#AK/D7/FD/QZ/PQ/JW | AirAsia Bhd / AirAsia X / Thai AirAsia / Indonesia AirAsia / AirAsia Philippines / AirAsia Japan [Archive] - Page 6

rizalhakim

November 20th, 2008, 07:43 AM

AirAsia closes US$336m French-M’sian lease agreement

Email us your feedback at fd@bizedge.com

KUALA LUMPUR: AirAsia Bhd has secured financing totalling US$336 million (RM1.21 billion) for the purchase of up to eight Airbus 320-200 aircraft, in the first Islamic French-Malaysian lease agreement.

BNP Paribas and Natixis Transport Finance acted as the lead arrangers, global coordinators and book runners for the syariah-compliant French single investor Ijarah.

Landesbank Hessen-Thuringen Girozentrale, Irish Branch (Helaba) acted as mandated lead arranger, RHB Islamic Bank Bhd as arranger, and Bank Rakyat as mandated lead arranger of the commodity Murabaha.

The banks were advised by Norton Rose together with Wong and Partners in Malaysia and AirAsia by Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer.

When contacted, AirAsia deputy group CEO Datuk Kamarudin Meranun said it had secured the financing at a pricing that was “comparable” to its previous aircraft financing deals before the global financial crisis as it had locked in the deal when BNP Paribas and Natixis first arranged financing for the carrier.

“Earlier this year, we decided that this year is the best time for us to arrange financing for 2009 and 2010. We locked in the financing in 2005, so now there are just some minor adjustments,” he told The Edge Financial Daily via telephone.

On how it managed to secure financing when many global banks were now refraining from lending, Kamarudin said: “There are many factors. The banks looked at our cash flow, looked at how much revenue per aircraft we can generate, and the value of the assets. The loans are also ECA-backed.”

ECA, or export credit agency, is an agency set up by a government to finance the country’s goods, investment and services, and often offers risk insurance.

“A lot of airlines are having a tough time because it is not easy to get financing now. Even if they get, the interest rate is high.

“This financing for AirAsia is very important for us for the next two years. We will be in a comfortable position. It ensures that we can take delivery of our aircraft,” he said.

“It is lease payment but we still have the ownership. So, we are able to get capital allowance,” he added.

In a statement yesterday, the parties said the Islamic Ijarah, above a cost-efficient 100% financing structure, ensured that AirAsia’s capital and investment allowances were preserved.

Meanwhile, OSK Research head of research Chris Eng said the latest news did not come as a surprise, as AirAsia had earlier indicated that it would get financing from Europe.

“We never have concerns about AirAsia in terms of financing. There is no change to our estimations,” he told The Edge Financial Daily, maintaining a neutral call on the counter with a target price of RM1.11. The stock fell two sen to RM1.13 yesterday.

AirAsia had in several stages placed firm orders of a total of 175 A320 aircraft, with an option of 50 more. It has so far taken delivery of 53 A320s, of which 43 are for Malaysia’s operations, while eight and two are for Thai AirAsia and Indonesia AirAsia, respectively.

rizalhakim

November 20th, 2008, 07:59 AM

Successful plane financing key for AirAsia
By Tony C H Goh
Email us your feedback at fd@bizedge.com

Budget airline carrier AirAsia Bhd's business model hinges greatly on the successful delivery and efficiency of its new aircraft. The new Airbus A320 that is replacing its Boeing B737 planes is touted by the company to be the best of its kind in the market. That is key for the no-frills carrier to maintain its advantage over its competitors.
With the current lacklustre fund-raising environment and gloomy outlook for the global aviation industry, analysts are now saying that the main concern for AirAsia will be to overcome the challenges to obtaining financing for its new aircraft.
It has placed a firm order for 175 Airbus A320s, which cost US$77 million (RM277 million) each based on the catalogue price, or around US$13.5 billion in total. However, huge discounts could be expected, given its large order.
At a glance, the challenges facing the airline are enormous and multi-fold, but some of the most pressing issues it has to confront now include the strengthening US dollar that inflates the price of its plane purchase, tightening credit supply and plunging stock market that can complicate its fund-raising activities to finance its new planes.
According to a report by research house KAF Seagroatt & Campbell, AirAsia's bank loans, mainly for the purchase of planes, are estimated to be around RM2.7 billion this year compared to RM1.14 billion in the corresponding period last year.
When met in Toulouse, France, recently during the delivery of the first Airbus A330-300 to its sister company, long-haul carrier AirAsia X Sdn Bhd, AirAsia's CEO Datuk Seri Tony Fernandes said the company is not looking at slowing down its expansion plans.
He is confident that the company can continue to obtain loans, especially from European financiers that understand aircraft financing better. "Even though money supply is tight now, the good thing is that competition is less intense," he said.
One of the most storied companies in Malaysia's corporate scene, the region's pioneer budget airline operator started in 2001, during one of the most turbulent periods for the airline industry in the wake of the Sept 11 attacks in the US.
By the end of this year, AirAsia as a group is expected to operate 56 Airbuses, and is scheduled to take delivery of another 14 planes next year. It has an option for another 50 aircraft of the same model, which has a 180-seat capacity each. Delivery started in December 2005 and is expected to continue until November 2011.
An airline analyst from a local research house says while aircraft financing is the single most important factor right now, one should look at the advantages of AirAsia and the rationale for its expansion, particularly on its plane investments.
He adds that investors tend to overlook the significance of the impending liberalisation of the Kuala Lumpur-Singapore route by next month. The national carriers of both countries hitherto dominated this sector on one of the most lucrative air travel routes in the world.
To have a sense of the contribution of the new aircraft, a research report by KAF estimated that the flights it plies to the sector with an A320 based on six daily flights with a load factor of 70% could potentially generate RM110 million in additional revenue, even at 70% discount to the incumbent fares offered by the full service providers.
If AirAsia's projection of operating 12 daily return flights materialises, it could pump in an additional RM230 million in annual operating profit for the company which could help to sustain the company. Based on analysts' forecasts, the airliner only needs a 60% load factor to break even at an oil price level of US$150, and 30% to 40% load factor at current oil prices. AirAsia has an average passenger load factor of around 75% to 80%.
With regards to the concern about its plane financing, analysts say there should not be undue worry, as based on its 2008 forecasted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (Ebitda), its interest cover of 3.4 times is more than sufficient to cover for the borrowings.
More crucial areas to look at, say industry watchers, include its positive cash flow from operations, forecast to be at RM726 million and RM1.18 billion in 2008 and 2009 respectively, and its strong cash reserves of around RM1 billion. This is projected to jump to RM1.73 billion next year.
"It is the only low cost carrier that is still making profits as of now, while many of its peers have gone under. With current expansion, it is in the best position to have the first mover advantage when the situation recovers," says an analyst.
One of the very few airlines that were unhedged during the high crude oil prices, AirAsia is on track to benefit most now. Jet fuel has eased 18.4% from a year ago and is trading at US$85.10 per barrel from US$131 about a month ago, representing a drop of 35.5%.
Industrial sources say that every US$1 drop in crude oil prices could potentially add RM10 million to AirAsia's bottom line. For 2008, AirAsia is forecast to operate on jet fuel averaging US$140 per barrel and US$130 per barrel for next year.
However, another airline analyst cautions that the outlook for the company is not all rosy, noting that its gearing level of 1.7 times is quite high for the airline industry. There is concern therefore, that the airline is expanding too rapidly.
"Buying new plans can help prop up its cash flow, with all the forward sales months before the actual increase in capacity. However, we are concerned that they are actually expanding too fast. There is a possibility of a slowdown in demand and load factor if the economic slump persists.
"While the new planes increase their efficiencies, just having the right aircraft is not the only solution as there are bigger issues confronting the industry. Besides, they are much bigger now than they were during the 9/11 and the SARS outbreak, so the risk factor has also increased tremendously," he says.
The outlook for the airline industry is gloomy indeed, with the International Air Transport Association (IATA) recently forecasting that airlines worldwide would suffer a combined loss of around US$5.2 billion this year.
This projection came despite the softening crude oil prices, as international passenger traffic registered its first decline of 2.9% y-o-y in September, when the financial crisis began to take hold in the US and Europe and financing tightened in line with the deepening global economic crisis.
Industry observers however, opine that the region is still well under served by low-cost carriers (LCCs). So, passenger growth of 20% for the next 10 years could be expected for these carriers, based on the enormous potential for air travel and in particular, for LCCs in this region, AirAsia's key market.
According to data provided by Airbus SAS, the passenger air traffic in Asia Pacific, a region with around 3.9 billion people, is expected to continue its upward trend, led by India and China with growths of 11.3% and 11.1% respectively from 2007 to 2011. The rest of Asia, excluding Japan, is projected to grow by 3.8% during the same period.
LCCs in Asia are also expected to lead the growth in numbers and market share, aided by the accelerating deregulation. As of this year, the region has around 43 LCCs while the market share is only around 12%.
In contrast, North America with 335 million people has 13 LCCs with 28% market share, while Europe's population of 490 million is served by 44 LCCs, which command 30% market share.
While expressing disappointment over AirAsia's lacklustre share price performance, Fernandes refuses to comment on the possibility of privatisation. AirAsia would allow the market time to evaluate its business model and the management team, he says. Its business model is unconventional and he hopes that investors will finally realise the value of the company.
"All it takes is time. I believe that given time, the market will understand our business model and will judge us accordingly. We have a lot of patience and have proven the cynics wrong all this while," says Fernandes. Time will tell if he is right again.

rizalhakim

November 20th, 2008, 09:23 AM

AirAsia stock jumps
Published: 2008/11/20

AIRASIA Bhd (5099) jumped as much as 3.5 per cent, its second-biggest gain this week in Kuala Lumpur trading, after a newspaper reported that the carrier’s largest shareholders may announce a buyout offer next week.

At mid-day, the stock rose 3 sen, or 2.7 per cent, to RM1.16, set for its biggest advance since September 12 and the biggest gainer on the benchmark Composite Index.

Tune Air Sdn Bhd, which owns 31 per cent of AirAsia, will probably offer the buyout at a price of RM1.30 (36 US cents) to RM1.35 a share, the paper said, citing people it didn’t identify.

CIMB Bhd may lead the group of banks to finance the buyout, the newspaper said, citing people it didn’t identify. - Bloomberg

nazrey

November 23rd, 2008, 08:44 PM

AirAsia X expects profitable 2009
Published: 2008/11/17

TOULOUSE (France): Long-haul budget carrier AirAsia X Sdn Bhd, which has well over RM300 million cash in hand, is set to turn in profits next year, says its chief executive officer Azran Osman-Rani.

"Probably within three to four months from operating our new planes, we will be profitable. With new planes, more passengers will fly," Azran said.

"Most important is cash flow and this is how we convince our financiers. We have been cash positive since April 2008," he said on board AirAsia X's brand new Airbus A330 aircraft on its ferry (first) flight from Toulouse to Kuala Lumpur (KL) recently.

On October 31, AirAsia X took delivery of its first new A330-300 costing US$200 million (RM720 million), which is for its long-haul operation, linking KL with destinations in Australia, North Asia, the Middle East and Europe, complementing the existing AirAsia network.

Launched in January 2007, the affiliate of low-cost carrier AirAsia Bhd earlier this year placed an order for 25 Airbus A330 aircraft.

Powered by Rolls Royce Trent 700 engines, the carrier's new A330 offers accommodation for 383 passengers in a two-class layout, with 355 seats in economy and 28 in the airline's new XL premium class.

Azran said the airline was looking at local and foreign funds to finance the purchase of its 25 A330 planes, estimated at US$5 billion (RM18 billion). So far, financing for the first few planes had been secured.

In addition to its positive cash flow, he said, branding helped the long-haul airline to seek funds in markets which were already badly hit by the credit crunch.

"When we presented to financial institutions in August, we were very fortunate because financiers in Europe had confidence in our brand. We had AirAsia," he said.

"End of August I was still in London. I was trying to convince the financiers. Normally with aircraft financing, you have to settle everything at least six weeks before delivery. We settled everything three and a half hours before take-off," he said.

"October 2008 will always be remembered when the (stock) market crashed. The timing couldn't have been worse. Nobody was supposed to lend. Nature of banks is that they only make money when they lend at higher rates. If you (banks) don't lend, you don't make money."

Despite reports of a global decline in passenger traffic, he said the carrier was still experiencing a strong forward bookings from November to March.

Azran said the second A330 will be delivered in mid-December, followed by three each in 2009 and 2010. The remaining planes are slotted for delivery up to 2013.

"With three planes next year, we can add five new destinations. We hope to fly to Japan, Korea, China, India and at least one more somewhere else," he said.

Azran said the carrier was on track to start its new flights to London in March. For its London flights, AirAsia X is in talks with three airports - Stansted, Manchester and East Midlands.

"We have made all applications and everything looks positive. Hope to announce our sales launch in a month's time.

On its marketing efforts, Azran said unlike traditional airlines which had to wait for passengers to plan their holiday destinations, the carrier had to go the extra mile to woo people to travel to places where they never dreamt of going.

"It involves a lot of pull marketing. You've got to pull passengers in. For instance, we have to collaborate more with tourism bodies, concert or sports organisers. We have to scratch our heads to find reasons for people to travel," he said. - Bernama

nazrey

November 23rd, 2008, 08:46 PM

AirAsia X: No slowing down
By Jeeva Arulampalam Published: 2008/11/24

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

AIRASIA X Sdn Bhd hopes to grow sales by 10 times to US$1 billion (RM3.62 billion) by the end of 2010, after it achieves its target of becoming a billion-ringgit company next year, said its chief.

While close to 30 airlines globally have gone out of business over the past year, AirAsia X has geared itself to reach RM1 billion in sales next year by expanding routes.

"The psychological test will be reaching the RM1 billion mark for 2009, barely two years into operation. But we will do it and target US$1 billion for the year after that," chief executive officer Azran Osman Rani told Business Times last Friday.

The long-haul low-cost carrier's optimism knows no boundaries, especially given that industries are bracing for what has been dubbed the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression.

