Giant Car case Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Giant Car case - Essay Example In the current case the other elements, intention to create legal relations and consideration, are not in question, but the element of offer and acceptance is. In this respect, it is significant to show first that there was a valid offer and secondly that the offer was accepted. In order to form a contract, the parties involved must reach a mutual consent or meeting of minds. This mutual consent is attained through offer and acceptance that does not alter the terms of the offer.1 The rule applicable in determining if there is mutual consent is the application of the mirror image rule. The rule dictates that an offer must be accepted without altering the terms of the offer. An alteration of the terms of the offer amounts to a counter offer and cancels the initial offer. Lord Langdale in Hyde v Wrench2 ruled that a counter offer acts to cancel the initial offer. In this case, Wrench offered to sell Hyde a farm for ?1,000. Hyde in reply to this offer offered ?950 for the farm which Wren ch refused. Hyde thereafter wanted to accept the initial offer of ?1,000. Wrench refused to sell him the land and Hyde brought an action for specific performance. The question before the court was whether a valid contract between Hyde and Wrench existed. In deciding that there was no legally binding contract, the court noted that when a counter offer is made this offer destroys the initial offer such that the initial offer is no longer open to be accepted by the offeree. ... Additionally, these responses may deal with other issues rather than substitute the original terms of the offer.3 Their language can also manifest an intention to retain the initial offer under consideration, and they should not be considered counter offers. A mere inquiry on the offer does not constitute a counter offer Stevenson v McLean4. In this case, McLean wrote to Stevenson on Saturday with an offer to sell iron ore. The letter indicated that McLean would sell the ore for 40s in cash, and the offer was to remain open till Monday. On Monday Stevenson telegraphed McLean asking if he would accept 40 for delivery over two months and if that was not possible the longest period that was acceptable. McLean later sold the iron ore to a third party after receiving the telegram from Stevenson. McLean later sent a telegram to Stevenson that he had sold the Iron ore, but Stevenson had telegraphed Mclean accepting his offer prior to receiving the telegram indicating the ore was already sol d. The question was whether the telegram sent by Stevenson was counter offer or a mere inquiry to the original offer. In arriving at its decision, the court observed that the wording in the communication did not include anything specific to infer a rejection but was a mere inquiry which ought to have been answered and not considered a rejection of the offer.5 It is, therefore, essential to note that in order to distinguish between an inquiry and a counter offer it is prudent to look at the details of the communication. A counter offer varies the terms of the original offer while an inquiry does not vary these terms. In Simon's case, his communication that he would buy the car at ?5,500 was a counter offer to the

The importance of family through crises Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

The importance of family through crises - Essay Example Her Graphic novel Persepolis brings out a clear picture of the revolutions that took place in Iran when she was young and how it had negative impact to the population. During the revolution the populations experienced inhuman treatment and torture from the shah regime. As a result, majority of the people lost their lives in their own mother land due to ruthless treatment and persecution that was the order of the day. The narrator of the novel is much interested in history of Iran and what might have led to the persistent wars and struggles. In this case she much concentrates on the revolutions and the main agents of the revolutions. At her tender age, she does not understand the reason why the Iranian women put on veil and the reason why her country does not permit the adoption of western cultures and ideas. This comes at a time whereby the government demands each and every female head should put on a veil as a sign of respect to the Islamic culture (Satrapi, 2007) The story depicts the character trait of people who surround her. For instance, her mother is portrayed as a good advocate for the rights of women and the guardian of the revolution. Through the crises she join strong forces to ban the forcefully imposition of women to put on veil. As an activist she clearly understands her rights and in this case she does not allow to be intimidated by the Islamic laws. Marjane father is portrayed as a caring father. He stands out as a strong contender of the freedom of individuals supporting his family all through. He respects the decisions made by