#AK/D7/FD/QZ/PQ/JW | AirAsia Bhd / AirAsia X / Thai AirAsia / Indonesia AirAsia / AirAsia Philippines / AirAsia Japan [Archive] - Page 12

ntly1

April 3rd, 2012, 04:23 AM

AirAsia X takes fight to Qantas

Gareth Hutchens
April 3, 2012

Groundbreaking ... officials celebrate AirAsia X's arrival at Sydney Airport. Photo: Tamara Dean

IT WAS another sign of the changing face of air travel in Australia.

Low-cost airline AirAsia X touched down in Sydney yesterday, on Qantas's home turf, for the first of the foreign carrier's new daily flights between Sydney and Malaysia.

The no-frills airline - you want water on board? pay for it! - originally sold tickets for $99, one way to Kuala Lumpur, as it added Sydney to its string of local destinations behind Perth, the Gold Coast and Melbourne.

Advertisement: Story continues below Analysts say the new service will increase competition on point-to-point services between Australian cities and Asia, the major growth market in aviation.

''They're a very aggressive price competitor. They have been in every market,'' the managing consultant at CAPA Consulting, Ian Thomas, said.

''They're applying some direct pressure, as far as Qantas is concerned, more so to the mainline carrier than Jetstar.''

AirAsia X's chief executive, Azran Osman-Rani, said the Kuala Lumpur-based carrier plans to increase its workload from Sydney next year, increasing flights to twice daily to take advantage of the strong Australian dollar and local demand for cheap flights to south-east Asia.

And he had a message for Qantas: ''They've got to figure out how they can tap into [Asian] growth,'' Mr Osman-Rani said, ''and to tap [into] the lower cost base, because that's where the opportunities are.

''That's probably a challenge for [Qantas]. It's not just labour, it's infrastructure costs, even fuel costs, because to get physical fuel down here you've got to ship it down, which adds to a lot of the costs.''

Mr Osman-Rani said the airline had already sold 100,000 tickets from Sydney to Kuala Lumpur up to next January.

''That's why Sydney is very interesting because [there] was immediate strong demand,'' he said. ''For the first time ever, where we've opened up for sale in the first week, that people from the destination was more than the number of people from Malaysia or south-east Asia.''

AirAsia X recently withdrew its long-haul flights to Europe because of the poor state of the European market and started to concentrate on the Australian market instead.

source: http://www.smh.com.au/business/airasia-x-takes-fight-to-qantas-20120402-1w8lj.html

A good start for AirAsia X to Sydney!! :banana:

hkskyline

April 3rd, 2012, 06:01 AM

@ Chengdu
Source : http://pic.feeyo.com/posts/558/5588905.html

http://pic.feeyo.com/pic/20120317/201203170916363427.jpg

Arkdriver

April 3rd, 2012, 10:56 AM

I think Singapore unit of AirAsia would be a major boost to their network and image. Capturing Singapore's LCC market is important and they need to do it since Tiger isn't doing so well after all. They can be the major LCC out of SIN if they really want to.

skymermaid

April 3rd, 2012, 10:58 AM

when did i compare AA with full service airlines? for your info, both Ryanair and Easy Jet is the main LCC in europe... i also said i have bad experience with both ryanair and easy jet... are u confuse with my statement or me confuse with ur statement? :nuts:

Sorry for giving the impression that I disagree with you.

Actually I fully agree and totally support your statement. I am fully aware that both Ryanair and Easy Jet are LCC in Europe. And I understand from your statement that both LCC are taking the low cost travel to a new (low) level.

What I don't understand is that some people criticize Air Asia for not providing service equivalent to full service carrier for example Air Asia not using aerobridge. They should compare Air Asia with Tiger Airways at Changi Budget Terminal. Tiger Airways are not using aerobridge. Why don't they criticize Tiger Airways? We should compare apple to apple.

My assumption is those who criticize Air Asia have never had experience with other low cost airlines such as Tiger Airways, Ryanair, Easy Jet and South West Airlines. So the comparison is always between Air Asia and MAS, SIA, Cathay Pacific and other full service carriers. Another assumption is that people in this region always want to have everything nice, luxurious, comfortable and CHEAP. They want a Rolls Royce for the price of a motorcycle!

skymermaid

April 3rd, 2012, 11:26 AM

isnt jetstar the best low cost carrier, they are barely late but they are quite expensive though, plus they dont operate out of a budget terminal

Jetstar won the Skytrax Best Low Cost Airlines for Australia/Pacific in 2011 but came in 2nd in the Skytrax World's Best Low Cost Airlines 2011 behind Air Asia. Hopefully Jetstar will fare better this year as they have far fewer customer complaints compared to Air Asia.

razpatrol99

April 3rd, 2012, 06:07 PM

Sorry for giving the impression that I disagree with you.

Actually I fully agree and totally support your statement. I am fully aware that both Ryanair and Easy Jet are LCC in Europe. And I understand from your statement that both LCC are taking the low cost travel to a new (low) level.

What I don't understand is that some people criticize Air Asia for not providing service equivalent to full service carrier for example Air Asia not using aerobridge. They should compare Air Asia with Tiger Airways at Changi Budget Terminal. Tiger Airways are not using aerobridge. Why don't they criticize Tiger Airways? We should compare apple to apple.

My assumption is those who criticize Air Asia have never had experience with other low cost airlines such as Tiger Airways, Ryanair, Easy Jet and South West Airlines. So the comparison is always between Air Asia and MAS, SIA, Cathay Pacific and other full service carriers. Another assumption is that people in this region always want to have everything nice, luxurious, comfortable and CHEAP. They want a Rolls Royce for the price of a motorcycle!

Cool... totally agree with u on this.. In fact i think sometimes AA is more generous and also less stringent compare to some LCC. Still remember last time im flying with ryan air.... each one of passengers need to put their hand carriage luggage in the the specification rack before boarding. If yours cannot fit in then u need to pay straight away and being treated like a dirt (im safe :D) :cheers:

razpatrol99

April 3rd, 2012, 06:11 PM

I never take ryan air. But from my friend who reside in dublin said, everytime he take ryanair, he feels like taking an old flying bus that will go into the sea anytime. Lol...

Well, kind of true.. :D Hoping that i will not have bad experiences with both of them for my upcoming trip. :cheers:

nazrey

April 10th, 2012, 01:47 PM

MAS-AirAsia deal rewarding experience: Fernandes
10 April 2012 | Last updated at 07:32PM
http://www.nst.com.my/latest/mas-airasia-deal-rewarding-experience-fernandes-1.72602

KUALA LUMPUR -- The share swap deal between Malaysia Airlines (MAS) and AirAsia has been a rewarding experience to date with good progress achieved in respect of collaboration, says AirAsia Bhd Group Chief Executive Officer, Tan Sri Tony Fernandes.

"We have managed to set aside our differences and work together towards achieving the common goal of success and I am happy with the transaction," he added.

However, he declined to elaborate further on the matter, despite being pressed to do so here today.

The share swap last year saw AirAsia's major shareholder, Tune Air Sdn Bhd, take up a 20.5 per cent stake in MAS while Khazanah Nasional Bhd got 10 per cent in the low budget carrier.

The Malaysia Competition Commission (MyCC) is currently studying public complaints on the deal which purportedly has anti-competition elements.

Meanwhile, AirAsia is answering an appeal for donations in aid of disabled youths through a charity climbing expedition up Mount Kinabalu in Sabah, from April 27-30.

The expedition, "Climbing For A Cause", and organised by AirAsia's engineers, will raise RM100,000 to purchase prosthetics for youth who have lost their limbs to illness or traffic accidents.

The Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) programme was launched by Fernandes here today.
"As a company we believe in giving others an opportunity and helping those in need," he said. -- Bernama

World 2 World

April 25th, 2012, 03:36 PM

:lol::lol::lol:

qsqyVeBc74I

Skyprince

April 25th, 2012, 04:29 PM

^^ very innovative... usually I didn't pay attention to safety announcement ( because they spoke quite fast & didn't get the procedure at all ) , but doing this way can capture the mind of passengers to pay serious attention

Skyprince

April 25th, 2012, 04:32 PM

KL-Bandung 4 times a day :eek:

now Penang-Bandung daily flight too :eek:

Whoaaa.. many people flock to Bandung nowadays with its cool climate and cheap garment shopping.

skymermaid

April 27th, 2012, 05:27 AM

KL-Bandung 4 times a day :eek:

now Penang-Bandung daily flight too :eek:

Whoaaa.. many people flock to Bandung nowadays with its cool climate and cheap garment shopping.

The number of wealthy Indonesians in the largest economy in South East Asia is also on the rise and Air Asia is capitalising on this as well. It is not just a one way traffic from Malaysian cities to Bandung.

AsianDragons

May 7th, 2012, 06:40 AM

good news, air asia x to fly to beijing, reports twitter

patchay

May 8th, 2012, 05:17 PM

Everyone can be a hub these days...

Malaysia's AirAsia received approval to start Singapore hub
The Malaysian Insider | By Jahabar Sadiq

KUALA LUMPUR, May 8 — AirAsia has received Singapore’s approval to start a hub in the island republic soon, say sources, allowing the Malaysian airline to expand its network in the growing regional low-cost market segment just a week after Putrajaya aborted its share swap with loss-making Malaysia Airlines (MAS).

The Malaysian Insider understands that Singapore has informed AirAsia it will get an air operator’s certificate (AOC) as soon as possible, ending years of lobbying by Asia’s biggest low-cost carrier to set up operations in the city-state, a leading Asian financial centre.

“Singapore has agreed in principle to issue the AOC. It will be issued soon,” an industry source told The Malaysian Insider.

http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/images/uploads/2012/may2012/08/airasia-may8.jpg
File photo of an AirAsia aircraft departing Kuala Lumpur International Airport in Sepang. The airline has received the nod to start a hub in Singapore.

AirAsia chief executive Tan Sri Tony Fernandes was quoted last February as saying he aims to get clearance this year from the Singapore aviation authorities to fly to more destinations from Singapore.

Fernandes told Channel NewsAsia he proposed to make the country a regional hub for his low-cost airline, alongside Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines and Japan, naming India and China as key countries to which AirAsia is seeking approval to fly to.

AirAsia will focus on creating an ASEAN brand with an operational hub in all Association of Southeast Asian Nations countries within the next five years, he said. It currently has local joint-venture units in Indonesia, Japan, the Philippines and Thailand, apart from long-distance low-cost carrier AirAsia X.

The budget carrier began flying two flights a day into the city-state from Kuala Lumpur in 2007, seven years after it began operations as a low-cost airline. It now flies 12 times a day (to Singapore) from Kuala Lumpur apart from other direct flights from cities in Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand.

Read More >>> http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/airasia-to-start-singapore-hub-soon-widening-its-network

rizalhakim

May 9th, 2012, 05:25 AM

AirAsia X to fly direct to Beijing
http://www.btimes.com.my/Current_News/BTIMES/articles/pax8/Article/

Mith252

May 9th, 2012, 05:49 AM

Everyone can be a hub these days...

Malaysia's AirAsia received approval to start Singapore hub
The Malaysian Insider | By Jahabar Sadiq

Err, actually, it is not true. This is an article from TODAY paper.

https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-prn1/541155_10150925491952040_671067039_12201784_390200731_n.jpg
https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-prn1/541155_10150925491952040_671067039_12201784_390200731_n.jpg

dengilo

May 9th, 2012, 06:04 AM

Thamby caught with his pants down again:ohno:

RosmahM

May 9th, 2012, 07:05 AM

patchay

May 9th, 2012, 07:51 AM

I don't think they really want to set up hub in Singapore . There's no point of setting up hub there when it's cheaper to do M&A . I think eventually they want to take over tiger or jetstar asia singapore . When asean market opens up in 2015 it will be game changer for them . They are going to announce vietnam and Laos unit soon so eventually they will be all over asean .

AirAsia can then claim to be a "national airline" in every ASEAN nation, thus be given superior landing rights that each of the nation has and indirectly taking up domestic markets in those nations from their respective local airlines.

Now everywhere can be a HUB. Very good strategy. :lol: :lol:

patchay

May 9th, 2012, 07:09 PM

AirAsia X to fly direct to Beijing
By Presenna Nambiar | Business Times | May 9, 2012

KUALA LUMPUR: AirAsia X will start flights to Beijing Capital International Airport on June 22, according to AirAsia Bhd regional commercial head.

"Never Say No! After long wait and lobbying, AirAsia X will soon paint Beijing skies Red. June 22, we will land Beijing airport soon," Kathleen Tan said in her tweet on Monday.

According to a source, tickets will be open for sale on May 14.

The new route will see the low-cost long-haul airline cut its Kuala Lumpur-Tianjin route as Tianjin Airport is considered an alternative airport. It is 80km away from Beijing, while the Beijing airport is 30km from the Chinese capital.

Read More >>> http://www.btimes.com.my/Current_News/BTIMES/articles/pax8/Article/

dengilo

May 10th, 2012, 01:25 AM

Thats good news .That would wake Malaysia Airlines up !Actually Tianjin is a good option the distance is really no big deal with the "bullet train".

Arkdriver

May 10th, 2012, 04:55 AM

I dont like TF, but i admire the culture he instilled in the company. Everyone has a say in the company, top guns like him, azran, kamarudin are approachable. They can be seen eating lunch together with staff in academy canteen and there's no barrier. Even outsiders (like me) can go, say hi, chit chatting and to my surprise they are very accommodating. There's no dress code, you can swap your slacks for jeans, and collared T instead of formal office wear with neck tie. Salary paid on time on every 26th, and the company is showing good prospect. In AirAsia they never say never. i LIKE their culture. Relaxed, tapi kerja berjalan..

In MAS it is stark contrast. To approach CEO/MD you have to go through managers and so many little napoleons. There you have unions who know nuts about running an airline, all they know is oppose and it's exclusive club for invited ones. Union head, have their own office and running union full time even though salary paid by the company. That's why union heads are the one who squeal loudest when there's any move to restructure the company or whatever. This means they have to go back to their job be it engineering, flight dispatching, flight operations, ground handling, administration. They are so used to be paid to do desk job 'fighting' for fellow co workers instead to do what they are paid for.

Whatever that is happening in MAS today only shows that the structure itself is weak. Government did so many things, but it's not sincere enough. That's why TF can take advantage easily of them. He's a cunning black fox. MAS is an easy prey, government is one lazy herder who dont give a damn of what happen to his sheep.

It's also because of unions, new joiners like me who has no 'cable', can't pull strings and dumped to fly twin otter while other young pilots who has their father as captain or pull many many strings went straight to B737 fleet. they instill the culture of pulling strings for undeservedly at such young age. In the end, they have so many excess pilots, because recruitment has been instructed by big shot captains to take in intakes after intakes of cadet pilots because they want their son to be in.

In AirAsia, pilots fly 85 hrs per month minimum. In Malaysia airlines 737 fleet average per month flying hours about 30 hrs. If you fly 50 hrs then it's considered a lot already. But they still take home full salary because of guaranteed 55 hrs per month pay, and there're about 80 excess pilots in 737 fleet. Can you guys see how MAS manage their expenses? How not to bleed billions if resources are not fully utilized?

That's why i see Air Asia and Mas can never work together. The culture is totally different. MAS have 20,000 heads to feed each month. Their overhead is high. At lunch hours there will be enormous crowd in KLIA Engineering cafes. airasia workforce is only about 5000 to 7000 i think and they make profit. No matter how much you squeeze your stafff, as long as you make profit then it's a good business.

mas mentality is like,they think the airline is part of government department. Feed the mouth first, profit comes letter. They can never thrive unless they can get rid of excess workers and start controlling costs and expenses. It's simple like running sundry shops. But it become difficult because of unions, political inteference, rent seeking culture by lopsided contract etc etc.

patchay

May 10th, 2012, 04:59 AM

I dont like TF, but i admire the culture he instilled in the company. Everyone has a say in the company, top guns like him, azran, kamarudin are approachable. They can be seen eating lunch together with staff in academy canteen and there's no barrier. Even outsiders (like me) can go, say hi, chit chatting and to my surprise they are very accommodating. There's no dress code, you can swap your slacks for jeans, and collared T instead of formal office wear with neck tie. Salary paid on time on every 26th, and the company is showing good prospect. In AirAsia they never say never. i LIKE their culture. Relaxed, tapi kerja berjalan..

In MAS it is stark contrast. To approach CEO/MD you have to go through managers and so many little napoleons. There you have unions who know nuts about running an airline, all they know is oppose and it's exclusive club for invited ones. Union head, have their own office and running union full time even though salary paid by the company. That's why union heads are the one who squeal loudest when there's any move to restructure the company or whatever. This means they have to go back to their job be it engineering, flight dispatching, flight operations, ground handling, administration. They are so used to be paid to do desk job 'fighting' for fellow co workers instead to do what they are paid for.

It's also because of unions, new joiners like me who has no 'cable', can't pull strings and dumped to fly twin otter while other young pilots who has their father as captain or pull many many strings went straight to B737 fleet. they instill the culture of pulling strings for undeservedly at such young age. In the end, they have so many excess pilots, because recruitment has been instructed by big shot captains to take in intakes after intakes of cadet pilots because they want their son to be in.

In AirAsia, pilots fly 85 hrs per month minimum. In Malaysia airlines 737 fleet average per month flying hours about 30 hrs. If you fly 50 hrs then it's considered a lot already. But they still take home full salary because of guaranteed 55 hrs per month pay, and there're about 80 excess pilots in 737 fleet. Can you guys see how MAS manage their expenses? How not to bleed billions if resources are not fully utilized?

