AirAsia X Takes Off for Perth Nov 2
Posted on: Friday, 16 May 2008, 00:00 CDT
By Azlan Abu Bakar
LONG-haul budget airline AirAsia X will start its new direct service to Perth, Australia, from Kuala Lumpur on November 2 this year, its director Datuk Tony Fernandes says.
This is its third destination after Hangzhou in China, which was launched last February, and Gold Coast in Australia in November 2007.
"We expect to see a strong take-up rate of more than 80 per cent for the seats," he told reporters after launching the new route in Kuala Lumpur yesterday.
Also present was AirAsia X chairman Datuk Seri Kalimullah Hassan.
Fernandes said so far the airline has carried over 50,000 passengers between Gold Coast and Kuala Lumpur, and 30,000 between Hangzhou and Kuala Lumpur.
"Looking at what we have done with these two routes, we are confident of creating a bigger market in western Australia," he said.
In 2007, both AirAsia and AirAsia X carried a total of 18.5 million passengers across its network.
Fernandes said AirAsia X will start with six return flights per week between Perth and Kuala Lumpur.
"The route will be serviced by AirAsia X's new wide-bodied Airbus A330 aircraft, giving passengers a level of service not normally expected from low-cost airlines," he said.
The airline, which operates one aircraft now, expects to receive its second aircraft to service the Perth-Kuala Lumpur route by October 25 while the third would arrive in December.
Average fare to Perth including other cost like fuel will be just below RM400 while for those opting for extra large seats the return fare is about RM2,000.
Besides Perth, Fernandes said AirAsia X may also fly to India, South Korea and Japan in the near future.
"We are talking to them now," he said, without elaborating.
(c) 2008 New Straits Times. Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights Reserved.
Source: New Straits Times
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