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AK X to London, RM1200 return in Y

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After several false starts...

 

Don't know if this is net fare or introductory promo fare or both or what?

 

 

"Sunday May 11, 2008

To London and back - for RM1,200

By WONG SAI WAN

 

 

KUALA LUMPUR: AirAsia X will start its flights to London in March next year. And it will cost only about RM1,200 for a return trip on an economy ticket.

 

The country’s first long-haul budget carrier had announced last year that the Kuala Lumpur-London route would be its mainstay but could not take off because there was no suitable aircraft.

 

AirAsia group chief executive officer Datuk Tony Fernandes said he had signed up for the lease of an Airbus A340 aircraft a few days ago.

 

“We will take delivery of the plane in January and it will take us several months to refurbish it.

 

“It will be configured to house 50 flatbeds (sleeper seats) and the rest would be economy seats but will be bigger and more comfortable than even that of a full service carrier,” Fernandes said in an interview from London.

 

He estimated that the average cost of a return fare to London would be about RM1,200 while the higher-class flatbed seats would cost about RM8,000 return.

 

The economy return fare on full service carriers like Malaysia Airlines and Singapore Airlines is between RM4,000 and RM4,500 while a business-class ticket on these airlines costs more than RM20,000.

 

Fernandes said his airline was still negotiating with a couple of airports near the Greater London area but “chances are we will settle for London's Standsted Airport.''

 

The airport is located in the Uttlesford district of the English county of Essex, about 48km northeast of London. Stansted is a hub for a number of major European low-cost airlines. It is Britain’s third largest airport serving the London area after Heathrow and Gatwick.

 

Fernandes said AirAsia X would start with five flights a week using the first aircraft but “we will build it up to eventually two flights on a daily basis.”

 

“Our on-board entertainment system will be a state-of-the-art touch screen unit. You can watch movies, listen to music and even order your food from the unit,” he added.

 

On the permanent aircraft for the long-haul routes, he said AirAsia X was still looking at the Airbus A350 or the Boeing 787 (commonly called the Dreamliner).

 

“We have not decided on which wide-body aircraft but we want one that can give us the flexibility to serve Europe and the Americas. We want to turn Kuala Lumpur into a truly low-cost hub,” the AirAsia founder said.

 

AirAsia X operates long-haul flights that take six hours or more. It now operates flights to two destinations – Gold Coast in Australia and Hangzhou in China. The airline had announced that it would be flying to Tiruchirapalli in India in a couple of months."

 

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If AirAisa X eventually fly to Stansted

two flights on a daily basis
it's gonna make MH a real run of its money...

 

MH better take this matter seriously and redefine their inflight product to what we call as a "Five-star Airline", their Econ cabin, IFE and a/c are not as top-notch as they should be...

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After several false starts...

 

Don't know if this is net fare or introductory promo fare or both or what?

 

 

"Sunday May 11, 2008

To London and back - for RM1,200

 

 

Another AK ploy, can’t believe their publicity stun, after adding surcharge and fees, the final fare will be close to RM3,000. :angry:

 

 

:drinks:

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I think the aircraft that TF has hinted is the A340s....very unlikely B777 though :rolleyes:

The A340 leased has been signed and nothing to hint.

"AirAsia group chief executive officer Datuk Tony Fernandes said he had signed up for the lease of an Airbus A340 aircraft a few days ago."

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I gues TF really is going to bring in the A345/6? He just msg me on it.. but not so sure which he meant hehe

tfFBmsg01.jpg :pardon:

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Wah, TF pun main facebook ah. But yeah, i guess as what KK Lee said, after adding fuel charge and tax, it would be Rm3k or more already. Based on the Gold Coast prediction, including tax and all its already about Rm1.5k.

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Probably not. The MYR 1,200 might be the cheapest ticket offered on that flight. During the inaugural flight to OOL, the cheapest return tickets were sold at MYR 773 including tax and surcharges (MYR 50 x 2 + Tax 673), which I got.

 

This is a great news! I am definitely going to be onboard the inaugural flight to London at whatever price. I was on their inaugural flight to OOL, but missed out on the inaugural flight to HGH, so I can't afford to miss out on this one.

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“Our on-board entertainment system will be a state-of-the-art touch screen unit. You can watch movies, listen to music and even order your food from the unit,” he added.

 

That's very interesting. I wonder if they'll make us pay to use the IFE.

 

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Of course we have to Zaki. I think it was mentioned in the news article when the former Air Canada's CEO purchase a stake in D7 a few months ago.

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Another AK ploy, can’t believe their publicity stun, after adding surcharge and fees, the final fare will be close to RM3,000. :angry:

 

 

:drinks:

 

3000MYR would be equivalent to around 615EUR: I would rather prefer EK or QR for that amount of money, despite having to make a stop at either DXB or DOH ;)

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AirAsia X to fly to Britain next March: Fernandes

 

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 21, 2008 (AFP) - Budget carrier AirAsia X said Thursday it plans to fly to Britain in March with London's Stansted airport the likely destination, and that high fuel prices will not deter its expansion plans.

