Malaysia's budget airline AirAsia is to continue with advertisements for cheap fares despite a claim that they are misleading, a press report said Sunday.
Chief executive officer Tony Fernandes said there was "nothing wrong" with the adverts which have been running for the past two years without complaint, the New Sunday Times said.
"So why do we need to change the advertisements when there is no one complaining to us about them. As far as AirAsia is concerned, the advertisements stay," Fernandes said.
Culture, Arts and Tourism Minister Abdul Kadir Sheikh Fadzir last week accused AirAsia of misleading consumers with adverts promising ticket prices for some domestic destinations starting from less than a dollar.
The minister said the offer only applies to 20-30 percent of the seats available on each flight, and that the carrier allocates the majority of its cheap tickets to its tour company, while the remainder of the ticket prices matched any other airline.
Fernandes said the ads make it clear that not all seats are low-cost.
"It is clear that the promotional price is not for all seats. There is also no specific quota for the lowest fare. It is based on supply and demand."
But he said the no-frills airline might consider changing its ads if there was an official directive from the Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Ministry. He is due to meet ministry officials this week.
AirAsia has successfully brought low-cost flights to intra-Malaysian travel despite initial forecasts of gloom by aviation analysts.
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