That's why i see Air Asia and Mas can never work together. The culture is totally different. MAS have 20,000 heads to feed each month. Their overhead is high. At lunch hours there will be enormous crowd in KLIA Engineering cafes. airasia workforce is only about 5000 to 7000 i think and they make profit. No matter how much you squeeze your stafff, as long as you make profit then it's a good business.

mas mentality is like,they think the airline is part of government department. Feed the mouth first, profit comes letter. They can never thrive unless they can get rid of excess workers and start controlling costs and expenses. It's simple like running sundry shops. But it become difficult because of unions, political inteference, rent seeking culture by lopsided contract etc etc.

OMG...

Thanks alot for sharing with us. It amazes me that despite the hoohahooha new management etc, Malaysia Airlines is still not serious in turning around?

I also wonder if PROTON is like this?

dengilo

May 10th, 2012, 06:02 AM

:applause:Well said Ark!The sad story of MAS thru the years!Unlike ur employer their mission from day 1 is to make MONEY!Uncle Lee(LKY) said that from day 1 its not so much for the pride of country or anyone just make money!SIA/Changi Airport is contributing what about 5-7% of their GNP!Pat i believe that company u mention is no different .u can add a few more on the list too!:ohno:

tunomura

May 10th, 2012, 01:22 PM

CxIxMaN

May 12th, 2012, 04:36 AM

Looks like AirAsia is adding black to their branding

AirAsia Launches New Corporate Identity
http://superadrianme.com/2012/05/11/airasia-launches-new-corporate-image/

VZK-eCNRSnI
cool!
pKA1tUn3qiE

C1bJeSRdPLM
Meanwhile in MH....

Arkdriver

May 12th, 2012, 06:46 AM

the stupid song never grew in me, in annoys me. For video number two.

Khaw

May 12th, 2012, 09:16 AM

OMG...

Thanks alot for sharing with us. It amazes me that despite the hoohahooha new management etc, Malaysia Airlines is still not serious in turning around?

I also wonder if PROTON is like this?

GM comes to mind... the union got their hands wrapped around its gonads, twisting them and bleeding cash until uncle Sam forked out the bailout money. That's happening with proton and all the other "businesses" of the government backed by complacent and very generous rakyat, everyday.

prophecus1

May 12th, 2012, 01:04 PM

Looks like AirAsia is adding black to their branding

cool!
pKA1tUn3qiE

Meanwhile in MH....

criticisms aside is this the place where MH will also apply finishing paint to their A380s?

Elktest

May 14th, 2012, 06:38 PM

the first AirAsia Japan
http://v2.airplaneupload.de/images-i2568b04k4q.jpg (http://v2.airplaneupload.de/display-i2568b04k4q.html)

and with the AirAsia Malaysia
http://v2.airplaneupload.de/images-i2569bt2fm6.jpg (http://v2.airplaneupload.de/display-i2569bt2fm6.html)

K6VmYupFHCs

rizalhakim

May 15th, 2012, 09:56 AM

https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash3/546687_10150949100902387_18801397386_12461803_638534889_n.jpg

CxIxMaN

May 15th, 2012, 04:10 PM

They should use their new red circular logo for AirAsia Japan! If you get what I mean.

dengilo

May 25th, 2012, 05:25 PM

http://anotherbrickinwall.blogspot.com/2012/05/tony-fs-virgin-fascination.html
Just from a different view!What u guys think?

razpatrol99

May 26th, 2012, 03:19 PM

^^ kinda of childish to speculate TF for the downfall of MAS. MH shld blame thmselvs for lack of innovative for their product, didnt respond to the market timely and never-ending political chaos. Still think that they among the best in the business when in fact they pretty much screw up thesedays. Same like Liverpool..., haunted by their past glory :lol:

tbc

May 26th, 2012, 05:34 PM

^^ kinda of childish to speculate TF for the downfall of MAS
Why do you say that ? : )

razpatrol99

May 26th, 2012, 07:58 PM

^^ My overall view after reading the blog and based from this statement as well :) Thus, could it possibly be that Airasia was designed to wreck MAS from inside for SIA?

dengilo

May 27th, 2012, 01:30 AM

I also think the same goes for LionAIr!I got a hunchlah it might be the same story only without TF in the picture!Target Garuda!In the business world its the batlle of the best and smartest .When its to good to be true!It isnt:lol

CxIxMaN

May 27th, 2012, 04:42 AM

All is not lost!
AirAsia says it will resume Europe flights with A350-900 in 2015

http://blogs.crikey.com.au/planetalking/2012/05/25/airasia-says-it-will-resume-europe-flights-with-a350xwb-in-2015/

Air Asia founder and CEO Tony Fernandes said in Toulouse today (Thursday) that he would reconnect Australia to Europe with long haul flights by his Air Asia X brand in 2015 as an early user of the yet to fly Airbus A350-900.

Fernandes was at the Airbus multiplex to take delivery of his 100th A320, and hinted that before the day was over he might have lifted his total orders for the jet from its present tallyof 375.

Earlier this year Air Asia X discontinued its A340 flights to Paris and London from Kuala Lumpur, but expanded its A330-300 flights within SE Asia, including opening a new service between Sydney and the Malaysia capital in April.

The A350s will fit economy passengers into a cabin with 10 across seating, one more per row than standard A350s, just as his A330s fit in nine across seating where the standard is eight across. A premium cabin with sleepers would undercut whatever price for a similar product was being asked by legacy carriers.

full article
http://blogs.crikey.com.au/planetalking/2012/05/25/airasia-says-it-will-resume-europe-flights-with-a350xwb-in-2015/
http://blogs.crikey.com.au/planetalking/files/2012/05/101103-AirAsiaXA350-01-600x399.jpg

aseantraveler

May 30th, 2012, 04:22 PM

http://mainichi.jp/english/english/newsselect/news/20120530p2g00m0bu139000c.html

AirAsia Japan to offer 5 yen promotional fares for domestic routes

TOKYO (Kyodo) -- AirAsia Japan Co., a budget airline owned partly by All Nippon Airways Co., said Wednesday it will start selling one-way tickets on its website for 5 yen for 10,000 seats on three domestic routes in a special campaign ahead of its inaugural flight scheduled for Aug. 1.

The promotional tickets are available for flights linking Narita International Airport near Tokyo to Sapporo, Fukuoka and Naha in Okinawa Prefecture. The Tokyo-Sapporo and Tokyo-Fukuoka flights will commence on Aug. 1, while the Tokyo-Okinawa route will start on Aug. 3.

The special tickets will be sold for four days from Thursday to Sunday for flights from Aug. 28 to Nov. 28.

AirAsia Japan said the minimum regular fare for the Tokyo-Sapporo and Tokyo-Fukuoka routes will be 4,580 yen and 5,180 yen, respectively. The minimum fare for the Tokyo-Okinawa route will be 6,680 yen. Passengers will be charged an additional 150 yen in commission, the airline said.

AirAsia Japan President Kazuyuki Iwakata said the company plans to commence services linking Narita with Incheon and Busan in South Korea, while considering opening routes to Taiwan and China.

"We'd like to fly about 1 million people in the next one year," Iwakata said at a news conference in Tokyo.

Established last August, AirAsia Japan is owned 67 percent by ANA and 33 percent by Malaysia's AirAsia Bhd., the largest budget airline in Asia.

AirAsia Group CEO Tony Fernandes, who attended the press conference, indicated the launch of domestic flights by its affiliated carrier will bring more travelers from other Asian countries to Japan.

"A large part of AirAsia's traffic will be coming from other parts of the world," using the long-distance carrier of AirAsia, Fernandes said. "People in Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore all want to come to Japan."

Fernandes also requested that airports in Japan build low cost terminals with simple facilities specifically for budget carriers so their passengers are charged smaller fees to use airports.

"The premium market will still be there, we will grow the market," Fernandes said, adding he believes low cost terminals will draw more people for air travel and benefit airports as well.

On medium-term goals, Iwakata said AirAsia Japan aims to chalk up annual sales of about 30 billion yen within three years and some 100 billion yen within five years.

The launch of services by AirAsia Japan is likely to further intensify competition among low cost carriers in Japan, where budget carrier Peach Aviation Ltd., also owned partially by ANA, has already started domestic services.

Another low cost airline, Jetstar Japan Co., set up by Japan Airlines Co. and the Qantas Group of Australia, will begin services in July.
.
May 30, 2012(Mainichi Japan)

.

Johnvb

May 30th, 2012, 05:34 PM

Those japan flights are amazingly cheap

patchay

May 31st, 2012, 04:21 AM

AirAsia HQ to stay in Malaysia, launches AirAsia Japan, talks underway for AirAsia in Korea
By R.S.N. MURALI | The Star | Thursday May 31, 2012
http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2012/5/31/nation/11388465&sec=nation#13384307762742669&if_height=845

TOKYO: Malaysia will remain as the operational centre of AirAsia despite the budget airline's move to establish a regional office in Jakarta, which it says is purely to tap the vast Indonesian market.

AirAsia Group CEO Tan Sri Tony Fernandes clarified that the airline had no intention to relocate its Kuala Lumpur headquarters.

“I am a Malaysian, AirAsia is a truly Malaysian brand. Why must the headquarters be outside my own country?

“Setting up a regional office in Jakarta is solely a commercial strategy to tap the demand for budget flights in a nation with a population of 230 million,” he said after launching AirAsia Japan's direct flight to Sapporo, Fukuoka and Okinawa yesterday.

AirAsia Japan, the newest low-cost carrier based in Tokyo's Narita International Airport, is a joint venture between Japan's All Nippon Airways (ANA) and AirAsia. AirAsia owns a 49% stake while ANA holds 51%.

The Japanese version is promoting 10,000 seats from as low as 5 (20 sen) during the launch that was also witnessed by AirAsia Japan CEO Kazuyuki Iwakata.

Fernandes said his notion of going into the international arena was to turn a Malaysian-born company into a global brand like Samsung, Honda and Nikon.

“These foreign firms also have regional offices outside their home country and it doesn't mean they are going away or being less patriotic. I just want shed the kampung-brand mindset and thrust a Malaysian company into the international playing field,” he said.

Fernandes was commenting on an article in The Jakarta Post which reported that AirAsia was moving its operations to the Indonesian capital.

On May 20, the newspaper reported that the low-cost airline planned to open its base at South Jakarta's Equity Building in October.

Fernandes said AirAsia was ambitiously expanding to serve the highly lucrative travel market and was looking at China, South Korea and Russia as its next regional hubs apart from its current network in the Asean region, India and China.

http://sphotos.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash3/538315_10150989522312387_18801397386_12591660_486821069_n.jpg

rizalhakim

June 13th, 2012, 10:32 AM

AirAsia sets up regional base in Jakarta
http://biz.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2012/6/13/business/20120613135450&sec=business

Khaw

June 14th, 2012, 07:04 AM

AirAsia sets up regional base in Jakarta
http://biz.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2012/6/13/business/20120613135450&sec=business

that's like driving a keris into the heart!! Air Asia ASEAN? gimme a freaking break! Indonesian can have his ass for all I care!

patchay

June 14th, 2012, 07:47 AM

AirAsia ASEAN makes Jakarta its regional base; AirAsia Bhd's HQ remains in KL
BY BILQIS BAHARI | Business Times | June 14, 2012

HQ REMAINS IN SEPANG: Key appointments, CEO for airline’s Malaysia ops to be announced June 18.

http://www.btimes.com.my/articles/turns/pix_middle

AIRASIA Bhd has made Jakarta its regional base, a move that means lesser role for its heaquarters in Kuala Lumpur.

It also ends weeks of speculation that the low-cost airline’s headquarters would move from Sepang in the wake of a failed share swap deal between AirAsia and Malaysian Airlines.

AirAsia yesterday said the Jakarta base, called AirAsia Asean, is to bolster its operations in Asean and regions nearby.

AirAsia chief executive officer (CEO) Tan Sri Tony Fernandes said AirAsia Asean will serve as its nerve centre to tap into “underserved market of some three billion people” in Asean, Northeast Asia and South Asia.

“To avoid any misinterpretation, let me be very clear: AirAsia Malaysia’s headquarters isnot moving to Jakarta.

“AirAsia Malaysia (AirAsia Berhad) is a Malaysian-registered airline, with all its aircraft registered under the Malaysian flag and it is a company listed on Bursa Malaysia.

That will not change,” he said at a press conference on AirAsia Asean here yesterday.

The move will allow senior AirAsia managers to work in a neutral environment free of the day-to-day pressures in its headquarters, he added.

AirAsia is currently in the process of restructuring its management to accommodate the shift in emphasis on its future growth plans.

Fernandes said it will announce key personnel to run the regional structure as well as new AirAsia Malaysia CEO on Monday (June 18).

In response to why the regional office would be in Jakarta and not Malaysia, he explained that the management team would pay more attention to AirAsia Malaysia because of the sentiment of growing it as compared with a neutral location as the regional office.

Business Times reported last week, quoting Fernandes, that the new CEO will manage the operations in Malaysia, while he will be overseeing all AirAsia operations in Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand, Indonesia and Japan.

"Invariably, when you are running AirAsia Malaysia and the regional office your time is more spent on the Malaysian operation.

"So what we are trying to do is get a group of people that focuses across all the countries," he said.

Fernandes said AirAsia Asean will also help it engage closely with the Asean secretariat which is also based in Jakarta.

"AirAsia Asean will help us ensure that our voice, our concerns and our appeals are heard much more clearly in the corridors of power within Asean."

It will also help raise the profile and branding of AirAsia Indonesia, which is heading for a listing on the Jakarta Stock Exchange by year-end, he added.

"Indonesia is our big opportunity, along with the Philippines and Japan... it's a country of 250 million while we only have 17 planes in there while in Malaysia we have 55 planes with a population of 24 million," he said.

Meanwhile, AirAsia plans to have five new joint ventures over the next two years, Fernandes said, adding that there is huge potential for growth in South Korea, Vietnam, Cambodia, India and China.

In a related news:

New woman CEO for AirAsia Malaysia?
By B.K. SIDHU | The StarBiz | Thursday June 14, 2012

http://biz.thestar.com.my/archives/2012/6/14/business/p1-airasiaexecs.JPG
From left: Aireen likely to be Malaysia CEO, Rozman Omar to join as regional head of finance and Francis to be commercial head of Indonesian operations

Datuk Bernard Francis also set to rejoin airline - to be based in Jakarta

PETALING JAYA: A day after Mohammed Rashdan Yusof quit as Malaysia Airlines (MAS) deputy group chief executive officer, there is talk that two other senior executives will relinquish their positions at the national carrier in the coming weeks and the airline's former senior general manager of marketing, Datuk Bernard Francis, will join AirAsia Bhd by July.

These are some of the changes that are expected at both the airlines, but come Monday, AirAsia is expected to make a major announcement on its organisational structure now that it has set up its regional headquarters in Jakarta. AirAsia is also expected to name the CEO for its Malaysian operations.

Tan Sri Tony Fernandes declined to name the candidate for the Malaysian operations when he met StarBiz yesterday but the market is abuzz with talks that Aireen Omar will succeed him.

Aireen is regional head of corporate finance and treasury at AirAsia.

Aireen and Bo Lingam, the chief of operations and planning at AirAsia, are among the several candidates for the job; but Bo is not keen to be CEO of the Malaysia operations and he is likely to be promoted the regional chief of operations and planning.

Fernandes will remain the supremo of the AirAsia group and the deputy CEO will still be his long-time business partner, Datuk Kamarudin Meranun. What will change is that Fernandes will no longer be involved in the day-to-day operations of running the Malaysian office as that role will be taken over by Aireen.

Fernandes also confirmed yesterday that Francis will be rejoining AirAsia in July.

“He will be our commercial head for our Indonesian operations,'' Fernandes said.

Francis is no stranger to AirAsia as he was with the airline when it started off a decade ago; subsequently he left AirAsia to join MAS. However, he quit MAS a month before the airline entered into an share swap deal in August last year with AirAsia, but the swap has since been unwound.

The two executives at MAS that are expected to leave are said to be the chief financial officer Rozman Omar and head of engineering and maintenance Azhari Mohd Dahlan. Both these senior executives were formerly from AirAsia but joined MAS after the share swap was inked.

“Rozman has submitted his resignation and despite being coaxed by senior executives and even some board members to stay back, he is leaving MAS. He will join AirAsia and take on a bigger portfolio as regional head of finance and will be based at the regional office in Jakarta by July this year,'' said an official.

As for Azhari, the official said, “he is very much in MAS now but it would be no surprise if he decides to also leave in due time.''

The establishment of a regional base is part of AirAsia's strategy to boost growth in the region. AirAsia has grown from a one country operations to having business spread across Asia.

Fernandes said with the huge growth expansion planned for the region, the airline would need more aircraft and he was looking at placing an order for at least 50 more aircraft but a decision on that would only be made over the next two months. The airline has 103 aircraft in operation currently.

Rashdan quit as deputy group chief executive officer of MAS on Tuesday but will continue to remain a MAS board member till the end of the month.

