Saving Airasia Group and Airasia X: Covid-19 Recovery Thread

[JuliusWong 0]

3 minutes ago, flee said:

OK, that explains it - they had some Japan flights going via TPE prior to the pandemic. However, with the merger there is no difference now. I wonder if they will consolidate everything under one AOC.

I don't think the consolidation will be easy. Some countries may ask Capital A/ AirAsia/ AirAsia X to give up the current rights and apply again their traffic rights.. A behemoth like them will take a very long time. Let's not forget Thai AirAsia, Thai AirAsia X, Indonesia AirAsia and Philippines AirAsia. With their bureaucracy as bad as Malaysia, I wish them all the luck they can have.

[JuliusWong 0]

AirAsia launches Chiang Rai 3x weekly from KUL

https://newsroom.airasia.com/news/airasia-reconnects-kuala-lumpur-with-chiang-rai#gsc.tab=0

SEPANG, 27 June 2024 - AirAsia today announces the launch of a new route from Kuala Lumpur to Chiang Rai, Thailand. The new route will kick off with three weekly flights starting 2 November 2024.

To mark the launch of the new route, AirAsia is offering FREE Seats* for flights from Kuala Lumpur to Chiang Rai, now available for booking on AirAsia MOVE (formerly airasia Superapp) and airasia.com from today until 30 June 2024 for travel period between 2 November 2024 and 27 February 2025.

Flight schedule between Kuala Lumpur (KUL) and Chiang Rai (CEI):

[Tom/PER 0]

On 6/24/2024 at 1:55 PM, JuliusWong said:

Thai AirAsia X to take two additional A330-300s

1. HS-XTO MSN 1648    ex-Singapore Airlines 9V-SSH, landed in Bangkok two days ago.

Source: https://www.airport-data.com/aircraft/photo/001776640.html

2. HS-XTP MSN 1090    ex-Thai Airways HS-TEU, currently in Malta for ferry preparation

VP-CRX LMML 15-05-2024 Air Asia Airbus A330-343 CN 1090 by copyright of Burmarrad (Mark) Camenzuli Thank you, on Flickr

The Air Asia X fleet moving forwards is particularly interesting as they seem to be collecting a miss-mash of A330’s from a variety of sources, which brings different configurations.

HS-XJA and -XJB have now left the fleet and are in service in Brazil with Azul.

Have they actually got any A330NEO’s on firm order with delivery dates? There’s so much marketing spin online it’s hard to decipher what’s correct.

Locally with regards to the D7 fleet with only -XXD and -XXC, returning to service this year, there’s not a lot of room for growth there and there’s a distinct difference between the utilisation between the ‘red’ and ‘white’ ones, with the albino ones spending a lot of time parked at KUL in-between services, whilst the full Y configured red one -XBE seems to spend most of its time operating routes to Delhi and DPS. 

[JuliusWong 0]

56 minutes ago, Tom/PER said:

The Air Asia X fleet moving forwards is particularly interesting as they seem to be collecting a miss-mash of A330’s from a variety of sources, which brings different configurations.

HS-XJA and -XJB have now left the fleet and are in service in Brazil with Azul.

Have they actually got any A330NEO’s on firm order with delivery dates? There’s so much marketing spin online it’s hard to decipher what’s correct.

Locally with regards to the D7 fleet with only -XXD and -XXC, returning to service this year, there’s not a lot of room for growth there and there’s a distinct difference between the utilisation between the ‘red’ and ‘white’ ones, with the albino ones spending a lot of time parked at KUL in-between services, whilst the full Y configured red one -XBE seems to spend most of its time operating routes to Delhi and DPS. 

Unfortunately they don't have much choice when it comes to selecting used aircraft. A lot of them are owned by different lessors and and they may not be offering the same or favourable leasing terms. Many of the lessors are trying to catch the A330 cargo conversions waves, sending some very young airframes to conversions, thus limiting choices.

AirAsia X will resume A330neo delivery will start next year, with A321XLR coming the year after.

