ANA to Dissolve JV with Malaysia's AirAsia

Tokyo, June 10 (Jiji Press)--Japan's ANA Holdings Inc. <9202> plans to dissolve its struggling budget airline joint venture in the country with Malaysian low-cost carrier AirAsia, officials of the Japanese firm said Monday. ANA Holdings plans to reconstruct the operations of the joint venture, AirAsia Japan, by buying shares from the Malaysian airline and making it a wholly owned subsidiary, the officials said. AirAsia Japan launched operations in August 2012. The seat occupancy rate for AirAsia Japan flights stood at slightly higher than 60 pct as of the end of March this year, slipping below 70 pct believed to be a break-even line. Still, ANA Holdings believes that it is possible to turn around AirAsia Japan with the know-how of its group companies, the officials said. The company has yet to determine the brand for the successor to AirAsia Japan. ANA Holdings owns 51 pct of AirAsia Japan, with the rest held by the Malaysian airline. AirAsia Japan operates five domestic flights and three international flights and plans to launch flights between Narita International Airport near Tokyo and Taipei on July 3. END