Article >>> http://biz.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2012/6/14/business/11475849&sec=business#1339643507300489&if_height=632

AirAsia eyes 5 more regional tie-ups - China, India, S. Korea, Vietnam, Cambodia; aims to become top global brand
By NG BEI SHAN | The StarBiz | June 14, 2012

Airline wants to position itself as a global brand

SEPANG: AirAsia Bhd will work on five more joint ventures with regional airlines over the next two years to position itself as a global brand on top of the one that was signed with Japan's All Nippon Airways.

“We need to pivot to a wider, regional lens from the first decade's focus, which was largely domestic,” chief executive officer Tan Sri Tony Fernandes said.

Read More >>> http://biz.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2012/6/14/business/11476277&sec=business#1339640874385420&if_height=795

AirAsia may order more Airbus A320 jets as early as next month
Business Times | June 14, 2012

AirAsia Bhd, the region’s biggest budget carrier, may order additional Airbus SAS planes within the next two months to facilitate growth as it seeks to form more airline partnerships.

The Malaysian carrier may place an order for 50 A320 jets with an additional 50 options, Group Chief Executive Officer Tony Fernandes told reporters today in Sepang, outside Kuala Lumpur. A deal could be announced as early as next month’s Farnborough Air Show in the U.K., he said.

“That’s what they want,” Fernandes said. “It depends on whether they give me a good deal.”

AirAsia is already Airbus’s biggest customer for single- aisle A320s with 275 on order, including A320neo models. The carrier is accelerating fleet plans as it forms more joint venture airlines, with a budget tie-up with All Nippon Airways Co due to start flights from Tokyo’s Narita Airport in August.

AirAsia reported its first increase in profit in five quarters in the three months ended March, as more travelers opted for low-cost flights during the global economic slowdown. Net income increased to RM172.4 million, the company said May 24.

The group is having a “fantastic” second quarter, boosted by lower fuel costs, said Fernandes. Its cash position is at a “record” high and the company is well-placed to pay “constant” dividends, he said.

Article >>> http://www.btimes.com.my/Current_News/BTIMES/articles/20120613161736/Article/index_html

AirAsia Philippines launched first flight to KL; plans to fly to Hong Kong, Macau in July
BusinessWorld Online | June 13, 2012 09:56:33 PM

AIRASIA Philippines will start flying to Hong Kong and Macau next month, the budget carrier yesterday said, barely a week after it launched its first international flight to Kuala Lumpur.

The carrier, which is partly controlled by Malaysia’s AirAsia Bhd. said it would be offering Hong Kong and Macau flights out of Clark starting July 19.

“We will drive the demand. I cannot predict the future but we have talked to OFWs (overseas Filipino workers) and a lot of people. We found out that there is a demand out of Clark,” AirAsia Philippines Chief Executive Marianne B. Hontiveros said in a telephone interview yesterday.

Last March, carrier earlier got the approval of the Civil Aeronautics Board for additional 224 seats in Macau on top of existing 1,036 weekly seat allocations. The carrier similarly obtained 168 seat entitlements for Hong Kong on to be added to its 1092 weekly allocation.

AirAsia Philippines now has a pending application with regulators seeking to pocket Zest Airways, Inc.’s unused 1,250-seat entitlements for Hong Kong, although Zest Air said that it will not give up its entitlements.

Aside from Hong Kong and Macau, the local regulator, here, had granted the carrier rights to fly to Malaysia, Cambodia, and Japan.

The carrier was granted 1,260 seats a week on the Clark to Kuala Lumpur route. It was also granted seven flights per week on the Clark to Cambodia route. AirAsia Philippines was also granted six flights per week that it can utilize either on the Clark-Osaka route or Clark-Nagoya route.

Read More >>> http://www.bworldonline.com/content.php?section=Corporate&title=AirAsia-Philippines-to-fly-to-Hong-Kong,-Macau-in-July&id=53413

AirAsia Japan takes delivery of first A320
New AirAsia Japan CEO, Kazuyuki Iwakata together with the captains

Photos from AirAsia Bhd official facebook page.

http://a5.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/285665_10151017339762387_614642976_n.jpg

The new AirAsia Japan team

http://a2.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc7/598669_10151017340832387_1035204876_n.jpg

XNeo

June 14th, 2012, 08:12 AM

I wish AA buy Boeing 787 ...what a beautiful airplane.

http://i.imgur.com/9tmzU.jpg
http://flyteam.jp/photo/ANA/Boeing-787-881/275158/L

ntly1

June 14th, 2012, 10:05 AM

AirAsia ASEAN makes Jakarta its regional base; AirAsia Bhd's HQ remains in KL
BY BILQIS BAHARI | Business Times | June 14, 2012

In a related news:

AirAsia Bhd HQ = AirAsia Malaysia HQ is the same. Tony is clever to use words that able to fool Malaysians that their focus is not no longer in Malaysia. Whether their top core management which including Tony himself will still base in Malaysia after this change. I think this change has moved the real AirAsia "top management" out of Malaysia already and Malaysia is not their MAIN base, that's why they are going to appoint new CEO for Malaysia just like others countries.

TOny gave a rubbish answer saying that AirAsia Bhd's HQ remains in KL, this is of course because it is AirAsia Malaysia HQ must be based in Malaysia because it won't be based in Bangkok, Manila, Singapore, etc. because it is AirAsia Malaysia, he did not answer the real question whether the AirAsia top management including himself will still base in KL.

Arkdriver

June 14th, 2012, 10:51 AM

I dont give a rat's ass. We all know and aware Malaysian market is saturated already. The future is Indonesia. A county so vast and their air travel market underserved. Air Asia has done their job in Malaysia, now to move on and conquer another market. Good luck to them.

I also considering to make a move to Indonesia. They desperately needs aviation professionals. FYI Air Asia indonesia standard is among the highest in the country. Well above Sri Wijaya, Batavia, Merpati and host of other airlines.

ntly1

June 14th, 2012, 10:55 AM

^^Agree...Indonesian market is just so attractive!! commercially I think Tony is doing the right thing.

tbc

June 14th, 2012, 01:03 PM

Perhaps Tan Sri realizes there is only so much that can be milked from Malaysia
Maybe there isn't too much money left in the kitty nowadays for yet more LCCT projeks
Perhaps with impending GE13 (and its possible consequences) it's wiser to spread risks more thinly over larger area
Maybe (unanticipated?) backlash over share swap with MAS is indication of sentiments
Whatever, it's one very very clever and opportune move, to Jakarta :)

CxIxMaN

June 14th, 2012, 03:03 PM

I wish AA buy Boeing 787 ...what a beautiful airplane.

AirAsia is getting 10 A350 and to receive it in 2015 if there is no delays:banana:

http://blogs.crikey.com.au/planetalking/files/2012/05/101103-AirAsiaXA350-01-600x399.jpg
http://blogs.crikey.com.au/planetalking/2012/05/25/airasia-says-it-will-resume-europe-flights-with-a350xwb-in-2015/

nazrey

June 17th, 2012, 01:42 AM

New AirAsia CEO to be announced Monday
Posted on 15 June 2012 - 08:00pm
http://www.thesundaily.my/news/408798

PUTRAJAYA (June 15, 2012): No frills airline, AirAsia Bhd, will name a new Chief Executive Officer for its Malaysian operations on Monday, says Group Chief Executive Officer.

Group Chief Executive Officer Tan Sri Tony Fernandes said the new position is being created to assume the responsibility of the airline's Malaysian operations to replace Fernandes who is expected to move to Jakarta to oversee AirAsia's expansion plans in Southeast Asia.

The Jakarta office will allow the airline to tap the large Indonesian market and raise AirAsia Indonesia's profile before its listing on the Jakarta Stock Exchange by the end of the year While declining to give any hints, Fernandes said he believed the new CEO would take AirAsia Malaysia to great heights.

"I am very proud. What I can say is I am very excited by this announcement. It shows the progressive nature of AirAsia.

"I think when the person (for the CEO's position) is revealed, you will really see people development and I think this person is going to take AirAsia Malaysia into another league. It will be good," he said.

Earlier, Fernandes and the Minister in the Prime Minister Department Tan Sri Nor Mohamed Yakcop witnessed the signing of a facilitation fund agreement for RM25 million between Epsom College and Public Private Partnership Unit of the Prime Minister's Department here today. – Bernama

http://biz.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2012/6/14/business/11475849&sec=business

http://biz.thestar.com.my/archives/2012/6/14/business/p1-airasiaexecs.JPG

nazrey

June 18th, 2012, 09:05 AM

Aireen Omar is new AirAsia CEO for Malaysia
Updated: Monday June 18, 2012 MYT 2:47:09 PM
http://biz.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2012/6/18/business/20120618131632&sec=business

http://thestar.com.my/archives/editorspick/images/photo320120618144545.jpg

Newly appointed AirAsia's Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Malaysian
Operations Aireen Omar smiles after Group CEO Tony Fernandes places a cap
bearing the company logo on her head, during a news conference in Sepang,
outside Kuala Lumpur June 18, 2012. Malaysia's AirAsia Bhd said on Monday it
had appointed Omar to head its local operations as the founder of Asia's
largest budget carrier Fernandes moves to Indonesia to oversee its regional
expansion plans. REUTERS/Bazuki Muhammad

KUALA LUMPUR: AirAsia has appointed Aireen Omar as its new chief executive officer (CEO) of Malaysian operations as AirAsia group CEO Tan Sri Tony Fernandes resigns as Malaysia CEO.

Fernandes said Aireen has been with AirAsia for the past six years.

Reuters meanwhile reported that prior to the appointment, Aireen was AirAsia's regional head of coporate finance and treasury.

She will assume her new post on July 1 and report directly to Fernandes, now CEO for the AirAsia group, who confirmed he was moving to Jakarta.

"During the credit crisis, Aireen kept AirAsia ahead of the curve," AirAsia co-founder Kamarudin Meranun told reporters at the budget carrier's headquarters at Kuala Lumpur International Airport in Sepang.

"While other companies fell into trouble securing any financing at all, Aireen was able to lock up financing at very competitive rates for two years for the purchase of aircraft for Airasia."

patchay

June 18th, 2012, 11:01 AM

AirAsia Bhd announced woman CEO; 10 years ago was just an airline worth US$0.26 cents

AirAsia's Malaysian operations (the largest contributor and a public listed company) has announced its newest CEO replacing Tan Sri Tony Fernandes who will oversee the wider AirAsia operations throughout Asia Pacific.

Today, AirAsia has a reporting revenue of 4.47 billion ringgit (FY2011, +13%), or US$1.47 billion. With 110 Airbuses in operation daily (as of June 2012), it now has more than 10,000 staffs across Asia. It flown it's 100 millionth passenger milestone in 2010.

http://a8.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/198251_10151031657242387_1455080635_n.jpg

http://a5.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc6/283702_10151031652397387_1396421443_n.jpg

The proud AirAsia CEOs Family

The CEOs! From left,
- Tassapon Bijleveld (CEO of Thailand AirAsia),
- Azran Osman-Rani (CEO of AirAsia X),
- Tan Sri Tony Fernandes (Group CEO of AirAsia),
- Aireeen Omar (CEO of AirAsia Berhad),
- Dato' Aziz Bakar (Chairman of AirAsia),
- Dato' Kamarudin Meranun (Deputy Group CEO of AirAsia),
- Capt. Dharmadi (CEO of AirAsia Indonesia),
- Marianne Hontiveros (CEO of AirAsia Philippines),
- Kazuyuki Iwakata (CEO of AirAsia Japan)

http://a6.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash3/598859_10151031652667387_13808568_n.jpg

http://a6.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash3/575723_10151031653482387_729179384_n.jpg

http://a3.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc6/196103_10151031656582387_670569885_n.jpg

http://a3.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash3/554790_10151031645727387_316231748_n.jpg

Photos courtesy of AirAsia Facebook.

XNeo

June 18th, 2012, 11:09 AM

[B][SIZE="5"]

http://a3.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc6/196103_10151031656582387_670569885_n.jpg

gorgeous !....the best LCC cabin crew ( +uniform) IMO. :colgate:

patchay

June 18th, 2012, 11:43 AM

Source: AirAsia will announce a 100-plane order next month.

AirAsia Fleet Size Causing Massive Jams

Current Airbus A320-200 short-haul fleet size as of June 14, 2012:

In operation:

AirAsia Malaysia: 58
AirAsia Thailand: 24
AirAsia Indonesia: 18
AirAsia Philippines: 2
AirAsia Japan: 1

Remaining in order:

Airbus A320-200: 72
Airbus A320neo: 200 (beginning 2016)

Total Group Fleet Size: 375

Current AirAsia X Malaysia long-haul fleet size as of June 14, 2012:

In operation:

Airbus A330-200: 9
Airbus A340-300: 2

Remaining in order:

Airbus A330-200: 3
Airbus A330-300: 16
Airbus A350-900: 10

Total Fleet Size: 40

Khaw

June 18th, 2012, 12:26 PM

azri

June 18th, 2012, 12:39 PM

patchay

June 18th, 2012, 01:48 PM

now the biggest question remaining is... when will air asia x move out of KL? that would certainly deal a major blow to KLIA's plan of establishing itself as a hub.

with air Asia ____ (fill in the blank with country's name), I would say the idea of being a hub was never a possibility to begin with. it was all along a farce... a hub out of KLIA servicing Asian countries was kaput long ago with the set up of various replica of the original air Asia. as of today, KLIA's position as a "hub" remains no different than that before air asia came about... that's just my observation.

Disagree.

Don't forget KLIA as a whole has many many many times more passengers than before. All thanks to AirAsia. In a business point of view, anywhere can be a Hub, as long as it provides connectivity "zig-zagging" across the whole region.

And because of AirAsia, it has brought about 20+ million passengers into KL last year. (the whole AirAsia Group carried 29+ million passengers last year)

With such volume that never existed before, certainly KLIA has repositioned itself to become the single largest centre of LCC in this region, despite the maturing growth rate. This is also the reason that Malaysia Airports is building a HUGE standalone purpose-built LCC airport, which technically does not exist in the conventional aviation world.

AirAsia's growth in Indonesia simply means more and more Indonesians (we are talking about 250 million) are travelling by plane!! I can bet you that a significant portion of them will also come to KL, and other Malaysian cities. Another simple example is that new startup AirAsia Philippines has launch their first overseas flight to Kuala Lumpur. AirAsia Japan may also do the same. These ventures further enhance the connectivity with Kuala Lumpur and the further localisation publicity has given much more space for Kuala Lumpur to be marketed to their local people.

So it's a win-win situation :)

nazrey

June 18th, 2012, 02:13 PM

AirAsia upbeat on Asean ops
Published: 2012/06/18
http://www.btimes.com.my/Current_News/BTIMES/articles/20120618173618/Article/index_html

Budget carrier AirAsia's Group Chief Executive Officer Tan Sri Tony Fernandes is upbeat on its Asean operations attaining potential growth of between 400 and 500 per cent.

"Let's assume Malaysia makes RM1 billion and we are not making that amount in other countries. If I can make RM1 billion each in Indonesia, Thailand, the Philippines and Japan, then we will go from RM1 billion to RM4 billion in total.

"So, if we get it right, these countries can potentially make 400 to 500 per cent more.

"The impetus is in trying to deliver profitability to the countries that the group is not generating as much as Malaysia, and I believe we can do that with the right emphasis and the right drive,” he told reporters after announcing the carrier's new Chief Executive Officer for the Malaysian operations.

He said AirAsia marked the start of its second decade with the new regional office in Jakarta, Indonesia that will be focusing on the group's broader expansion, with more joint ventures in Asean.

Fernandes said the group needs to have a wider regional outlook, considering the enormous potential of an underserved market of three billion spread across Asean, Northeast Asia and South Asia.

He said with about 20 staff in Jakarta to be led by him, AirAsia Asean would provide an environment free from the pressures of day-to-day operations and the necessary "firefighting".

Asked whether it is the right time for restructuring, Fernandes said AirAsia has always benefited from the economic slowdown and it's an ideal opportunity to grow.

The group hopes the Jakarta office would enable it to tap the large domestic Indonesian market and raise AirAsia Indonesia's profile before its listing on the Jakarta Stock Exchange by the first quarter of 2013, he said.

"Actually it's not a delay to 2013, but we are just giving a gap as we are done with Thailand and other listing, mainly AirAsia X on the local bourse that is expected to be in October or November this year," he said.

AirAsia Thailand's recent initial public offering saw strong demand for its shares, and Fernandes said AirAsia Indonesia's listing process is on track and progressing well. -- Bernama

Arkdriver

June 18th, 2012, 04:50 PM

now the biggest question remaining is... when will air asia x move out of KL? that would certainly deal a major blow to KLIA's plan of establishing itself as a hub.

with air Asia ____ (fill in the blank with country's name), I would say the idea of being a hub was never a possibility to begin with. it was all along a farce... a hub out of KLIA servicing Asian countries was kaput long ago with the set up of various replica of the original air Asia. as of today, KLIA's position as a "hub" remains no different than that before air asia came about... that's just my observation.

this is just ridiculous. They can't just transfer air asia x operation to jakarta. air asia x destinations which is out of ASEAN demand government to government negotiations, and to leave malaysian air asia x operations which is profitable to restart from zero in indonesia does not make business sense at all.

the secret of air asia success despite my negative sentiment towards tony is to keep on changing, and adapting. He's willing to relinquish his grip on malaysian operation to focus on much bigger thing. to have women ceo is quite an achievement.

In MAS, they dont even accept women pilots.