For now, AirAsia X will continue to operate 18 A330-300ceo until 2025 when they start getting the A330-900neo, the fleet growth will be mainly in its sister company Thai AirAsia X which is looking to add three to five more A330-300ceo. They try their best not to use the "white" ones on more premium routes which usually uses the "red" ones, but you do get the ex-SQ and ex-PR aircraft at random patterns. -XBE all-Y is now restricted to Xian, Delhi and Denpasar patterns to minimise complaints and operation restriction.  Both Delhi and Denpasar are high demand routes need more Y there, with Xian thrown in as filler. 

[JuliusWong 0]

Quote

AirAsia Aviation CEO still mulling Vietnamese operation

https://www.ch-aviation.com/news/141941-airasia-aviation-ceo-still-mulling-vietnamese-operation

AirAsia Aviation Group CEO Bo Lingam has revisited the prospects of the company starting a standalone Vietnamese operation, telling Bloomberg this week an AirAsia Vietnam effort is once again on the cards but that the company has no interest in setting up airlines outside Southeast Asia. ch-aviation has previously reported on plans by the company to start an airline in Viet Nam and also potentially Singapore.

Not sure why TF is adamant in setting up a subsidiary in Vietnam. Except for Vietjet which is making money, all other airlines are bleeding.

[flee 5]

2 hours ago, JuliusWong said:

Not sure why TF is adamant in setting up a subsidiary in Vietnam. Except for Vietjet which is making money, all other airlines are bleeding.

He said he is building a low cost network carrier (whatever that means) from points in ASEAN. So he wants Vietnam for that reason. Frankly I don't think it is necessary as he already has Thai Airasia and Cambodia Airasia. Vietnam can be a virtual hub, just like Singapore. The eastern flank is Philippines and basically all he needs to do is to optimise the existing operations rather than complicate matters opening a new subsidiary.

[JuliusWong 0]

AirAsia X to launch Nairobi, Kenya on July 1, 2024 with 4x weekly service. 

Read on Facebook Group: 

Base Fare RM0
Airport taxes RM71
Fuel surcharge RM400
Total RM471 (one-way)

[KK Lee 5]

On 6/28/2024 at 9:16 PM, flee said:

He said he is building a low cost network carrier (whatever that means) from points in ASEAN. So he wants Vietnam for that reason. Frankly I don't think it is necessary as he already has Thai Airasia and Cambodia Airasia. Vietnam can be a virtual hub, just like Singapore. The eastern flank is Philippines and basically all he needs to do is to optimise the existing operations rather than complicate matters opening a new subsidiary.

On 6/28/2024 at 6:47 PM, JuliusWong said:

Not sure why TF is adamant in setting up a subsidiary in Vietnam. Except for Vietjet which is making money, all other airlines are bleeding.

Tf objective is to list air Asia vn on stock exchange for $$$.

[JuliusWong 0]

7 hours ago, KK Lee said:

Tf objective is to list air Asia vn on stock exchange for $$$.

I don't think it is a wise idea to list in VN at all, or to start a foreign business in VN. Jetstar is a good case study. AirAsia tried to set up VN operation three times with different partners before, but all failed to take off. VN business rules and regulations are changed at their politicians' whims and fancies, highly protective of their local airlines. Or they will come up with trumped-up charges against foreign companies. Jetstar wasn't even allowed to use their logo/ livery at one point of time. 

Funnily, Vietnam Airlines which the local government ferociously protects, is bleeding cash despite having all the monopoly.....and just received a debt reprieve from the state government. 

And they are reviving the 33 years old Pacific Blue, the loss making budget carrier previously Jetstar Pacific, as a full service carrier*. LOL! After 33 years and various ownership, it is still struggling to take off.

(*article behind paywall, but you can read it in incognito mode). 

[flee 5]

In many ways, Vietnam is like India - private enterprise is always subservient to government corporations.

VietJet was Airasia's former partner and it is better to try to merge with them and then go for IPO. To start from scratch is to bleed cash, and cash is what Airasia does not have.

