AirAsia Appoints Kathleen Tan as President - North Asia

AirAsia has appointed Kathleen Tan as President of North Asia.

She will be responsible for building AirAsia's market in China, Hong Kong, Macau, Japan, Korea and Taiwan.

Tan returns to AirAsia from her stint as CEO of AirAsiaExpedia where she successfully turned around the loss-making joint venture within eight months, delivering a net profit of S$20 million in her second year.

Before leaving for AirAsiaExpedia, Tan was Regional Head of Commercial and Senior Vice President of China at AirAsia from 2004 to 2013.

During her tenure, fleet size increased from 17 to 143 aircraft, revenue surged 14-fold to over RM5 billion.

"Kathleen made sure we were the first low-cost carrier to fly to China and built a strong network of 14 hubs there," said AirAsia Group CEO Tony Fernandes. "Today, China contributes nearly 40% of our revenue but there is still a lot to do in North Asia. It is an important long-haul market that will take on greater significance once AirAsia Japan launches, and I couldn't think of anyone more suited than Kathleen to drive our business there."

AirAsia North Asia President Kathleen Tan said, "After a one year hiatus, I am physically and mentally well-rested and I am very excited to be able to team up with Tony once again. North Asia is close to my heart and I look forward to pushing AirAsia's engagement there even further. What we have achieved in China is just the tip of the iceberg. There is much more we can do to position AirAsia as the low-cost carrier for the region and I won't rest until everyone knows our name."

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