MAS is out of touch with reality. See, airasia culture, so relaxed..big press conference in jeans only. In MAS, you can only wear jeans during your off days at home. Restrictions curb creativity people.

daeng_jal

June 18th, 2012, 08:27 PM

What i know is that most flight in jakarta is domestic and pretty much their gateway to the world is changi..

There might be an opportunity there.but then again.there should be a good reason why no one doing it

dengilo

June 19th, 2012, 12:19 AM

How many flights between jakarta and changi daily?

Vrooms

June 19th, 2012, 06:35 AM

^^about 40.

Khaw

June 19th, 2012, 07:12 AM

Disagree.

Don't forget KLIA as a whole has many many many times more passengers than before. All thanks to AirAsia. In a business point of view, anywhere can be a Hub, as long as it provides connectivity "zig-zagging" across the whole region.

And because of AirAsia, it has brought about 20+ million passengers into KL last year. (the whole AirAsia Group carried 29+ million passengers last year)

With such volume that never existed before, certainly KLIA has repositioned itself to become the single largest centre of LCC in this region, despite the maturing growth rate. This is also the reason that Malaysia Airports is building a HUGE standalone purpose-built LCC airport, which technically does not exist in the conventional aviation world.

AirAsia's growth in Indonesia simply means more and more Indonesians (we are talking about 250 million) are travelling by plane!! I can bet you that a significant portion of them will also come to KL, and other Malaysian cities. Another simple example is that new startup AirAsia Philippines has launch their first overseas flight to Kuala Lumpur. AirAsia Japan may also do the same. These ventures further enhance the connectivity with Kuala Lumpur and the further localisation publicity has given much more space for Kuala Lumpur to be marketed to their local people.

So it's a win-win situation :)

appreciate that. and no, I didn't forget that and you are telling me things i am already aware of. it's just that KUL could be more than what you described if a true hub-spoke business model was employed similar to airlines here in the US. a good example is ATL which had over 90M traffic and yet with only a metro area population of 5.5M.

yes, it's a win-win, but I think it could have been much better for KUL if air asia genuinely sets its agenda in promoting KUL as a hub. just because air Asia came about and pulled KUL out of the rut doesn't mean that we should be eternally grateful or thankful to someone who milked the system until he couldn't get any more out of it and then bailed!

tbc

June 19th, 2012, 04:52 PM

Current AirAsia X Malaysia long-haul fleet size as of June 14, 2012:

In operation:

Airbus A340-300: 2

I think not !! :)
They were both idling away sadly at one corner of KLIA when I passed through last month
I understand at least one has now been (sub?)leased to a third party

dengilo

June 19th, 2012, 05:15 PM

^^about 40.

:)And thats just jakarta?How about flights from other parts of indonesia to spore?

nazrey

June 19th, 2012, 08:24 PM

OSK: AirAsia set to paint Asean skies red
By Bilqis Bahari Published: 2012/06/20
http://www.btimes.com.my/Current_News/BTIMES/articles/aa/Article/

http://www.btimes.com.my/articles/aa/pix_middle

KUALA LUMPUR: AirAsia Bhd's growth story in the next decade will be an exciting one, OSK Research said in its research note yesterday.

With the management change as announced on Monday and having set its sights on five other potential markets, AirAsia will be painting the skies over the Asean region red with its signature colour.

Aireen Omar, who is currently the company's regional head of corporate finance, will take over as chief executive officer (CEO) of AirAsia Malaysia on July 1 while Tan Sri Tony Fernandes will move on as group CEO at the AirAsia Asean office in Jakarta.

"The setting up of AirAsia Asean will allow the group's regional team to focus on AirAsia group's overall growth regionally. We have great confidence that Aireen will take AirAsia Malaysia to greater heights," the research firm said.

It added that the regional management might in immediate term focus on growing its Indonesian market, given that air travel remains under-penetrated among its population of more than 200 million people.

AirAsia currently operates hubs in Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand and the Philippines.

OSK Research said AirAsia had yet to establish an entity in Singapore despite the republic already functioning as a hub to some degree, given its significant market share at Changi airport.

In terms of expansion, Fernandes identified five countries - South Korea, China, India, Vietnam and Cambodia - as potential markets that AirAsia could tap into.

He said to cater for these new markets, the rate at which AirAsia was expanding its fleet was insufficient.

"We understand that AirAsia is pushing to bring forward the delivery of its aircraft, and also note that AirAsia's board will also approve the proposal to order about 50 new A320s with an option for 50 more from Airbus SAS in one to two months," OSK Research said.

Meanwhile, MIDF Research said it expected a quantum leap in the growth of Indonesia should AirAsia execute the right strategy upon full implementation of Asean's open sky policy in 2015.

"We believe the moves by its rivals, Tiger Airway, to acquire Indonesia's Airline Mandala and Lion Airway and to purchase 201 new Boeing 737 aircraft have compelled AirAsia to base its regional office in the country," it said.

The research firm added that AirAsia's profitability in the coming quarters should improve with the softening of oil price. Jet kerosene price fell sharply by 15.8 per cent to US$112.31 per barrel since last month.

"Our house view is that crude oil price will remain depressed at current level for the remaining part of 2012 due to weakening economic outlook in eurozone. We expect the same for jet kerosene price as it moves in tandem with crude oil price," it said.

AirAsia shares rose seven sen to RM3.70 on Bursa Malaysia yesterday.

Arkdriver

June 19th, 2012, 08:36 PM

I think not !! :)
They were both idling away sadly at one corner of KLIA when I passed through last month
I understand at least one has now been (sub?)leased to a third party

Both have been 'defaced' no more airasia logo. Just plain white. But i heard they gonna put it for charter flight to middle east for UN..

CxIxMaN

June 20th, 2012, 11:50 AM

The A340 are no longer in operation. They burn lots of fuel so I think they are retiring it and wait for the A350 jets to arrive.

erwinkarim

June 21st, 2012, 04:03 AM

The A340 are no longer in operation. They burn lots of fuel so I think they are retiring it and wait for the A350 jets to arrive.

not just that, their were used for europe operations. but the EU carbon tax makes flying A340 too expensive. i think they can still make it if it's running a B777, but knowing airasia, they would keep the fleet single model...

Arkdriver

June 21st, 2012, 05:02 AM

not just that, their were used for europe operations. but the EU carbon tax makes flying A340 too expensive. i think they can still make it if it's running a B777, but knowing airasia, they would keep the fleet single model...

Lost opportunity, they should have just put a couple of 777 to keep servicing the routes until A350 come.

tbc

June 21st, 2012, 06:10 AM

I reckon it's not just equipment issue - understand the 332's that AK-X had ordered for the european services are almost ready for delivery now. Would have made sense to just carry on incurring losses with those thirsty 343's during the few months since, rather than face costs associated with terminating the routes and restarting again 'in future' - not to mention intangible cost of abandoned market share
No, my guess is that the combination of sky high fuel costs and carbon tax really did tip the economics of long haul LCC over the edge of the cliff :)

I suppose it's either that or they had in fact not managed to formulate a profitable long haul LCC model yet, despite all the hot air previously :)

CxIxMaN

June 21st, 2012, 04:19 PM

I suppose what they want to do is wait until they get their new A350 and come back in full force?:lol: Will AirAsia be one of the first to get the A350? And I hope it is not going to be delayed.

Vrooms

June 21st, 2012, 04:56 PM

^^Nope they only get theres in 2016............

tbc

June 21st, 2012, 05:09 PM

Four years is a very long time in aviation business, much can happen in that time :)

patchay

June 26th, 2012, 08:23 PM

Malaysia has mentioned many times that it wants to participate in the rebuilding of IRAQ. Petronas is also looking to secure more oil fields in collaboration with international players operating in Iraq.

AirAsia X to begin charter flights to Baghdad, Iraq
By Vasantha Ganesan | Business Times | June 27, 2012
Article >>> http://www.btimes.com.my/Current_News/BTIMES/articles/20120627001455/Article/index_html

KUALA LUMPUR: Long-haul budget carrier, AirAsia X is believed to have obtained the rights to fly to Baghdad, Iraq, starting this week.

http://www.btimes.com.my/articles/20120627001455/pix_middle

According to sources, AirAsia X obtained rights to fly twice weekly into the Iraqi capital from the low-cost carrier terminal in Kuala Lumpur.

Sources say the flight would be a charter flight. However, AirAsia X chief executive officer (CEO) Azran Osman-Rani, when contacted by Business Times, said: “I am in Beijing, China.

I have not seen if we have got any rights (for Baghdad)”.

Last month, Air Transport World quoted AirAsia group CEO Tan Sri Tony Fernandes as saying “We are looking at Baghdad”.

Meanwhile, it is understood that advertisements have appeared in Iraq, stating that tickets for Kuala Lumpur cannot be purchased online and have to be bought via a travel agent.

There is even an email circulating among the Iraqi community residing in Malaysia as well as in Iraq stating that there are weekly KUL-BGW flights every Saturday.

The email also states that the return fare promotion for the inaugural flight is RM1,599 for economy and RM1,999 for premium.

Meanwhile, Tourism Malaysia data shows that Iraqi tourist arrivals in 2011 rose 17.4 per cent to 13,568 from 11,560 in 2010.

According to an official at the Iraqi Embassy here, there are 3,000 Iraqis residing in Malaysia.

Currently, the only Middle East country AirAsia X flies to is to Iran. It has a four-time weekly flight to Teheran Imam Kohmeini International Airport, which first started as a charter before becoming a scheduled flight.

AirAsia X also has rights to fly to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, but has yet to mount any flights.

In 2010, AirAsia X ended its five-time weekly flights from Kuala Lumpur to Abu Dhabi three months after it commenced the route.

Vrooms

June 28th, 2012, 02:13 PM

Read somewhere that Virgin is selling their stake in AAX........

tbc

June 28th, 2012, 02:20 PM

Read somewhere that Virgin is selling their stake in AAX........
If anything, it's Sir RB selling if so - my limited understanding anyway :)

ntly1

June 29th, 2012, 04:07 AM

Read somewhere that Virgin is selling their stake in AAX........

^^It is nothing if it was true because AAX is not evolving around Virgin. We have not heard any contributions as well so far by Virgin to AAX.

everywhere

June 29th, 2012, 05:43 AM

Thai AirAsia to move operations to Don Mueang airport from Oct. 1
(WCARN.com/Dow Jones Newswires, June 25)

Budget carrier Thai AirAsia plans to relocate all operations to Bangkok's former international airport, Don Mueang Airport, from Suvarnabhumi Airport from Oct. 1, Chief Executive Tassapon Bijleveld said Monday.

The low-cost carrier is set to be the first airline to operate international flights from Don Mueang Airport after Suvarnabhumi Airport became the Thai capital's international airport when it opened in 2006.

Mr. Tassapon said shifting Thai AirAsia's domestic and international flights to Don Mueang Airport could help boost growth in the airline's passenger numbers, because air traffic at the airport isn't congested, unlike at Suvarnabhumi Airport.

The relocation is expected to help Thai AirAsia save around 250 million baht (US$7.9 million) in fuel costs annually, because its planes will no longer need to circle around the airport before landing, Mr. Tassapon said.

"The uncongested Don Mueang Airport is sure to prove a benefit to AirAsia when it boosts its fleet of Airbus A320s to a total of 48 and welcomes more customers ... prospective travelers should have confidence in what Don Mueang has to offer," Mr. Tassapon said.

The low-cost carrier aims to double its number of its passengers to 16 million by 2016 from the 8 million targeted for this year, he said.

Thai AirAsia is a joint venture between Asia Aviation PCL and Malaysia-based AirAsia Bhd., Southeast Asia's largest budget carrier by fleet size.

Airports of Thailand PCL, which operates Don Mueang Airport and Suvarnabhumi Airport, recently said it will waive most of the aviation-related, area rental and services fees at Don Mueang Airport in August and September to encourage airlines to shift their operations to the older airport to help ease air traffic congestion at Suvarnabhumi Airport.

Currently, only three airlines operate domestic flights from Don Mueang Airport, which has two runways, while Suvarnabhumi Airport, which also has two runways, serves more than 100 airlines.

http://www.wcarn.com/cache/news/19/19938.html

Vrooms

June 29th, 2012, 08:26 AM

Hope other budget carriers don't follow and move to don muang....

Vrooms

July 2nd, 2012, 10:07 AM

Source:http://www.btimes.com.my/Current_News/BTIMES/articles/aaomer/Article/index_html
AirAsia has LCCT backup plan
By Bilqis Bahari
http://www.btimes.com.my/articles/aaomer/pix_middle
TERMINAL OPTIONS: Airline may shift to other hubs in the country if it doesn’t move to KLIA2, says CEO

AIRASIA Bhd will likely shift to its other hubs in Malaysia should the budget carrier decide not to move to the new low-cost carrier terminal, KLIA2.

Newly-appointed AirAsia chief executive officer Aireen Omar told Business Times that there is a backup plan in case KLIA2 is not built per the airline's requirements that emphasise on safety, security as well as cost effectiveness.

Besides Kuala Lum- pur, the budget carrier has hubs in Sabah (Kota Kinabalu International Airport), Sarawak (Kuching International Airport), Johor (Senai International Airport), Penang (Penang International Airport) as well as a virtual hub in Singapore (Changi International Airport).

Aireen added that AirAsia is still in talks with Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd (MAHB) and is looking forward to the completion of KLIA2 which is on track to be opened in April 2013.

"We are not too worried about the move, actually. We do have a backup plan if we don't move to KLIA2," she said, declining to provide further details.

Speaking on competition with upcoming low-cost carriers (LCCs) such as Borneo Airways that might take place in the country, Aireen said being a strong regional airline, AirAsia is ahead of other LCCs.

She said AirAsia is the first LCC in the country and has a first mover advantage as well as a unique cost which is envied by many worldwide.

The budget carrier also has a huge network of over 150 routes that is interconnected within Malaysia and the Asean region.

Coupled with its strong branding and audiences, AirAsia is a force to reckon with, she said. The budget carrier has the whole Asean region with about 600 million population as its playground.

"It is going to be difficult for anyone to try to compete with us but certainly we will have to keep an eye on them," she said.

Meanwhile, on the Asean Open Sky Policy that will take effect in 2015, Aireen said AirAsia is looking forward to it since the policy will allow the budget carrier to fly anywhere.

"We have established ourselves as a leader of low-cost carrier in the region and from what we have already built, we don't see it as an issue. In fact, we welcome it because it will help us to grow faster," she said.

The first female in the country to helm one of the world's famous budget carrier, Aireen said she will ensure there will always be good team effort in the company.

Aireen said it is very important to recognise, complement and leverage on the team's strengths so that the budget carrier will continue growing.

"As a leader, I would be most satisfied and contented if I see people that I work with continue to improve and reinvent themselves because when you do that, then the opportunity for us to grow as a company is even bigger," she said.

tbc

July 2nd, 2012, 12:29 PM

You can just see a gigantic white elephant eclipsing all other Malaysian white elephants taking shape in Sepang ! The battle at BKI is won by the reds, trying the same MO at KLIA2 it seem
Well, see if the MAHB guys got balls enough to see this out
Lest they forget, MAHB is also operator of all other AK hubs except JHB - dunno who has upper hand in this stand off ?! :)

dengilo

July 2nd, 2012, 04:31 PM

Bikin wayang!Still trying to get the best deal out of MAHB any way possible!

pedang

July 3rd, 2012, 02:26 AM

AA main tarik tali. very smart! lor

XNeo

July 3rd, 2012, 03:16 AM

nak tukar kat airport mana je....boleh dpt ke tempat lain tu. airport melaka?. :lol:
utang ngan MAHB pun lum byr ?. :lol:

KLIA2 kan selesa dan lebih baik dari LCCT sekarang untuk penumpang AA.
ngek.

Arkdriver

July 3rd, 2012, 04:57 AM

Dey kerajaan and MAHB, kalau ada telur lawan balik la AirAsia. Let them stay at current LCCT and strain themselves. Mau buat airport sendiri go ahead, ingat buat airport macam buat bus stop ka? You airport tax pun jenuh kena cari masuk lubang nak suruh bayar, apa lagi mau buat airport sendiri. Cit podah. Ini kalau kerajaan ada telur la, menteri pengangkutan always the useless one.

daeng_jal

July 3rd, 2012, 08:24 AM

I guess AK sure got a big ayahanda behind them..

If not.how can u piss ur landlord, condamn them, ask for renovation this and that while at the same time not paying rent..

dengilo

July 3rd, 2012, 03:58 PM

Ayahanda M&D ka?:lol:Cit podah ayo yo!Itu sungai besi airport dia tak mau ka?Closer to town ma?

patchay

July 3rd, 2012, 05:15 PM

Don't forget... they want SUBANG.

AirAsia will fight for Subang and I'm sure many rakyat will (blindly) support it... including me. :)

Arkdriver

July 3rd, 2012, 06:37 PM

fat bangla sudah sumbat duit dalam poket, itu mulut tutup saja..

dengilo

July 4th, 2012, 12:29 AM

How much commission does Airbus pay?Some burung hantu in kenny hills say its about $2.5 M per aircraft!So how many airbus are there in their fleet now?

everywhere

July 4th, 2012, 03:01 AM

AirAsia X plans IPO as early as 2014 (http://www.wcarn.com/cache/news/20/20064.html)
(WCARN.com/Dow Jones Newswires, July 3)

AirAsia X, the long-haul affiliate of Malaysian budget carrier AirAsia Bhd., plans to launch its initial public offering by the end of this year or early 2013 to fund its expansion, said Chief Executive Azran Osman-Rani Tuesday.

