Officials from budget airline AirAsia are to meet a senior minister over his accusations that advertisements promoting low-price tickets are "misleading," local media reported today.

In separate comments to the New Straits Times , both parties backed off from earlier tough talk and agreed to meet as soon as possible, the daily said.

Culture, Arts and Tourism Minister Abdul Kadir Sheikh Fadzir last week accused the no-frills airline of misleading consumers with adverts promising tickets for some domestic destinations starting at less than RM3.80.

The minister said the offer only applied to 20-30 percent of the seats available on each flight and that the carrier allocated the majority of its cheap tickets to its tour company while the remainder of the ticket prices matched those of any other airline.

"I meant well. It's just a comment I made after receiving feedback. I have always been supportive of AirAsia's new management and have helped them promote their business," Abdul Kadir was quoted as saying Monday.

"AirAsia should be prepared to listen to criticism in order to improve. In fact I am prepared to hear them out if they want to see me," Abdul Kadir said.

Supporter

In an immediate response, AirAsia chief executive officer Tony Fernandes told the newspaper he would seek an appointment to see the minister this week.

"The minister has been a great supporter of AirAsia and we will work with him to promote tourism."

Fernandes said in remarks published Sunday that the ads make it clear that not all seats are at the rock-bottom prices and insisted the ads would stay.

"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." - AFP