her daughter and promotes her liberty. As the story continues we learn that even though Marjane father comes out to be liberal, she points out that he did not have much influence to her life. In this case she owns much to her uncle and her grandmother. Marjane grandmother is also a caring woman as depicted throughout in the novel. The novel depicts several crises that revolve around Iranian community. Throughout the cris es Marjane family is able to stand up and defend their rights. Her close relation with her parents created in her the ability to air out her voice in tough circumstances. Her ideas and concepts about religion are shaped up by her parents who even give her the freedom to freely participate in social activities with her friends. She attends a school where there is separation of sexes in the essence that girls and boys are not allowed to mingle freely as this is against the Islamic faith. Her parents turn out to be great supporters of liberty and education this is evidently seen when they send their daughter to go and study abroad even after she is expelled from her home school. They place much emphasizes on the importance of education throughout Marijane life, his further supports her idea of marriage even though he knew it was not going to work. In this case they give her liberty to make her own decision so as to learn from her own experience. The family in this concept comes out as a source of comfort and support throughout the life of the narrator. This support is very essential in the sense that it gives an individual the ability to know how to address and deal with conflict. The family has molded her in such a way that she can stand up and defend her rights. In the novel it is depicted that her values clash with the values of the society. For instance, she has a own rules, wears chains to school and even smoke all these are against Iranian religion and culture. Her

The bridge Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

The bridge - Essay Example Millennium Bridge was designed to carry large load and a degree of structure’s movement was expected and taken into account. However, after about 80Â  000 people crossed it on the opening day, some vibration was detected. The bridge began to sway sideways noticeably, and the movement became so strong that people could not walk steady any more; many had to cling to the sides of the bridge to maintain balance. The phenomenon of bridge sideways movement is not unique to the Millennium Bridge only. There were other structures, completely different from the given bridge that, to a various degree, suffered the same effect. However, those cases have not been widely publicized, thus the phenomenon, known as Synchronous Lateral Excitation, was not anticipated and has not been given enough attention by bridge engineers. When people walk they have a natural sway motion. This very motion causes small regular vibrations, which, as the result of chance correlation, generated slight lateral movement of the bridge. When that happened, pedestrians instinctively adjusted and synchronized their motion with bridge’s movement to counteract the effect and to walk more comfortably.

Awareness movie Solving Educational behaviors problem in intermediate Thesis Proposal

Awareness movie Solving Educational behaviors problem in intermediate schools by using 2d animation - Thesis Proposal Example In essence, if the wrong educational behaviors among students can be dealt with, students will be saved from bad influence. There are some of the educational malpractices that can be alleviated through animation and youtube movies as a tool of demonstration where students are left to make their own conclusions. The impact of new media on the third world countries has been debated for long. Boyd and Straubhaar (1985) established that new media such as video cassettes recorders had a significant behavioral influence on youths in the third world countries, and this hypothesis was supported by a study carried out by Greeson and Williams in 1986. In the same line of thought, Zimam (2008) conducted a study on new communication and established that it has impacted on the education of teenagers. Toda and Ezoe (2008) further established that internet on mobile phones had impacted greatly on female students and on the role of parents in guiding the attitudes of their children. With the proven negative impact on teenagers, this literature sets a background for a call for quick sustainable intervention. On alcohol influence, Sargent et al. (2006) agree that motion pictures encourage schooling teenagers to start drinking early. On smoking and drinking, Dalton et al. (2006), Hanewinkel et al. (2008a) and Hanewinkel et al. (2008b) agree that movie viewing on whatever channel, youtube, cinema and television expose teenagers to smoking and alcohol misuse behavior. On sexual behavior, mass media is analyzed by Brown et al. (2005), Hawk et al (2006) and Brown et al. (2006), and they contend that movies, music and television as the ones viewed from youtube and other channels influence sexual behavior among teenagers. In another study by Hawk et al. (2006), the researchers agree with findings of Calfin et al (1993) where music and video were found to greatly influence teenagers to

