(PRBuzz.com) March 28, 2013 -- Malaysia's leading Low Cost Carrier (LCC) airline AirAsia suffered from a slight financial meltdown on Wednesday (3/20/2013). On the day's trading session, AirAsia's stock prices (KLSE:AIRASIA) fell dramatically to reach a low level of RM2.68 per share. The stocks had been traded on a level of RM2.8 per share in the previous week's trading session.
Traveloka.com, Indonesia's leading tiket pesawat finder, finds that, based on data analysis, the event was triggered by the news of Lion Air's firm order of 234 brand new Airbus A320 family from Airbus Industrie's factory in Toulouse, France. This monumental order was recorded as the biggest single aircraft order in the history of Airbus Industrie. The signing ceremony of the order contract was overseen by Airbus CEO Fabrice Bregier and French president Francois Hollande, and was conducted in the French presidential palace Palais de l'Élysée on Wednesday (20/3). Lion Air's CEO and owner Rusdi Kirana flew exclusively to Paris and was greeted as a state guest, even flying onboard the French presidential aircraft on a visit to the Airbus factory in Toulouse in the south of France.
Previously, big aircraft order for Airbus came from AirAsia, which on December 2012, signed the contract to purchase 200 Airbus A320neo for the airline's expansion in the South-East asian region, and even the Asian continent. On the other hand, Lion Air with Airbus' rival aircraft manufacturer Boeing also received a firm order of their new Boeing 737MAX also in sheer numbers. The total order of 210 737MAX was a continuation of their previous 2006 launch customer order of 178 Boeing 737-900ER, of which Lion Air has received more than 80 aircrafts. The 737-900ERs are the backbone of Lion Air's fleet and will also be operated by their new subsidiaries, Malindo Air and Batik Air.
Lion Air is one of AirAsia's toughest rivals in the LCC airline segment, and recently launched a partnership with Malaysian state enterprise NADI to form a joint venture LCC airline in Malaysia named Malindo Air. This new venture was perceived as a "declaration of war" to Air Asia in their home turf. Meanwhile, AirAsia itself has been operating in Indonesia as AirAsia Indonesia since 2004 and still struggling to chip away on Lion Air's dominance on the market which comprises almost 40% of Indonesia's total scheduled flights.
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PT. Traveloka Indonesia (http://Traveloka.com) is Indonesia's leading flight finder with a mission to make online travel simpler and more attractive for Indonesians. In line with its mission, the company attempts to organize travel-related information and help users navigate through a burgeoning number of options and get the best value with ease. Its first product, a flight search engine, helps travellers consistently find the best domestic flight deals.
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