The low-cost carrier, which disclosed plans to list shares a year ago, said it isn't looking at any acquisition target and plans to grow the company organically.

"It is easier and more efficient to buy airplanes than to buy a company," he said at a press conference in Taipei, adding the company aims to add 14 new aircraft to its current fleet size of 11 aircraft by the end of 2014.

The Malaysian airline, which recently suspended services to Paris and London as demand for leisure travel dropped amid the eurozone debt crisis, is eyeing expansion of its China network to cities that appeal to tourists such as Hangzhou, Wuhan, Xian, and Chongqing, said the chief executive.

AirAsia is Southeast Asia's largest budget airline by fleet size.

XNeo

July 4th, 2012, 03:33 AM

Ayahanda M&D ka?:lol:Cit podah ayo yo!Itu sungai besi airport dia tak mau ka?Closer to town ma?

kenott...

nanti kl tak boleh ada supertall.

even Subang oso kenot.Firefly punye. bagi je airport melaka jadi hub.Ali Rustam very hepi.... :lol:

Arkdriver

July 4th, 2012, 09:03 AM

How much commission does Airbus pay?Some burung hantu in kenny hills say its about $2.5 M per aircraft!So how many airbus are there in their fleet now?

I heard all commission goes to TF, no one else. That's what i heard la..now more than 100 aircraft. Normally in aircraft procurement which i was involved recently (20-year old B733) the comission was in hundreds of thousands already, then u divide la sikit2, kasi itu agent, ini agent, ini authority, itu authority, still u pocket a handsome some of 100k (let say la). Not bad for a few months phone call job. But this is not what i get la, low level pariah like me take shit only.

Arkdriver

July 4th, 2012, 09:04 AM

kenott...

nanti kl tak boleh ada supertall.

even Subang oso kenot.Firefly punye. bagi je airport melaka jadi hub.Ali Rustam very hepi.... :lol:

If this materialize Ali Rostam can retire from politics, and wait for Khalil to die, then can move to become the next governor.

nazrey

July 4th, 2012, 11:48 PM

AirAsia X, MAS to fly to Nepal
By Vasantha Ganesan Published: 2012/07/05
http://www.btimes.com.my/Current_News/BTIMES/articles/airxever/Article/

KUALA LUMPUR: AirAsia X, Malaysia's budget long-haul carrier, has obtained the rights to operate four weekly flights between Kuala Lumpur and Kathmandu, Nepal.

However, AirAsia X has decided to start with flights on Tuesdays and Thursdays for now, with the first flight having started two days ago.

"We have started a twice weekly scheduled flight to Kathmandu. Currently, the initial flights are sold out to our Nepal sales agent.

"We expect to launch online sales for subsequent flights in the next one to two weeks," AirAsia X chief executive officer Azran Ozman Rani told Business Times.

"Our rights from the Malaysian government so far is only four times weekly... frequency increases will depend on demand over the first few months," Azran added.

According to Republica, a Nepal publication, an Air Service Agreement (ASA) between Nepal and Malaysia allows Malaysian carriers to operate up to 21 weekly flights.

AirAsia X's entry has ended the monopoly of Nepal Airlines on the route. Nepal Airlines has six weekly flights connecting the two Asian capitals.

Meanwhile, Malaysia Airlines said in a press statement it would commence three direct flights a week between Kuala Lumpur and Kathmandu effective September 1.

The airline will offer a total of 960 seats each week on its Boeing 737-800 aircraft.

MAS' regional senior vice-president (Malaysia and Asean region) Muzammil Mohamad said it was a timely addition to its network.

"We see great potential in Kathmandu, especially during the forthcomng year-end holiday season," he said.

The Nepali labour community is the third largest in Malaysia after Indonesia and Bangladesh, accounting for 9.7 per cent of the foreigners here.

In the first 11 months until middle of last month, Malaysian employers hired a total of 12,945 Nepalis.

Meanwhile, another Nepal-based publication has reported that Incentive Tours and Travels, the general sales agent of AirAsia X in Nepal, has a one-way promotional fare of Rs11,000 (RM397) and return fares at Rs20,000 (both excluding taxes).

The normal fare is expected to range between Rs11,000 and Rs15,000.

MAS in its statement said it was offering all-in return economy class promotional fares at RM1,200 from Kuala Lumpur, Penang and Johor Baru to Kathmandu.

Economy class travel from Kota Kinabalu and Kuching starts at RM1,878.

Booking period for this fare is from next Monday to July 16, and is valid for travel between September 1 and December 31.

dengilo

July 5th, 2012, 07:10 AM

http://www.utusan.com.my/pix/2012/0702/Utusan_Malaysia/Dalam_Negeri/dn_01.1.jpgIf this materialize Ali Rostam can retire from politics, and wait for Khalil to die, then can move to become the next governor.

CxIxMaN

July 7th, 2012, 10:07 AM

New Air Asia livery???

http://cdn-www.airliners.net/aviation-photos/photos/9/5/4/2128459.jpg
http://www.airliners.net/photo/AirAsia-Japan/Airbus-A320-214/2128459/L/&sid=02de7758741d07022d5e01a9f1d24fcd

Vrooms

July 7th, 2012, 10:30 AM

^^I think the tail is nicer this way:)

KAQuah

July 7th, 2012, 01:47 PM

CxIxMaN

July 9th, 2012, 05:34 PM

Farnborough 2012: Who are the high-flyers in the aviation industry?

http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/dam/assets/120709115015-aviation-power-players-story-top.jpg

Tony Fernandes -- Air Asia

An airline CEO who gets his hands dirty and mucks in with baggage handling? That would be AirAsia's chief Tony Fernandes, who combines a highly personable nature with a cast-iron business vision that is sweeping across Asia-Pacific -- low-cost air travel for the masses.

But it is not just passengers who have been won over. With 175 Airbus A320s ordered, last year he stunned the Paris Airshow with a giant purchase of 200 Airbus A320neos and has hinted he may add another 50 airliners on top of that.

read more: http://edition.cnn.com/2012/07/09/world/europe/aviation-power-players/index.html

willeo

July 10th, 2012, 05:15 AM

Something from a Canadian newspaper today: Malaysian carrier in talks with Bombardier about 160-seat C Series (http://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-investor/malaysian-carrier-in-talks-with-bombardier-about-160-seat-c-series/article4401501/)

Bombardier Inc. is in negotiations with low-cost airline AirAsia Berhad on a deal that involves increasing the number of seats on its new C Series airplane to 160, as the aircraft maker tries to land orders with discount carriers.

Until now, the larger, CS300 version of the Bombardier plane had been offered with a maximum of 149 seats. But by shortening the distance between the seats – known as pitch – to 28 inches from 34 inches or lower, the Malaysia-based airline and other low-cost carriers can squeeze in more passengers.

...

A C Series order by AirAsia is probably a long shot, National Bank Financial analyst Cameron Doerksen said in a note to clients Monday.

“But clearly any new orders from a big-name airline would be very positive for Bombardier,” Mr. Doerksen wrote. “While other orders for the C Series may be announced at Farnborough [Air Show in Britain], we believe first flight will likely be the next major catalyst for airlines to pull the trigger on ordering aircraft.”

Arkdriver

July 10th, 2012, 08:02 AM

if the deal materialize it will be a surprise. Dont think AirAsia would want to order the C series as it has large backlog on their a320neos. Bombardier may try their luck in Indonesia.

skymermaid

July 12th, 2012, 01:19 PM

if the deal materialize it will be a surprise. Dont think AirAsia would want to order the C series as it has large backlog on their a320neos. Bombardier may try their luck in Indonesia.

Yeah. Bombardier should have better luck in Indonesia especially after Sukhoi Superjet 100 crash near Jakarta recently.

rizalhakim

July 13th, 2012, 04:35 AM

Skytrax World Airline Awards - 2012
The Academy & Grammy Awards For Airline Industry
http://www.worldairlineawards.com

The World's Best Low-Cost Airlines
1. AirAsia - 2009,2010,2011 and 2012
4. AirAsiaX

patchay

July 13th, 2012, 12:54 PM

KAQuah

July 13th, 2012, 01:23 PM

Malaysian newspapers are flooded with AirAsia's branding and "propaganda"....

http://intrepidwanderer.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/Worlds_Best_Low-Cost_Airline.jpg

Good news for ASEAN travellers!!!

http://img.ed4.net/airasia/images/2012/q2/0713_worldsbestever/main-se120715-nonmember.jpg

My mail box also received the above.

I have a feeling that to counter attacked the yellow airline (south) promotion.

Anyway such competition is good for CONSUMER's.

maafcakap

July 13th, 2012, 01:31 PM

they r aggresive..

Vrooms

July 14th, 2012, 02:35 AM

On the top 100 list AirAsia comes in at 22:)

patchay

July 24th, 2012, 04:56 AM

AirAsia ditches pact with Malaysia Airlines
By Jahabar Sadiq | The Malaysian Insider Editor | July 24, 2012
http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/airasia-ditches-pact-with-mas/

KUALA LUMPUR, July 24 — Budget carrier AirAsia has stopped sending its planes for servicing at Malaysia Airlines (MAS) facilities since yesterday, effectively terminating all joint-venture agreements with the national airline, sources said.

http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/images/uploads/2012/july2012/24/plane-july24.jpg
File photo of passengers boarding an AirAsia X Airbus A330-300 at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport at Sepang. The budget airline has stopped sending its planes for servicing at MAS facilities. — Reuters pic

Industry sources said Asia’s biggest low-cost carrier will resume sending all planes in its Airbus fleet to Singapore, citing safety fears with non-co-operation from MAS staff who scuttled an earlier share-swap deal.

“AirAsia has already stopped sending its aircraft from yesterday because there is no co-operation from MAS staffers,” a source told The Malaysian Insider.

The Malaysian Insider understands that MAS employees are upset with the attractive fees given to AirAsia as their charges are among the lowest in the region.

“This is a blow for MAS as it could do with the extra business, no matter the fees,” another source said.

But, he said, the move seemed inevitable since both airlines unravelled their share swap last May.

“This is inevitable considering the bad blood between both carriers. All AirAsia staff who joined MAS have left,” he added.

The Business Times today quoted a source as saying that AirAsia decided at a board meeting last week to terminate its agreements with the national airline.

But AirAsia group chief executive officer (CEO) Tan Sri Tony Fernandes declined comment when queried through text messages, while calls and text messages to AirAsia Malaysia CEO Aireen Omar went unanswered, the paper said.

It also said that MAS chief executive officer Ahmad Jauhari Yahya did not respond to a text message to him.

Terminating the memorandum of understandings (MoUs) between AirAsia and MAS would effectively wipe out the remnants of a deal dubbed the Comprehensive Collaborative Framework (CCF) between Khazanah Nasional Bhd and Tune Air Sdn Bhd signed on August 9, 2011.

In that cashless deal, state asset manager Khazanah and Fernandes’ Tune Air agreed to swap shares in MAS and AirAsia respectively, to facilitate a collaboration between the two carriers ahead of the ASEAN open skies policy.

But agitation by MAS employees and several politicians forced Putrajaya to cancel the deal last May 2.

However, both airlines agreed on a supplemental agreement to salvage the initial collaboration plans, with two MoUs to focus on the setting up of a joint-venture company to provide aircraft component maintenance support and repair services while another was to set up a special purpose vehicle by MAS, AirAsia and AirAsia X to improve value for money and to increase competitiveness through procurement synergies.

The agreements between AirAsia and MAS allow for a termination by mutual agreement anytime within a six-month period from the date of the signing although it will not release a lock-up period of six months that disallows both parties from talking to, negotiating or co-operating with any other parties, said the paper.

dengilo

July 24th, 2012, 07:21 AM

How much do they owe the Singaporeans again?:lol:

kucingfight

July 24th, 2012, 02:35 PM

AA's next destination = LOMBOK :)

Jambol

July 24th, 2012, 03:28 PM

Industry sources said Asia’s biggest low-cost carrier will resume sending all planes in its Airbus fleet to Singapore, citing safety fears with non-co-operation from MAS staff who scuttled an earlier share-swap deal.

The fight between MAS and AA, and then Spore benefits from the quarrel?

razpatrol99

July 24th, 2012, 04:10 PM

The fight between MAS and AA, and then Spore benefits from the quarrel?

Not only Singapore.., Indonesia and Thailand also get something as well. :bash:

dengilo

July 25th, 2012, 06:59 AM

:)How come no news that 3 of their aircrafts were impounded by indonesian airport authority.

!JAKARTA–Tiga pesawat Indonesia AirAsia digrounded atau dilarang terbang sejak Jumat malam hingga kini, yang menyebabkan penumpukan penumpang di Terminal 3 Bandara Soekarno-Hatta.
“Memang ada pesawat kami yang digrounded, kami terlambat menyelesaikan proses administrasi spare part sehingga pesawat kami digrounded,” kata Humas AirAsia Indonesia Audery Progastama Petriny kepada Bisnis, Sabtu siang (21/7).
Kepala Pusat Komunikasi Publik Kementerian Perhubungan Bambang S. Ervan mengatakan setelah melakukan pengecekan, dilaporkan bahwa tiga pesawat Indonesia AirAsia dengan nomor registrasi PKAXG,PKAXS, PKAXM disegel oleh Bea dan Cukai.
“Alasan penyegelan belum diketahui. Dampaknya terjadi penumpukan penumpang di B Lounge,” kata Bambang.
Dia menambahkan pihak langkah tindak lanjut yakni telah berkoordinasi dengan pihak Air Asia. “Kami meminta untuk menempatkan petugas di B Lounge guna memberikan layanan informasi kepada penumpang,” tuturnya.
Bambang menjelaskan pihak Indonesia AirAsia juga sedang mengupayakan penyelesaian dengan pihak Bea Cukai.
“Info terbaru, satu dari tiga pesawat yang disegel sudah diberangkatkan, ini di bawah wewenang Bea Cukai, Angkasa Pura II juga tidak bisa melepas,” ucap Bambang.
Salah satu penumpang Indonesia AirAsia, Agung mengatakan penumpang sempat mengamuk di Terminal 3 Bandara Soekarno-Hatta karena tidak diberikan penjelasan alasan keterlambatan. Dirinya saja yang harusnya terbang ke Yogyakarta pukul 09.55 WIB dengan nomor penerbangan QZ 7552, hingga kini (pukul 11.30 WIB) belum ada kepastian kapan diberangkatkan.
“Tadi penumpang yang ke Denpasar harusnya berangkat pukul 08.00 WIB marah-marah. Namun baru saja ini mereka dipanggil untuk naik pesawat,” kata Agung.
Dia mengaku sempat bertanya kepada petugas di bandara alasan keterlambatan, menurut petugas karena ada masalah spare part, sehingga pesawat dilarang terbang oleh pihak Bea Cukai bandara. (faa)

Arkdriver

July 25th, 2012, 06:26 PM

of course, different AOC. we have been indoctrinate, any news that made to the newspaper must be good one. Just like one copy paste forumer here.

David-80

July 25th, 2012, 10:33 PM

one big news today in indonesian aviation industry

AirAsia to Buy Control of Batavia
Tri Listiyarini | July 25, 2012

AirAsia, the region’s biggest budget carrier, is set to buy control of Indonesia’s Batavia Air as it moves to boost its business in the country, which has the largest population in Southeast Asia.

Audrey Progastama Petriny, the communication manager of Malaysia-based AirAsia, said AirAsia and Batavia Air would sign the acquisition deal in Jakarta today.

“This is serious. Friends in media are all invited to cover the signing of the agreement,” she said in a text message.

more http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/business/airasia-to-buy-control-of-batavia/532660

Batavia air has 35 fleet consisting of A330s, A321, A320s and Boeing 737s

Cheers

patchay

July 26th, 2012, 03:31 AM

AirAsia Bhd seeks to expand its presence in Southeast Asia, most probably through takeovers of airlines in Indonesia, Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam.

Malaysia's AirAsia to buy Indonesia's Batavia Air
JAKARTA, July 26 | Thu Jul 26, 2012 12:59am IST | Reporting by Andjarsari Paramaditha and Janeman Latul; Editing by Gary Hill

JAKARTA, July 26 (Reuters) - Malaysian low cost airline AirAsia Bhd is set to buy Indonesian low cost carrier Batavia Air as it aims to expand in the Southeast Asia's biggest economy, an AirAsia executive at its Indonesian unit said on Thursday.

The move will likely lead to heightened competition among low cost carriers in Indonesia, including the nation's biggest low cost carrier, Lion Air, a unit of flag carrier Garuda Citilink, and Mandala Air, controlled by private equity Saratoga Capital.

Communication Manager Indonesia AirAsia Audrey Progastama Petriny said the signing ceremony and press conference for the plan would be held later on Thursday in Jakarta.

Petriny declined to give any details about the plan, including the deal value and the structure.

"We shall announce the details later today," he said.

Batavia Air confirmed the plan but declined to comment about details.

Article >>> http://in.reuters.com/article/2012/07/25/airasia-batavia-idINL4E8IP65320120725

XNeo

July 26th, 2012, 06:19 AM

just like CIMB.:cheers:

they are Super Red Malaysia :)

Vince

July 26th, 2012, 09:33 PM

of course, different AOC. we have been indoctrinate, any news that made to the newspaper must be good one. Just like one copy paste forumer here.