Think and Grow Rich Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Think and Grow Rich - Essay Example According to the research findings general or specialised knowledge cannot be weighed in the scale of monetary achievements. The worth of knowledge should not be quantified in terms of money. For example, let us compare two students who have done post-graduation in Economics that is to say they have specialised knowledge of Economics. Is it correct to assume that they should earn equal amount of money, just because their level of education is equal? One of them may choose to join the banking industry and the other one may prefer the teaching job. There can be substantial difference in their monthly compensation. On this count, it is incorrect to draw the conclusion that the banking job is better than the teaching job. The inclination of an individual to take up the job and one’s internal satisfaction has lots of significance. Acquisition of knowledge, aggrandisement and accumulation of wealth cannot be weighed in the same scale. Hill argues that â€Å"knowledge will not attra ct money, unless it is organised, and intelligently directed, through practical plans of action to the definite end of accumulation of money.† Now, who said knowledge has to attract money? An individual with absolutely no skill may suddenly become a rich on winning a lottery. Acquisition of knowledge and acquisition of wealth need to be understood in the correct perspective. They are two independent propositions and need not have beneficial influence on each other in all contexts. 3. With the second part of the quote, â€Å"An educated man is one who has so developed the faculties of his mind that he may acquire anything he wants, or its equivalent, without violating the rights of others," Hill hits the mark. For example one can earn money with hard work. But this is a limited and restrictive approach. One can earn more money by working intelligently, meaning thereby by directing men under him to work by applying certain methods and procedures of work and just involve in the supervision part of it. Such an individual is working in principle, without actually working, because directing and inspiring others to work and earn profits is also part of the work. Knowledge need not be in the possession of the man who accumulates the fortune. For example a contractor’s knowledge is in getting the assignment of contract done through may be hundreds or thousands of workers he employs for the purpose in view. He does not do the work by himself nor is it possible to do and complete such a herculean task by one’s own physical efforts. Certain candidates are being interviewed for the post of Human Resources Development Manager. Questions like, â€Å"Who is the Finance Minister of Pakistan?† â€Å"Who is the Commander-in-Chief of the Army in Iran?† â€Å"Who is the Governor of Reserve Bank of India† are asked to the candidates and the Chairman of the Board of Selection expresses poor opinion of the candidates when they fail to answer such questions. In fact, why should the candidates know the answer to such silly questions? If by chance, one of the candidates answers one or two questions

Creative Story Essay Example for Free

Creative Story Essay Invasion is more harmful to a country than we really understand. Occupation or invasion is a foreign concept to all of us. Living on the other side of the world that doesn’t go through such agony, we don’t tend to understand how it feels to live under military occupation. The proper definition of an occupation is when a foreign army occupies your land, physically and controls your life. What are the consequences of this? Well, this leads to the country being ruled by violence rather than a systematic order of government they were promised. People who will oppose this invasion will fight the authorities in the form of protests, bombs etc. This will result in innocence lives being lost both on their side and our soliders . This will also emotionally affect the families of the soldiers. So, we can see that an occupation can affect both the people of that country and the people of the country that invades it. In addition the violence will make every citizen feel unsafe in their own homes. Imagine living everyday with the fear of being bombed any time. In Iraq, a family was forced out of their home by the military. When the husband protested, he was thrown into jail. The wife and the children were left to live on the streets. One of her daughters attempted to hang herself because she couldn’t tolerate living in the sun anymore. These are people just like us, they don’t deserve to live like this. It is selfish to occupy other countries so we can stay safe in ours.