AirAsia X, which operates to Australia's Gold Coast, Perth and Melbourne and China's Hangzhou, will end the year with some US$100 million (RM362.2 million) in sales.

As the carrier takes delivery of 25 A330-300s scheduled from now till 2013, AirAsia X will expand progressively to easily 30 destinations with a minimum of daily flights.

"Our model is to be the trunk that connects Southeast Asia with key Asia-Pacific markets such as Australia, China, India, Korea, Japan and the Middle East," Azran said.

He said AirAsia X will connect the main hubs in Asia Pacific with Kuala Lumpur while its affiliate budget carrier AirAsia provides connectivity across Southeast Asia.

AirAsia X is looking to fly to five cities in Australia, four to five cities in China, three to four in India, one or two in Korea, two or three in Japan and the Middle East respectively.

The three A330-300s to be delivered next year will be used for route expansion to India, either Korea or Japan and another city in China.

While Azran acknowledges that AirAsia X wants to establish a foothold in Europe, the carrier does not have the capacity to do so just yet.

"It will be a challenge because the range is beyond the A330-300 which can only fly up to nine hours. So we have to take a variant of it, the A340-300, which has four engines and can fly further but this means it will burn more fuel," he added.

He said the long-term solution would either be the A350 or the Boeing 787. Both provide the same range as the A340 but are more fuel-efficient.

"With that, we can easily go to a dozen cities in Europe and half a dozen cities in North America and to Africa as well," he said.

However, AirAsia X has not made any decision to buy or lease A350s or B787s, especially since A350s will only be commercially available after 2015.

For its short-term needs, AirAsia X will use a leased A340 for its flights to the UK, starting March 2009.

"If UK proves to be so successful and oil prices remain reasonable, then it is not inconceivable for us to extend our footprint into central and eastern Europe," Azran said.

Its expansion hinges on how many A340s it gets hold of, as this is the only plane that deviates slightly from the A330s.

"The size, the cabin and the cockpit are the same so we can use common pilots. While we are actively looking for more A340s, there are very few out there," he said.

rizalhakim

November 24th, 2008, 02:59 AM

On the contrary ...
By Presenna NambiarPublished: 2008/11/24

http://www.btimes.com.my/articles/ptony1-2/pix_topright

For AirAsia boss Datuk Seri Tony Fernandes, a recession is the best time to build, an uncommon opinion to say the least.

DATUK Seri Tony Fernandes is a man who has built his business on being contrary.

When the global airline industry was recording losses in the aftermath of September 11 2001, Fernandes and compatriot Datuk Kamaruddin Meranun were busy trying to get their brainchild AirAsia (5099) off the ground ... which they succeeded in doing, recording a profit in 2002.

When the media and analysts continued to prophesise doom for the airline, Fernandes and his team put in an order for 60 A320s from Airbus in March 2005.

Three years later, with every industry (in particular the airline industry) bracing itself for a long and painful recession, he hasn't changed.
"We (AirAsia) are very bullish and very optimistic (about the future), all the newspapers in Malaysia had wanted me to be negative in the last seven years.

"You are a depressing bunch, but I'm optimistic, my load factors are good, people want to travel, they are not killing themselves every day ... you have to be innovative," Fernandes told Business Times in Kuala Lumpur last week.

For him, a recession is the best time to build, an uncommon opinion to say the least.

"My gut feeling says the best thing to do now is to grow ourselves out of a recession. I think we have enough people to fly with us. By opening up new markets, we are constantly getting new people on our flights," Fernandes said.

His optimism is backed by the fact that AirAsia has seen record bookings for December, with seats sold out in two weeks.

Fernandes said the group also expects its Thai and Indonesian subsidiaries to be "very profitable" in the fourth quarter of the year.

Thai AirAsia recorded an unrecognised share of loss of RM21.7 million, while Indonesia AirAsia registered a loss of RM12.2 million for the quarter ended June 30 2008.

Thai AirAsia is a jointly controlled entity of the budget carrier while Indonesia AirAsia is an associate company.

Fernandes said the Sepang hub also stands to benefit from the growth in passenger movement on its Thai and Indonesian flights.

Despite his optimism, one might say that this time around the odds are stacked against it, what with the International Air Transport Association expecting further losses in 2009 and Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation expecting no Asian airline to make a profit a next year.

Fernandes would probably say, "When has it ever been different?"

rizalhakim

November 24th, 2008, 08:37 AM

Airbus A330-300 terbaru dari AirAsia X

Oleh HATA WAHARI (Yang mengikuti penyerahan pesawat sulung AirAsia X Airbus A330-300 di Toulouse, Perancis baru-baru ini)

http://www.utusan.com.my/pix/2008/1122/Utusan_Malaysia/Pelancongan/pl_02.1.jpg
Datuk Tony Fernandes mencuba kerusi rekaan baru pesawat sulung AirAsia X AirBus A330-300.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

AirAsia X dengan tema ‘Kini Semua Boleh Terbang Lebih Jauh' bukan setakat menawarkan penerbangan lebih jauh malah boleh terbang jauh dengan murah, selesa dan menyeronokkan .

Bayangkan dengan tambang 50 peratus lebih murah daripada syarikat penerbangan perkhidmatan penuh anda berpeluang untuk melancong ke bandar-bandar terkemuka di Eropah, Australia, India, Asia Barat, China dan Jepun.

Tiket perjalanan untuk dua orang ke Perth, Australia misalnya hanya RM2,500 termasuk tempahan makanan, minuman, hiburan dan caj beg berbanding hampir RM4,000 bagi syarikat penerbangan perkhidmatan penuh.

Bukan itu sahaja kelebihan terbang dengan AirAsia X, penumpang yang pertama kali melangkah ke dalam pesawat Airbus A330-300 syarikat itu akan disambut bukan sahaja pramugari jelita tetapi dengan bau pesawat baru dengan kemasan berwarna merah serta kerusi kulit berwarna hitam.

Penulis merupakan antara 60 orang pertama yang bertuah terbang selama 13 jam dalam penerbangan sulung atau dinamakan Ferry Flight dari Pusat Penyerahan Airbus di Toulouse, Perancis ke Terminal Tambang Murah (LCCT) Lapangan Terbang Antarabangsa Kuala Lumpur.

Jangkaan awal bahawa pesawat itu mungkin hanya seperti kelas ekonomi syarikat-syarikat penerbangan perkhidmatan penuh lain.

Penerbangan itu mungkin sama seperti mana perjalanan ke Toulouse untuk menyertai rombongan AirAsia X menerima penyerahan pesawat tersebut dengan perjalanan 13 jam yang amat memeritkan kerana kemudahan yang tidak selesa di samping beberapa kecacatan lain.

Semuanya meleset sama sekali, pengalaman terbang dengan pesawat terbaru AirAsia X itu lebih tepat digambarkan seperti menaiki sebuah pesawat lima bintang dengan kemudahan-kemudahan yang amat berlainan sama sekali.

Ketua Pegawai Eksekutif AirAsia X, Azran Osman Rani ketika membicarakan mengenai pesawat sulung daripada 25 pesawat Airbus A330-300 yang diterima memberitahu pesawat itu penuh dengan inovasi baru dalam dunia penerbangan.

Katanya, inovasi dalam pesawat itu bukan sahaja akan memberikan keselesaan kepada penumpang tetapi berupaya untuk menjadikannya syarikat itu sebagai peneraju dalam segmen syarikat penerbangan tambang murah jarak jauh.

Azran memberitahu, AirAsia X penerima anugerah pendatang baru terbaik pada Anugerah Buggie 2008 di London memilih untuk beroperasi dengan pesawat itu kerana ia membolehkan Kumpulan AirAsia melanjutkan kejayaan model kos rendah untuk pasaran jarak jauh.

AirAsia X menawarkan daya tarikan terbaru melalui inovasi terkini kepada penumpang dengan kos operasi paling rendah di antara pesawat-pesawat badan lebar bersaiz sederhana yang meletakkan piawaian baru dalam penerbangan jarak jauh.

Syarikat penerbangan itu menawarkan jaminan tambang murah, tahap keselamatan yang tinggi, layanan mesra dan pengalaman berlainan dalam penerbangan dengan pelbagai tawaran perkhidmatan inovasi terbaru dari segi tempat duduk dan hiburan.

“Bagi memastikan pengekalan tradisi inovasi AirAsia X akan memperkenalkan pelbagai kemudahan baru untuk meningkatkan pengalaman yang lebih selesa dan gembira untuk penumpang.

“Ini termasuk menawarkan kerusi ekonomi premium, boleh memilih tempat duduk, makanan panas dan hiburan berasaskan kepada menu a la carte di mana penumpang akan menentukan sendiri tahap keselesaan yang mereka perlukan dengan membayar apa yang digunakan sahaja,” katanya.

Jelasnya, AirAsia X juga sedang menimbangkan untuk menyediakan lounge bagi penumpang yang ingin menunggu penerbangan dalam suasana selesa.

“Perubahan ini semua akan dilakukan tetapi AirAsia X tidak akan lari daripada model asas iaitu menawarkan tambang murah agar semua boleh terbang lebih jauh,” katanya.

Azran memberitahu, inovasi yang ditawarkan oleh AirAsia X dalam pesawat Airbus A330-300 barunya ialah:

TEMPAT DUDUK INOVASI TERKINI:

Tempat pertama yang dituju oleh penumpang ialah tempat duduk dan bagi AirAsia X ia merupakan tarikan utama dengan inovasi terkini, semua tempat duduk direka bentuk dengan kemudahan boleh digerakan kehadapan bagi membolehkan penumpang berada dalam posisi berehat seperti kerusi malas.

Syarikat penerbangan lain menawarkan kerusi yang boleh digerakkan ke belakang di mana ia akan menganggu penumpang lain tetapi inovasi AirAsia X, kerusi hanya boleh diluncur ke hadapan untuk memberi keselesaan kepada penumpang yang duduk.

Inovasi ini juga memberi keselesaan kepada penumpang di belakang kerana tidak akan terganggu dengan segala tindakan yang dibuat oleh penumpang di hadapan kerana reka bentuk kerusi itu memberi ruang secukupnya untuk kedua-dua melakukan pergerakan tanpa menganggu satu sama lain.

Pesawat tersebut dilengkapi dengan 355 kerusi kelas ekonomi dan 28 kerusi kelas ekonomi premium ataupun istilah yang digunakan oleh AirAsia X, kerusi XL.

Kerusi XL ini mencapai standard keselesaan sama dengan kerusi kelas perniagaan di dalam syarikat penerbangan perkhidmatan penuh dengan harga RM1,500 lebih mahal daripada kerusi kelas ekonomi namun kalau dibandingkan dengan syarikat penerbangan lain ia lebih murah kerana tiket kelas perniagaan selalunya mencecah RM10,000 ke atas.

Kerusi juga dilengkapkan dengan port USB.

HIBURAN DALAM PESAWAT X-CITE

Monitor sesentuh 8.9 inci dengan kemudahan USB 2.0 kepada peranti elektronik lain seperti kamera, kamera video dan pemain MP3 untuk menikmati paparan gambar, muzik dan filem menerusi kaca TV.

Terdapat kira-kira 140 filem, rancangan televisyen dan permainan video dan hanya dikenakan bayaran apa yang ingin ditonton.

Penumpang juga boleh berkomunikasi ataupun chatting dengan penumpang lain yang duduk di kerusi lain di dalam pesawat dengan kemudahan inseat chat.

PESANAN MAKANAN SECARA MAYA

AirAsia X merupakan syarikat penerbangan pertama yang menawarkan pilihan untuk membuat pesanan makanan, minuman secara terus melalui monitor di mana penumpang boleh menekan menu makanan dan memilih apa yang dijual, tidak perlu memanggil pramugari, sebaik dipesan makanan akan dihantar dan bayaran boleh dibuat secara kredit ataupun tunai.

MEMBELI BELAH SECARA MAYA

Menggunakan monitor sesentuh yang sama, penumpang boleh memesan apa sahaja yang dijual di dalam pesawat tanpa perlu memanggil pramugari ataupun melihat buku katalog, pesan dari senarai yang disediakan dan bayar melalui kad kredit ataupun tunai.

Skyprince

November 24th, 2008, 09:08 AM

dengar kata penerbangan KL-London akan diumumkan secara rasmi esok..

OshHisham

November 24th, 2008, 09:45 AM

wow! i din know the economy class has that screen. i tot only XL class has it...wow....

patchay

November 24th, 2008, 10:01 AM

dengar kata penerbangan KL-London akan diumumkan secara rasmi esok..

dengar dari siapa? haha

Malaysian skyscraper

November 25th, 2008, 11:41 AM

London Sansted Airport.

KUL-STN.

I think it would on March next year.

Airbus A330-300 or Airbus A340-300 ?
A340 will b lsf ILFC for STN route.

Please tell me how many destinations of AirAsia X. List it.

patchay

November 25th, 2008, 01:18 PM

Skyprince u're right.....

Malaysian skyscraper

November 25th, 2008, 01:22 PM

patchay. Jumpe kat mane. Tell me websitenya.

TWK90

November 25th, 2008, 01:25 PM

Source : http://www.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2008/11/25/nation/20081125190317&sec=nation

Published: Tuesday November 25, 2008 MYT 7:04:00 PM
Updated: Tuesday November 25, 2008 MYT 9:54:48 PM
It’s RM499 to fly to London on AirAsia X (updated)
By CHOI TUCK WO

LONDON: It’s £99 or RM499 one-way – that’s the much-awaited opening fare of AirAsia X’s latest London Stansted-Kuala Lumpur route.

Malaysians flying to London will also pay RM499 for the return flight while travellers from London going to KLIA will pay £99 (RM541) for the return ticket.

Online bookings opened at 8pm Tuesday (Malaysian time) for the five-times-a-week direct flights which will begin in March.

Also on offer are premium seats at £549 or RM1,999. The initial bookings are for the travel period from March 11 till Oct 24 next year.

The AirAsia X flights will use Airbus A340 planes which will have 286 economy and 30 premium seats.

AirAsia X CEO Azran Osman-Rani made the announcement during the route launch at London’s County Hall featuring a special performance by five-member British girl band, The Saturdays.

