The Malaysia Competition Commission (MyCC) will not take any action against budget airline AirAsia for publishing confusing fares, Parliament was told today.

In a written reply to Wee Choo Keong (Ind-Wangsa Maju), the Domestic Trade, Cooperatives and Consumer Affairs Ministry said displaying confusing fares is not deemed as an offence under the Competition Act 2010.

Wee had asked whether action would be taken against AirAsia for failing to disclose hidden charges on its website, such as the RM30 booking fees, RM90 fuel surcharge and RM125 infant seat service charge.

The question came after the Australian consumer watchdog Australian Competition and Consumer Association (ACCA) slapped a lawsuit on AirAsia in January for not displaying its fares inclusive of all taxes, duties, fees and other charges.

"Businesses that choose to advertise a part of the price of a particular product or service must also prominently specify a single total price," ACCA had said in a media release .

MAS-AirAsia share-swap under study

AirAsia chief executive officer Tony Fernandes downplayed the lawsuit as "a minor technical problem" that would not result in any changes in the airline's frequencies to Australia.

AirAsia X, the low-cost carrier's long-haul component, currently flies to the Gold Coast, Melbourne, Perth and Sydney.

Wee had also asked for the status of MyCC's investigation into the alleged anti-competition element in the shares-swap deal between national carrier MAS and AirAsia.

In the reply, the ministry said it was studying the matter in depth, to identify whether an offence had been committed under the Competition Act or through the Comprehensive Collaboration Framework between MAS and AirAsia.