Air Asia X, the long haul arm of Malaysian budget carrier Air Asia is currently awaiting delivery of 25 new fuel-efficient Airbus A330-300 aircraft and has plans for rapid expansion. But in today’s economic climate just how low can a budget carrier go?
Azran Osman Rani, CEO of Air Asia X was asked this very question at a recent press conference and he answered as follows:
“As a low cost carrier how much lower can our fares go? We are a low fare carrier. There is big demand for travel at the prices we offer”. Mentioning the order of the new Airbus aircraft he says, “three will be delivered in 2009 and we are fast-forwarding an aircraft originally scheduled for 2011. We need the aircraft to cater for strong passenger demand on existing routes and for our new ones.”
The airline currently operates with a single Airbus A330-300 and flies to the Gold Coat in Australia and Hangzhou in China. This is set to be followed by 6 return flights per week from Kuala Lumpur to Perth and Melbourne. Azran expects the Perth route to be operating with 80% minimum seats sold based on current demand.
Referring to the demise of Oasis Hong Kong and Zoom, who both ceased operating due to increased fuel costs, Azran said such carriers used old aircraft, some over 20 years old. Such aircraft are not fuel-efficient and in today’s environment are simply not viable.
Tags: Air Asia X Cheap flights, kuala lumpur flights, malaysia cheap flights