The Low Cost Airline Air Asia

The Low Cost Airline Air Asia The low-cost concept became a moneymaker in the United States, where it was pioneered in the 1970s by Southwest Airlines, the model for budget carriers elsewhere like Ryanair and easyJet in Europe. Definition of low cost airlines A low cost airline generally has many features that differentiate it from the traditional carriers. These features include ticketless travel, online ticket sales, no international offices, no frequent flyer points, no free food and beverages, no inflight magazines, no club lounges, use of secondary city airports. Not all low cost airlines have these features, and not all airlines that have some of these features are low cost airlines. For example, Virgin Express is a low cost airline, but it still offers complimentary coffee and inflight magazine, and they are based at Brussels primary airport. Case Study-AirAsia Story of AirAsia Air Asia, as the second Malaysian National Airline, provides a totally different type of service in line with the nations aspirations to benefit all citizens and worldwide travellers. Such service takes the form of a no frills low airfares flight offering, 40%-60% lower than what is currently offered in this part of Asia. Their vision is Now Everyone Can Fly and their mission is to provide Affordable Airfares without any compromise to Flight Safety Standards. The story of emergence of AirAsia is similar to Ryanair, since both carriers underwent a remarkable transformation from a money-losing regional operator to a profitable, low cost airline. AirAsia was initially launched in 1996 as a full-service regional airline offering slightly cheaper fares than its main competitor, Malaysia Airlines. Before 2001, AirAsia fail to either sufficiently stimulate the market or attract enough passengers from Malaysia Airlines to establish its own niche market. The turnaround point of AisAsia is in 2001, while it was up to sale and bought by Tony Fernandes. Tony Fernandes then enrolled some of the lending low-cost airline experts to restructure AirAsias business model. He invited Connor McCarthy, the former director of group operation of Ryanair, to join the executive team. In late 2001, AirAsia was re-launched in Malaysia as a trendy, no-frills operation with three B737 aircraft as a low-fare, low-cost domestic airline. Opportunities faced by AirAsia in light of external development Low fare of Indonesia-Malaysia trip The fare for a Jakarta-Johor Baru trip costs Rp 100,000 (RM 88.88 one way). And charge Rp 150,000 for a Bandung-Kuala Lumpur flight, and Rp 300,000 for a Surabaya-Kuala Lumpur trip, whereas a Jakarta-Kuala Lumpur air ticket from Malaysia Airlines available at travel agents cost Rp 1.4 million. Meanwhile, Lion Air on the same route, charged Rp 1.05 million. The low fare provided by AirAsia helps it open the Indonesia market. Low fare of Singapore-Bangkok service AirAsia will increase its services between Singapore Bangkok by introducing a 2nd daily flight to its existing schedule. This recent development came barely a month after Thai AirAsia operations started its first international flight to Singapore in early February this year. AirAsia is offering its guests promotional fares to/from Singapore- Bangkok from SGD$23.99 (THB 499) one way from the 28th March to 30th Oct, 2004. It is much lower than the lowest fare SGD$56 offered by full-service carrier. This helps it open the Singapore market. Political connections AirAsia hold 49% of Thai AirAsia with 1% being held by a Thai individual. The remaining 50% is held by Shin Corp. which is owned by the family of Thailands prime minister, Thaksin Shinawatra. Shin Corp. has financial strength, synergy in ingormation technology and telecommunications, which support AirAsia Internet and mobile phone bookings. Shin Corp. allows subscribers of the Shin mobile phone flagship, Advanced Information Service, being able to reserve tickets through its short-messaging service (SMS). AirAsia with its politically powerful backer may well grow up to bite. This helps it open the Thailand market. Malaysian government support The Malaysian government supported the establishment of AirAsia in 2001 to help boost the under-used Kuala Lumpur International Airport. AirAsias flights from Senai are meant to develop Johor into a transport hub to rival Singapore. AirAsia, therefore, can provide an alternative route to travel to Bangkok, by using Senai Airport in Johor Bahru, in southern Malaysia. Opportunities faced by AirAsia in light of internal development Issue of IPO Kamarudin Meranun, AirAsias Executive Director announced the appointment of Credit Suisse First Boston (CSFB) and RHB Sakura Merchant Bankers (RHB) as the bookrunners for the companys upcoming Initial Public Offering (IPO). The IPO strengthens AirAsia balance sheet, further cuts its existing low costs at 2.5 US cents per ASK and accelerates our growth plans throughout Asia. The IPO also allows AirAsia to expand its fleet of 18 Boeing 737-300s. Political connections Thai AirAsia is a join venture established by AirAsia with Shin Corp. Shin Corp. is owned by the family of Thailands prime