“The London-Kuala Lumpur route is the realisation of a long-held ambition to open up affordable access between Malaysia and Europe for both the Asean and European communities,” AirAsia Group CEO Datuk Seri Tony Fernandes said.

Fernandes said with the airline’s comprehensive route network, the opportunity for Londoners and Europeans to explore Asean has never been greater.

“This new route will benefit all of Asean as it will encourage more economic and tourism activities, bringing in more revenue and creating job opportunities,” he said.

Azran described the London route as a significant achievement, allowing those who had always wanted to travel between Europe and Asean to achieve their dream at an affordable price.

Stansted Airport’s commercial and development director Nick Barton, who finalised discussions with AirAsia X, hailed the launch as a major milestone for low-cost, long-haul air travel around the world.

“This is set to be a hugely popular link for business and leisure travellers seeking affordable long-haul travel options,” he added.

The latest route is the first step for AirAsia to realise its European aspirations and boost Kuala Lumpur as the regional aviation hub and gateway into Asean, China and Australia.

With the launch, Europeans can now see more of Asia for less by tapping into the airline’s network to popular destinations such as Phuket, Borneo, Bali, Angkor Wat and Ho Chi Minh city.

To date, AirAsia X – the long-haul affiliate of AirAsia – flies to the Gold Coast, Perth and Melbourne in Australia, Hangzhou in China and now London, bringing the Asean brand to a global stage.

Stansted is Britain’s third busiest airport, with 22.8 million passengers passing through and many leading low-cost airlines making it their base.

Skyprince

November 25th, 2008, 03:06 PM

RM 1,387 incl all tax !

TWK90

November 25th, 2008, 03:10 PM

^^

And more and more Malaysians roaming around the world :D

Skyprince

November 25th, 2008, 03:21 PM

^^ takut nanti MAS buang 5X seminggu KL-Heathrow

TWK90

November 25th, 2008, 03:28 PM

^^

I just hope they can fly to Japan and Korea next year, haha

Malaysian skyscraper

November 25th, 2008, 03:34 PM

They will. Tak boleh gi Jerusalem. No way. or any Israeli Airport. No M'sian can go to Israel. XXXXXXXXXX.

nazrey

November 25th, 2008, 03:45 PM

AirAsia X's London Launch
by Amazing AirAsia of flickr

Connecting London - Kuala Lumpur for *Pound Sterling 99: AirAsia Group CEO Dato' Sri Tony Fernandes and AirAsia X CEO Azran Osman-Rani reveals the London - Kuala Lumpur fare in a ceremony held at London's County Hall

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3166/3058956408_d947b94b76_b.jpg

AirAsia X cabin crew posing against the London Eye. The low-cost long-haul carrier affiliate of AirAsia announces its latest route connecting London and Kuala Lumpur in London on 25 Nov 2008.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3135/3057355023_116d472689_b.jpg

AirAsia Group CEO Tony Fernandes and AirAsia X CEO Azran Osman-Rani with the airline's cabin crew on top of a London double-decker bus that is wrapped with AirAsia and AirAsia X branding. AirAsia X, the low-cost long-haul carrier affiliate of AirAsia announces its latest route connecting London and Kuala Lumpur in London on 25 Nov 2008.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3209/3057355009_4c1d243d69_b.jpg

AirAsia X cabin crew on top of a London double-decker bus that is wrapped with AirAsia and AirAsia X branding. AirAsia X, the low-cost long-haul carrier affiliate of AirAsia announces its latest route connecting London and Kuala Lumpur in London on 25 Nov 2008.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3010/3057354969_4d646f9bd4_b.jpg

AirAsia Group CEO Tony Fernandes (7th from left) and AirAsia X CEO Azran Osman-Rani with the airline's cabin crew posing next to a London double-decker bus that is wrapped with AirAsia and AirAsia X branding. AirAsia X, the low-cost long-haul carrier affiliate of AirAsia announces its latest route connecting London and Kuala Lumpur in London on 25 Nov 2008.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3018/3057354983_3562dbab46_b.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3286/3058655460_88095eea1c_b.jpg

nazrey

November 25th, 2008, 07:57 PM

AirAsia X to fly to London from March 11
Published: 2008/11/26

LONDON: Malaysia’s long-haul budget carrier, AirAsia X, has announced that its London Stansted-Kuala Lumpur service will take off on March 11, 2009, with fares starting from as low as RM499 each way.

AirAsia Group chief executive officer, Datuk Seri Tony Fernandes, said AirAsia X’s London-KL route was the realisation of a long-held ambition to open up affordable access between Malaysia and Europe for both Asean and European communities.

For the sector AirAsia X will use Airbus A340 for the five times weekly direct flights.

Fernandes said bookings would start at midday London time today until Nov 30 for the travel period of March 11, 2009 to Oct 24, 2009.

London would be AirAsia-X’s fifth international destination after Gold Coast, Perth and Melbourne in Australia as well as Hangzhou in China, Fernandes told a news conference in conjunction with the sales launch of the new service at the London County in London.

Also present at the event were AirAsia X chief executive officer Azran Osman-Rani and chairman Datuk Seri Kalimullah Hassan, as well as Malaysian High Commissioner to UK Datuk Abd Aziz Mohammed and representative from Stansted Airport.

Besides the 99 fare for the economy seats, Fernandes said passenggers also had the option to pay RM1,999 for the XL seats respectively.

When asked on the timing of the launch now with the world facing an economic recession, he said the country needed some positive action and that entrepreneurs and corporations should do their bit in dealing with the situation.

“I am not going to sit there and cut everthing and just say we are going to die. We are going to fight and find our way out of this recession,” he said, adding that this was the time to “give back to the country.”

“I could cut and make a bit more money but this has to be about being stronger after the recession.”

Asked on what was next for the airline, Fernandes said he was aiming for daily service to London and possibly two flights a day. — Bernama

nazrey

November 25th, 2008, 08:41 PM

AirAsia X plans to expand sales tenfold to US$1b
Tuesday, 25 November, 2008

Kuala Lumpur: Malaysian long-haul budget carrier AirAsia X hopes to expand sales tenfold to 1.0 billion dollars by the end of 2010 despite the global slowdown, a report said Monday.

Chief Executive Azran Osman Rani told the New Straits Times that the first goal would be to breach 1.0 billion ringgit (276 million dollars) in sales next year.

"The psychological test will be reaching the 1.0 billion ringgit mark in 2009, barely two years into operations. But we will do it and target 1.0 billion dollars for the year after that," he said.

The report said AirAsia X, which currently flies to Australia's Gold Coast, Perth and Melbourne, and Hangzhou in China, will end the year with about 362 million ringgit in sales.

But Azran said that as it takes delivery of 25 Airbus A330-300 aircraft between now and 2013, it will expand to at least 30 destinations.

"Our model is to be the trunk that connects Southeast Asia with key Asia Pacific markets such as Australia, China, India, Korea, Japan and the Middle East," he told the daily.

He said AirAsia X is hoping to fly to five cities in Australia, four to five cities in China, three to four in India, one or two in Korea, and two or three in both Japan and the Middle East.

AirAsia X and Southeast Asian affiliate AirAsia have sounded an extremely optimistic note in recent months, despite the uncertain global outlook and predictions of doom for airlines.

Earlier this month they scrapped fuel surcharges on all flights to drum up business, as founder Tony Fernandes said that falling oil prices enabled it to make travel more affordable.

"We (AirAsia) are very bullish and very optimistic," he told the New Straits Times, chiding the Malaysian press for being "negative" about the carrier's future.

"You are a depressing bunch, but I'm optimistic. My load factors are good, people want to travel... you have to be innovative," he reportedly said. - AFP

rizalhakim

November 26th, 2008, 03:15 AM

AirAsia X's London Launch
by Amazing AirAsia of flickr

AirAsia X cabin crew posing against the London Eye. The low-cost long-haul carrier affiliate of AirAsia announces its latest route connecting London and Kuala Lumpur in London on 25 Nov 2008.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3135/3057355023_116d472689_b.jpg

amoi no5 on left nampak macam singa lapar...lol!! :nuts::nuts:

rizalhakim

November 26th, 2008, 03:25 AM

It’s RM499 to fly to London on AirAsia X

LONDON: It’s £99 or RM499 one-way – that’s the much-awaited opening fare of AirAsia X’s latest London Stansted – Kuala Lumpur route.

And AirAsia Group CEO Datuk Seri Tony Fernandes has pledged to knock down the price to as low as £49 (RM271) once they increase the flight frequencies.

http://thestar.com.my/archives/2008/11/26/nation/n_03airasia.jpg
Affordable flights: Fernandes (top, left) and Azran posing with the AirAsia X crew in London yesterday. — Bernama

Saying it would be “cool” to take a £50 note and buy a seat to Kuala Lumpur, he said there was no reason why they could not do it.

“Volume is the key. If we can find the plane and get two or three flights a day, I guarantee you £49 will be a reality,” he told Malaysian journalists after the sales launch of the latest route at London’s County Hall yesterday.

Even with the £99 fare, it’s still cheaper to fly from London to Kuala Lumpur than to take a Black Cab from the city to Stansted Airport, which costs about £110 (RM610) one way!

Malaysians flying to London will also pay RM499 for the return flight while travellers from London going to KLIA will pay £99 (RM541) for the return ticket.

Online bookings opened at 8pm Tuesday (Malaysian time) for the five-times-a-week direct flights which will be for the travel period between March 11 and Oct 24.

Fares start from as low as £99 (RM499) for economy seats and £549 (RM1,999) for XL seats – inclusive of airport taxes and charges.

The latest flights will use Airbus A340 planes which will have 286 economy and 30 premium seats.

Fernandes said his next step would be to increase the five times weekly flights to daily and even two or three times a day.

“The London-Kuala Lumpur route is the realisation of a long-held ambition to open up affordable access between Malaysia and Europe for both the Asean and European communities,” he said.

AirAsia X CEO Azran Osman Rani described the London route as a significant achievement, allowing those who had always wanted to travel between Europe and Asean to achieve their dream at an affordable price.

Stansted Airport’s commercial and development director Nick Barton, who finalised discussions with AirAsia X, hailed the launch as a major milestone for low-cost, long-haul air travel around the world.

The latest route is the first step for AirAsia to realise its European aspirations and boost Kuala Lumpur as the regional aviation hub and gateway into Asean, China and Australia.

Stansted is Britain’s third busiest airport, with 22.8 million passengers passing through and many leading low-cost airlines making it their base.

rizalhakim

November 26th, 2008, 03:43 AM

AirAsia X launches low fare London-to-KL flight
By : Zaharah Othman in London

AIRASIA X, the low-cost, long-haul affiliate of AirAsia launched its STG99/RM499 flight from London to Kuala Lumpur, at London's County Hall yesterday.

The five times weekly direct flights, using the Airbus A340, will begin in March next year, and will be from London Stansted Airport to Kuala Lumpur International Airport low cost carrier terminal.

The STG99 fare is for one way inclusive of tax. The usual travel fare from London to Malaysia is between STG500 and STG600 (RM2,700 and RM3,200).

AirAsia group chief executive officer Datuk Seri Tony Fernandes said the London-Kuala Lumpur route was the realisation of a long held ambition to open up affordable access between Malaysia and Europe for both Asian and European communities.

London is AirAsia X's fifth destination after Gold Coast, Perth and Melbourne in Australia and Hangzhou in China.

"We have an incredible route network, and at STG99, the opportunity for Londoners and Europeans to the Asian region has never been greater," Fernandes said at the launch.

According to AirAsia X chief executive officer Azran Osman-Rani, the London route was a significant achievement, allowing travel at an affordable price.

"We are looking to expanding the five flights per week to a daily service in the future," Azran said.

Booking for the flights opened on AirAsia's website beginning yesterday until Sunday for the travel period of March 11-Oct 24, 2009.

Later, speaking to Malaysian journalists, Fernandes said he expected the fare to go down as the number of flights increased.

On why he decided to launch the London-Kuala Lumpur route at a time when the global economy was not so good, Fernandes said: "You can either put your head in the sand, or you can do something about it. We chose the latter.

"We cannot continue to wait for the government to make cuts and provide subsidies.

"We have to fight our way out of this," he said, adding that the Malaysian government had been very supportive of AirAsia and this was one way AirAsia could give back to the country.

Malaysian skyscraper

November 26th, 2008, 04:48 AM

For the sector AirAsia X will use Airbus A340 for the five times weekly direct flights.

^^
Everyone dont get confused or tell its wrong :bash: . Its not a mistake u know that. One A340 will be leased from ILFC. They'll not using A330. A330 maybe for KL-Paris-London or KL-?-London. I also dont really feel good on the A340 :ohno: .

Zulhelmi

November 26th, 2008, 05:20 AM

It's RM2k for return flight from KL to London. It's more than half of an full airline fare!

erwinkarim

November 26th, 2008, 05:41 AM

^^
Everyone dont get confused or tell its wrong :bash: . Its not a mistake u know that. One A340 will be leased from ILFC. They'll not using A330. A330 maybe for KL-Paris-London or KL-?-London. I also dont really feel good on the A340 :ohno: .

A330 can't get to kl-paris. you need a340 for that.

i think they can kill w/ japan-australia / india-australia / eastern-europe-austrialia market. or middle-east/east asia

nazrey

November 26th, 2008, 06:34 AM

AirAsia, MAS cancel all flights to and from Bangkok
Published: Wednesday November 26, 2008 MYT 12:50:00 PM

KUALA LUMPUR: AirAsia and Malaysia Airlines have cancelled all flights to and from Bangkok on Wednesday.

This comes after anti-government protesters in Bangkok swarmed the airport complex Tuesday forcing the closure of the city's main international airport.

An air traffic control official at the Suvarnabhumi Airport on Wednesday told the media that the airport would remain shut Wednesday.

rizalhakim

November 26th, 2008, 07:09 AM

AirAsia privatisation still an option
by Rhys Jones
Email us your feedback at fd@bizedge.com

LONDON: AirAsia said yesterday plans to take the carrier private were still “definitely an option” as it opened bookings for a new London-Kuala Lumpur service with cut-price fares.