[Tom/PER 0]

-XBE looks like it’s gone up to MNL for a heavy check, it’ll be interesting to see if it gets reconfigured into the standard config during her visit. 

[JuliusWong 0]

36 minutes ago, Tom/PER said:

-XBE looks like it’s gone up to MNL for a heavy check, it’ll be interesting to see if it gets reconfigured into the standard config during her visit. 

Won't be possible since 9M-XBE have different door set-up compared to the AirAsia X's own factory fresh airframes. The latter has all four Type A doors, same as those ex-Philippines Airlines.

9M-XBE has Type 1 door for 3L and 3R, thus limiting the number of pax it can carry. Same goes to Singapore Airlines.

A330-300 Maximum Seating Capacity
The maximum number of passengers approved for emergency evacuation is:
- 375 basic (3 Type A and 1 Type 1 doors installed) ;
- 440 option (4 Type A doors installed – Mod 40161).

Source: EASA TCDS.

[Adam Lawrence 0]

Heard that D7 will be launching flights to Cape Town (this year) and San Francisco (early next year) from KUL.

[Kee Hooi Yen 0]

1 hour ago, Adam Lawrence said:

Heard that D7 will be launching flights to Cape Town (this year) and San Francisco (early next year) from KUL.

Are the current D7 A330s capable to fly KUL-CPT with their ETOPS rating ?

Edited July 2 by Kee Hooi Yen

[BC Tam 2]

1 hour ago, Adam Lawrence said:

Heard that D7 will be launching flights to Cape Town (this year) and San Francisco (early next year) from KUL.

Anyone else get the feeling that Capital A is starting to embark on similar 'get it done regardless' projectory that Mr 019/MH were floating upon before it all went down south ?! 

[JuliusWong 0]

1 hour ago, Adam Lawrence said:

Heard that D7 will be launching flights to Cape Town (this year) and San Francisco (early next year) from KUL.

It has been in plan since January this year when they launched the multi-hubs strategy. Nairobi, Cairo and Cape Town are their aims for African continent. San Francisco will be a bit far fetched though since they will be using Japan as eastern hub to reach North America. They will be slaughtered alive by BR, CI, JX, JL, NH, YP, TW, KE, UA, DL, AA, CX and SQ. 

My earlier post on multi-hubs strategy:

On 6/24/2024 at 11:01 AM, JuliusWong said:

Excellent news indeed!

Capital A has been planning this for some time after they relaunched their aviation business during the visit of Airbus CEO for Commercial Aircraft business earlier this year in February to AirAsia's HQ. The strategy is to have multi-hub strategy:

1. Kuala Lumpur to Africa continent: Cairo, Nairobi, Cape Town
2. Bangkok to Europe: London, Paris, Amsterdam, Bratislava, Barcelona, Copenhagen
3. The Philippines to Honolulu
4. Japan to west coast of North America: San Francisco, Los Angeles, Vancouver
5. Europe to east coast of North America: New York, Miami, Toronto

https://newsroom.airasia.com/news/airasia-reveals-plan-to-become-the-worlds-first-low-cost-network-carrier-during-airbus-leadership-visit#gsc.tab=0

I would thing #1 to #3 are workable if they can get their cards right, #4 and #5 are really far fetched dream......The aviation industry is very much USD dominated, unless RM is as strong as SGD, Capital A can forget about the dream.

This route may make a lot of money with all the potential cargo loads on top of any projected passenger loads via daily connections to China, especially Guangzhou, Shenzhen and Hong Kong.

 

Edited July 2 by JuliusWong

[JuliusWong 0]

36 minutes ago, Kee Hooi Yen said:

Are the current D7 A330s capable to fly KUL-CPT with their ETOPS rating ?

AirAsia X's 233-tonnes A330-300 may face load penalty operating from O R Tambo International Airport, one of the (hardly) high altitude airports. South African Airways's A330-300 is 242 tonnes incorporates new aerodynamic packages, can take off without struggle. Time for AirAsia X to add in some ex-SAA A330-300.