Not to worry: There are also forumers like me around. :lol:

Oh by the way, does Air Asia have a fleet bigger than MAS now?

dengilo

July 27th, 2012, 02:27 AM

Dont u doubt that for a millisecond :devil:All just waiting to show their true colours:gunz::lol:

CxIxMaN

July 27th, 2012, 08:01 AM

Oh by the way, does Air Asia have a fleet bigger than MAS now?

There obviously much more people flying AirAsia :lol:

Vrooms

July 27th, 2012, 10:15 AM

^^ If you only count malaysia airasia i think MH still has more:)

everywhere

July 28th, 2012, 07:26 AM

Indonesian Govt says it has not yet approved AirAsia's acquisition of Batavia Air
(The Jakarta Globe, July 27)

The Transportation Ministry says it has not officially been informed of the acquisition of Indonesian Batavia Air by Malaysia's AirAsia. “That means it is not yet certain if the ministry will approve the acquisition,” Herry Bhakti, the ministry's air transportation director general, said here on Friday.

The ministry has yet to determine if the acquisition is in line with the prevailing regulations, such as those concerning the division of Batavia Air's shares, Herry said. An Indonesian regulation prevents foreign investors from holding a majority stake in an airline operating in the country.

AirAsia Berhad and Fersindo Nusaperkasa, which are partners in Indonesia AirAsia, were reported on Thursday to have acquired Batavia Air at a price of $80 million. “After months of negotiations, finally we came to an agreement to develop a relationship between AirAsia and Batavia Air,” AirAsia Berhad CEO Tony Fernandes told reporters in Jakarta.

more: http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/business/indonesian-govt-says-it-has-not-yet-approved-airasias-acquisition-of-batavia-air/533129

dengilo

July 28th, 2012, 11:41 AM

Welcome to reality thamby!:lol:

tunomura

July 28th, 2012, 12:55 PM

deleted

everywhere

July 31st, 2012, 07:17 AM

Air Asia X to offer Quiet Zone - No Kids Allowed
(WCARN.com/Los Angeles Times, July 27)

AirAsia X, a long-haul carrier based in Malaysia, plans to become the second airline in the world to ban children from certain sections of the plane.

Starting in February, Air Asia X will create a "quiet zone" in the first eight rows of the economy section of its fleet of A330 planes. The zone will have special ambient lighting, will ask passengers to keep noise to a minimum and will ban children under 12 years old.

Malaysia Airlines last month introduced a similar child-free section on the upper deck of its new A380s, flying between Kuala Lumpur and London. On AirAsia X, there will be no extra charge for seats in the "quiet zone."

more: http://www.wcarn.com/cache/news/20/20607.html

rizalhakim

August 6th, 2012, 07:24 AM

Man jumps off AirAsia moving plane

http://mnh-cdn7.mynewshub.my/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/ne_02.1-565x423.jpg

A man jumped off a moving Airasia plane in Miri Airport, Malaysia has caused an hour delay in flight operations en route to Kuala Lumpur’s Low Cost Carrier Airport on Friday evening.

According to reports, the man became agitated during the taxi of the AirAsia flight and decided to exit the plane while it was moving in Malaysia’s northern Sarawak state. When the plane was about to take off, the man suddenly opened the emergency doors and jumped out.

“The raft automatically opened. Other passengers started screaming. The plane was brought to a halt,” a passenger, Siva Nathiran. was quoted as saying.

“There were no injuries and the passenger was arrested,” he said. He will be arrested by police after receiving treatment.

World 2 World

August 6th, 2012, 10:36 AM

^^:uh: fear of flying?

hafidz jon

August 6th, 2012, 04:50 PM

nampak hantu...

XNeo

August 6th, 2012, 11:52 PM

that boy jumped when he saw ghost figures , black scary things ....sitting on a seat.
luckily this boy survive . angel of death?. mcm final destination movie.

Skyprince

August 7th, 2012, 12:01 AM

imagine if he opens the door at cruising speed ( oh is that possible ? )

tbc

August 7th, 2012, 12:10 AM

..... Malaysia’s northern Sarawak state
alamak ! :lol:

Arkdriver

August 7th, 2012, 12:27 AM

guess he was having hard time trying to differentiate between hantu or cabin crew. I think they are almost identical!

dengilo

August 7th, 2012, 03:26 AM

Was tony on the aircraft?:nuts:

tunomura

August 7th, 2012, 12:59 PM

alamak ! :lol:

i think it should be 'sarawak's northern city' :lol:

patchay

August 7th, 2012, 05:15 PM

The most memorable day for ASEAN aviation on the eve of ASEAN's Birthday:

AIRASIA ASEAN launched in Jakarta, Indonesia today (Aug 7, 2012)!!!

10+1 countries. 1 Dream. 1 Community. 1 ASEAN. 1 AIRASIA

http://a6.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-prn1/s720x720/557430_10151142054182387_1930128901_n.jpg

An exciting day today as we have officially launched AirAsia Asean in Jakarta, which will be the regional base for AirAsia Asean and a new home for our Group CEO, Tony Fernandes and Deputy Group CEO, Dato’ Kamarudin Meranun. Reaffirming our commitment to the Asean region and coinciding with the eve of the 45th anniversary of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), the new regional base strengthen our position as the Asean airline by fully delivering on our pledge – Now everyone can fly – to all the people of Asean and beyond! Check out the amazing photos of the event in Jakarta!

Traditional costumes of ASEAN

http://a8.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc7/s720x720/487737_10151142054017387_3608128_n.jpg

Name the countries from left to right.

http://a1.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/s720x720/486615_10151142069352387_666464471_n.jpg

An official group photo of
- Tassapon Bijleveld - CEO of AirAsia Thailand,
- Captain Dharmadi - CEO of AirAsia Indonesia,
- Azran Osman-Rani - CEO of AirAsia X,
- Loganathan Velaitham - Country Head for Singapore,
- Dato' Adbul Aziz bin Abu Bakar - AirAsia Berhad Chairman,
- Tan Sri Tony Fernandes - AirAsia Group CEO,
- Aireen Omar - CEO of AirAsia Berhad,
- Kazuyuki Iwataka - CEO of AirAsia Japan
(not in the picture: Dato’ Kamarudin Meranun, Deputy AirAsia Group CEO and Marianne Hontiveros, CEO of AirAsia Philippines)

...and our lovely cabin crew!

http://a5.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash3/s720x720/549685_10151142054437387_1970877799_n.jpg

Tan Sri Tony from Malaysia is probably the most famous ASEAN business citizen now.

Together with Dato Kamarudin, they are now based in Jakarta.

Arkdriver

August 7th, 2012, 07:31 PM

come on Tony, make more profit and send the money home! Indonesia send millions of workers, we just send 2 to bring home billions. Imagine more savvy businessman going there.

Actually, quite a number of Malaysian co pilots make Jakarta their home too, working for airlines there, but here in Malaysia we have a lot of Indo captains too..

Khaw

August 7th, 2012, 11:05 PM

XNeo

August 8th, 2012, 12:06 AM

If KLIA2 passenger traffic meet the target , as long not rugi...that is fine for me.
(even Jakarta is AA regional base which i think a good move & great potential for AA business in future, hundred millions ppl with emerging of middle class indonesian compared to malaysia).
as you know malaysian and indonesian relationship have ups and downs till now & future. be with them to win their heart. :)

KLIA2 airport offer good facilities, infra & business for malaysian.
nothing to lose. :p

dengilo

August 8th, 2012, 03:18 AM

Arkdriver

August 8th, 2012, 05:25 AM

that's the kiss of death for KLIA2. it will never realize its full potential in the time they originally planned for it. of course there are some who will not admit or see it, but it's my opinion. ;)

by going to Jakarta, that's like the fat one saying "f%# off" to MAHB. it's pure business!

Not really kiss of death la, Malaysian market almost saturated already. It's time to move to other markets to expand. KLIA2 have nothing to do with Indonesia Air Asia operation, wether they like it or not, soon they have to move out from the whorehouse. It's really inconvenient to walk damn far (arrived from international flight, but aircraft parked at domestic section (behind Pos Malaysia International Hub). With KLIA2 it will be much more comfortable with covered and air conditioned building.

It's not like flights are moving out to CGK or DPS, Malaysia Air Asia will continue to expand but at slower rate. The aircraft parked at taxiway, that's a sad sight.

Even Air Asia X aircraft are now parked in front of KLAS Cargo building. Effectively reducing parking space for cargo aircraft.

But in Indonesia the general sentiment is 50-50 about this batavia acquisition. Some people against it, some people commended it. You can follow Indonesian forum. They are divided wether it's a good thing to sell significant stakes to foreign investors, though at the same time the current owner of Batavia really lacks cash to keep the business afloat.

Khaw

August 8th, 2012, 08:05 AM

KLIA2 was counting and depending too much on AA's contribution. with the change in AA's model and focus, growth will be much slower and it will be damn hard to fill those gates. how and when it gets to its 45 million capacity is a big question... so why spend alll this money? yeah, someone will say it's needed and to that i say "that badly?"

remember... the original KLIA is hardly at its capacity to begin with!! they could have easily and more economically add the 2nd satellite terminal and be done with it since AA didn't even commit to KLIA2 back then (even up until today, they are still making ultimatum of not using KLIA2).

the only way to justify the size of this new terminal is to get other low cost airlines to use it and give AA a run for the money. but they won't do that for fear of stepping on MAS' toes. it's time to compete fair and square... it will do wonders for the national carrier in the long run, but not for its union. it's time to learn the mistakes of other non-performing airlines, and there are quite a number out there right now.

Skyprince

August 8th, 2012, 09:59 AM

Malaysian market "nearly saturated" ? For domestic maybe, but not for International I think

nazrey

August 8th, 2012, 11:27 AM

AirAsia: Jakarta move won’t lead to migration of ops
PRESENNA NAMBIAR Published: 2012/08/08
http://www.btimes.com.my/Current_News/BTIMES/articles/20120808005928/Article/index_html

STRONG PLATFORM: Airline focusing energy on growing its presence in Asean

http://www.btimes.com.my/articles/20120808005928/pix_middle

AIRASIA Group chief executive officer has rubbished comments that his move to Jakarta will lead to the eventual migration of its entire operations to Asean’s most populous country.

Indonesia is home to 240 million of Asean’s 600 million strong population.

“That’s a ridiculous scenario and I’ve read some of the ridiculous statements on that ... We wanna grow in every country. We continue to look at ways of growing our business, not shrinking it,” Tan Sri Tony Fernandes told Malaysian, Cambodian and Vietnamese media at the launch of AirAsia Asean here yesterday. :lol:

He was asked if the recent news that the carrier’s move to KLIA2 was optional meant that it could be moving its operations to Jakarta.

That as well as AirAsia’s decision to make Jakarta its regional headquarters instead of Malaysia has led many to believe that such a move is imminent.

Fernandes, however, insisted that his move to Jakarta is just a way to focus his energy on growing AirAsia’s presence in Asean.

“We have been told to globalise (in order) Asean to grow the company and we are a Malaysian company following that mandate to be a bigger company. So I’m here to make that a reality. That’s the mandate our leaders have asked us to do,” he said.

Fernandes himself has shifted his work area in the low-cost carrier terminal in Sepang, Selangor, to Jakarta.

AirAsia’s regional headquarters is currently manned by 20 people, 50 per cent of whom are from its Malaysian office.

“AirAsia Asean will help ensure that our voice, our concerns and our appeals are heard much more clearly in the corridors of power with Asean. One of the reasons for locating the office in Jakarta is to help us engage more closely with the Asean secretariat, which is headquartered here,” Fernandes said.

On AirAsia’s planned acquisition of Batavia Air, he said the airline will look at other options if it is not able to proceed with the deal.

Fernandes did not elaborate but said he is confident that the deal will go through.

He said that his presence in Indonesia will mean more focus on the growth of the market.

“The problem was a lack of focus (in Indonesia). Malaysia has been the most successful because we’ve put more time there. It’s a function of time and we have neglected the Indonesia market.

“It’s 10 times the population of Malaysia yet it is a fifth (of our operations),” Fernandes said.

tbc

August 8th, 2012, 12:27 PM

“It’s 10 times the population of Malaysia yet it is a fifth (of our operations),” Fernandes said.
Maybe it's because being a Malaysian, your cables in Indonesia do not have the same pulling capacity as your cables in Malaysia ? :lol: ...... (yet!)
But good show so far, keep at it and strength of those Indonesian cables will surely get stronger :)

everywhere

August 14th, 2012, 11:14 AM

AirAsia X to Further Expand Fleet
(WCARN.com/Associated Press, Aug. 9)

The long-haul arm of budget carrier AirAsia said Thursday it would add six leased aircraft to its fleet as it pushes to build up its presence in the Asian region. AirAsia X, which this year slashed routes to Europe and India to refocus on Asia-Pacific, said it would lease the six Airbus A330-300s from the U.S.-based International Lease Finance Corp in a deal worth approximately US$500 million.

The carrier currently operates nine Airbus A330-300s and two A340-300s. It is already awaiting delivery of 17 other aircraft it has purchased from Airbus, the European aerospace giant.

"We intend to deploy the additional capacity with a vision to solidify our positions in our identified core markets including Australia, China, Taiwan, Korea and Japan," AirAsia X CEO Azran Osman-Rani said in a statement. AirAsia X and the leasing firm signed a letter of intent on the deal in Kuala Lumpur on Thursday. AirAsia X will begin taking delivery of the planes next year.

more: http://www.wcarn.com/cache/news/20/20764.html

johan is

August 15th, 2012, 09:49 AM

AirAsia tawar 21,000 tempat duduk tambahan

SEPANG 14 Ogos - Syarikat penerbangan tambang murah AirAsia menyediakan 21,000 tempat duduk tambahan kepada penumpang setia syarikat penerbangan itu sempena sambutan Hari Raya Aidilfitri tahun ini.

Ketua Pegawai Eksekutifnya, Aireen Omar berkata, daripada jumlah itu, sebanyak 12,000 tempat duduk diperuntukkan bagi penerbangan dalam negara manakala selebihnya penerbangan ke luar negara.

Menurut beliau, antara empat destinasi domestik yang menunjukkan permintaan yang tinggi adalah Kuching, Bintulu, Kota Bahru dan Terengganu.

"Bagi destinasi antarabangsa, setiap tahun kita akan membuat penambahan ke Indonesia terutamanya destinasi ke Medan.

"Segala bentuk penambahan itu adalah disebabkan oleh permintaan yang tinggi di destinasi-destinasi tersebut sempena musim perayaan," katanya kepada Utusan Malaysia di sini baru-baru ini.

johan is

August 15th, 2012, 10:34 AM

Air Asia lancar penerbangan terus ke Lombok

WARTAWAN SINAR HARIAN
15 Ogos 2012

KUALA LUMPUR - AirAsia hari ini melancarkan penerbangan terus ke Lombok di Indonesia dari Kuala Lumpur.

Penerbangan tiga kali seminggu pada Rabu, Jumaat dan Ahad.

Bersempena dengan pelancaran berkenaan, AirAsia menawarkan tambang promosi serendah RM88 sehala dari Kuala Lumpur ke Lombok.

Tempoh tempahan bagi promosi tersebut bermula 16 hingga 26 Ogos tahun ini bagi tempoh perjalanan 12 Oktober hingga 22 Mei, 2013, demikian menurut AirAsia dalam satu kenyataan hari ini.- Bernama

johan is

August 15th, 2012, 10:42 AM

AirAsia mesti pindah ke KLIA 2

Oleh AINUL ASNEIRA AHSAN
bisnes.utusan@gmail.com

KUALA LUMPUR 10 Ogos - Syarikat penerbangan tambang murah, AirAsia Bhd. (AirAsia) mesti berpindah sebaik sahaja KLIA2 siap, kata Pengarah Urusan Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd. (MAHB), Tan Sri Bashir Ahmad.

Beliau dengan tegas berkata, isu tidak mahu berpindah tidak timbul kerana pembinaan KLIA2 dibuat untuk memenuhi permintaan AirAsia, selain menampung lonjakan penumpang yang memberangsangkan.

"Apabila terminal itu (KLIA2) siap, mesti kena pindah. Terminal lapangan terbang tambang murah sedia ada akan ditutup selepas pembukaan KLIA2," tegas beliau kepada Utusan Malaysia ketika ditemui di sini.

Malah, beliau berkata, MAHB, selaku pengendali KLIA2 tidak akan melayan lagi sebarang permohonan mengenai perubahan di lapangan terbang itu untuk memastikan ikon baru di Sepang itu siap pada masa yang ditetapkan.

Bashir turut mengesahkan KLIA2 akan digunakan oleh tujuh syarikat penerbangan dan masih berunding dengan dua lagi.

Syarikat-syarikat penerbangan yang bakal beroperasi di KLIA2 ialah AirAsia Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Cebu Pacific Air, Mandala Airlines, Tiger Airways dan Airphil Express.

Manakala dua syarikat penerbangan yang masih dalam perbincangan ialah Jetstar dan Lion Air.

Dalam perkembangan berkaitan, MAHB memberi jaminan bahawa projek pembinaan KLIA2 yang mencetuskan pelbagai polemik akan disiapkan dan beroperasi pada April 2013.

Menurut Bashir Ahmad, jaminan itu telah dibuat sendiri oleh para kontraktor yang dilantik dan terlibat dalam pembinaan KLIA2.