AirAsia X, the low-cost, long-haul affiliate of AirAsia, is due to launch the five times weekly direct service between London Stansted airport and Kuala Lumpur International Airport in March 2009 in a bid to win new customers and boost its profile.

The company is offering £99 flights (RM549.90) between March 11 and Oct 24, 2009, AirAsia said, without specifying how many seats on each flight would be available at that price.

“People want value and want to travel and want to get away from the bad news. I see the current economic situation as an opportunity to capitalise and build market share and presence,” said chief executive Datuk Tony Fernandes.

Asked about the progress he was making in taking the carrier private and de-listing it from Bursa Malaysia, Fernandes said “it (taking the company private) is definitely an option. We’ve asked for more time and are trying to be as transparent as we can, so let’s see.”

Passengers of AirAsia will have to contend with a new tax on long-haul flights from the United Kingdom after British Chancellor Alistair Darling on Monday said he would increase the tax by 50% in two years’ time.

Air passenger duty (APD) is currently levied at £10 on a passenger flying economy class to European destinations and £40 for those going further, which Darling said will rise to £60 by the 2010/2011 tax year.

“I think aviation taxes are better if they are charged per flight because then you reward efficiency, but as it is you are not rewarding airlines such as ours that put more seats in per square foot,” said Fernandes.

“Like everyone else we will just have to deal with it (the APD hike) but I think it’s dangerous to overtax an industry.”

Southeast Asia’s largest low-cost airline, which also has operations in Thailand and Indonesia, expects to achieve a strong fourth-quarter performance as passengers continue to trade down to budget carriers, said Fernandes, who added that the airline, which does not currently hedge for fuel, would be “comfortable taking jet fuel hedges at around US$40 (RM145.20) to US$45”.

The price of January Brent crude oil currently is hovering around the US$52 a barrel mark. AirAsia closed at RM1.13 yesterday. — Reuters

Skyprince

November 26th, 2008, 07:51 AM

It's RM2k for return flight from KL to London. It's more than half of an full airline fare!

nope.. its RM 1387 for early bird booking ( incl all tax ! )

musang

November 26th, 2008, 09:41 AM

Tak boleh gi Jerusalem. No way. or any Israeli Airport. No M'sian can go to Israel. XXXXXXXXXX.

u can, with a vry gud reason. such as visiting Baitul Maqdis. boleh dpt permission from KDN kalau x silap. problem is, once stamped u cannot masuk any arab countries (yg x der bi-diplomatic trades ngan Israel) with such a stamp in yr passport.

OshHisham

November 26th, 2008, 03:56 PM

patchay

November 26th, 2008, 04:01 PM

booked ticket to bangkok on 22th January. if MAS cancel the flight on that day...i bunuh orang2 siam tu nanti! :lol:

If i orang siam, i will be very offended with that hahaha... anyway their protest is getting soooo crazzyyy...

btw wat's MAS response to this fare?

OshHisham

November 26th, 2008, 04:02 PM

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3018/3057354983_3562dbab46_b.jpg

emmm....if SIA market their stewardess as Singapore Girl, can AirAsia sell those girl as Malaysia Girl...?:hilarious

patchay

November 26th, 2008, 04:34 PM

emmm....if SIA market their stewardess as Singapore Girl, can AirAsia sell those girl as Malaysia Girl...?:hilarious

I thought Malaysia Girl should be reserved for MAS?? Since they have Malaysian Hospitality.

patchay

November 26th, 2008, 04:36 PM

That pic clearly shows Tony is more of a pimp than Azran lol

rizalhakim

November 27th, 2008, 03:07 AM

Airlines’ profit poser
By LOONG TSE MIN

http://biz.thestar.com.my/archives/2008/11/27/business/b_airlinex.jpg

PETALING JAYA: Airlines, which have been badly hit by all-time high fuel prices, should finally be making money with crude oil prices now at just above US$50 a barrel.

However, with an expected weakening of passenger demand, the prospects of air travel remain uncertain. The issue is further complicated by potential fuel hedging losses as fuel prices have dropped dramatically.

Jet fuel is typically priced at US$25 to US$35 a barrel above crude oil price. On Nov 14, jet fuel was quoted at US$78.60 per barrel.

Analysts covering the sector contacted by StarBiz were quite pessimistic of the country’s airlines being able to turn the lower fuel costs into stronger earnings with one analyst saying: “If you don’t even get your topline (revenue as passenger numbers fall), a drop of 20% or so in operating costs won’t do any good.”

However, a drop in passenger numbers was by no means a sure thing with many analysts pointing to still growing passenger numbers that were bucking expectations for AirAsia Bhd.

An analyst at a bank-backed brokerage said: “It could be too early to say as the fuel price drop occurred in the past three weeks or so and both airlines (MAS and AirAsia) are quickly passing on the gains to customers.

“It has to be admitted that this is really stimulating demand, but we have to wait and see in the long term.”

The analyst maintained his estimate of weaker passenger numbers up to July 2009.

AirAsia was showing a strong expansion in passenger numbers while Malaysia Airlines (MAS) was seeing falling passenger numbers.

The analyst said the figures could be misleading: for AirAsia, strong passenger expansion meant the budget airline was able to capture more business from its regional low-cost rivals during this difficult period. However, for MAS it was the opposite.

“MAS is actually seeing earnings improve as it carries fewer passengers. The reason for this is that it is in the midst of restructuring and cutting unprofitable routes,” he said.

Fuel hedging further complicates the subject. Fuel hedging is a contractual tool used by some airlines to stabilise jet fuel costs. A fuel hedge contract commits an airline to paying a pre-determined price for future jet fuel purchases.

Analysts expect AirAsia to recognise more costs since it has settled its hedging positions since July.

This would offset in the short term any gains from lower fuel.

MAS, on the other hand, is believed to be still holding about 50% of its fuel needs in crude oil hedges above US$100 a barrel, which was a negative factor but as it hasn’t settled its positions yet the costs would be more spread out, said an analyst.

MAS was also using a different hedging tool from AirAsia which makes MAS lose less from low fuel prices but also gain less from the hedge when prices were high.

MAS and AirAsia are announcing their third quarter results tomorrow and so have entered into a “closed period” and declined comment.

The same goes for AirAsia’s sister company AirAsia X.

rizalhakim

November 27th, 2008, 06:42 AM

Impian Tony Fernandes tercapai

PELANCARAN penerbangan tambang murah jarak jauh London Stansted-Kuala Lumpur oleh AirAsia X bakal memberikan manfaat kepada ramai orang, tetapi bagi Ketua Eksekutif Kumpulan AirAsia Bhd, Datuk Seri Tony Fernandes, ia memberikan makna tersendiri kepadanya.

Bagi Tony, pelancaran perkhidmatan itu menandakan tercapainya sebuah impian yang sudah lama terpendam dalam dirinya, belum lagi dikira ia telah mencetuskan satu revolusi bagi perjalanan udara di antara Eropah dan Asia.

“Ia adalah detik yang sungguh bermakna dan istimewa buat saya,” katanya ketika berucap di hadapan tetamu dan media antarabangsa yang berhimpun di London County Hall, London bagi majlis pelancaran perkhidmatan penerbangan lima kali seminggu itu yang akan bermula 11 Mac 2009, dengan harga bermula £99 (RM499) sehala.

Sambil mengimbas liku-liku perjalanannya dalam industri penerbangan, Tony berkata, sememangnya impian pertamanya adalah untuk memulakan perkhidmatan penerbangan jarak jauh kos rendah di antara London dan Kuala Lumpur.

“Saya mengimpikan semua ini sejak berusia 12 tahun lagi. Apabila saya tiba di sekolah saya di sini, saya ingin terus pulang kerana saya tidak pernah melihat sebuah bilik asrama seperti itu di sepanjang hayat saya memandangkan saya datang dari sebuah tempat yang cantik dan menyenangkan seperti Malaysia.

“Saya terus menelefon ibu bapa saya merayu mereka untuk membenarkan saya pulang.

“Mereka berkata, ‘tidak’ kerana ia terlalu mahal. Bermula dari situlah, saya mula menanam hasrat untuk menzahirkan perkhidmatan penerbangan tambang murah ke Malaysia, dan pada tengah hari ini (Selasa waktu London) pencarian saya akan berakhir,” katanya merujuk kepada bermulanya tempahan tiket secara dalam talian bagi penerbangan di antara Kuala Lumpur-London AirAsia X itu.

Ibu negara Britain itu menjadi destinasi kelima AirAsia X, yang memulakan perkhidmatan penerbangan komersilnya dengan penerbangan dari Kuala Lumpur ke Gold Coast, Australia pada 2 November 2007, sebelum menambah destinasinya ke bandar raya Hangzhou, China serta Perth dan Melbourne tahun ini. - Bernama

Laluan Kuala Lumpur-Perth yang bermula 2 November lalu, menggunakan pesawat baru jenis Airbus A330 yang diterima pada 31 Oktober - pesawat pertama daripada 25 pesawat A330s yang ditempah.

Syarikat penerbangan tambang murah itu dijangka menerima pesawat A330 keduanya bulan depan, manakala bakinya dijangka tiba secara berperingkat sehingga 2013.

Bagi penerbangan di antara London Stansted-Kuala Lumpur, AirAsia X akan menggunakan pesawat Airbus A340 daripada Air Canada.

“Ini adalah rundingan awal sebelum kami membuat keputusan sama ada menggunakan Boeing 787 atau A350,” kata Tony, sambil menambah bahawa kumpulan AirAsia lebih banyak menggunakan pesawat Airbus, maka besar kemungkinan syarikat itu akan menggunakan A350.

Selain menawarkan tiket pada harga £99, penumpang juga boleh menempah tempat duduk premium pada harga £549 (RM2,745) yang membolehkan mereka menikmati salah satu daripada 30 tempat duduk kulit yang boleh dibaringkan dan mempunyai ruang kaki lebih luas untuk penerbangan selama 12 hingga 13 jam.

Pada kebiasaannya, harga tambang di antara London ke Malaysia adalah sekitar £500 (RM2,500) hingga £600 (RM3,000). - Bernama

dengilo

November 27th, 2008, 06:53 AM

Selamat Datang dan Terima Kasih for flying with "Sardine Express"

rizalhakim

November 27th, 2008, 07:03 AM

A Dream Fulfilled For AirAsia Chief

From Muin Abdul Majid

LONDON, Nov 26 (Bernama) -- The launch of long-haul budget carrier AirAsia X's London Stansted-Kuala Lumpur service means many things to many people but for Datuk Seri Tony Fernandes, AirAsia group chief executive officer, it signals the culmination of a long-held dream, not to mention a revolution of air travel between Europe and Asia.

"It's kind of a surreal moment, a very special moment for me," he said as he began to address guests and international media who had assembled at the London County Hall by the River Thames for the launch of the carrier's five times weekly direct flights scheduled to take off on March 11, 2009, with fares starting from 99 pounds each way.

Taking his audience through chapters of his journey in the airline industry, Fernandes said his first dream was really to start a long-haul low-cost flight between London and the Malaysian capital.

In a speech sprinkled liberally with witty remarks and anecdotes, he said: "I've been dreaming about this since I was 12 years old. When I reached my school here I wanted to go straight back because I'd never seen such a dormitory in my life, coming from nice, cozy Malaysia and all."

The young Fernandes rang up his parents, pleading with them to let him come home.

"And they said no because it was too expensive. So I started on my quest to have low fares to Malaysia and at mid-day today (London time Tuesday) my quest will end," said a beaming Fernandes, referring to the start of online booking for the Kuala Lumpur-London flights.

The British capital is AirAsia X's fifth destination, having started its commercial service with its flight from Kuala Lumpur to Australia's Gold Coast on Nov 2, 2007, before adding the Chinese city of Hangzhou as well as Perth and Melbourne to its network this year.

The Kuala Lumpur-Perth route began on Nov 2, 2008, using the carrier's brand new Airbus A330 plane delivered on Oct 31 -- the first of 25 A330s on order. The no-frills carrier is expected to receive its second A330 next month, with the remaining planes slotted for delivery up till 2013.

For the London Stansted-Kuala Lumpur sector, AirAsia X will use the Airbus A340 aircraft from Air Canada.

"This is an interim arrangement before we decide on the Boeing 787 or A350," Fernandes said, adding that with the AirAsia group being so Airbus-driven, it would be "more than likely that we'll take the A350".

Besides the 99-pound fare, travellers may also book premium seats from 549 pounds that will allow them to enjoy one of 30 fully reclinable leather seats with extra legroom as they fly the 12 to 13 hours between Kuala Lumpur and London.

Passengers can pre-order full meals, including Asian, Western and vegetarian fares as well as children's meals. Light snacks are also available for purchase onboard.

Air travel from London to Malaysia typically costs in the region of 500 pounds to 600 pounds.

The route launch took place in wintry London weather, with everyone bundling up to enjoy an outdoor Malaysian cultural performance followed by a special performance from a girls' band.

As photographers clicked away and television cameras rolled, Fernandes and AirAsia X chief executive officer Azran Osman-Rani pulled the cover off an outsized "99" figure.

Fernandes, a former music industry executive, recalled that when he first mentioned his dream of starting long-haul budget flights between London and Kuala Lumpur, "everyone told me that it wouldn't work".

That did not stop him from building up AirAsia for short-haul routes with only two planes seven years ago -- an entity that has since grown to 86 planes carrying tens of millions of passengers.

Fernandes said: "We've been through the bird flu, tsunami, state-owned airlines; you name it, we've had it. But we always manage to find a way out of it.

"So it has been quite a ride but nothing beats what we're doing today (Tuesday) as at 12pm someone can buy a seat to Malaysia for 99 pounds, which to me, has made all the pain of the last seven years well worth it."

AirAsia X is 48 percent-owned by Aero Ventures Sdn Bhd while Virgin Group and AirAsia Bhd each holds a 16 percent stake in the carrier. Bahrain-based Manara Consortium and Japan's Orix Corp have taken a total of 20 percent stake in the airline.

Fernandes opined that despite all the doom and gloom of the current economic slowdown, "there is still a market for innovation and people want to come out to our part of the world and many people want to come out from Southeast Asia and Malaysia to London".

