AirAsia aims to park 10 planes in Penang to start new hub

[flee 5]

GEORGE TOWN: AirAsia Bhd’s plan to park more planes at the Penang International Airport can materialise faster if Penang has a low-cost carrier terminal.

 

Regional head of commercial Kathleen Tan said the budget airline operator had plans to park 10 planes in Penang, which was in line with its goal of making the island its eighth hub.

 

AirAsia has hubs in Kuala Lumpur, Johor Baru, Kota Kinabalu, Bandung, Bali, Jakarta and Bangkok; and a “virtual hub” in Singapore.

 

“This is our long-term plan to enhance the attraction of Penang as a hub. Presently the cost of operation in Penang is very high. If Penang had a low-cost carrier terminal, it would reduce our operation cost, and attract more travellers to fly from Penang,” she said in a telephone interview from Kuala Lumpur.

 

Tan said presently the Penang airport imposed higher international and domestic taxes, at RM51 and RM9 compared with RM25 and RM6 respectively charged at the Low-Cost Carrier Terminal in Kuala Lumpur.

 

She said from July 31, AirAsia would station one plane in Penang for the four weekly flights to Hong Kong. The round trip fare is about RM200.

 

“We are engaging a support team comprising pilots, engineers and technicians to be based at the Penang airport,” she said, adding that AirAsia was also adding a second flight to Singapore from Penang starting July 31.

 

Source: http://biz.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2009/7/8/business/4272304&sec=business

 

Penang is suitable as a hub because it is a tourist destination and a fast-growing industrial and trading centre, says AirAsia

 

BUDGET carrier AirAsia plans to turn Penang into its fourth hub in Malaysia as it continues to expand its network and add more destinations from the island.

 

AirAsia Bhd (5099) regional head of commercial Kathleen Tan said AirAsia will start flying from Penang to Hong Kong four times a week starting July 31, with one-way fares as low as RM99.

 

The airline will also be adding a second daily flight between Penang and Singapore due to popular demand. Its existing load factor for this route is above 90 per cent.

 

"Penang is suitable as a hub because it is a tourist destination and a fast-growing industrial and trading centre," Tan told Business Times in a phone interview yesterday.

She said Penang had previously been a virtual hub for AirAsia as it did not park planes at the Penang International Airport.

 

But the airline will start parking one plane at the airport as of July 31, as it starts flying to Hong Kong and adds its second daily frequency to Singapore.

 

"We are looking at a second plane next year as we continue to build Penang as a hub. There is heavy investment in terms of human capital and equipment in building a hub," said Tan but was unable to provide a quantum.

 

AirAsia has eight hubs in total now, including Kuala Lumpur, Johor Baru, Kota Kinabalu, Bandung, Bali, Jakarta, Bangkok and a "virtual hub" in Singapore.

 

"What we need right now is a good low-cost carrier terminal (LCCT) in Penang, as we can easily have up to 10 planes there. By comparison, we have six planes in Kota Kinabalu," she said.

 

Tan added that a LCCT in Penang will allow for lower passenger airport taxes, as passengers departing from Penang International Airport currently pay RM51 in airport taxes.

 

"In comparison, our passengers departing from KL (LCCT) and Kota Kinabalu (LCCT) only pay RM25," she said.

 

AirAsia will also look to add more international destinations from Penang next year, including Chennai and Bali. International flights from Penang now are to Singapore, Bangkok, Medan, Jakarta and Macau.

 

Tan added that concerns surrounding the influenza A (H1N1) virus was unlikely to dampen travel to Hong Kong, as many passengers wanted to capitalise on cheap fares.

 

"This seems to be the best time to travel due to good deals, more so for the youth market which is not worried about the recession or the flu," she said.

 

Tickets for the new flights to Hong Kong and Singapore are open for sale until July 12, for the travel period from July 31 to April 30 2010. The all-in fare of RM99 to Hong Kong and RM51 to Singapore is exclusively made available online at www.airasia.com.

 

Source: http://www.btimes.com.my/Current_News/BTIMES/articles/jkath/Article/index_html

[Mohd Suhaimi Fariz 2]

Is there room for an LCCT in Penang? The airport's surrounded by factories...could it be placed near the cargo hangar on the other side of the airport...

[Mushrif A 3]

I wonder if the word "park" in the article originated from AK's executive or introduced by The Star ?

 

Because parking planes suggest that business is bad, demand is down, too much capacity, no use of planes, hence to park or mothball them in Penang.

 

To base ten planes in Penang as opposed to "park", is probably more accurate so as not to suggest something negative.

[flee 5]

Is there room for an LCCT in Penang? The airport's surrounded by factories...could it be placed near the cargo hangar on the other side of the airport...

I think the Penang state govt has identified the site already (if I remember, it is near the cargo area) - just needs Federal funding to construct the LCCT since airports are not under state jurisdiction.

 

I wonder if the word "park" in the article originated from AK's executive or introduced by The Star ?

 

Because parking planes suggest that business is bad, demand is down, too much capacity, no use of planes, hence to park or mothball them in Penang.

 

To base ten planes in Penang as opposed to "park", is probably more accurate so as not to suggest something negative.

This is their Press Release. Judge for yourselves!

 

6 July 2009

 

AirAsia establishes Penang as a hub with direct flight to Hong Kong

 

Sepang, 6th July 2009 – AirAsia, the World’s Best Low-Cost airline today announces that it will be expanding its route network in the Northern Gateway with the inclusion of another international flight from Penang to Hong Kong. This new service which is set to commence on 31st July 2009 is AirAsia’s 6th international service from Penang after Singapore, Bangkok, Medan, Jakarta, Macau and 3rd international service from Hong Kong after Kuala Lumpur and Bangkok. AirAsia is establishing Penang as its 8th hub after Kuala Lumpur, Johor Bahru, Kota Kinabalu, Bandung, Bali, Jakarta, Bangkok and a ‘virtual hub’ in Singapore .