[Adam Lawrence 0]

3 hours ago, Kee Hooi Yen said:

Are the current D7 A330s capable to fly KUL-CPT with their ETOPS rating ?

My mistake. Rumor I heard was Johannesburg and not Cape Town.

[flee 5]

13 hours ago, JuliusWong said:

It has been in plan since January this year when they launched the multi-hubs strategy. Nairobi, Cairo and Cape Town are their aims for African continent. San Francisco will be a bit far fetched though since they will be using Japan as eastern hub to reach North America. They will be slaughtered alive by BR, CI, JX, JL, NH, YP, TW, KE, UA, DL, AA, CX and SQ. 

I don't think it is advisable to launch long haul until they receive their A330 Neos. This is their opportunity to introduce a new SpaceFlex cabin as their existing product is really a mix and match of the aircraft that they are able to procure. Factory fresh aircraft with their own specified cabins will be best for new routes. I think D7 only has one chance to get them right as the days of experimentation are over. The good thing about doing it now is that fares are at a high level and competition is limited by the lack of available aircraft in the market. So D7 will know what they are up against and compete accordingly.

[KK Lee 5]

On 7/1/2024 at 9:44 AM, JuliusWong said:

I don't think it is a wise idea to list in VN at all, or to start a foreign business in VN. Jetstar is a good case study. AirAsia tried to set up VN operation three times with different partners before, but all failed to take off. VN business rules and regulations are changed at their politicians' whims and fancies, highly protective of their local airlines. Or they will come up with trumped-up charges against foreign companies. Jetstar wasn't even allowed to use their logo/ livery at one point of time. 

Funnily, Vietnam Airlines which the local government ferociously protects, is bleeding cash despite having all the monopoly.....and just received a debt reprieve from the state government. 

And they are reviving the 33 years old Pacific Blue, the loss making budget carrier previously Jetstar Pacific, as a full service carrier*. LOL! After 33 years and various ownership, it is still struggling to take off.

(*article behind paywall, but you can read it in incognito mode). 

Given tf track record; air asia vn need not necessary to be listed in vn.

VN have good product and service but as a glc, like mas it is doesn't and need not operate like a private enterprise.

 

On 7/1/2024 at 1:35 PM, flee said:

In many ways, Vietnam is like India - private enterprise is always subservient to government corporations.

VietJet was Airasia's former partner and it is better to try to merge with them and then go for IPO. To start from scratch is to bleed cash, and cash is what Airasia does not have.

Although creditors like banks and leasing companies keep a distance at the moment, tf may convince some p.e and funds to invest until market sentiment changed.

 

12 hours ago, flee said:

I don't think it is advisable to launch long haul until they receive their A330 Neos. This is their opportunity to introduce a new SpaceFlex cabin as their existing product is really a mix and match of the aircraft that they are able to procure. Factory fresh aircraft with their own specified cabins will be best for new routes. I think D7 only has one chance to get them right as the days of experimentation are over. The good thing about doing it now is that fares are at a high level and competition is limited by the lack of available aircraft in the market. So D7 will know what they are up against and compete accordingly.

tf is known to create headlines stories to attract fund managers. some routes may failed but if some fund managers are convinced of some routes stories, money will pour in.

 

[JuliusWong 0]

Capital A has resumed delivery of new aircraft. Thai AirAsia received a new A321-200neo HS-EAC MSN 12089 on June 29, 2024, will first schedule flight on July 5, 2024 to Krabi and Chiang Rai. Capital A will receive another three A321neo this year. 

Seen here leaving Hamburg Finkenwerder (XFW / EDHI) for delivert flight to Bangkok on June 28, 2024.

[flee 5]

All this talk about Airasia X's Aftican destinations made me wonder what their cabin configuration for their A321 XLRs will be. I would imagine that the economy cabin should be the same as their current A333 configuration with 32 inch seat pitch. But what about the premium flatbed section? How many seats will that have and what kind of seats will be chosen? Will they be bold and take a page out of the Jetblue book? If they want the maximum range out of their XLR, they may need to configure the plane with only 160-180 seats.