Beliau turut menegaskan kos KLIA2 tidak akan meningkat melebihi sasaran awal iaitu RM3.6 bilion hingga RM3.9 bilion.

"Lembaga Pengarah (MAHB) telah bermesyuarat mengenai KLIA2 dan kami masih mengekalkan KLIA2 akan disiap pada tarikh yang ditetapkan sebelum ini iaitu April 2013,'" katanya.

Ia merupakan kenyataan pertama oleh Bashir selepas MAHB dikritik oleh Tan Sri Tony Fernandes mengenai projek KLIA2 melalui laman sosialnya baru-baru ini.

Dalam kenyataan di blognya, Ketua Pegawai Eksekutif Kumpulan AirAsia Bhd. itu mendakwa KLIA2 akan menelan kos RM4 bilion dan beroperasi pada 2014.

Diminta mengulas mengenai dakwaan itu, Bashir yang terdiam sejenak dengan nada perlahan berkata, beliau tidak mahu membincangkan perkara-perkara berkaitan perbincangan perniagaan di luar.

"Saya percaya adalah tidak betul untuk membuat sebarang ulasan (mengenai perniagaan) yang membabitkan rakan perniagaan MAHB di luar bilik mesyuarat.

"Lagipun bagi saya dengan cara mendedahkan segala permasalahan di luar akan memberi kesan negatif kepada MAHB. Ia tidak baik," tambah beliau.

patchay

August 15th, 2012, 04:33 PM

The number of destinations that AirAsia fly from Kuala Lumpur to Indonesia is just so amazing....

http://a8.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/217789_10151160182227387_672796976_n.jpg

Indonesia:
Balikpapan
Banda Aceh
Bandung
Denpasar
Jakarta
Lombok - NEW
Makassar
Manado
Medan
Padang
Palembang
Pekanbaru
Semarang
Solo
Surabaya
Yogyakarta

No choice, but connecting flights with Indonesia AirAsia:

Batam

Thailand:
Bangkok
Chiang Mai
Hat Yai
Krabi
Phuket
Surat Thani

No choice, but connecting flights with Thai AirAsia:

Chiang Rai
Khon Kaen
Nakhon Phanom
Nakhon Si Thammarat
Narathiwat
Ranong
Trang
Ubon Ratchathani
Udon Thani

dengilo

August 16th, 2012, 01:40 AM

Who in right mind would want to go to lombok?:ohno:

Skyprince

August 16th, 2012, 03:41 AM

Who in right mind would want to go to lombok?:ohno:

Why not ? Its beaches more beautiful than Bali , the landscape more unique to me compared to Bali. And not many tourists too

patchay

August 16th, 2012, 03:51 AM

Who in right mind would want to go to lombok?:ohno:

my friends... including the ladies

razpatrol99

August 16th, 2012, 06:21 AM

Who in right mind would want to go to lombok?:ohno:

ure kidding rite...

dengilo

August 16th, 2012, 06:49 AM

Why not ? Its beaches more beautiful than Bali , the landscape more unique to me compared to Bali. And not many tourists too

Seem like a good enough reason :But did hear a few horror stories while i was in bali about lombok:)

musang

August 16th, 2012, 09:29 AM

months later, news macam ni would be qte common : ramai pramugari AA pilih lelaki Lombok. waduh!

everywhere

August 16th, 2012, 10:45 AM

AirAsia to Launch Wuhan-Bangkok Flight from October
(WCARN.com, Aug. 14)

Malaysia-based AirAsia will launch a direct flight linking Wuhan, the capital city of Hubei Province in central China and Bangkok, the capital of Thailand from October this year, the reporter learned from Wuhan Tianhe International Airport on Aug. 13.

AirAsia is known as a world-famous low-cost carrier. The Wuhan-Bangkok flight will be operated daily and the detailed timetable will be released before the opening of the flight.

more: http://www.wcarn.com/cache/news/20/20858.html

davidwsk

August 17th, 2012, 05:58 PM

Source (http://biz.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2012/8/17/business/20120817111408&sec=business)

AirAsia X carries 580,000 passengers in Q2, up 28.9% on-year
17-8-2012

KUALA LUMPUR: AirAsia X carried 580,000 passengers in the second quarter ended June 30, 2012, up 28.9% from a year ago, for the continuing routes while its load factor also recorded an improvement.
It said on Friday in terms of passenger traffic, it recorded 3.8 billion available seat kilometers (ASKs) and 3.1 billion revenue passenger kilometers (RPKs) for the second quarter of 2012.
AirAsia X said load factor rose 4.0 percentage points to 82% from the 78% a year ago.
"All routes that AirAsia X has operated for over a year have yielded an increase in load factor in the second quarter of 2012 versus the second quarter of 2011," said the airline.
AirAsia X also started flying to Sydney in April 2012, expanding its network to 13 desitnations in the Asia Pacific and the Middle East.

More :The Star http://biz.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2012/8/17/business/20120817111408&sec=business

patchay

August 23rd, 2012, 09:09 AM

Some interesting market data just released by CAPA.

Long-Haul, Low-Cost Model

AirAsia X capacity share by region (% of seats): 20-Aug-2012 to 26-Aug-2012. AirAsia X do not fly any short-haul routes, thus 0% for Southeast Asia.

http://centreforaviation.com/images/stories/2012/aug/17/airasiax_seats_region.png
Source: CAPA – Centre for Aviation & Innovata

AirAsia X top 10 routes based on capacity (seats per week): 20-Aug-2012 to 26-Aug-2012

http://centreforaviation.com/images/stories/2012/aug/17/airasiax_top_routes.png
Source: CAPA – Centre for Aviation & Innovata

TPE - Taipei
PER - Perth
PEK - Beijing
ICN - Seoul
HND - Tokyo
HGH - Hangzhou (Shanghai)
SYD - Sydney
MEL - Melbourne
OOL - Gold Coast
KIX - Osaka

BEST ROUTE ::: 4 airlines are flying the over-crowded KL-Taipei route. There are: Malaysia Airlines, AirAsia X, China Airlines and EVA Airways.

Projected Asian long-haul LCC fleet plans: 2012 to 2016

http://img194.imageshack.us/img194/2567/lcclh.jpg

Other existing routes:

- Kathmandu
- Tehran

Routes terminated temporarily:

- Tianjin (replaced by Beijing)
- Christchurch
- London Gatwick
- Paris
- Mumbai
- Delhi
- Abu Dhabi

Upcoming Routes:

- Adelaide
- Shanghai (to replace Hangzhou)
- Istanbul
- Jeddah
- Sharjah
- Fukuoka
- Sapporo
- Busan
- Xi'an
- Chongqing
- Wuhan
- Dalian
- Munich
- Prague
- Barcelona
- Nairobi
- Santiago
- Honolulu

razpatrol99

August 23rd, 2012, 10:20 AM

^^ munich/prague/barcelona/nairobi/santiago/honolulu definately NOT upcoming routes... it is more a wishlist routes i think.. :lol:

Skyprince

August 23rd, 2012, 10:35 AM

Santiago :crazy:
Should be 20 hr flight, at least , maybe with stop in Honolulu

patchay

August 23rd, 2012, 11:11 AM

^^ munich/prague/barcelona/nairobi/santiago/honolulu definately NOT upcoming routes... it is more a wishlist routes i think.. :lol:

These are based on approvals in principle. But whether they will start or not is another mattter.

I think in general these routes have pretty low volume among Malaysians.

tbc

August 23rd, 2012, 02:07 PM

"Routes terminated temporarily" :lol:
That is really open ended isn't it ?! :)

patchay

August 23rd, 2012, 03:03 PM

"Routes terminated temporarily" :lol:
That is really open ended isn't it ?! :)

Well they are considering to go back to these routes in the future. In fact, news reports a few days back are asking AA to go back.

tbc

August 24th, 2012, 01:10 AM

Well they are considering to go back to these routes in the future. In fact, news reports a few days back are asking AA to go back.
Yes, I'm sure there is always that consideration :)
Who was asking (American Airlines ?) to go back where ?

davidwsk

August 24th, 2012, 04:01 AM

AirAsia Q2 results seen flattish on higher jet fuel price

24-8-2012

PETALING JAYA: AirAsia Bhd's second quarter results, which is due to be announced next week, is likely to be flattish year-on-year following the rise in jet fuel prices, according to analysts.
“We expect AirAsia's first six months results to meet our forecast but trail the market expectations.
“First half ended June 30 core pre-tax profit of RM350mil to RM360mil will have accounted for 42% to 43% of our full-year pre-tax profit forecast of RM828.1mil but only 36% to 37% of the full-year consensus pre-tax profit of RM965.4mil,” RHB Research said.

More: tp://biz.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2012/8/24/business/11905111&sec=business

maafcakap

August 24th, 2012, 05:57 AM

Yes, I'm sure there is always that consideration :)
Who was asking (American Airlines ?) to go back where ?

America airlines ?? Bkn k aa stand for airasia ?? I mean for this thread

tbc

August 24th, 2012, 08:39 AM

Yes I know - was just trying to be a pain :)

patchay

August 29th, 2012, 05:22 AM

patchay

August 29th, 2012, 09:08 AM

THE PRIDE OF ASEAN

AirAsia May Sign 100-Jet Airbus Order After Profit Surge
Bloomberg ASIA | By Chong Pooi Koon and Susan Li - Aug 29, 2012 12:19 PM GMT+0800
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-08-29/airasia-may-sign-100-jet-airbus-order-after-profit-surge.html

Kuala Lumpur-listed AirAsia Bhd. (AIRA), the region’s biggest discount carrier, may sign an order for as many as 100 Airbus SAS aircraft at next month’s Berlin airshow after reporting an 11-fold jump in quarterly profit.

Negotiations with Airbus are going “quite well,” Chief Executive Officer of AirAsia Bhd Aireen Omar said in a Bloomberg TV interview today. The carrier would like to sign the deal in Berlin, she said. The show starts Sept. 11.

AirAsia already has outstanding orders for 272 single-aisle A320s as it adds new ventures across the region and wins travelers with low-cost fares. The carrier’s passenger numbers jumped 10 percent in the quarter through June and forward bookings remain “strong,” Aireen said.

“The outlook for AirAsia remains positive,” Annuar Aziz and Timothy Ross, analysts at Credit Suisse Group AG, wrote in a report today. They reiterated an overweight rating on the airline’s stock and more than doubled their full-year earnings per share forecast.

The carrier’s second-quarter profit jumped to 1.19 billion ringgit ($381 million) from 104.3 million ringgit helped by a 1.04 billion ringgit one-time gain related to its stake in a Thai affiliate. Net operating profit fell 3 percent to 130.9 million ringgit. The carrier lowered fees for check-in baggage during the quarter, a move it has now reversed, Credit Suisse said.

The company rose 0.6 percent to 3.57 ringgit as of 12:05 a.m. in Kuala Lumpur trading after earlier advancing as much as 2.5 percent. The benchmark FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI Index advanced 0.1 percent.

‘Good Demand’

The airline is in talks on an order for 50 A320s with 50 options, now-Group Chief Executive Officer Tony Fernandes said in May. It plans to start new destinations while boosting frequencies on several routes within Southeast Asia in the second half, according to a statement yesterday.

“We’ve seen really strong, good demand,” Aireen said. “We definitely need more new aircraft.”

The carrier has grown from its Malaysian roots to establish budget spin-offs in countries including Indonesia, Thailand and most recently the Philippines and Japan. It is also looking at getting an operator’s license in Singapore, Aireen said.

Meanwhile, Malaysian Airline System Bhd. (MAS), the country’s largest long-haul carrier, this month reported net loss that narrowed to 349.2 million ringgit in the quarter, from 526.7 million ringgit a year earlier.

To contact the reporter on this story: Chong Pooi Koon in Kuala Lumpur at pchong17@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story: Neil Denslow in Hong Kong at ndenslow@bloomberg.net

patchay

August 29th, 2012, 01:32 PM

AirAsia gets Indonesia's approval for Batavia Air purchase
The Star | Published: Wednesday August 29, 2012 MYT 4:40:00 PM
http://biz.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2012/8/29/business/20120829163953&sec=business#13462399656254263&if_height=867

KUALA LUMPUR: AirAsia Bhd and its Indonesian partner PT Fersindo Nusaperkasa have received the Indonesian government's approval to acquire budget airline Batavia Air.

A Dow Jones Newsire report from Jakarta had on Wednesday quoted Indonesia's air transportation director general, Herry Bhakti, that it was approved in principle.

The new wire had also quoted Fersindo president director Dharmadi that his company would complete due diligence in September and the acquisition by March 2013

To recap, in late July, AirAsia Bhd said its unit AirAsia Investment Ltd and its partner, Fersindo, would acquire PT Metro Batavia, the company which operates the Indonesian Batavia Air and Aero Flyer Institute, an aviation training school.

The acquisition, which is subject to regulatory approvals in Indonesia and was expected to complete by the second quarter of 2013, would see AirAsia holding a 49% stake in Metro Batavia and Fersindo holding the 51% majority stakes. AirAsia had then said it would fund the acquisition with US$80mil (RM253mil) in cash.

johan is

August 29th, 2012, 07:01 PM

AirAsia umum laluan Johor Bahru - Surabaya

28 Ogos 2012

KUALA LUMPUR - Syarikat penerbangan harga rendah, AirAsia, telah mengumumkan laluan antarabangsa baharu dari Johor Bahru ke Surabaya, Indonesia dengan penerbangan pertama bermula Oktober ini.

Dalam kenyataan hari ini, syarikat penerbangan itu berkata laluan baharu itu merupakan satu perkembangan sihat kepada jarian laluannya.

Sempena pelancaran laluan baharu itu, AirAsia berkata ia akan menawarkan tambang promosi dari serendah RM129 sehala dari Johor Bahru ke Surabaya.

Penerbangan dijadualkan sebanyak empat penerbangan seminggu pada laluan itu, pada Isnin, Rabu, Jumaat dan Ahad.

Tempahan bermula esok, 29 Ogos hingga 4 September dengan tempoh perjalanan mulai 19 Oktober tahun ini 22 Mei tahun depan.

Syarikat itu juga menggendalikan penerbangan domestik tambang murah dari Johor Bahru ke Kuala Lumpur (dua kali sehari), Pulau Pinang (dua kali sehari), Kota Kinabalu (11 kali seminggu), Kuching (dua kali sehari), Sibu (empat kali seminggu) dan Miri (tiga kali seminggu).- Bernama

johan is

August 29th, 2012, 07:02 PM

Indonesia benar AirAsia beli Batavia Air

29 Ogos 2012

JAKARTA- Kerajaan Indonesia telah meluluskan secara prinsip pembelian syarikat penerbangan Batavia Air oleh syarikat penerbangan tambang murah dari Malaysia, AirAsia Berhad dan syarikat PT Fersindo Nusaperkasa.

Ketua Pengarah Perhubungan Udara Kementerian Perhubungan Indonesia, Harry Bakti berkata beliau telah menandatangani kelulusan secara prinsip untuk pembelian itu semalam.

Selepas memperoleh kebenaran secara prinsip itu, AirAsia boleh merealisasikan pembelian 76.95 peratus saham Batavia Air pada peringkat pertama dan diikuti kemudian dengan pembelian 23.05 peratus lagi sahamnya pada peringkat kedua, katanya di Jakarta, Rabu.

"Nama (Batavia Air) tidak akan berubah, hanya pemilikan sahaja," kata beliau.

Sementara itu, Pengarah Utama Fersindo, Dharmadi berkata dengan persetujuan Kementerian Perhubungan itu, syarikat itu akan mengambil langkah-langkah selanjutnya untuk menyelesaikan urusan pembelian itu.

"Dengan adanya persetujuan ini, kita akan lakukan proses kajian mendalam September ini," kata Dharmadi.

Proses untuk pembelian Batavia Air itu dilakukan oleh AirAsia melalui AirAsia Berhad dan PT Fersindo Nusaperkasa (pemegang saham majoriti PT Indonesia AirAsia).

Melalui pembelian itu, AirAsia Berhad akan memegang 49 peratus saham di Batavia Air, manakala Fersindo akan menjadi pemegang saham majoriti sebanyak 51 peratus.

Pembelian Batavia Air akan membolehkan AirAsia Indonesia melayani lebih daripada lapan juta penumpang di 42 bandar di Indonesia dan 12 destinasi antarabangsa.

Pada masa ini AirAsia Indonesia menguasai kira-kira tiga peratus daripada jumlah penumpang bagi laluan domestik di Indonesia dan 41 peratus daripada jumlah pasaran penumpang antarabangsa. -Bernama

ILM

August 29th, 2012, 07:49 PM

Press Announcement underway:

AirAsia is going to Wuhan, Kunming, Nanning and Xi'an :applause:

http://a1.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc7/394489_10151192378667387_968100440_n.jpg

Thai AirAsia has also announced flights to Mandalay, Myanmar and Wuhan, China.

Where is the most coveted for China, Shanghai? I've been waiting so long for this! Hangzhou is just far, 2 hours far from Shanghai

patchay

September 1st, 2012, 03:55 PM

Malaysia Transport Ministry ‘Yes’ to AirAsia's 7 flights per week from Kota Kinabalu to Davao
The Malaysian Insider | September 01, 2012
http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/business/article/transport-ministry-yes-to-airasia-flights-to-davao/

http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/images/uploads/2012/september2012/01/airasia-billboard-kl-reuters.jpg
The Transport Ministry will allow AirAsia to fly to Davao. – Reuters pic

KOTA KINABALU, Sept 1 – The Transport Ministry has approved AirAsia Bhd’s application to fly to Davao, Philippines from Nov 1, 2012.

