MUNICH AIRPORT KEEN ON FOLLOW-UP TALKS WITH AIRASIA

By Manik Mehta

MUNICH, May 16 (Bernama) -- Munich Airport, Germany's second largest
airport, is aggressively pursuing what aviation experts describe as its "Look
East Strategy", with its top executive declaring that it is very much interested
in getting Malaysia's low-cost carrier AirAsia to start operations in Munich.

Michael Kerkloh, Munich Airport's chief executive, told Bernama that
AirAsia stands to benefit a great deal by starting an operation at Munich
airport.

Kerkloh had just returned from a tour of four Asian countries -- India,
Singapore, Thailand and Malaysia -- and was confident that he had made the right
pitch in all four countries.

Though he was unable to meet AirAsia's chief executive, Tony
Fernandes, during his visit to Kuala Lumpur, Kerkloh said that he had asked
Fernandes to visit Munich for further follow-up talks.

The Munich Airport's chief executive held "useful talks" with AirAsia's
senior management.

Kerkloh, who was interviewed at the just-concluded Transport/Logistics 2011
show of Munich, just after his return from Malaysia, underscored the importance
of Munich airport as an "easy-to-use" airport.

"Munich is a first-class airport of Europe. It would be particularly suited
to AirAsia which is working out a strategy for Europe and will soon take a
decision," Kerkloh maintained.

"The base potential is good and stable. Besides, you also have a strong
market here," he added.

Kerkloh said that efforts would be made to highlight the advantages of
Munich Airport in Asia.

"We will move ahead step-by-step in Asia," he said.

Kerkloh also held talks with senior executives of Malaysia Airports in
Kuala Lumpur.

"We discussed a wide range of issues, including technological cooperation
and other matters. It was not a courtesy call," he quipped.

Besides India and China, which are currently the darlings of most Western
airports because of their massive size and growth potential, Munich Airport is
also endeavouring to build up a strong and long-term relationship with Asean
member countries which are characterized by "strong dynamics".

Aside from Malaysia, Munich Airport has also been quietly building up ties
with Thai Airways with which Kerkloh held talks during his Bangkok visit.

"We have a 'sister agreement' with Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi Inernational
Airport. We discussed several issues, including the question of expanding our
flight routes. Each Asian carrier has its own unique characteristics," he said.

Besides the passenger traffic, Munich Airport has also discovered the
benefits of building up its cargo traffic.

To this effect, it is constructing a third runway at the airport to meet
future demand.

The third runway project, with a price tag of some one billion euro, will
have to go through the administrative and political grind entailing four to five
years before it is finally completed.

"Increasingly, many airlines are discovering that Munich offers a
convenient alternative to the traditional gateways. There is also a huge volume
of cargo that is transported to and from Munich. Asian carriers are becoming
aware of our advantages. Bavaria (Munich is the capital city of the state of
Bavaria) is a highly developed economic region of Europe," he maintained.

Indeed, Munich is growing at a "breathtaking pace", making the airport a
very interesting transit point for cargo.

The cargo volume has been growing faster than the passenger volume.

Though many airlines transport much of the cargo in the belly of their
aircraft, Munich Airport is also trying to get cargo carriers to operate
freighter aircraft to the airport.

Munich Airport handled air-borne cargo volume of 280,000 tons in 2010.

The year 2011 started well, as air-cargo traffic, buoyed by strong economic
recovery, continued to grow further.