Edited July 6 by flee

[JuliusWong 0]

AirAsia X seems to devote 9M-XBI ex-SQ airframe specifically for its Almaty route: https://www.flightradar24.com/data/aircraft/9m-xbi

Not a mere coincidence since it is the most comfortable A330-300 layout AirAsia X has now. 30 W class in 2-2-2 and 255 Y class in 2-4-2 layout. The other ex-SQ airframe 9M-XBH is doing some random short haul and long haul flight.

[JuliusWong 0]

Quote

Thai AirAsia X to move all flight operations back to Don Mueang Airport from 1 October 2024
https://newsroom.airasia.com/news/thai-airasia-x-to-move-all-flight-operations-back-to-don-mueang-airport-from-1-october-2024#gsc.tab=0

BANGKOK, 16 July 2024 - In support of the Government's plan to establish Thailand as a regional aviation hub and to provide better and seamless connectivity to its guests, Thai AirAsia X (XJ) will be relocating all of its flight operations to Don Mueang Airport (DMK) starting 1 October 2024. 

The relocation follows successful coordination with, and is being facilitated by Airports of Thailand Plc. and the Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand. Thai AirAsia X currently operates from Suvarnabhumi Airport.

Effective 1 October, Thai AirAsia X guests flying to Seoul, South Korea; Tokyo, Osaka, Nagoya and Sapporo in Japan; Shanghai, China and Sydney, Australia will be departing from Don Mueang Airport. 

The relocation is a strategic move by Thai AirAsia X in creating more opportunities for connections to the larger AirAsia networks, both domestic and international, while providing visitors more convenient access to inner Bangkok.

Mr. Tassapon Bijleveld, Chief Executive Officer of Thai AirAsia X, said: "The return of Thai AirAsia X to Don Mueang Airport is a homecoming. We will be joining the strong and extensive AirAsia network, which has a domestic market share of over 40% in Thailand and a vibrant international network that encompasses Greater China, India and South Asia, Asean and Japan for a total 93 routes served by 1,250 flights a week to provide a wealth of opportunities for FlyThru services."

Guests booked on Thai AirAsia X (flight code XJ) for traveling from 1 October 2024 onwards, the airline will  automatically adjust your flight to Don Mueang Airport. From 1 August 2024 onwards, guests will also receive a notification by email, SMS or the contact channel provided to the airline with appropriate offers and advice on its relocation to Don Mueang Airport

Thai AirAsia X currently operates a fleet of eight Airbus A330 aircraft, increasing to 11 aircraft by the end of 2024. The airline expects to receive 3-5 new aircraft annually to serve the strategy of sustainable growth.

**For Thai AirAsia (flight code FD) flights connecting Suvarnabhumi to Chiang Mai, Phuket, Krabi, Hat Yai and AirAsia X (flight code D7) Suvarnabhumi-Kuala Lumpur continues to operate at Suvarnabhumi Airport as usual**

Thai AirAsia X will soon add HS-XTP MSN 1090, ex-Thai Airways, the ninth in their fleet. Two more deliveries to go till end of this year. Adding 3-5 new aircraft, I supposed those will be A330-900neo. 

[jahur 0]

Fernandes demands answers with airlines losing ‘millions’ in IT outage

Quote

 

KUALA LUMPUR:

The global IT outage has caused airlines to lose millions in revenue and created chaos in people’s lives, said Capital A Bhd CEO Tony Fernandes.

Fernandes acknowledged CrowdStrike’s apology but emphasised that airlines were still waiting for an explanation from Microsoft about the incident.

“Tech companies have little empathy. After what we went through with Covid-19, they had no sympathy (then). Now they have issues and expect us all to understand

Well, I’m not going to. Airlines need answers and compensation, he said in a LinkedIn post today.

 

I think the entire grid of how microsoft runs needs an overhaul. Its scary that even the 911 dial system in certain parts of the US went offline and so as our local msian MRT and KTM systems having headache days ago. Now i am hearing certain non core essential systems running on the military have also gone offline in the US.