minister, Thaksin Shinawatra, and about 900 million baht will be invested in Thai AirAsia over a five-year period. Shin Corp. oversees the finance and administration of Thai AirAsia while AirAsia shoulders the responsibility for marketing and operations. Shin Corp. has financial strength and supports AirAsia to grow. AirAsia with its politically powerful backer may well grow up to bite. Challenges faced by AirAsia in light of external development Indonesian habit Preferences of Indonesian passengers are quite different from the concept of cheap air travel without extra service for the passengers (free snacks and drinks), and also their reluctance to bring light baggage. AirAsia prefers passengers with very light and minimum baggage. If this is the case, it may not last long. But Indonesian domestic airline companies are able to provide value-added extras like food and beverages as part of their service to the passengers, although at a relatively higher cost. The comparative edge of Indonesian domestic airline companies compared to AirAsia concerns habit (culture). Furthermore, Indonesian domestic airlines were already trained with the low-cost air travel concept, known as tariff war. They have proved themselves as immune, and managed to survive. Last but not least, the Indonesian government or domestic airline companies had never announced the availability of a low-cost airline company of the country. All these affect AirAsia growth in Indonesia. Singapore government rejection Initially, AirAsia wanted to start flights from the southern state of Johor, near Singapore, it hoped to attract passengers by running a convenient bus service to the city-state. However, Singapore quickly quashed that idea. The Singapore government said it would not approve a bus link for AirAsia because it was not in her national interest, reflecting fears that Singapores Changi airport would lose business to Johors new Senai airport. This makes AirAsia cannot abandon the use of Changi airport, and therefore suffer from a higher cost. This is because AirAsia flying to Singapore needs to suffer from flight congestion of Changi. Changi has drawbacks of flight congestion that could prevent the quick turnarounds essential to keeping down costs. AirAsia finds it stuck between big planes and circling to wait for a slot to open up, which means extra fuel costs. Moreover, the SGD$21 departure and security tax of Changi is too high for AirAsia low-cost operation. AirAsia had asked the Singapore government to waive the fees, however, a request that was not only rejected but also criticized. Besides Singapore Bangkok, AirAsia now provides an alternative route to travel to Bangkok, by using Senai Airport in Johor Bahru, in southern Malaysia. Seeking to cater to the different markets, fares for Johor Bahru- Bangkok are generally 20 % lower in comparison to Singapore Bangkok. AirAsia currently operate daily flights to Bangkok from Johor Bahru. However, the choice proved unpopular, as the route failed to attract Singaporeans because of the additional cost and inconvenience of having to travel in and out of Malaysia by road. All these affect AirAsia external growth. Minimum air-fare rates AirAsia faces challenges finding open takeoff and landing slots at opportune times, and Thailands regulation that sets minimum air-fare rates. Although Transport Minister Suriya Jungrungreangkit said the current minimum air-fare regulations will be scrapped to open up the market, he couldnt name a date when this will be done. This seems to be favoritism toward Thai Airways Internationals domestic operations, and affects Thai AirAsia to compete in the Thailand market. External Changes which have impact on AirAsia Asias middle class growth Low cost airlines are anticipated to have greater potential in Asia as there are many Asian cities with a population above one million people each as well as a rising middle class population. This growth of middle class in Asia provides a huge market potential for AirAsia to grow. However, as the market is becoming larger, more airlines or new comers would like to get a piece of the action. For example, Budget airlines, it is estimated, will capture at least 25% of Asias air travel market within next 10 years and a lot of that will be new, not diverted, traffic. Therefore, AirAsia will face more competitions at the same time. Besides the low cost airlines, AirAsia still needs to compete with the conventional carriers. Although extra passengers of the low cost airlines will be coming from the new demand to be created by the low fares, the growth may not be entirely stolen from big flag carriers. Actions of Changi and nearby airports The growth of low cost airlines in south-east Asia has a significant effect on which airports will dominate the regional aviation market. Low cost airlines are seen as helping funnel more passengers to airport hubs. Therefore, there is a realization among regional governments that they need smashing airports and feisty carriers or they are going to miss out big time. Therefore, these governments are more willing to support low cost airlines. For example, the Malaysian government supported