AirAsia Zest (Manila Ninoy Aquino International) will only consider going public once it has recorded three straight years of profit Joy Caneba, the LCC's new chief executive officer, has disclosed. In an interview with the Malaya Business Insight, Caneba said the proceeds raised would go towards route and fleet expansion with profitability one of the carrier's goals for this year.

“Per regulation, we’re required a three-year profitability. The earliest we can go public is three years from now,” she said.

Among her primary objectives for the airline this year will be the introduction of flights to Japan in the last quarter of this year. An application to the Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB) for Tokyo Narita, Tokyo Haneda, and Nagoya Chubu traffic rights rights is currently pending.

“My plan for Air Asia Zest (is to make it) one of the big players in the aviation industry. To do that, my plan is to drive more (tourists from) North Asia market, attract more Korean, Japanese and Chinese markets,” she said.

With a fleet of sixteen A320s and an A319-100, the AirAsia (AK, Kuala Lumpur International) subsidiary serves 14 destinations located throughout the Philippines, China, South Korea, Macau, and Malaysia.