 

"Definitely it is going to happen and I am optimistic that it will happen in March," said Tony Fernandes, AirAsia X director and founder of Southeast Asia's largest budget carrier, AirAsia.

 

The Malaysia-based long-haul budget carrier had planned to launch flights to Britain in December but difficulties in securing a leased airplane forced it to postpone.

 

It currently operates with one leased A330-300 with flights to Australia's Gold Coast and Hangzhou in China. It is scheduled to fly to Perth and Melbourne in November.

 

Fernandes said AirAsia X favoured Stansted, on the outskirts of London, but would finalise its plans in September when it meets with officials from Stansted as well as Manchester airport, which is its other option.

 

He said the carrier would use a leased A340-300 to mount a direct flight from the Malaysian capital Kuala Lumpur, which will act as a hub for other regional destinations in the AirAsia network.

 

"From Stansted there would be people who will fly to Malaysia and from Malaysia to anywhere else in Southeast Asia or Australia," he said.

 

Fernandes said that high fuel costs will not deter the budget carrier from expanding its routes, and unveiled plans to fly to South America and Africa.

 

"With that (Britain) flight we are connecting two-thirds of the world. Only the Americas -- South America and Central America -- and Africa are not in our network, but that will come in due course," he said.

 

"We have always been very optimistic. Many airlines have cut capacity but we are happy to add all our new routes. It is not expensive for us. We are still running a very high load factor and our business has been booming."

 

Azran Osman Rani, CEO of AirAsia X, rejected pessimism among aviation analysts about the prospects of long-haul budget carriers, after the recent failure Hong-Kong based Oasis.

 

"Our model proves that low-cost long-haul can work if you do it right. The faster I expand, the faster my costs drop and the faster I can be more aggressive on my pricing. We do need to bulk up and get scale quickly," he said.

 

AirAsia X has purchased a total of 25 Airbus A330-300 aircraft and is expecting delivery of the first two in October and December this year.

 

Hong Kong's budget long-haul airline Oasis wound up in June after only 18 months in operation, blaming soaring fuel costs and a decision to buy aircraft instead of leasing them.

 

AirAsia X is an affiliate of AirAsia and Virgin Group and was launched in January 2007.

 

Richard Branson's Virgin Group has taken a 20 percent stake in the airline and the British billionaire has vowed to ensure that the project turns a profit.

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AirAsia X to fly to Britain next March: Fernandes

 

......AirAsia X has purchased a total of 25 Airbus A330-300 aircraft and is expecting delivery of the first two in October and December this year.....

 

first two A333s to be deliverd this year? :S Still remember I shot a frame named 9M-XAA @ KUL in april tis year :pardon:

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9M-XAA is leased IMO, their new one with 9 abreast seating is arriving later this year.

 

Yikess!! Sardine Config!

 

 

9M-XAA (msn 054) leased from AWAS.A/c msn 952 (9M-XAB) is owned.LTU,AirInter and My Travel A333. is more packed at 400 over seats.These aircraft will have 380 seats.Once 9M-XAC is received,9M-XAA is due for cabin reconfig from 315 to 380 seats.

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After several false starts...

 

Don't know if this is net fare or introductory promo fare or both or what?

 

 

"Sunday May 11, 2008

To London and back - for RM1,200

By WONG SAI WAN

 

 

KUALA LUMPUR: AirAsia X will start its flights to London in March next year.

 

(snip) Fernandes said AirAsia X would start with five flights a week using the first aircraft but “we will build it up to eventually two flights on a daily basis.” (snip)

 

Brilliant stuff by Air Asia X on this London thing.

 

But the press must have misquoted him about One aircraft doing 5 KUL-LON vv flights within 7 days...... WoW!

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But the press must have misquoted him about One aircraft doing 5 KUL-LON vv flights within 7 days...... WoW!

Stretching one's imagination a bit, perhaps they plan to do different departure times on every different day of operation ?! :D

I don't suppose the A333's will have the legs to do KUL-London vv non stop ? Which means they will still need to source for additional long hauls (presumably A340's now) for the additional frequencies

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Stretching one's imagination a bit, perhaps they plan to do different departure times on every different day of operation ?! :D

I don't suppose the A333's will have the legs to do KUL-London vv non stop ? Which means they will still need to source for additional long hauls (presumably A340's now) for the additional frequencies

 

True BC.

 

But being the simpleton i am, there's only 168 hours in a week, and the Airbus will average 13hrs per leg at least ( its significantly slower than the B744 ) meaning it will spend 130 hours airborne leaving only 38 hours ( spread over 10 sectors ) for transits, stayover checks and other mandatory maintenance chores....and that's provided the slots into and out of London are favorable for aircraft sling patterns...... And if the aircraft returns after a 17 hour cycle, the same crew surely cannot be expected to do the alternate return leg after a 17 hour break...... This means another set of crew to operate ( probably 4 pilots and 14 CC ) and more HOTAC costs in LON due overlap......