 

Thus AirAsia’s new service from Penang to Hong Kong is certainly timely and will be well received by many as it has great advantage by the virtue of its extensive route network and low-fares to the masses without compromising on safety and quality. In addition to that, the pioneer of low-fare in Asia is also increasing its second frequency to Singapore from Penang, the city which is dubbed as the ‘Pearl of the Orient’ to cater to the overwhelming demand from leisure and business travellers.

 

The new sector to Hong Kong and the introduction of 2nd frequency to the ‘Lion City’, opens for sale for the booking period from 7th – 12th July 2009 for the travel period from 31st July 2009 – 30th April 2010. AirAsia will be offering an all-in-fare from RM99 to Hong Kong and RM51 to Singapore to mark the launch of these sectors. These offers are made exclusively online via www.airasia.com or mobile.airasia.com

 

And to make the deal sweeter, AirAsia through its holiday division GoHoliday, is offering guests FREE ROOMS* when guest book at its partner hotels in Hong Kong such as Chartherhouse Causeway Bay, Empire Hong Kong Wan Chai, Empire Hong Kong Causeway Bay or Empire Kowloon Tsim Sha Tsui. This promotion which is valid via goholiday.airasia.com and are available on first come, first served basis and are subject to availability.

 

Kathleen Tan, Regional Head of Commercial AirAsia, says “At a time when some airlines are cutting routes and downsizing capacity, AirAsia is breaking the trend with our aggressive expansion plans, increasing frequencies where there is proven demand, which there certainly is for the Penang - Hong Kong and Penang - Singapore routes. We are very proud to establish Penang as a hub and position the city as an affordable travel option. With the inscription of George Town as UNESCO's World Heritage Site, the city will draw more attention to its endless attractions, heritage sites, fast-growing industrial and trading centre thus its air connectivity has to be expanded to cater to the ever increasing traffic demands from the inbound and outbound travelers. Moving forward, we are hoping to introduce new sectors to Shenzhen and Guangzhou from Penang in the future,”

 

“Hong Kong has always been a prominent destination due to its significance as a growing centre of international commercial and financial hub. Furthermore, it has long been on the radar as shopping and cultural haven for leisure tourists. In fact, with the Hong Kong International Airport’s exclusive infrastructure, serving as an international hub feeding on traffic to international destinations has allowed us to expand and tap new markets. The number travellers from Hong Kong to Malaysia has also increased as Malaysia offers a variety of vacation spots with white sandy beaches and historical sites as a holiday getaway. The launch of the 2nd frequency to Singapore from Penang is also timely as we are offering travellers to visit Asia for less, especially in these challenging economic times.” concluded Kathleen

 

The Hong Kong route forms part of AirAsia’s strategy to establish Kuala Lumpur as a gateway to other Asia destinations, using its vast route network across Asia. The airline’s relationship with its long-haul affiliate AirAsia X will also connect traffic from Australia, UK to the Chinese cities.

[Mushrif A 3]

The PR didnt say anything about parking 10 planes, so the Star probably got that from a Q&A session. And used the wrong word which suggests something else....at least that was the negative reaction I had when I first saw the headlines...that finally, the global economic slowdown has really affected AK - 10 planes redundant.

[Pieter C. 5]

Is this considered an 'attack' on FY, being based there ?

[Adrian M 0]

FY won't get attacked while they still operate out of SZB to SIN. Money is there, people is there, if FY start flying 8 flights a day like AK, AK will lose out big time. Who wanna go all the way to LCCT to catch 6.25am flight to SIN so early when you can go to the nearer SZB and get to SIN at 6.25am (If there is a 6.25am FY flight).

[flee 5]

The PR didnt say anything about parking 10 planes, so the Star probably got that from a Q&A session. And used the wrong word which suggests something else....at least that was the negative reaction I had when I first saw the headlines...that finally, the global economic slowdown has really affected AK - 10 planes redundant.

Unfortunately there is no such thing as "Aviation Correspondent" at The Star. If I am not mistaken, Malaysian media journalists are all generalists and there are no specialists. So they do not understand that certain terms mean specific things.

 

Another factor to take into account is the sophistication of the The Star's readers. Not everyone is knowledgeable like yourself or other MW members. So they will not understand what the term means.

 

Is this considered an 'attack' on FY, being based there ?

FY's Penang HQ operations seem to have taken a back seat recently. I think that they have now come out of their disguise. SZB is really their HQ, not PEN!

[Mushrif A 3]

Unfortunately there is no such thing as "Aviation Correspondent" at The Star. If I am not mistaken, Malaysian media journalists are all generalists and there are no specialists. So they do not understand that certain terms mean specific things.

 

 

How very true. Perhaps, somebody from AK on this forum should highlight this matter to their colleagues at public relations and educate the journalists at The Star. Ditto for the MH PR folks.

[Yusoff 1]

*Yamn..*

 

Every year, every time a speech is delivered at PEN, this LCCT idea surfaced. Then, over few days or probably hours, it sinks again... Then rise again and sink again....

Stinks man...

 

*Yamn*

[flee 5]

Well Penang seems to be the forgotten child... Remember years ago, some proposal was put up to build a new Penang airport in Kedah? It was supposed to be built on reclaimed land (Kedah has so much land, why need to reclaim?) on the mainland coast and a bridge will link it to Penang, making it the second crossing...

[Yusoff 1]

That was during pre-97 economic crisis. Another proposal under Malaysia Mega Projects that gave birth to the Twin Towers and KLIA. Remember the Klang River development? That goes into the drain together with New Penang (or rather Kedah) Airport. Luckily this did not materialize.