Malaysia's AirAsia and Australia's Jetstar have inked a new alliance designed to create behind-the-scenes cost savings that can be passed on to their budget-minded customers.
The non-equity agreement includes cooperating on passenger and ramp handling at airports, aircraft parts pooling for their common fleets, joint procurement of engineering and maintenance supplies, and reciprocal passenger disruption arrangements. What it does not include is code- or revenue-sharing between the carriers, a common aspect of many of today's global airline alliances.
While no specific numbers were given, Jetstar chief executive Bruce Buchanan said at a press conference yesterday that the alliance will create hundreds of millions of dollars worth of cost...