In a statement today, Transport Minister, Datuk Seri Kong Cho Ha, said AirAsia would operate seven flights a week using the Airbus A320 from Kota Kinabalu International Airport to Davao.

“The rationale for flying to Davao is to improve the ‘connectivity’ for the Brunei-Indonesia-Malaysia-Philippines East Asian Growth Area (BIMP-EAGA) and thus boost tourism and economy.

“The flights will also offer an alternative for Malaysians to fly to the Philippines and hence boost the number of passengers handled by the Kota Kinabalu airport,” he said.

Kong said the flights would also indirectly increase government revenue.

“Currently, there are no Malaysian airlines flying to Davao. AirAsia is the first to offer the services,” he said.

Earlier this year, MASwings, a unit of Malaysia Airlines, which operated only in Sabah and Sarawak, started the flights to four destinations in BIMP-EAGA using ATR aircraft.

The routes are:
- Kota Kinabalu-Bandar Seri Begawan (twice a day);
- Kuching-Bandar Seri Begawan (three times a week);
- Kuching-Pontianak, Indonesia (once a day); and
- Tawau-Tarakan, Indonesia (three times a week).

johan is

September 2nd, 2012, 06:56 AM

AirAsia mulakan penerbangan KK-Davao mulai 1 November

1 September 2012

KOTA KINABALU - Kementerian Pengangkutan meluluskan permohonan AirAsia untuk memulakan perkhidmatan penerbangan ke Davao, wilayah di selatan Filipina yang terletak dalam kawasan Pertumbuhan Asean Timur Brunei-Indonesia-Malaysia-Filipina (BIMP-EAGA), mulai 1 November ini.

Menteri berkenaan Datuk Seri Kong Cho Ha berkata AirAsia akan menggunakan pesawat Airbus A320 untuk laluan Lapangan Terbang Antarabangsa Kota Kinabalu (KLIA) ke Davao, tujuh kali seminggu.

"Rasional laluan ke Davao ini ialah untuk meningkatkan perhubungan udara bagi rantau BIMP-EAGA, dan seterusnya menggalakkan perkembangan sektor pelancongan dan ekonomi negara.

"Laluan ini juga memberi alternatif tambahan kepada penumpang di Malaysia untuk memilih perkhidmatan penerbangan ke Filipina serta meningkatkan lagi jumlah penumpang dan pergerakan pesawat yang dikendalikan oleh KLIA," katanya dalam satu kenyataan yang dikeluarkan di sini.

Kong berkata laluan itu secara tidak langsung akan meningkatkan hasil kerajaan.

"Setakat ini belum ada perkhidmatan penerbangaan Malaysia ke Davao. Justeru itu, AirAsia merupakan syarikat penerbangan pertama Malaysia yang memberi perkhidmatan tersebut," katanya.

Awal tahun ini, MASwings, anak syarikat Penerbangan Malaysia (MAS), yang hanya beroperasi dalam lingkungan Sabah dan Sarawak, memulakan penerbangan sulung ke empat destinasi BIMP-EAGA menggunakan pesawat ATR.

Ini termasuk sektor Kota Kinabalu-Bandar Seri Begawan (dua kali sehari), Kuching-Bandar Seri Begawan (tiga kali seminggu), Kuching-Pontianak (Indonesia) (sekali hari) dan sektor Tawau-Tarakan, Indonesia (tiga kali seminggu). - Bernama

johan is

September 2nd, 2012, 06:57 AM

AirAsia buka laluan Bangkok-Wuhan

WARTAWAN SINAR HARIAN
1 September 2012

Syarikat penerbangan tambang rendah, Air Asia mengukuhkan rangkaian di seluruh tanah besar China menerusi pembukaan laluan baru dari Bangkok-Wuhan efektif 19 Oktober akan datang.

Ketua Komersial Kumpulan Air Asia, Kathleen Tan berkata, pemilihan Wuhan adalah kerana ia menjadi pintu masuk ke China sekali gus menjadi penyambung rangkaian syarikat.

Menurutnya, Air Asia optimis laluan Bangkok-Wuhan menjadi satu lagi laluan pesat yang akan dipopularkan menerusi pelbagai tawaran istimewa.

“Pelanggan boleh mendapat pelbagai tawaran tambang daripada RM341 laluan sehala Bangkok-Wuhan dan tempahan boleh dilakukan bermula semalam hingga 5 September 2012 bagi tempoh penerbangan 19 Oktober 2012 hingga 22 Mei 2013,” katanya.

Kathleen berkata, pasaran China menjadi sasaran utama Air Asia tahun ini selepas kejayaan Thai AirAsia menembusi negara lain.

Katanya, sebagai contoh, laluan Bangkok-Chongqing yang dibuka awal tahun ini berjaya mendapat populariti pelanggan dalam masa singkat.

“Sejak pelancarannya, purata kapasiti penumpang bagi laluan ini mencatatkan 80 peratus dan ia menjadi batu loncatan kepada Air Asia menambah destinasi di China sekali gus memanfaatkan pelancongan dan usahawan kedua-dua negara,” katanya.

Arkdriver

September 2nd, 2012, 08:33 PM

if they can play it right, even Davao-KL will be sustainable. Pinoys in Mindanao could have more alternative to choose from SIN, KUL and HKG

Vrooms

September 11th, 2012, 03:44 PM

AirAsia first to operate A320 with Sharklets
TxuOpH4vVIM

nazrey

September 13th, 2012, 08:26 AM

AirAsia ready to take on rival: Fernandes
Published: 2012/09/13
http://www.btimes.com.my/Current_News/BTIMES/articles/20120913125911/Article/index_html

KUALA LUMPUR: AirAsia boss Tony Fernandes has vowed to give Indonesian rival Lion Air “a real run for their money” after it announced plans for a new low-cost carrier, a report said Thursday.

Indonesia’s PT Lion Mentari Airlines and a Malaysian partner called NADI said Tuesday their Malindo Airways would launch flights around the region from Kuala Lumpur in May, a direct assault on AirAsia’s home turf.

AirAsia has long been based near Kuala Lumpur but Fernandes, a Malaysian, recently opened a regional headquarters in Jakarta and purchased Indonesia’s Batavia Air for $80 million.

“We are thrilled that they are coming here as this means taking away capacity from Indonesia. We can give them a real run for their money in Indonesia,” he was quoted by Malaysia’s The Edge Financial Daily as saying.

Analysts have said Malindo could threaten fast-growing AirAsia’s profit.

AirAsia’s share price dropped to an 11-month low on the Kuala Lumpur stock exchange Wednesday.

Fernandes, a former record industry executive, took over insolvent AirAsia in 2001 and quickly turned it into one of the aviation sector’s biggest success stories.

It has come to dominate budget travel in Asia with a business model based on flying into secondary airports in major cities, with their lower landing costs.

But analysts have warned that it must contend with a host of upstart challengers emboldened by Fernandes’ pioneering success.

Malindo will launch with a fleet of 12 Boeing 737s flying to regional destinations but hopes to expand to 100 planes in a decade and fly to Europe by 2015.

Lion Air is Indonesia’s largest privately run airline.

Malaysia’s National Aerospace and Defense Industries (NADI), which specialises in maintenance, repair and overhaul services, will own 51 percent in the joint venture. - AFP

suhejla36

September 19th, 2012, 04:39 AM

AirAsia hopes for more DCA allocation in budget.... http://dcasandakan.blogspot.com/2012_09_01_archive.html#9114443420731166070

rizalhakim

September 19th, 2012, 08:06 AM

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-vk9k8wb-KQQ/UFbPG_fA_QI/AAAAAAAAMgs/YUHtlZaYCOs/s0/air-asias_01.jpg

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-8PsPuXQ0vQw/UFbPJF45hCI/AAAAAAAAMg0/1jak52HFSWE/s0/air-asias_02.jpg

johan is

September 22nd, 2012, 05:54 AM

CEO AirAsia rancang bina terminal kos rendah di Kota Kinabalu

20 September 2012

http://www.sinarharian.com.my/bisnes/ceo-airasia-rancang-bina-terminal-kos-rendah-di-kota-kinabalu-1.86976

KOTA KINABALU - Ketua Pegawai Eksekutif Kumpulan dan Pengarah AirAsia Bhd Tan Sri Tony Fernandes menggesa kerajaan membangunkan hab penerbangan khusus tambang rendah di Kota Kinabalu, dengnya berkata Sabah terletak di kawasan strategik dalam kawasan pertumbuhan Asean Timur Brunei Darussalam-Indonesia-Malaysia-Filipina (BIMP-EAGA).

Ibu negerinya juga merupakan destinasi untuk pelancong yang akan menyumbang kepada pertumbuhan sektor hotel dan pelancongan pada masa depan, katanya pada jamuan perniagaan antarabangsa Sabah di sini hari ini. Ia turut dihadiri Ketua Menteri Datuk Seri Musa Aman.

Mengulas mengenai keputusan kerajaan baru-baru ini bagi memindahkan operasi penerbangan AirAsia ke Terminal 1 Lapangan Terbang Antarabangsa Kota Kinabalu (KKIA), Fernandes berkata:

"Jika diarah berpindah, saya merupakan orang terakhir berpindah ke terminal itu memandangkan cukai lapangan terbang akan meningkat daripada RM3 kepada RM65.

"Kami tidak membayarnya, tetapi dibayar oleh penumpang."

AirAsia baru-baru ini dilaporkan merayu kepada Kementerian Pengangkutan untuk meneruskan operasi di Terminal 2 KKIA walaupun ia sudah memberi komitmen untuk berpindah ke Terminal 1 pada pertengahan Jun tahun lepas.

Tony Fernandes berkata Syarikat penerbangan itu enggan berpindah dari Terminal 2 ke Terminal 1 memandangkan kos operasi dan cukai lapangan terbang akan meningkat yang akan membebankan penumpang.

Keadaan itu akan menyebabkan jumlah penerbangan akan berkurangan dan akhirnya akan menyebabkan penurunan ketara bilangan pelancong ke Sabah, katanya.

"Di Sabah kami mengangkut kira-kira tiga juta penumpang dari 2009 hingga tahun ini dan menerusi laluan baharu dalam perancangan, kami menjangkakan muatan penumpang akan meningkat kepada enam juta.

"Pertumbuhan tahunan AirAsia bagi Sabah hanya 20 peratus setahun," katanya.

Tony Fernandes yang memulakan perniagaan syarikat penerbangan pada 1993 dan memulakan operasi pada 1996, berkata formula rahsia kejayaannya termasuk tiga set iaitu kos rendah, jenama dan orang ramai.

"Kami bermula dari bawah dengan tumpuan khusus ke atas pasaran Asia, kami perlu memikirkan pasaran tempatan dan kemudiannya pasaran serantau," katanya.

Beliau turut mengumumkan AirAsia akan memulakan penerbangan dari Kota Kinabalu ke Cebu di Filipina pada Disember.

Sementara itu, Musa menasihatkan usahswan tempatan supaya memanfaatkan pertumbuhan ekonomi dengan mencontohi usaha Tony Fernandes yang beliau sifatkan sebagai perniagaan yang berjaya.- Bernama

dengilo

September 22nd, 2012, 04:16 PM

Build ur selflah why ask gomen to build!

ethan

September 22nd, 2012, 05:35 PM

Khaw

September 23rd, 2012, 11:15 AM

Build ur selflah why ask gomen to build!

bcoz he could get away with it! he did it before many times... still the same cronies last time I checked!

tunomura

September 24th, 2012, 03:35 PM

Another attempt to hold Airbus production solely for them and stop any direct competition....actually they aren't needed such large number of aircraft, they will leased the aircraft...typical speculator

AirAsia closer to acquiring more Airbus aircraft
By Francezka Nangoy
Published: 2012/09/24

JAKARTA: Asia's largest low-cost carrier, is getting closer in purchasing an additional 100 aircraft from Airbus as part of the carrier's efforts to meet rising demand for cheap air travel in Southeast Asia, according to its chief executive.

Tan Sri Tony Fernandes, group chief executive of AirAsia, said on the sidelines of the Asean Business Club gala dinner in Jakarta last Tuesday that the company is getting closer to securing a deal for a 100-aircraft order from Airbus.

He didn't disclose the price.

"We certainly feel that we need the aircraft," Fernandes said.

The company has ordered as many as 400 aircraft in the past few years, he said. According to Airbus data, as of September AirAsia has received 103 of the 175 A320ceo versions that it has ordered from the European aircraft manufacturer.

Fernandes added that AirAsia had also recently ordered 200 A320neo models for US$18 billion (RM55.08 billion) that he expects to be delivered by 2015.

Airbus claims that AirAsia has the largest fleet of A320s in the world.

Fernandes refused to say whether the new aircraft will be used for Batavia Air in Indonesia or elsewhere.

AirAsia, along with its Indonesian partner, is in the process of acquiring local carrier Batavia Air for US$80 million.

AirAsia might use Batavia's operations to focus on domestic flights while Indonesia AirAsia - the local unit - will focus on international flights, from Indonesia to destinations in other Asian cities.

Read more: AirAsia closer to acquiring more Airbus aircraft http://www.btimes.com.my/Current_News/BTIMES/articles/jak4/Article/index_html#ixzz27OT8y8xc

Arkdriver

September 25th, 2012, 04:30 AM

Dont think so, the only competitor in ASEAN that is not using Airbus is Lion. Others, their orders are small, even for Tiger and Jetstar. They will start aircraft rollover in 2014, meaning the first group of A320 will be replaced by a new one. Though they had ordered more then 300 i believe, the maximum capacity at any one time will still be in 175 planes all over the group. The order caters for aircraft rollover and future expansion.

I think in Thailand and Malaysia they are not facing much competition. In Indonesia and Philippines there are quite a number of strong competition in Cebu Pacific and Lion Air.

rizalhakim

October 3rd, 2012, 04:26 AM

AirAsia added another feather to its cap by attaining top spot in the “Best Low-Cost Airline” category at Business Traveller Asia-Pacific's annual Travel Awards ceremony in Hong Kong.

http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2012/10/2/nation/12110334&sec=nation

kucingfight

October 9th, 2012, 07:31 AM

Coming Soon

Tokyo -> Seoul and Busan

rizalhakim

October 10th, 2012, 10:16 AM

patchay

October 11th, 2012, 07:50 PM

The big news in the aviation world this morning...

AirAsia CEO Tony Fernandes said to be in talks to buy S. Korean airline
Reuters | Bloomberg | The Star | By B.K. SIDHU
http://biz.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2012/10/11/business/12153581&sec=business

SEOUL: AirAsia chief executive Tan Sri Tony Fernandes is said to be in talks to buy South Korean low-cost airline T-Way Airlines.

Fernandes, however, denies this.

“At the moment, nothing is going on but we will never say never .... hopefully (there will be something) one day,” he said. “We talk to so many parties all the time.”

http://biz.thestar.com.my/archives/2012/10/11/business/p2-tony.JPG
Fernandes and AirAsia’s flight attendants at the AirAsia Japan’s Narita-Seoul international route launch in Seoul.

T-Way is the latest airline Fernandes has been linked to. Prior to this, he was said to be talking to Zest Air of the Philippines. He is also in the midst of buying Indonesia's Batavia Air.

Growing organically may have been his preferred way for AirAsia but buying up airlines is an option that gives Fernandes access to new markets and setting up AirAsia Korea is what he wants to do pretty soon.

“Buying up means spending more then a new start-up but T-Way is a smallish airline that would not cost too much.

“Having a base in South Korea gives him acces to another North Asian market after AirAsia Japan,” said a source.

Apart from Japan, AirAsia has ventured into Thailand, Indonesia and the Philippines. Fernandes is keen to spread AirAsia's wings to India, China, Vietnam and Cambodia.

T-Way has two aircraft and is flying limited routes but it could offer an entry for AirAsia into the South Korean market, which has five low-cost carriers (LCCs) that operate like full-service airlines, offering food and free baggage, unlike AirAsia's model where passengers pay separately for such services.

The five LCCs are Jeju Air, Air Busan, Jin Air, Eastar Jet, and T-Way Air all have a combined market share of 34.68% of the domestic flights, and 3.48% share of international routes as at 2010.

A total of 1.45 million passengers flew on budget airlines in January and February this year, reflecting a 30% increase from the same period last year, said a report.

Yesterday, Fernandes launched the sale of air tickets for the Seoul-Tokyo flight to be operated by AirAsia Japan. This is AirAsia Japan's first international flight and it is offering special fares for a limited period at 2,000 won for one-way fare.

The first flight will take off on Oct 28 and the next destination that AirAsia Japan will add is Busan.

Fernandes said that over a 24 month period, AirAsia Japan should be flying 10 to 12 international routes from its base in Narita.

AirAsia holds a 49% stake in AirAsia Japan while All Nippon Airways has the remaining 51%.

“Seoul could have one flight every hour as the market is massive. South Korea is not just about Samsung phones or Korean rapper Psy but also K-pop and so many other things.

“When we enter a new market, it is about growing new market share and that is what we will do here,” he said.

He added that AirAsia's sister airline, AirAsia X, now flew daily from Kuala Lumpur to Seoul and would be adding Busan and Jeju Island next. :applause:

“We are giving the people of South Korea an amazing opportunity to travel at incredible prices like never before,” he said.