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Sharil Abdul Rahman

SCMP: AirAsia says it may set up base in Macau

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AirAsia, the region’s largest low-cost carrier, may set up a base in Macau to serve Chinese travellers, becoming the first foreign airline to throw its hat into the ring since a January policy that ended Air Macau’s quarter-century monopoly in the gambling hub.

 

“Entering China could be via Macau,” said AirAsia’s founder and chief executive Tony Fernandes, in an interview with South China Morning Post during Credit Suisse’s Asia Investment Conference in Hong Kong. “We do not have to be in mainland China, but being in Macau is like being in China.”

A base in Macau – the first toehold in China for the Kuala Lumpur-based carrier since an inaugural service in 2004 – would put the airline within easy reach of Chinese travellers, who are expected to make 400 million trips by 2030, more than double the 145 million trips they made in 2017, according to a forecast by online rental platform Cozystay.

 

https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/3003420/airasia-says-it-may-set-base-macau-first-overseas-carrier-throw

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The AirAsia China JV did not take off. MFM is a good place to start, now that there are good links to Hong Kong and the rest of the Pearl Delta.

 

It is worth a shot!

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The AirAsia China JV did not take off. MFM is a good place to start, now that there are good links to Hong Kong and the rest of the Pearl Delta.

 

It is worth a shot!

 

Not really a good link from HK - it is too much of a hassle to go to Macau airport to catch a flight. It takes near 2-3.5 hrs per way, 2 hrs is considered quick...

One can probably do it within two hours, but you need an HK ID card / smart gate option for both HK and MO side. It would also help once the monorail starts operating, connecting the Cotai ferry with the airport.

 

I am going to fly from MFM to BKI next month and we shall see...

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It took my 2 hours from Wan Chai to doorstep of MFM. I thought it was pretty okay.

What was the cost involved? If it cost too much especially with Taxi and ferry, many would simply not bother. The ferry is considered expensive at HKD $175 per way, compared to the Airport bus $42 per way. Unless the airfare is super cheap, perhaps for the budget conscious group, it might work. Then again, CX had just bought HK Express, so Air Asia will face stiffer competition compared to when HK Express was managed by the ailing Hong Kong Airlines/ Hainan Airlines Group.

 

Most people do not live close to the Ferry, nor have quick access to the Airbus bus that will make a stop at the HK Border Crossing after the airport, so that will add more time to it.

 

As for mainland Chinese, I don't think anyone is in a hurry to go to Macau just to catch a flight. SZX is cheap enough, Guangzhou is a bit too far. Perhaps they can attract people from Zhuhai, then again, it will be a hassle to cross the Border at Zhuhai as well.

 

Sorry I don't really see how MFM will work out especially when China had tighten the outflow of money from within their border. The gold old days of big spenders at Macau Casinos are gone... I hope TF had done his feasibility studies.

Edited by S V Choong

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