KUALA LUMPUR – The legal action taken by Malaysia Airlines (MAG) against AirAsia Super App is premised on allegations of potential trademark infringement and unrelated to the supply of inventory, said app acting CEO Mohamad Hafidz Mohd Fadzil.
Amid the spat between Transport Minister Anthony Loke and predecessor Datuk Seri Wee Ka Siong over airfare discrepancies, AirAsia Super App has its own conflict with Malaysia Airlines over allegedly selling unauthorised flight tickets via the app.
Hafidz said in a statement that AirAsia Super App’s online travel agency (OTA) platform displays its flight tickets from inventories from partner aggregators, and all the information is supplied by its partners.
“We wish to put on record that the MAG flight tickets displayed on the AirAsia Super App were taken from inventories supplied by our established partner aggregators.
“The flight fares and fare class – Economy or Business – information is supplied directly by our partner aggregators without any intervention from AirAsia Super App.
“The same fare information was also displayed on other OTA platforms.
“We would like to clarify that the legal action MAG has taken against us is premised on allegations of potential trademark infringement and passing off, and unrelated to the supply of inventory,” he added.
Hafidz said the OTA platform holds a travel agent licence and is an accredited agent under the International Air Transport Association, giving it authority to sell flights from any airline on its app and website.
He added that the platform‘s flight inventories come from both established partner aggregators and direct airline partners, which he said is a common industry practice.
Nonetheless, he said the OTA platform will proceed to sell flight tickets from various airlines through its established aggregators, implying that Malaysia Airlines will continue to have its tickets sold on the app.
“As any (other) accredited OTA in the market, we will continue to sell flights from any airlines, including those we do not have direct relationships with through our established partner aggregators and consolidators.”
Hafidz also called on MAG and other airlines to partner directly with the AirAsia Super App to achieve better efficiency and performance, as well as provide Malaysians with more travel value.
During a previous press conference, Loke revealed that Malaysia Airlines Bhd group chief executive Izham Ismail said there is a dispute between the company and AirAsia, where the former claimed the latter had no authorisation to sell its tickets.
This led to MAG filing an injunction against AirAsia Super App from selling tickets on its platforms. – The Vibes, April 19, 2023
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