the establishment of AirAsian in 2001 to help boost the under-used Kuala Lumpur International Airport, and Thai premiers Shin Corp. forms a join venture with AirAsia that would benefit Bangkoks new airport and create a new hub at Chiang Mai. Therefore, under this situation, it helps AirAsia grow in Asia. Moreover, as there is a growth of several south-east Asian airports, this poses a challenge to the status of Singapores Changi airport as a regional aviation hub. These airports include Johors new Senai airport in southern Malaysia, Bangkoks new Suvarnabhumi airport which will be able to handle 45 million passengers when it opens in 2005, Bangkok Don Muang which recently overtook Changi in passenger numbers, etc. To maintain Changis position as the air hub in the region, Singapore is proposing a budget airline terminal at Changi by 2005 and lower passenger taxes to attract low cost airlines. This helps AirAsia grow and lower the cost. Actions of existing airlines The existing airlines in south-east Asia have several actions to compete with AirAsia, for example, some have launched a low cost airline to fight with AirAsia. Singapore Airlines launched a low cost airline subsidiary, Tiger Airways, in the second half of 2003, only months after the scheduled launch of ValuAir set up by one of its former executives. Orient Thai Airlines launched a new low cost airline subsidiary, One-To-Go. One-To-Go operates with a fleet of six Boeing 757-200s and match any fares that Thai AirAsia offers. Thai Airways have frequency and capacity to offer to their 13 domestic destinations. They also have, during the past two years, worked to improve operational efficiency, slashing unprofitable domestic routes, increasing flights on busy routes, strengthening yield management and controlling costs. All these make AirAsia face a huge competition. Critical success factors in the Low cost airlines in Asia Reduction in operational cost Low cost airlines strive to achieve the lowest possible price for their products and services. Low prices cannot sustain unless the company maximizes its operational efficiency. The success factors of Asian low cost airlines in reducing their operational cost include: Service savings (no frills cabin service and extensive use of outsourcing) NO-frills include: NO drinks, NO food, NO headphones, NO newspapers, NO movies, NO VIP lounges, NO expensive offices, NO mileage programs, NO seat allocation, NO childrens fares, NO paper tickets (Electronic tickets only), NO connecting flights (All flight-legs must be booked independently) Operational savings (point-to-point services and uniform fleet) Overhead savings (internet sales and streamlined bureaucracy) We can compare the operational cost in terms of costs per available seat kilometer (ASK), a measure of the running cost of the airline. For instance, Ryanair in Europe is almost half of the ASK price comparing with the full services airline. The average fare offered by Air Asia in Malaysia is 40-60 % lower than its full-service competitor. Competitive Ticket price against traditional full-service airline Low cost airlines begins with two initial cost advantages arising from the very nature of their operation: higher seating density and higher daily aircraft utilization. By removing business class and reconfiguring their aircraft, low cost airlines can increase the number of seats on their aircraft. Seat pitch of a low cost airline is usually 28 inches, compared to a traditional conventional economy class pitch with 32 inches. Doganis (2001) calculates that should be able to operate at seat cost that are only 40-50 % those of mainline rival. Combining the load factor benefit and beneficial distribution cost, low cost airlines cost per passenger can reduce price by one-third of conventional airline. Flying out of secondary airports Many low-cost airlines keep expenses down by flying out of secondary airports, avoiding major hubs where takeoff and landing fees are much higher while still getting passengers close enough to their destinations. The travel distance is short As the routes offered by low cost airlines are mainly short, domestic routes which may only take one to two hours, travellers might be fine with no amenities on flights Success factors in AirAsia Absolute Cost Advantage Low cost per average seat kilometer AirAsia focused on ensuring a competitive cost structure as its main business strategy. It has been able to achieve a cost per average seat kilometer (ASK) of 2.5 cents, half that of Malaysia Airlines and Ryanair and a third that of EasyJet. AirAsia can lease the B737-300s aircraft at a very competitive market rates due to the harsh global market conditions for the second-hand aircrafts because of the September 11th event in 2001. On the other hand, the operating cost of the company is also dropped drastically. Low distribution cost AirAsia focus on Internet bookings and ticketless travel allowed it to lower the distribution cost. Attractive ticket price With the average fare being 40-60 % lower than its full-service competitor, AirAsia has been able to achieve strong market stimulation in the domestic Malaysian air market (Thomas 2003). For instance, the fare for the trip from Kuala Lumpur to Penang on AirAsia starts from 39 ringgit. Comparing to trip by bus charge 40 ringgit and 80 ringgit by car. The effect of attractive low fare is more travelers switching from bus to air, similar case as Ryanair in Europe. Good Management Team AirAsia value proposition is more sophisticated than Ryanair placing equal emphasis on brand reputation and customer service/people management, by a senior advisor to AisAsias top management team. AirAsia pursue a Ryanair operational strategy, Southwest people strategy and an Easyjet branding strategy. Weakness Fair availability The availability of AirAsia is not good as traditional airline as it only provide unique aircraft. However, it cannot be the cost leader if it offers customized features or comprehensive support which will result in increasing operational cost. However, focus on a specific customer may avoid straddling. Case of straddling A Japanese low cost airline, Skymark, trying to be everything to everyone targeting the broader customer and offering limited special features (satellite TV, Business class and charter operations). The result is failing to both cost efficient and price competitive rendering it vulnerable to market forces and customer demand (porter1996; Lawton 1999). Major strategic directions recommended Open more Asian market Low cost airlines are anticipated to have greater potential in Asia as there are many Asian cities with a population above one million people each as well as a rising middle class population. It is time for AirAsia to exploit the potentials of affordable air travel by Asias growing middle class. Besides starting services to the Pearl River Delta in south China in 2004, AirAsia can expend its services to the coastal cities in China. Besides the growth of Asian middle class, the liberalization of aviation sector of India is another reason for AirAsia to open more Asian market. The Indian government has liberalized the aviation sector long dominated by the national carriers. Now, only a few low cost airlines, e.g. Air Deccan, Airone Feeder Airline Pvt Ltd, Crescent Air, have launched their services there. Moreover, the national carriers, Indian Airlines or Air India, despite their domination of the Indian skies, do not seem to be much interested in operating low-cost services. Therefore, it is a good chance for AirAsia to open the Indian market. Join venture with Virgin Group AirAsia should put more effort to set up a pan-Asian low cost airline with Virgin Blue, which is a low cost carrier of Virgin Group serving Australia and New Zealand mainly. Virgin Blue has suggested it may extend services to south-east Asia. Therefore, setting up a join venture with Virgin Blue can help AirAsia to grow in Asia even further, and help Virgin Blue to extend services to south-east Asia. Recommendations to maximize competitive advandages of AirAsia 1. Enforce Political advantages AirAsia established a join venture, Thai AirAsia with Shin Corp. Shin Corp. is owned by the family of Thailands prime minister, Thaksin Shinawatra, and about 900 million baht will be invested in Thai AirAsia over a five-year period. Shin Corp. has financial strength, synergy in ingormation technology and telecommunications, which support AirAsia to grow in Thailand. AirAsia with its politically powerful backer can well grow up to bite, and therefore it should enforce such political advantages in order to extend the growth in Thailand. Furthermore, AirAsia should use its Thai subsidiary, Thai AirAsia, to claim the use of Thailands open skies agreements to fly to Singapore, Brunei and Cambodia, overcoming the barrier of bilateral aviation pacts that threatened to limit its growth. Induction of smart cards AirAsia can issue a smart card which is compatible with the existing ticketless booking. It can offer 2 kinds of smart cards. The first kind of smart card, aimed at ordinary travellers, will offer instant rewards when topped up, offering greater value than its purchase price. For example a Bt5,000 card may be worth Bt5,500. The card can also be used by other people with the same family name as the cardholder. The second kind of smart card will offer unlimited travel for frequent flyers. Priced provisionally at Bt20,000, cardholders will be allowed make as many trips as they want within a specified period. Conclusion A study by the Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation (2002) confirms that Asia continues to offer attractive conditions for the air transportation industry. With thirteen out of worlds top twenty-five major urban centres located in the Asia Pacific region and a rapidly increasing urbanization trends, the Asian air travel market is bound to continue to grow. Urbanization is highlighted as one of the key drivers for the growth in air travel. It is estimated that Asia would account for 30% of the world market by 2019, or one third of growth between now and then. While the impact of SARS is going to slow down the growth of Asian regional demand, the long-run forecast continues to be very positive. These enable low cost airlines to grow even further.