Wearing the hat of a Malaysian tourism promoter, he said: "We live in a wonderful country. I'm blessed to have been born in an amazing place with people from different colours, creeds and religions. We have all kinds of issues but, you know, we all get on pretty well.

"So do come to visit us and when you do, you also have the option within three hours from Malaysia to go to some of the most amazing countries and places in the world. We have an incredible route network and at 99 pounds, the opportunity for Londoners and Europeans to explore the Asean region has never been greater."

Fernandes also paid a special tribute to Sir Freddie Laker, the British pioneer of charter airlines who died in 2006.

"The guy really got me thinking about long-haul low-cost travel. I used to be amazed by the Laker Skytrain back in the 70s, the first low-cost transatlantic operation. And we've decided to name our first plane after Sir Freddie, it's called The Spirit of Sir Freddie," he said.

Meanwhile, Stansted airport managing director Stewart Wingate said the AirAsia X team had made a "fantastic choice" in choosing the airport as the base for the airline's operations in the United Kingdom.

"We offer excellent access to London, the new Olympic venues, as well as great access to the southeast and eastern England region, not to mention the access across the European network that we currently have at Stansted," he said of the third busiest airport in the United Kingdom.

With 23 million passengers passing through it, Stansted has over 29 scheduled and charter airlines serving 162 destinations across 32 countries.

Skyprince

November 27th, 2008, 05:32 PM

how abt the next A340 order how can D9 operates flights to Europe without this type of airfraft eh

nazrey

November 27th, 2008, 07:07 PM

AirAsia X Weighing Options For Europe
November 27, 2008 23:50 PM
From Muin Abdul Majid

LONDON, Nov 27 (Bernama) -- Malaysia's long-haul budget carrier AirAsia X is weighing its options for Europe following the London Stansted-Kuala Lumpur (KL) service which is set to take off on March 11, 2009.

"The big question is whether we put all our efforts into London and this becomes the hub for Europe, and from there (London) people can go off to France, Germany or other destinations, or whether we eventually have one place in central Europe, one place in eastern Europe, for example," said AirAsia group chief executive officer Datuk Seri Tony Fernandes.

"That's to be debated. (AirAsia X chief executive officer) Azran (Osman-Rani) and his team will look at it," he said at the London-KL route launch, with fares starting from 99 pounds each way.

Fernandes said he personally had mixed feelings about the matter.

"I think sometimes it's good to have a lot of frequency in one place and then farm it out. But it would be nice to say we're going to fly to Rome, Prague and so on. What makes financial sense will drive us," he said.

The airline chief said the next step would be to have daily flights between KL and London, and possibly introducing two flights a day for the sector.

AirAsia X is scheduled to fly five times weekly between the two cities using the Airbus A340 from Air Canada.

Meanwhile, Azran said he would definitely introduce daily flights to London if he could get a second A340 plane.

To a question, he expressed hope that the load factor for the London sector would hover in the 83 to 84 percent range.

"It works for us if it's in the mid-70s in terms of breaking even. Eighty percent is really good, but 84 and beyond is what I'm hoping for," he said.

Azran said Germany was a potential destination for AirAsia X.

-- BERNAMA

OshHisham

November 28th, 2008, 01:22 AM

I thought Malaysia Girl should be reserved for MAS?? Since they have Malaysian Hospitality.

nah...i don't think MAS promotes (read exploits :D) their girls as crazy as what AirAsia does...

rizalhakim

November 28th, 2008, 04:30 AM

rizalhakim

November 28th, 2008, 06:13 AM

All RM499 air tickets snapped up

LONDON: More than 30,000 tickets priced at £99 or RM499 one-way have been sold out for AirAsia X’s latest London Stansted-Kuala Lumpur route.

As at 10pm yesterday (Malaysian time), the airline’s website showed that economy seats from RM579 were still available but “were selling fast”.

It is learnt that about 12,000 seats were snapped up during the first 12 hours when online bookings opened at 8pm on Tuesday.

With nearly 100 seats bought every five minutes during the first day of sales, the cheapest ones quickly ran out.

“The response has been fantastic. The first 12,000 seats sold were split equally between those travelling from Malaysia to London and vice versa,” said one source.

Based on 30% of the 286 seats in each flight being offered at the promotional rate of £99, there would have been 95 available at the lowest fare.

The 286 seats include 30 premium (XL) leather, fully reclinable seats with extra legroom priced at £549 (RM1,999).

Black Cab driver David Chan said he had problems booking the cheapest seats to fly back to his hometown of Segamat for the Qing Ming Festival in April.

“I just couldn’t get through to the booking procedure due to the heavy traffic. But at RM579 (£179), it’s still a bargain,” he added.

Bookings will close on Sunday for the five-times-a-week direct flights which will be for the travel period between March 11 and Oct 24.

The route sales were jointly launched by AirAsia Group CEO Datuk Seri Tony Fernandes and AirAsia X CEO Azran Osman-Rani in London on Tuesday.

rizalhakim

November 28th, 2008, 06:48 AM

AirAsia X Mideast Debut Realistically In 2010, Says CEO

From Abdul Muin Abdul Majid

LONDON, Nov 27 (Bernama) -- Malaysia's long-haul budget airline, AirAsia X, is eyeing two or three Middle East destinations, of which one will likely be the United Arab Emirates (UAE), said its chief executive officer Azran Osman-Rani.

The UAE cities in contention are Dubai, Sharjah and Abu Dhabi.

"We're now talking to all these airports," he said, when met at the launch of AirAsia X's London Stansted-Kuala Lumpur service which is scheduled for take-off on March 11, 2009, with fares starting from 99 (1=RM5.48) each way.

According to Azran, Bahrain was another possibility.

"Realistically, Middle East will be in 2010," he said.

He said AirAsia X was also keen to start service to the Saudi Arabian city of Jeddah "but it is a very protected market".

Flights to the Middle East, he said, would be possible as AirAsia X was awaiting delivery of its 24 other A330 planes on order, the first having been delivered on Oct 31.

The remaining aircraft are slotted for delivery over the next five years.

Besides London, AirAsia X also flies to Gold Coast, Perth, Melbourne and Hangzhou.

-- BERNAMA

rizalhakim

November 28th, 2008, 10:56 AM

AirAsia on rescue flight to Bangkok for stranded passengers

KUALA LUMPUR: AirAsia has dispatched a rescue flight to Bangkok Friday to help bring back the low-cost carrier’s passengers stranded in the city following the closure of Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi International Airport.

The flight was to depart the low-cost carrier terminal (LCCT) in Sepang at 4.25pm and arrive at the U-Tapao airbase in Bangkok at 5.30pm Thailand time, AirAsia said in a statement here on Friday.

“The rescue flight will depart for Kuala Lumpur from U-Tapao at 6pm Thai time. Priority will be given to AirAsia’s passengers who have been stranded in Bangkok for the past three days,” it said.

According to the statement, outbound passengers from Kuala Lumpur to U-Tapao will be transported by bus to central Bangkok free-of-charge while passengers flying back to Kuala Lumpur would be provided complimentary bus pickup to U-Tapao from the Novotel Bangna Bangkok, 333 Srinakarin Road, Bangkok at 2pm Thai time.

Passengers will be accepted on the flight subject to availability of seats and are advised to visit www.AirAsia.com for the latest updates, the statement added. - Bernama

rizalhakim

November 28th, 2008, 10:56 AM

AirAsia sends rescue flight to Bangkok
Published: 2008/11/28

AIRASIA will dispatch a rescue flight to Bangkok today to help bring back the low-cost-carrier’s passengers stranded in the city following the closure of Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi International Airport.

The flight will depart the low-cost carrier terminal (LCCT) in Sepang at 4.25 pm and arrive at the U-Tapao Airbase in Bangkok at 5.30 pm Thailand time, AirAsia said in a statement today.

“The rescue flight will depart for Kuala Lumpur from U-Tapao at 6 pm Thai time. Priority will be given to AirAsia’s passengers who have been stranded in Bangkok for the past three days,” it said.

According to the statement, outbound passengers from Kuala Lumpur to U-Tapao will be transported by bus to central Bangkok free-of-charge while passengers flying back to Kuala Lumpur will be provided complimentary bus pick-up to U-Tapao from the Novotel Bangna Bangkok, 333 Srinakarin Road, Bangkok at 2 pm Thai time.

Passengers will be accepted on the flight subject to availability of seats and are advised to visit www.AirAsia.com for latest updates, the statement added. - Bernama

nazrey

November 28th, 2008, 08:59 PM

Thai AirAsia cancels 106 flights
28-11-2008:-

BANGKOK: Thai AirAsia cancelled 106 domestic and international flights to and from Bangkok yesterday following the closure of the Suvarnabhumi International Airport by anti-government supporters.

The list includes flights to Kuala Lumpur and Penang.

The airline said in a statement that all affected guests were advised to contact its Call Centre at 66-25159999 (24 hours) for the next available flight arrangements at no additional charge.

Guests are urged to first check the airline’s website, www.airasia.com, to get the latest flight information before leaving for the airport. — Bernama

nazrey

November 28th, 2008, 09:20 PM

AirAsia posts RM465.5m net loss
Published: 2008/11/28

AirAsia Bhd, Southeast Asia’s biggest discount airline, posted its first loss since it went public in 2004 after it took a one-time charge for contracts tied to fuel hedging and trades held by Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc.

The company reported a net loss of RM465.5 million (US$129 million) in the three months ended September, from a profit of RM180 million a year earlier, the Sepang, Malaysia-based airline said in a statement today. Sales climbed 43 per cent to RM658.5 million. Operating profit fell 37 per cent to RM91.6 million.

AirAsia had a charge of RM215 million in the third quarter after the company unwound hedging contracts and the likely non-recovery of a collateral for trades held by the now bankrupt Lehman Brothers. The carrier also filled fewer seats for a fourth consecutive quarter after chief executive officer Datuk Seri Tony Fernandes increased capacity while rivals including Malaysian Airline System Bhd scaled back operations.

“We see limited growth prospects for AirAsia,” said Christopher Eng, an analyst at OSK Research Sdn Bhd in Kuala Lumpur, who has a “neutral” rating for AirAsia. “This is not a time to aggressively invest in airline shares.”

AirAsia lost 1.8 per cent to close at RM1.11 today in Kuala Lumpur trading. The stock has fallen 31 per cent this year.

The company filled 75 per cent of seats in the last quarter compared with 79.3 per cent a year earlier, the statement said. The airline’s total passenger traffic increased to 3 million from 2.8 million, it said. - Bloomberg

nazrey

November 28th, 2008, 10:55 PM

AirAsia rugi RM466 juta
29 November 2008

KUALA LUMPUR 28 Nov. - AirAsia Bhd. (AirAsia) mencatat kerugian selepas cukai sebanyak RM466 juta untuk sembilan bulan pertama tahun kewangan berakhir 30 September 2008 berbanding keuntungan selepas cukai sebanyak RM180 juta untuk tempoh yang sama tahun sebelumnya.

Keputusan kewangan semasa itu merupakan kerugian pertama syarikat penerbangan tambang murah tersebut sejak ia mula beroperasi pada 2001.

Ketua Pegawai Eksekutifnya, Datuk Seri Tony Fernandes (gambar) berkata, kerugian tersebut disebabkan kadar tukaran Ringgit yang rendah berbanding dolar Amerika Syarikat (AS) dan sandaran terhadap pelaburan dalam Lehman Brothers.

''Nilai Ringgit yang rendah menyebabkan kami kerugian sebanyak RM213 juta manakala item berkecuali bagi peruntukan struktur derivatif dan perdagangan yang tidak boleh diperolehi semula dalam Lehman Brothers berjumlah RM215 juta lagi. Kami juga mengalami kerugian operasi sebanyak RM76 juta,'' katanya pada telepersidangan di sini, hari ini.

Bagaimanapun, Fernandes yakin syarikat itu dapat menampung semula kerugian tersebut antara dua hingga tiga bulan lagi sekiranya harga minyak dunia kekal pada harga AS$53 (RM190.80).

Sementara itu, AirAsia mencatatkan peningkatan perolehan sebanyak 43 peratus kepada RM659 juta pada suku ketiga tahun ini berbanding RM462 juta untuk tempoh yang sama tahun lalu, ujar Fernandes.

''Kapasiti penumpang juga meningkat sebanyak 24 peratus pada suku ini iaitu sebanyak 30 juta, melepasi sasaran awal sebanyak 20 juta,'' katanya.

Fernandes berkata, operasi AirAsia di Thailand dan Indonesia juga menunjukkan peningkatan yang memberangsangkan walaupun berlaku sedikit kekacauan politik sehingga menyebabkan beberapa lapangan terbang di negara tersebut terpaksa ditutup sementara.

Jelasnya, operasi di Thailand berjaya mengurangkan kerugian sebanyak 44 peratus walaupun dalam keadaan harga minyak yang meningkat secara mendadak berikutan peningkatan muatan penumpang sebanyak 79 peratus dan kenaikan purata tambang sehingga 29 peratus.

Di Indonesia, katanya, operasinya meraih hasil yang lebih tinggi iaitu sebanyak 69 peratus berbanding tahun lalu manakala kapasiti penumpang meningkat sehingga 78 peratus.

Langkah mengemaskini beberapa destinasi turut menyumbang kepada penurunan kerugian sebanyak 88 peratus manakala penerimaan pesawat Airbus, A-320 pada September lalu juga membantu dalam mengurangkan kos, ujar Fernandes.

peromyvi

November 29th, 2008, 11:08 PM

We need to help airasia a bit. Imagine if it collapses, we will go back to the expensive flight days. Spread the news tell your frens n families to take airasia if possible and dont let this iconic brand of malaysia falter.

rizalhakim

December 1st, 2008, 07:18 AM

^^ yea..totally agreed with u :p

rizalhakim

December 1st, 2008, 07:19 AM

Thai unrest: MAS, AirAsia mount rescue flights

U-TAPAO (Pattaya): Alicia Chai was on the verge of tears but the manager with an international audit firm based in Kuala Lumpur restrained herself.

