|
Flying to Malaysia from the United Kingdom is set to become cheaper. Just £1.46 for a single journey, to be precise.
Come July, this will be one of several medium and long-haul flights to be offered by AirAsia X, and Fly Asian Xpress’ (FAX) budget long-haul service.
The budget route will not be serving Heathrow Airport but secondary airports such as Stansted, Manchester, Coventry and Birmingham. Even without the gimmick, flying from the United Kingdom - the longest international low-cost carrier (LCC) route - is going to become very much cheaper via AirAsia X.
 £1.46 from Manchester to Malaysia!
"Our new service will revolutionise Malaysia’s aviation sector and pave the way to making the KLIA the global hub for low cost carriers," he told reporters after the launch of AirAsia X and the signing of a 30-year Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between AirAsia and FAX here.
Transport Minister Datuk Seri Chan Kong Choy and Tourism Minister Datuk Seri Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor launched AirAsia X in January.
Other AirAsia X destinations in the pipeline include Tianjin and Hangzhou in China, India, Australia and several destinations in Europe.
AirAsia X is expected to carry about 500,000 passengers within the first year of operations.
Tickets will be on sale through AirAsia’s website next month.
FAX, privately-owned by AirAsia chief executive officer Datuk Tony Fernandes, AirAsia deputy CEO Datuk Kamarudin Meranun and Raja Azmi, operates the domestic rural air services (RAS) in Sabah and Sarawak.
Fernandes owns a 50 per cent stake in FAX, while Kamarudin and Raja Azmi own 30 and 20 per cent stakes in the airline respectively.
Fernandes said FAX was looking for suitable wide-bodied aircraft to lease or purchase, like the B777s or A330s.
To start off, he said the airline would need around three such aircraft for the long-haul routes.
"I think FAX would need around 20 aircraft to serve our medium and long- haul destinations. The proposed aircraft purchase would be financed by shareholder funds," he said.
Depending on the type of aircraft used, the Kuala Lumpur-London flight service would most likely have a stop-over in the Middle East.
The service would have two seat classes — economy and super economy, which is almost equivalent to full service business class seats.
World gets closer, says Prime Minister
Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, Prime Minister of Malaysia, is confident that Air Asia X will boost tourism in general. The prime minister said its launch promised to revolutionise long distance travel.
"Affordable long distance flights will bring people from around the world closer together," he said in a statement read at the launch of the long-haul low-cost service yesterday.
Abdullah felt that many who had not flown before because of the high cost will use AirAsia X’s lower fare to travel.
"It is a source of pride that a Malaysian company has been so closely involved in this innovation," he added.
 The Deputy Prime Minister Considers Buying a Ticket
National carrier Malaysian Airlines (MAS) is unfazed with the launch of AirAsia X, Malaysia’s new low-cost long-haul service, and is optimistic that the market is huge enough for both airlines. It said the concept of long-haul low-cost travel is already available via Oasis Hong Kong Airlines, which began operating Hong Kong-London-Gatwick flights in October last year. In a statement, Malaysian Airlines said it is confident that there is room for both a full service airline and a long-haul low-cost carrier in Malaysia.
"The models cater to, and serve, different market segments and routes. Passengers will always choose based on their specific needs. "We wish AirAsia X the best in this highly competitive marketplace," it said.
Analysts contacted also agreed that AirAsia X would have minimal impact on Malaysian Airline’s business. TA Securities analyst, Rosnani Rasul, said AirAsia X is creating a new market segment in long-haul travel, and would not cannibalise Malaysian Airlines. "The new service will appeal to budget travellers".
Currently, Malaysia Airlines' long-haul routes concentrates on high-yield passengers, namely business travellers. Each airline would have different target markets," she said. Rosnani also pointed out that AirAsia X and MAS would be flying to different airports.
OSK research manager, Chris Eng, said the tie-up between AirAsia and FAX would also contribute towards making KLIA a regional low-cost carrier (LCC) hub.
|
