Low-cost carrier AirAsia said it plans to fly to more Southeast Asian nations in the near future to take advantage of the region's open-skies agreement due to be implemented by 2008.

The 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) has agreed that by the end of 2008, there will be free passage of capital-to-capital flights among member countries.

"In every country, we've been invited to come and have had no problems having rides to any city except Ho Cin Minh which is slot-constrained as they are building a new terminal," said chief executive Tony Fernandes.

"I think open skies are going to happen, definitely going to happen," he said after announcing the carrier's full-year results which rose 14 percent to RM126.94 million (US$36.27 million).

Fernandes said the carrier was targeting routes in all Asian capitals including neighbouring Singapore, a major regional aviation hub to which it has been denied access until now.

"I think if we bring in low-fares between Kuala Lumpur and Singapore, as the tourism minister of Malaysia just said, there will be a new traffic of Malaysians going to Singapore and new Malaysians coming out," he said.

Create new market

Fernandes dismissed notions that AirAsia was "cannibalising" national carrier Malaysia Airlines, which along with Singapore Airlines currently has a monopoly on the lucrative Singapore-Kuala Lumpur route.

"We are really here to create a new market... I don't think there has been any cannibalisation of the market," he said.

Fernandes said he will be meeting a delegation from Singapore's transport ministry in early September to discuss opening the route.

Asked whether AirAsia planned to spread its wings to Perth in Australia, the budget carrier said it was concentrating on the Asean region before venturing into Australia.

"We just have a lot to do within the Asean market and in Indonesia we have plenty of domestic destinations we want to go to, and international destinations within Asean, before we hit Australia," Fernandes said.