While her colleagues flew out of Thailand to Singapore en route to Kuala Lumpur on Saturday via Phuket after a 10-hour bus ride from Bangkok, she got on a Malaysia Airlines MH784 special flight for home from here yesterday.

She and a few others travelled to U-Tapao from Bangkok on a coach arranged by her company.

They were in Bangkok with their other Asian colleagues for training since Oct 24.

She flew on AirAsia to Bangkok from Kuala Lumpur but returned on Malaysia Airlines (MAS) as her company wanted its staff to leave Thailand as soon as possible.

She would have had to stay a little longer if she was to wait for AirAsia's rescue flight as she was told priority was for passengers who had been stranded earlier.

MAS has mounted six flights into this international airport and naval base since Friday, one of which was a 747-400.

AirAsia has done three.

MAS flew out some 700 passengers a day since the closure of Suvarnabhumi airport.

It will mount two flights today as it had flown most of its passengers out of Thailand.

Malaysia Airlines director of operations Datuk Tajuden Abu Bakar said the airport will continue to be the national carrier's alternative for Bangkok till the situation at Suvarnabhumi Airport returned to normal.

"While our flight departures out of U-Tapao are scheduled according to our original timings out of Bangkok but in view of anticipated congestion, the final timings of our flight departures may be further revised," he said.

In addition to U-Tapao, MAS was also operating flights out of Phuket.

AirAsia in a statement yesterday said it would mount its fourth and fifth rescue flights using an A320 aircraft today and tomorrow.

It said as Suvarnabhumi Airport remained closed today, all its flights into Bangkok have been cancelled.

Passengers arriving at U-Tapao would be transported by bus to central Bangkok free of charge while passengers going home would be provided complimentary bus pick-up to U-Tapao from the Novotel Bangna Bangkok.

"Due to limited facilities at U-Tapao, guests are advised to assemble at Novotel Bangna Bangkok at 10am Thai time for check-in.

"Please do not proceed directly to U-Tapao as its limited facilities do not allow us to perform check-in for our passengers there," it said. -- By Fauziah Ismail

rizalhakim

December 1st, 2008, 07:51 AM

AirAsia and Firefly trying to ensure passage home for all

PETALING JAYA: More help is on the way for those stranded in Thailand due to the turmoil there. AirAsia and Firefly are mounting extra flights to enable them to leave.

AirAsia will have two extra flights to the U-Tapao airbase near Bangkok, and Firefly another two to Phuket.

The first AirAsia flight will depart from the LCCT today and the second tomorrow, the low-cost carrier said in a statement yesterday.

Flights will leave the LCCT at 4.25pm on both days, with the return flights taking off at 6pm Thai time.

http://thestar.com.my/archives/2008/12/1/nation/bus.jpg
Returning home: Passengers with confirmed seats boarding a bus in Bangkok for the U-Tapao airport yesterday. — Bernama

AirAsia said passengers would be provided free bus transport between Bangkok and U-Tapao.

Passengers in Bangkok are ad**vised to assemble at the Novotel Bangna Bangkok Hotel at 10am Thai time for check-in and not proceed directly to U-Tapao.

All AirAsia flights to and from Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Inter*national Airport today have been cancelled as it is still closed.

Those who wish to board the extra flights urgently may contact the airline’s 24-hour emergency hotlines at +662-5159999 in Bangkok and +603-86604554 in Malaysia.

Firefly said that of its two additional flights to Phuket today, one would be from Subang and the other from Penang.

“We are mounting the extra flights mainly to provide alternatives for passengers who are keen to return home to Malaysia or to their final destination,” managing director Eddy Leong said.

The flight from Subang will take off at 9.35am and depart Phuket at 10.35am Thai time, and that from Penang will depart at 7.19pm and return at 7.45pm Thai time.

Extra flights from Subang airport to Koh Samui have yet to be confirmed.

The budget airline had mounted five other flights to the two Thai islands since Saturday.

For more information, visit http://www.fireflyz.com.my.

rizalhakim

December 1st, 2008, 08:18 AM

AirAsia revenue rises on high passenger volume
By LEONG HUNG YEE

PETALING JAYA: AirAsia Bhd, which posted its first loss since its listing in 2004 due to foreign exchange translation and hedging losses through Lehman Brothers Commodity Services Inc, reported positive growth in revenue due to higher passenger volume and higher contribution from ancillary income.

It said yesterday that passenger volume grew by 24% to three million in the third quarter ended Sept 30 compared with 2.44 million a year ago.

Average fare was higher by 12% at RM195 against RM174 previously. It expected to carry 20 million passengers across the AirAsia group this year.

“The higher average fare achieved reflects the positive contribution from ancillary income and the increase in fees.

“Load factor was 3.9 percentage points lower to 75% as a consequence of significant capacity addition and the full impact of the fasting month,” it said in a filing with Bursa Malaysia.

Ancillary income increased 88% to RM69.7mil from RM37mil in 2007. Ancillary income currently represents 10.6% of its total revenue.

Its Indonesian operations made significant improvements with a 61% higher yields compared with last year and a 78% load factor.

Group chief executive officer Datuk Seri Tony Fernandes said the carrier was confident of offsetting the RM215mil related to the provisions for unwinding its derivatives structures and likely non-recovery of collateral for trades.

“Our strategy is already in place to recover the losses. We have hedged 35% fuel requirement for 2009 and we are paying spot price for it (fuel),” he said in a telephone interview.

“We do not want to be paying US$60 per barrel when the spot price is US$40, so we decided to buy on spot price. We get to lock in the potential gain by paying spot price,” he said, adding that AirAsia would be monitoring the fuel price movements.

However, he declined to elaborate on AirAsia’s fuel hedging strategy.

Fernandes also said the group’s finance costs had increased significantly as AirAsia had more planes now and would be getting nine new ones next year.

He added that AirAsia had provided the full amount for unwinding derivatives structures and likely non-recovery of collateral for trades held by Lehman Brothers to be written off. “It’s best to assume that it is gone and it will be a bonus if we manage to recover it,” he added.

He declined comment on reports that AirAsia’s major shareholder Tune Air Sdn Bhd was close to securing financing for a possible privatisation of the airline.

rizalhakim

December 1st, 2008, 08:23 AM

AirAsia slides, downgraded to 'sell'
Published: 2008/12/01

AIRASIA Bhd, Southeast Asia’s biggest discount airline, fell 11 sen, or 9.9 per cent, to RM1.00 in Kuala Lumpur trading, the most since the shares listed in November 2004.

AirAsia posted a loss of RM465.5 million (US$129 million) in the third quarter as it had a charge of RM215 million to cover costs from unwinding hedging contracts and the likely non-recovery of collateral for trades held by the now-bankrupt Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc.

The carrier also filled fewer seats for a fourth consecutive quarter after it increased capacity, it said on Friday after trading closed.

“It’s a sell,” Christopher Eng, an analyst at OSK Research Sdn Bhd, said in a report today. “We are concerned about its longer term prospects as its associates continue to bleed and AirAsia reaches saturation point.” He downgraded the stock to “sell” from “neutral” and lowered his price target to 67 sen from RM1.10.

Global air travel declined for a second consecutive month in October, with the International Air Transport Association predicting worse to come with recessions in many parts of the world. The trade group represents more than 200 airlines. - Bloomberg

rizalhakim

December 1st, 2008, 08:53 AM

AirAsia tambah dua lagi penerbangan ihsan ke Bangkok

KUALA LUMPUR 30 Nov. - Syarikat penerbangan tambang murah AirAsia akan menambah dua lagi penerbangan ihsan esok dan Selasa untuk membawa penumpangnya yang terkandas di Bangkok, Thailand ke Malaysia.

Kenyataan yang dikeluarkan AirAsia di sini hari ini memberitahu, penerbangan AK886D akan berlepas dari Terminal Tambang Murah (LCCT) Sepang pada 4.45 petang dan dijangka mendarat di Lapangan Terbang U-tapao, Bangkok, pada pukul 5.30 petang waktu Thailand.

''Sementara itu, penerbangan dari U-tapao iaitu AK887D akan berlepas pada pukul 6 petang waktu Thailand dan mendarat di LCCT pada pukul 9.05 malam.

''Keutamaan akan diberikan kepada mereka yang terkandas di Bangkok sejak beberapa hari lalu,'' menurut kenyataan tersebut.

Tambah kenyataan itu, penumpang akan diterima berdasarkan baki tempat duduk dengan pesawat Airbus 320 yang mampu memuatkan 180 penumpang.

Katanya, dengan tambahan penerbangan itu, AirAsia setakat ini mengadakan lima penerbangan ihsan ke Bangkok membawa pulang rakyat Malaysia.

''Semua penumpang yang terlibat sudah dimaklumkan melalui telefon dan penumpang yang ingin mengikuti penerbangan AirAsia ke U-tapao boleh menghubungi talian kecemasan 24 jam AirAsia di +6625159999 di Bangkok atau +603-86604554 di Malaysia.

''Penumpang yang tiba di U-tapao akan dibawa dengan bas secara percuma ke bandar raya Bangkok, manakala penumpang yang menaiki penerbangan pulang ke Malaysia akan diberikan kemudahan bas perantara dari Novotel Bangna Bangkok, 333 Jalan Srinakarin, Bangkok,'' tambah kenyataan itu.

Menurut kenyataan itu lagi, memandangkan Lapangan Terbang U-tapao mempunyai kemudahan terhad, penumpang bagi penerbangan ke Kuala Lumpur perlu berhimpun di Novotel Bangna Bangkok pada pukul 10 pagi waktu Thailand bagi urusan daftar masuk.

''Penumpang dinasihatkan tidak pergi ke Lapangan Terbang U-tapao sendiri kerana kemudahan yang terhad di sana menyukarkan urusan daftar masuk pelanggan,'' kata kenyataan itu.

Kenyataan yang sama menambah, penumpang yang membeli insurans perjalanan AirAsia GoInsure Travel Protection dinasihatkan menghubungi talian bantuan perjalanan 24 jam AIG di nombor +603-27725622.

Talian tersebut adalah bagi bantuan penginapan atau membuat tuntutan.

nazrey

December 1st, 2008, 10:55 PM

AirAsia stock in record drop
Published: 2008/12/01

AIRASIA Bhd (5099), Southeast Asia’s biggest discount carrier, posted a record decline in Kuala Lumpur trading after reporting its first loss since going public in 2004.

The carrier slid 14 sen, or 12 per cent, to close at 98 sen, the second-worst performance on the benchmark Composite Index.

AirAsia lost money on trades held by the bankrupt Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc and on wrong-way bets on oil prices. Chief executive officer Datuk Seri Tony Fernandes also faces slowing travel demand at the airline’s Thailand hub, which has been paralysed by a week-long anti-government protest.

“It’s a sell,” Christopher Eng, an analyst at OSK Research Sdn Bhd, said in a report today. “We are concerned about its longer-term prospects as its associates continue to bleed and AirAsia reaches saturation point.”
He downgraded the stock to “sell” from “neutral” and lowered his price target to 67 sen from RM1.10.

Even after stripping out the one-time charges, AirAsia still recorded operating losses “significantly below” OSK’s estimates and consensus expectation, Eng said.

Sepang, Selangor state-based AirAsia posted a loss of RM465.5 million in the third quarter as it had a charge of RM215 million to cover costs from unwinding hedging contracts and the likely non-recovery of collateral for trades held by Lehman.

Thai Losses

Thai AirAsia Co, the airline’s Thai unit, had a loss of 250 million baht (US$7 million) as travellers shunned the country. AirAsia last week canceled all flights to the Thai capital after anti-government protesters stormed the main terminal of the city’s airport, closing it down.

Thai Airways International Pcl and Thai AirAsia were the biggest operators at Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi last year, accounting for 28 per cent and 12 per cent of commercial aircraft movements respectively, Airports of Thailand said on its Website. - Bloomberg

nazrey

December 1st, 2008, 11:02 PM

AirAsia to continue aggressive marketing
By Jeeva Arulampalam
Published: 2008/12/02

http://www.btimes.com.my/articles/jton02f/pix_topright

LOW-COST carrier AirAsia Bhd (5099) will continue to increase capacity and market its routes aggressively to ensure its revenue remains robust, said its top official.

Group chief executive officer Datuk Seri Tony Fernandes said with its additional flights to Singapore now, he was certain that Kuala Lumpur (KL) can grow to be the largest hub in Southeast Asia.

"Just today we had two passengers from Singapore who stopped over here before flying off to Langkawi. So the fear that Singapore will be attracting more passengers is baseless," he said.

AirAsia now has seven daily flights between KL and Singapore.
While Fernandes did not discount that its fourth quarter will be impacted by the current turmoil in Thailand, he said AirAsia's load factor was better due to its recent no-fuel surcharge initiative.

"In a time like this, we have to constantly find ways to stimulate the market instead of not doing anything," he said.

Fernandes said AirAsia had not seen a dip in forward bookings for flights to Bangkok.

"It is still quite strong. You have to remember that Thailand has gone through many difficulties and overcame it all," he added.

AirAsia has not flown in or out of Bangkok in the past six days after Thai authorities closed Suvarnabhumi International Airport after anti-government protesters storm the terminal.

It has sent two rescue flights today for passengers still caught there.

Fernandes said all 15 AirAsia planes located at the Suvarnabhumi airport are now residing in three other Thai airports.

AirAsia will add more flights surrounding the Bangkok hub (such as Phuket to KL) starting tomorrow.

Fernandes was speaking to reporters in conjunction with its first flight to India yesterday at the Low Cost Carrier Terminal, KL.

AirAsia has recorded 100 per cent load from December 1-18 for its flights from KL to Trichy while achieving 80 per cent load factor this month.

Fernandes said that AirAsia may consider increasing flights to Trichy.

"Definitely there is a demand for a second flight and we are looking at it. It's a matter of whether we put another flight to Trichy or look at another Indian destination," said Fernandes.

He said it was still viable for AirAsia and AirAsia X to fly to 10 Indian destinations, such as Bombay, New Delhi, Madras, and Tiruvananthapuram, within the next 18 months.