 

If its the A330s, even stretching the imagination is not going to help it do London non-stop. It can't even do the 8.8 hours Jeddah with a full load. Even the longer range short version can't do London without significant payload penalties.

 

Don't really know how the A340 will perform though.....

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The existence of AirAsiaX for me personally is to pose a competition to MH.

So if AKX want to compete with MH, why can't MH competes with AK/AKX.

 

Anyway this could be a very very good news for students in Europe.

 

MYR1200= EUR240 plus EUR50 with Ryanair from FKB.

Meaning I can fly back home for EUR600 less. I could fly back home every month huhu

 

Unfortunately I will be finishing my studies here on April next year..

Edited by Jessnor Arif

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After several false starts...

 

KUALA LUMPUR: AirAsia X will start its flights to London in March next year. And it will cost only about RM1,200 for a return trip on an economy ticket.

I still in doubt about this news..We have heard this news many time ago but it still on paper..sekejap kata want to operate to Korean and Indian subcontinental..huhuhu..Emm dont mind if ask, this D7 flight to London will be on non-stop or stop over flight??I see they want to operate direct flight here..

 

The economy return fare on full service carriers like Malaysia Airlines and Singapore Airlines is between RM4,000 and RM4,500 while a business-class ticket on these airlines costs more than RM20,000.

IT is this fare stated above including airport tax also surcharge?? ;) ;)

 

On the permanent aircraft for the long-haul routes, he said AirAsia X was still looking at the Airbus A350 or the Boeing 787 (commonly called the Dreamliner).

I dont believe that AirAsia Group will buy Boeing planes since they the biggest operator of A320..As i believe,pilot may have bit difficulties to switch from Airbus to Boeing.. B) B)

 

Probably not. The MYR 1,200 might be the cheapest ticket offered on that flight. During the inaugural flight to OOL, the cheapest return tickets were sold at MYR 773 including tax and surcharges (MYR 50 x 2 + Tax 673), which I got.

 

This is a great news! I am definitely going to be onboard the inaugural flight to London at whatever price. I was on their inaugural flight to OOL, but missed out on the inaugural flight to HGH, so I can't afford to miss out on this one.

You are the man Azizul..Get in the flight for inaugural flight..Amazing..I will do same thing if I afford to do so soon..hehehe..Hope you mange to get onboard for this London flight soon.. :) :drinks:

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I still in doubt about this news..We have heard this news many time ago but it still on paper..sekejap kata want to operate to Korean and Indian subcontinental..huhuhu..Emm dont mind if ask, this D7 flight to London will be on non-stop or stop over flight??I see they want to operate direct flight here..

 

 

IT is this fare stated above including airport tax also surcharge?? ;) ;)

 

 

I dont believe that AirAsia Group will buy Boeing planes since they the biggest operator of A320..As i believe,pilot may have bit difficulties to switch from Airbus to Boeing.. B) B)

 

 

You are the man Azizul..Get in the flight for inaugural flight..Amazing..I will do same thing if I afford to do so soon..hehehe..Hope you mange to get onboard for this London flight soon.. :) :drinks:

 

 

The A330-300 is capable of reaching India and Japan or Korea without any problem but to go to Europe you need a longer leggeg aircraft thats where the A340-300 comes in.This year D7/XAX or AKX if you guys prefer will be getting 2 x A333,next year between 2 to 3 x A333 and 2010 abot 10 x A333.So with growing number of aircraft ofcourse the company will be seeking new destinations.Sabarlah brother,Ramadhan is coming.

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The A330-300 is capable of reaching India and Japan or Korea without any problem but to go to Europe you need a longer leggeg aircraft thats where the A340-300 comes in.This year D7/XAX or AKX if you guys prefer will be getting 2 x A333,next year between 2 to 3 x A333 and 2010 abot 10 x A333.So with growing number of aircraft ofcourse the company will be seeking new destinations.Sabarlah brother,Ramadhan is coming.

 

aircrafts keep coming in but i don't see an increase in the number of parking bays...sakit hati la brader towing to hangar everyday..

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The A330-300 is capable of reaching India and Japan or Korea without any problem but to go to Europe you need a longer leggeg aircraft thats where the A340-300 comes in.This year D7/XAX or AKX if you guys prefer will be getting 2 x A333,next year between 2 to 3 x A333 and 2010 abot 10 x A333.So with growing number of aircraft ofcourse the company will be seeking new destinations.Sabarlah brother,Ramadhan is coming.

 

Mean this D7 to London sector may be stop over somewhere around Middle East with A330..

 

To Mr. Azmir I(sorry if I dont know correct title for you), any indication D7 still interest to perform flight to Japan soon since Malaysian hard to get visa by quoting from MD of AirAsia X statement a month ago??

 

Emm may be this AirAsia X parking will be on new parking lots at NEW LCCT..hehehe..

 

Thanks

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