come on board of the airline with a US$20 million investment.
"A consortium headed by Sri Lanka's Asia Capital will be investing locally, while there is a consortium of Malaysian investors and we have also tied up with a leading regional airline," said Ruzaik.
He declined to comment on the Malaysian investor or the regional airline concerned. But airline sources said that Malaysia's AirAsia headed by aviation dynamo Datuk Tony Fernandes has acquired a near 50 percent stake in the company.
03/01/07 Ranga Kalansooriya/Bernama, Malaysia

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