"There is strong demand because people arriving in KL can get (on connecting flights) to Bali, Phuket or Langkawi," he said, adding that its maiden flight to Trichy was already profitable.

OshHisham

December 2nd, 2008, 02:29 AM

AirAsia stock in record drop

AIRASIA Bhd (5099), Southeast Asia’s biggest discount carrier, posted a record decline in Kuala Lumpur trading after reporting its first loss since going public in 2004.

The carrier slid 14 sen, or 12 per cent, to close at 98 sen, the second-worst performance on the benchmark Composite Index.

98 sen?! wow...that's too low. why AA still waiting to take it private. now it's the best time...

rizalhakim

December 2nd, 2008, 04:43 AM

AirAsia to mount more rescue flights

PETALING JAYA: AirAsia will mount more rescue flights from Thailand’s U-Tapao Royal Thai Navy Airfield until Thursday to ferry stranded travellers back to Kuala Lumpur.

In a statement, the low-cost carrier announced that there would be one return flight from Bangkok (U-Tapao) to Kuala Lumpur and one from Phuket to Kuala Lumpur return flight today.

Guests arriving at U-Tapao will be transported by bus to Suan Lum Night Bazaar in central Bangkok free of charge.

Meanwhile, guests flying back to Kuala Lumpur will be provided complimentary bus pick-up to U-Tapao from BITEC (Bangkok International Trade and Exhibition Centre) in Bangna, Bangkok.

Guests were advised to assemble at BITEC for check-in as U-Tapao did not have the facilities to perform check-in procedures for guests.

The statement said affected guests had been notified by phone but could go to the nearest AirAsia sales desks or contact the airlines’ sales counters at +66 53 904 800 to 803 (Chiang Mai Airport), +66 53 234 645 (Thaphae Road, Chiang Mai), +66 76 327 601 / 602 (Phuket).

Guests can also call their dedicated 24-hour emergency hotlines at +662-515 9999 in Bangkok or +603-8660 4554 in Malaysia.

rizalhakim

December 2nd, 2008, 09:25 AM

AirAsia sasar terbang ke 10 destinasi di India

SEPANG 1 Dis. - Syarikat penerbangan tambang murah, AirAsia Bhd. yakin memperoleh 10 kelulusan untuk mendarat di India dalam tempoh 18 bulan akan datang.

Ketua Pegawai Eksekutifnya, Datuk Seri Tony Fernandes berkata, keyakinan itu adalah berdasarkan sokongan dan hubungan baik dengan pihak berkuasa India.

Katanya, faktor muatan 100 peratus telah dicatatkan oleh AirAsia untuk laluan Kuala Lumpur - Tiruchirappalli (Trichy) pada 1 hingga 18 hingga Disember ini.

''Kami berasa bangga dengan peningkatan faktor muatan untuk destinasi yang baru ini dan bercadang menambahkan kekerapan pada masa depan," katanya selepas majlis menyambut penerbangan pertama dari Trichy, India ke Kuala Lumpur, di sini hari ini.

Turut hadir, Pesuruhjaya Tinggi India di Malaysia, Ashok K. Kantha.

AirAsia menawarkan penerbangan terus harian ke Trichy dari Terminal Syarikat Penerbangan Tambang Murah (LCCT) dengan menggunakan Airbus, A320 yang mampu membawa 180 penumpang.

Menurut Fernandes, pihaknya berhasrat membuat penerbangan yang kedua ke India, sama ada ke Trichy atau destinasi lain di negara itu, berikutan permintaan yang besar diterima daripada penduduk Malaysia dan India.

''Kami yakin sasaran itu mampu dicapai berdasarkan sambutan baik seperti mana di 12 destinasi di China yang dilakukan dalam tempoh 18 bulan," ujarnya.

Mengulas tentang operasi di Thailand, beliau mengesahkan operasi semasa kurang terjejas walaupun telah menghentikan perkhidmatan ke negara itu selama enam hari.

''Kami tidak akan membiarkan isu politik semasa di Thailand atau malapetaka termasuk tsunami dan jangkitan SARS (Sindrom Penafasan Akut Teruk) mengganggu operasi kami dan kehidupan rakyat, orang ramai masih ingin melancong," jelasnya,

Ditanya sama ada AirAsia akan memulangkan semula tambang bagi penumpang yang membatal penerbangan ke Thailand, Fernandes berkata, pihaknya akan memberi kredit yang boleh digunakan kemudian.

''Namun, kebanyakan penumpang hanya menukarkan tarikh penerbangan mereka manakala penumpang yang membeli GoInsure pula boleh membuat tuntutan mendapat bayaran balik," katanya.

Ditanya mengenai lindung nilai terhadap ringgit berikutan kerugian pertama syarikat penerbangan tambang murah tersebut disebabkan kadar mata wang tempatan yang rendah berbanding dolar Amerika Syarikat (AS), beliau berkata, naik turun nilai mata wang itu di luar kawalannya.

Fernandes berkata:''Kami tidak risau dengan prestasi kewangan tetapi apa yang bakal berlaku dalam tempoh lima tahun lagi. Kami mempunyai matlamat untuk menjadikan LCCT sebagai lapangan terbang terbesar di Asia Tenggara

''Operasi perniagaan masih berjalan seperti biasa dan kami masih optimis (mengenai masa depan) kerana kami mempunyai produk yang sangat baik," ujarnya.

AirAsia mencatat kerugian selepas cukai sebanyak RM466 juta bagi sembilan bulan pertama tahun kewangan berakhir 30 September 2008 berbanding keuntungan selepas cukai sebanyak RM180 juta untuk tempoh yang sama tahun sebelumnya.

londonbased

December 2nd, 2008, 10:25 PM

lesart

December 2nd, 2008, 11:04 PM

Today, Saw few adverts in London Underground platforms promoting cheap Air Asia X KL-Lon/Lon-KL ticket. Does it going to fly direct to London or stop somewhere in between?been trying to book the ticket from London to KL for 2009 but the website kept telling me the tickets were sold out. would like to try in the future trip to KL.

^^

They will start the London-KL from March 11, 2009 onwards. If you try any dates earlier than that, it will be listed as "not available and fully booked"

londonbased

December 3rd, 2008, 09:53 AM

they advertised £179 single.

Arkdriver

December 3rd, 2008, 01:19 PM

likely non stop flight. That's why they used A340. Leased from ILFC.

rgen

December 4th, 2008, 10:51 AM

they advertised £179 single.

i think it's because the £99 ticket has already finished

rgen

December 4th, 2008, 10:52 AM

this advert war is so funny

http://img166.imageshack.us/img166/3834/mas25reasonsadsmallak1.jpg

http://img166.imageshack.us/img166/138/airasiareasonau9.gif

TWK90

December 4th, 2008, 11:02 AM

^^

Ad wars are always fun to watch...

OshHisham

December 4th, 2008, 11:37 AM

isn't it an old ad? bcoz the 'AirAsia' wording had already changed.

Zulhelmi

December 4th, 2008, 12:21 PM

isn't it an old ad? bcoz the 'AirAsia' wording had already changed.
I thought the same too.

nazrey

December 4th, 2008, 03:31 PM

AirAsia To Strengthen Brand In Global Mart
December 04, 2008 20:11 PM

KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 4 (Bernama) -- Low-cost carrier, AirAsia Bhd, will continue to invest in advertising to strengthen its brand in the global market.

Its group chief executive officer, Datuk Seri Tony Fernandes, said AirAsia would improve its services and continue to be innovative in order to become a premium low-cost carrier.

"We are not going to cut spending on advertising. In fact, we will increase it. My next goal is to make AirAsia as good as a premium carrier," he told a media briefing at the two-day Global Brand Forum Malaysia here, Thursday.

Fernandes said the airline would not change its model but would supplement it where possible.

"Our branding statement for 2009 is that we are not just a low-cost carrier," he said.

On whether AirAsia has any plans for merger and acquisition, Fernandes said the airline would continue to grow organically.

He said AirAsia expected a fantastic fourth quarter.

"By removing the fuel surcharge, the carrier has managed to enhance its growth," he said.

Earlier, Fernandes received the Brand Icon Award for his achievement in the airline industry from Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak.

Najib said Fernandes was a creative man, an entrepreneur, a man with vision and above all a man who made it happen.

"He has raised Malaysia's standard in the global arena. I hope someday I can fly with AirAsia," he said.

Others who had received the award were Al Gore, former US Vice President and Jimmy Wales, founder of Wikipedia.

-- BERNAMA

rizalhakim

December 5th, 2008, 02:52 AM

AirAsia to increase ad spending: CEO
Published: 2008/12/05

LOW-cost carrier AirAsia Bhd (5099) will continue to invest in advertising to strengthen its brand in the global market.

Group chief executive officer Datuk Seri Tony Fernandes said AirAsia would improve its services and continue to be innovative to become a premium low-cost carrier.

“We are not going to cut spending on advertising. In fact, we will increase it. My next goal is to make AirAsia as good as a premium carrier,” he told a media briefing at the two-day Global Brand Forum Malaysia in Kuala Lumpur yesterday.

Fernandes said the airline would not change its model but would supplement it where possible.

“Our branding statement for 2009 is that we are not just a low-cost carrier,” he said.

On whether AirAsia has any plans for merger and acquisition, Fernandes said the airline would continue to grow organically.

AirAsia expects a fantastic fourth quarter, he said.

“By removing the fuel surcharge, the carrier has managed to enhance its growth,” he said.

Earlier, Fernandes received the Brand Icon Award for his achievement in the airline industry from Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak.

Najib said Fernandes is a creative man, an entrepreneur, a man with vision and above all a man who made it happen.

“He has raised Malaysia’s standard in the global arena. I hope someday I can fly with AirAsia,” he said.

Others who had received the award were Al Gore, former US Vice President and Jimmy Wales, founder of Wikipedia. — Bernama

rizalhakim

December 5th, 2008, 02:56 AM

AirAsia to raise adex by up to 20% next year

http://biz.thestar.com.my/archives/2008/12/5/business/b_01najib.jpg
SERI KEMBANGAN: AirAsia Bhd will continue to increase its advertising expenditure (adex) by 15% to 20% next year, said chief executive officer Datuk Seri Tony Fernandes.

“We generally find that sales will increase by the same percentage or more,” he told reporters yesterday after receiving the Malaysian Brand Icon Award 2008 from Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak at the Global Brand Forum.

“Now is not the time to cut advertising because we need to stay ahead of the competition. People will still fly and some may be converted to use AirAsia because of the financial crisis. You are smart if you take AirAsia so that you have more money in your wallet when you arrive at your destination.”

On the company’s recent promotional campaign to fly to London, he said the airline had sold 25,000 tickets in the first three days and 44% of the purchasers were Britons.

Datuk Seri Tony Fernandes (right) receiving the award from Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak. With them is Global Brand Forum founding chairman Karthik Siva.

“We believe we can fly five times to London, like a commuter service. When I increase my frequency, my cost goes down because I have more seats,” he said.

On his next goal, he said AirAsia would be raising the bar by enhancing its service level further next year.

“Just watch. In 2009, we will be as good as Singapore Airlines (SIA). I’m not changing my business model but will supplement our model. We will compete with the full service carrier.

“From day one, we have been global and when it comes to global branding, there are some steps to take. Partner with the big global brands, be accessible to the media. Be innovative, believe in people and in yourself.”

Meanwhile, another speaker, former Procter & Gamble chief marketing officer Jim Stengel said marketers should replace the 4P’s of marketing – product, packaging, price and promotion – with the 5M’s.

The 5M’s are:

Make your brand ideals your foundation;

Master the power of inclusive marketing;

Manage people, not objectives;

Mission drives margins; and

Measure what matters.

OshHisham

December 5th, 2008, 05:57 AM

advertising expenditure (adex) ----->>hehe, first time i heard that word, 'adex'

good! this is what Korean Chaebol always do....focusing on advertising. :applause:

OshHisham

December 5th, 2008, 06:00 AM

http://biz.thestar.com.my/archives/2008/12/5/business/b_01najib.jpg

“Just watch. In 2009, we will be as good as Singapore Airlines (SIA). I’m not changing my business model but will supplement our model. We will compete with the full service carrier.

i think Mr. Fernandez wanna ejek Idris Jala, huh? :D

rizalhakim

December 5th, 2008, 08:37 AM

AirAsia privatisation not taking off
by Thomas Soon
Email us your feedback at fd@bizedge.com

KUALA LUMPUR: AirAsia Bhd’s proposed privatisation is not taking off as its major shareholder Tune Air Sdn Bhd has been hampered by limited financing options due to the global credit crunch.

Sources told The Edge Financial Daily that the global credit crunch and economic slowdown, which have seen most of the developed world slipping into recession, had made it difficult for Tune Air to raise money for the purpose.

It is learnt that certain investors who were initially keen to take part in the proposed privatisation of the low-cost carrier had also turned bearish, deciding now not to proceed with it. The stock fell two sen to 96.5 sen, with 1.6 million shares done, yesterday.

This latest news comes after AirAsia announced last week its first quarterly loss since going public in 2004, losing money on trades held by bankrupt Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc and on wrong-way bets on oil prices.

AirAsia posted a loss of RM465.5 million in the third quarter as it had a charge of RM215 million to cover costs from unwinding hedging contracts and the likely non-recovery of collateral for trades held by Lehman.

As recently as Nov 25, AirAsia chief executive Datuk Seri Tony Fernandes still considered the privatisation of the carrier “definitely an option”.

It had been reported that the privatisation would have cost Tune Air up to RM2.2 billion. Tune Air has a 30.72% stake in AirAsia. The Employees Provident Fund has a direct 8.92% stake in AirAsia (211.71 million shares) and an indrect stake of 0.04% (one million shares).

Its other substantial shareholders are T Rowe Price Associates with 6.01% (142.79 million shares) and Nomad Investment Partners 5.83% (138.4 million shares).

On Nov 17, AirAsia said Tune Air was still in the midst of negotiating the terms and conditions with financial institutions and other potential investors to fund the privatisation of the carrier.

In a deviation from the norm and in a rare display of transparency among Malaysian corporates, AirAsia caused a stir when it first announced on Oct 10 that Tune Air was mulling the option of privatising the carrier at an indicative price of about RM1.35 per share.

