AirAsia Not Flying To Vietnam, Laos And Myanmar This Year

[Seng Lim 0]

SEPANG, Aug 2 (Bernama) -- AirAsia Bhd, South- East Asia's number one low-cost carrier by revenue, will not fly the Kuala Lumpur (KL)-Vietnam, KL-Myanmar and KL-Laos routes this year as planned, says its chief executive Datuk Tony Fernandes.

 

"There have been a slight hiccup. I don't think it will happen this year," he told reporters here Wednesday.

 

According to Fernandes, AirAsia has applied to fly these routes and once approvals were obtained it would complete the airline's coverage in Association of South-East Asian Nations (Asean).

 

He said AirAsia was in talks with the state governments of Kedah and Penang for a new hub to cater to the carrier's northern region business.

 

"It could be in the form of a low-cost carrier terminal in Penang or an operation from the Sultan Abdul Halim Airport in Kedah.

 

"A new hub in the north will create a new market for AirAsia as it will help us capture the Indonesia-Malaysia-Thailand Growth Triangle market," he said.

 

Fernandes said AirAsia hoped to able to make a decision on the northern hub within the next three to four months.

 

"If we were to use Penang as the northern hub, travellers from China could then fly to Medan, Langkawi or Haadyai from the state.

 

"The high demand for AirAsia's flights in Sabah and Sarawak is also forcing us to re-look our plan to increase the number of aircraft for our Indonesia and Thailand destinations," he said.

 

Fernandes said inter-Asean travel currently contributed about 35 percent of AirAsia's revenue.

 

On the airline's flights to Xiamen and Shenzen from Kota Kinabalu, he said AirAsia was currently in the midst of negotiating with the airport authorities there.

 

"If we get the right pricing from the authorities, we can fly to the two new destinations this year," he said.

 

-- BERNAMA

[Andrew Yong 0]

I think maybe they dont have enough plane to served this route at the moment!!!!

Edited August 2, 2006 by Andrew Yong

[Seth K 3]

I think maybe they dont have enough plane to served this route at the moment!!!!

Yup, I think that's the reason, since AK will get one airbus each month, this problem will solve soon