After the “overpricing” fare incident that resulted in a PHP6-million penalty, Tony Fernandes, CEO of Capital A (formerly AirAsia Group), today, July 9, 2025, announced a USD500-million investment in the Philippines, specifically for the construction of a hangar to support the company’s aggressive expansion plans for logistics and maintenance, repair, overhaul (MRO) operations in the country.
In a press conference, Fernandes said they are already in active discussions with top-level government officials, including the Secretary of Finance and members of the Senate, where they received strong support.
“Our aspirations is to build a hangar, a big hangar in the Philippines to serve planes in North Asia, Korea, Japan, China as well. We think the workforce here is fantastic. We’re going to set up an academy to train engineers,” said Fernandes.
“The investment would be nothing less than about USD500 million into the Philippines and create 2,000 to 2,500 jobs.”
The group is also in talks with potential local partners, including existing airport operators such as the Ramon Ang Group and the Aboitiz Group, as well as other airline companies—although Fernandes said they might build their own facility. They are considering potential hangar locations in Clark, Cebu, NAIA, and Bulacan. “The team is still evaluating,” he said.
According to Fernandes, the planned hangar can accommodate 10–12 lines of narrow-bodied aircraft, specifically Airbus models from various foreign carriers, including ASEAN and European operators.
Depending on the outcome of talks, he mentioned that construction could begin this year. It is expected to be completed in one and a half years.
This project falls under its engineering company ADE, which was formed during the Covid period. Fernandes said that ADE has built the biggest hangar in Southeast Asia, 14 bays and is now building another 10 days.
MRO
While there are already some MROs in Clark, and others including Lufthansa, among others, Fernandes said that as a big Airbus operator, a narrow-body operator, they can bring a special skill set to the Philippines.
One component is overhaul services for brakes, landing gears, engines, and repair units. He also cited the availability of labor to be trained by ADE, its engineering company.
“Airport owners want to maximize their income. So many people have offered us land. And so we’re looking at every possibility. The size, I would say between eight and ten lines. So a line means a place where a plane can go in. So we say eight lines, you take eight narrow bodies. We’re focused mostly on narrow bodies. We will do some A330s. And I can say we’re so efficient, and we use a lot of technology,” he said.
Penalty
It may be recalled that the Philippine Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB) imposed a PHP6-million penalty against the online ticketing platform AirAsia Move—which Fernandes said is partly owned by the airline—for attempting to sell one-way tickets to Tacloban for PHP39,000 each.
“The PHP6-million penalty imposed on AirAsia Move sends a clear message: the government will not tolerate any form of abuse to Filipino passengers,” the Department of Transportation said in a statement.
The “overpricing” incident was exposed when Leyte Rep. Richard Gomez found a one-way Tacloban flight on the site listed at PHP39,000 per guest, at a time when the city was facing logistical issues.
