Air Asia Begins services to Bangladesh

AirAsia now flies to Bangladesh. Daily flights to Dhaka (DAC) began this week from Kuala Lumpur (KUL) using an A320. Other carriers on this route are Biman Bangladesh, GMG Airlines and Malaysia Airlines who provide daily, or almost-daily, services.

Air Asia Launches Low Cost Long haul Ops to London

Air Asia launched it s Low cost long haul operations from Kuala Lumpur To London Stanstead last week. The Aircraft is a Ex- Air Canada A 340. Initial publicity suggested fares in Asia of RM499 and in the UK of £99 one way on the airline. However, checking the website now, prices have risen considerably, with a return fare from London Stansted in June costing £645 return. Additional charges are levied for all checked baggage (£4 [up to 15kg]; £12 up to 20kg and £22 [up to 25kg] each way), as well as amenity bags and in-flight entertainment. The A340-300 aircraft will be configured with 256 economy seats (with a seat pitch of 32 inches) and 30 “XL” seats (60-inch pitch)

AirAsia triples KL – Singapore flight

As per AirAsia timetable on the airlines’ website, the largest LCC in Asia will triple the number of flights it operates on the Kuala Lumpur – Singapore route from 01DEC08.

It will offer up to 6 daily flights

AK121 KUL0730 – 0820SIN
AK123 KUL1000 – 1055SIN
AK129 KUL1245 – 1335SIN
AK125 KUL1500 – 1550SIN
AK131 KUL1700 – 1750SIN
AK127 KUL1950 – 2050SIN

AK122 SIN0855 – 0945KUL
AK124 SIN1130 – 1225KUL
AK130 SIN1405 – 1455KUL
AK126 SIN1615 – 1705KUL
AK132 SIN1820 – 1910KUL
AK128 SIN2140 – 2240KUL

Air Asia to launch KL-Trichy-KL daily from Nov. 1

Air Asia, an international low cost carrier, will enter the Indian market with its first service to the country on the Kuala Lumpur-Tiruchi-Kuala Lumpur sector, scheduled for launch from November 1.

The airline had obtained the security clearance from Bureau of Civil Aviation Security and is awaiting clearance from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation for commencing operations.

A two-member team from the airline, led by Ahmad Ismail, Manager, Standards and New Stations, Air Asia, visited the airport on Thursday for finalisation of the operational and logistical details. They held separate discussions with S. Sreekumar, Airport Director, and T. H. Radhakrishnan, Station Manager, Air India, which will be the ground handling agency.

Speaking to The Hindu after inspecting the facilities at the new terminal building under construction at the airport, Mr. Ismail said the flights on the Kuala Lumpur-Tiruchi-Kuala Lumpur sector would be a daily service. The airline would deploy an all-economy class Airbus 320, with a passenger capacity of 180, on the route. The flight from Kuala Lumpur would arrive here at 8.55 a.m. and depart at 9.25 a.m. (Airports Authority of India officials at the Tiruchi Airport have already cleared the schedule, sources said).

Mr. Ismail said the airline would look to connecting more Indian destinations after the launch of the Tiruchi service. Tiruchi, he said, offered a good potential and the airline would seek to tap the central and south Tamil Nadu market. Meanwhile, airport sources said the state-of-the-art new terminal building, being built at an investment of Rs.70 crore, would become operational by the end of this financial year. Airport sources said Silk Air has also evinced interest in launching services in the Tiruchi-Singapore sector.

AirAsia X launches budget flights out of Melbourne

Cut-price airline AirAsia X has announced it is to begin new Melbourne to Kuala Lumpur flights.

The Malaysian-based carrier will offer one-way fares to Kuala Lumpur – starting at $199 including taxes and charges – and four return flights a week from November 12.

The airline plans to increase to daily return flights during the peak season from December to mid-January and then daily from March 2009.

Air Asia launches new route to Guilin

AirAsia will operate to Guilin, its seventh destination in China, from September. The three-times weekly flights from Kuala Lumpur will make the LCC the only airline from Malaysia to offer direct services between the two cities.

Guilin, situated in the northeast of the Guangxi Region, is one of China’s most popular tourist destinations, welcoming over 13 million foreign visitors in 2007.