AirAsia had cautioned that the option was “subject to the availability of financing on acceptable terms from financial institutions and other potential investors in these challenging times, as well as a conducive market and industry conditions”.

It was then replying to a Bursa Malaysia Securities Bhd query on a The Edge weekly article that its controlling shareholders may take it private. Listed in November 2004, its initial public offer to institutional and retail investors were priced at RM1.25 and RM1.16, respectively.

Despite encountering slowing global demand for air traffic, AirAsia has been expanding its flights and extending its reach regionally, as part of its strategy to garner market share that will put it in good stead over the longer term. A saving grace has been the drastic decline in global oil prices.

Its Thailand operations was recently hit by civil unrest after anti-government protestors stormed and took control of Bangkok airport’s main terminal. Flights will resume today, ending the week-long civil demonstrations.

rizalhakim

December 5th, 2008, 09:34 AM

AirAsia sambung penerbangan ke Bangkok

AIRASIA menyambung semula penerbangan komersialnya ke Bangkok mulai hari ini, berikutan pembukaan semula Lapangan Terbang Antarabangsa Suvarnabhumi di ibu negara Thailand itu.

AirAsia melakukan penerbangan ihsan mengeluarkan penumpangnya yang terkandas dari Bangkok ke Kuala Lumpur sejak 28 November melalui pangkalan laut U-Tapao.

AirAsia menasihati penumpangnya yang menerima kesan pembatalan itu bahawa mereka akan menerima satu tanda kredit yang boleh digunakan untuk menempah penerbangan AirAsia yang baru.

“Tanda kredit itu perlu ditebus dalam tempoh tiga bulan bagi perjalanan masa depan ke sebarang destinasi AirAsia kecuali bagi penerbangan AirAsia X,” katanya.

rizalhakim

December 5th, 2008, 09:45 AM

AirAsia says buyout still an option
Published: 2008/12/05

AIRASIA Bhd, Southeast Asia's biggest discount airline, said a takeover by the carrier's largest shareholder is among several alternatives being considered after the Edge reported a buyout had been scrapped.

``It's still an option that's there, as are other options,'' chief executive officer Datuk Seri Tony Fernandes, who owns about 20 per cent of AirAsia, said in an interview with Bloomberg Television today in Kuala Lumpur. He said any bid had always been ``subject to market conditions.''

Fernandes and AirAsia's other major shareholders in October said they may buy the airline as its stock dropped toward its original listing price of 2004. While Malaysian Airline System Bhd and Singapore Airlines Ltd are cutting routes, AirAsia is expanding and buying more aircraft, raising concerns it's adding too much capacity amid a global recession.

``Airlines are a risky business,'' said Damien Horth, an analyst at UBS AG in Hong Kong. ``It seems strange to be attempting a leveraged buyout, which adds further risk.'' He has a ``sell'' rating on AirAsia stock.

AirAsia on October 7 said Tune Air Sdn Bhd, its major shareholder, may buy all AirAsia shares and de-list the carrier. Tune Air, whose shareholders include Fernandes, owns about 31 per cent of AirAsia, according to Bloomberg data. The ``indicative'' price for a buyout was RM1.35 a share, AirAsia said at the time.

The shares today dropped as much as 6.7 per cent to 90 sen and traded at 91 sen at 11:02 am in Kuala Lumpur, valuing the Sepang, Malaysia-based carrier at RM2.16 billion (US$593 million).

`Record Quarter'

Fernandes said there's no sign demand is waning in the economic slowdown. The carrier as of October 31 had taken delivery of 52 of the 175 single-aisle aircraft it's ordered from Airbus SAS. Fernandes started the airline in 2001 with two airplanes.

``We will have a record fourth quarter,'' he said, without saying by which measure. ``We're not seeing any downturn in passenger numbers. People still want to travel.''

January bookings are ``very strong'' and those for February ``look good,'' he said.

AirAsia last week reported its first loss since becoming publicly traded due to charges related to foreign-exchange fluctuations and fuel hedging.

The RM465.5 million loss in the three months to September 30 compared with a profit of RM180 million a year earlier. Sales in the period rose 43 per cent to RM658.5 million. - Bloomberg

nazrey

December 5th, 2008, 09:19 PM

Tune Air confirms inability to get funding for AirAsia privatisation
05-12-2008:

KUALA LUMPUR: AirAsia Bhd has confirmed that its major shareholder Tune Air Sdn Bhd has been unable to secure financing to fund the privatisation of the low-cost carrier.

AirAsia said on Dec 5 that it had been informed by Tune Air that the latter was “unable to secure financing on acceptable terms and conditions from financial institutions to fund the potential privatisation.”

“Hence, Tune Air is unable to form a firm intention to proceed with the potential privatisation exercise of AirAsia,” it said in a statement released via Bursa Malaysia’s website.

This confirms The Edge Financial Daily report that AirAsia’s proposed privatisation was not taking off as Tune Air had been hampered by limited financing options due to the global credit crunch.

Sources had told the publication that the global economic slowdown, which have seen most of the developed world slipping into recession, had made it difficult for Tune Air to raise money for the purpose.

It was also reported that certain investors who were initially keen to take part in the privatisation of the budget carrier had also turned bearish, deciding now not to proceed with it. The stock fell another five sen to 91.5 sen on Dec 5.

nazrey

December 7th, 2008, 04:56 PM

AirAsia: No financing
Published: 2008/12/06

Budget carrier AirAsia Bhd said no firm intention has been formed to proceed with its proposed privatisation exercise.

It told Bursa Malaysia in a filing yesterday that major shareholder Tune Air Sdn Bhd could not secure financing on acceptable terms and conditions from financial institutions to fund the exercise.

It has been reported earlier that it would have cost Tune Air between RM2.14 billion and RM2.22 billion to buy the remaining stake in the airline that it does not own.

Tune Air now holds a 30.72 per cent stake in AirAsia.

nazrey

December 8th, 2008, 12:33 AM

AirAsia X: Airlines with strong models will survive
By Jeeva Arulampalam
Published: 2008/12/08

http://www.btimes.com.my/articles/jpol-2/pix_middle

AIRLINES with the strongest business modesl, be it in the low-cost or premium markets, will be the ones that will survive the current financial market turmoil, says the head of long-haul budget carrier AirAsia X Sdn Bhd.

The turmoil has forced 25 airline carriers to close down so far this year, and many others to cut routes and ground aircraft to mitigate its impact.

"What you are going to see is that the airline industry will polarise (during this crisis), like what we are witnessing in many other industries. The strong premium ones and the strong mass market ones will survive," chief executive officer Azran-Osman Rani told Business Times in an interview recently.

Azran-Osman said airlines caught in between these two categories will suffer as they neither have the strength and scale of a premium airline nor do they have the pricing cost-structure of a low-cost carrier.

Standard & Poor's Equity Research analyst Shukor Yusof agrees that given the on-going financial climate, only the carriers with the right business model will survive while the weak ones will file for bankruptcy next year.

"Airlines due to be hit are those that have been struggling even when conditions were favourable. There are several in emerging markets like Indonesia and Thailand," he said.

While the price of jet fuel has eased tremendously to US$72.2 per barrel as at November 28 2008, it is still considered high for airlines to manage. They also have to deal with decreasing passenger travel and financing difficulties.

Shukor added that budget carriers such as AirAsia and Singapore's Tiger Airways will make it through the rough patch as passenger movements for them remain healthy.

As for Malaysia Airlines (MAS), OSK Research SdnBhd acting head Chris Eng believes that the national carrier can weather the downturn as it provides for both the premium and low-fare market segments.

"Also, MAS is in better stead when compared with Thai Airways because MAS is driven by outbound traffic in terms of Malaysians going overseas, while Thai Airways is dependent on in-bound flights," he said.

rizalhakim

December 9th, 2008, 03:49 AM

AirAsia falls to 4-month low
Published: 2008/12/09

AIRASIA Bhd, (5099) Southeast Asia’s biggest discount airline, fell to the lowest in four months in Kuala Lumpur trading after a group led by Chief Executive Officer Tony Fernandes scrapped a buyout plan.

The carrier dropped as much as 3.8 per cent to 88 sen and traded at 90.5 sen at 9.48 am, valuing it at RM2.15 billion (US$593 million). Malaysia’s main index advanced 1.4 per cent.

Fernandes-backed Tune Air Sdn Bhd, AirAsia’s largest shareholder, dropped the takeover bid after failing to raise funds because of deteriorating credit markets, AirAsia said on December 5.

The carrier’s stock, down 43 per cent this year and trading below the 2004 listing price, may fall further without the prospects of an offer, said OSK Research Sdn Bhd.

“The share price may come under selling pressure in the near term,” Ng Sem Guan, a Kuala Lumpur-based OSK analyst, said in a report today. The outlook for the airline industry is “bleak.” Ng rates the carrier “sell.”

Tune Air had signaled an “indicative” price of RM1.35 a share for the buyout. The company owns about 31 per cent of AirAsia, according to Bloomberg data.

AirAsia last month reported its first loss since becoming publicly traded after charges related to foreign-exchange fluctuations and fuel hedging.

The Malaysian stock market was closed yesterday because of a national holiday. - Bloomberg

nazrey

December 9th, 2008, 06:51 AM

Tune Air's move not a surprise: OSK
Published: 2008/12/09

The research house maintains a 'sell' call on AirAsia with a target price of 67 sen

OSK Research Sdn Bhd said it was not surprised by Tune Air Sdn Bhd's recent move to call off plans to privatise AirAsia Bhd.

Tune Air is the low-cost carrier's (LCC) largest single shareholder.

"We do not agree that the AirAsia stock was undervalued (in the first place), thus the termination of the privatisation does not come as a surprise," it wrote in a report yesterday.

It expects the LCC's share price to come under selling pressure in the near future.

"While we expect AirAsia to return to profitability in the fourth quarter, which is traditionally its strongest, the collapse of jet fuel prices and unwinding of its fuel hedge position will weigh on its performance.

"2009 will (also) be a tough year as the economic downturn will see some passengers grounded even as the carrier may gain slightly from consumer downtrading," it said, maintaining a "sell" recommendation on AirAsia with a target price of 67 sen.

rizalhakim

December 9th, 2008, 08:37 AM

Sweeten booking for customers, AirAsia told
By ANN TAN

GEORGE TOWN: Cash rebates or vouchers should be offered to AirAsia customers who made bookings prior to the introduction of the airline’s “no fuel surcharge” programme.

Tanjung MCA division public complaints bureau chief Lim Cheng Hee, who is the party’s New Komtar branch chairman, said it was only fair to those who booked before the fuel surcharge was scrapped on Nov 11.

“We are aware of the terms and conditions but if AirAsia wanted to encourage its customers to make such early bookings, they should compensate them with vouchers or rebates,” he said at a press conference at the state MCA headquarters in Pahang Road on Monday

rizalhakim

December 9th, 2008, 09:01 AM

TuneAir unable to secure acceptable financing

AIRASIA Bhd’s major shareholder Tune Air Sdn Bhd is not proceeding with the potential privatisation of the low-cost carrier as it is unable to secure acceptable financing.

AirAsia said yesterday it was informed by Tune Air that due to the tight credit market conditions, it was unable to secure financing on acceptable terms and conditions from financial institutions to fund the potential privatisation exercise of AirAsia.

“Hence, Tune Air is unable to form a firm intention to proceed with the potential privatisation exercise of AirAsia,” it said.

The share price closed five sen lower to 91.5 sen yesterday.

Earlier, Bloomberg reported that a takeover by Tune Air was among several alternatives being considered after a local newspaper reported a buyout had been scrapped.

“It’s still an option that’s there, as are other options,’’ chief executive officer Datuk Seri Tony Fernandes, who owns about 20% of AirAsia, said in an interview with Bloomberg Television yesterday.

He said any bid had always been “subject to market conditions’’.

Fernandes and AirAsia’s other major shareholders in October said they might buy the airline as its stock dropped towards its original listing price of 2004.

While Malaysian Airline System Bhd and Singapore Airlines Ltd are cutting routes, AirAsia is expanding and buying more aircraft, raising concerns it is adding too much capacity amid a global recession.

“Airlines are a risky business,’’ said Damien Horth, an analyst with UBS AG in Hong Kong. “It seems strange to be attempting a leveraged buyout, which adds further risk.’’ He has a “sell’’ rating on AirAsia stock.

AirAsia on Oct 7 said Tune Air might buy all AirAsia shares and de-list the carrier. Tune Air, whose shareholders include Fernandes, owns about 31% of AirAsia, according to Bloomberg data.

The “indicative’’ price for a buyout was RM1.35 a share, AirAsia said at the time.

Fernandes said there was no sign demand was waning in the economic slowdown.

The carrier, as at Oct 31, had taken delivery of 52 of the 175 single-aisle aircraft it has ordered from Airbus SAS.

Fernandes started the airline in 2001 with two airplanes.

“We will have a record fourth quarter,’’ he said, without saying by which measure. We’re not seeing any downturn in passenger numbers. People still want to travel.’’

January bookings are “very strong’’ and those for February “look good,’’ he said.

AirAsia last week reported its first loss since becoming publicly traded due to charges related to foreign-exchange fluctuations and fuel hedging.

The company incurred RM465.5mil loss in the three months to Sept 30 compared with a profit of RM180mil a year earlier. Sales in the period rose 43% to RM658.5mil. — Bloomberg

World 2 World

December 9th, 2008, 11:20 AM

Air Asia X London. nice video!!!:cheers:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fy4E0Ou917g

Air Asia A330 new cabin

http://nl.youtube.com/watch?v=5bsiozGlutg

nazrey

December 9th, 2008, 06:17 PM

AirAsia lowest since July 16
Published: 2008/12/09

AIRASIA Bhd (5099), Southeast Asia’s biggest discount airline, fell to the lowest in four months in Kuala Lumpur trading after a group led by chief executive officer Datuk Seri Tony Fernandes scrapped a buyout plan.

The carrier fell 4 sen, or 3.8 per cent, to 88 sen, its lowest close since July 16.

Fernandes-backed Tune Air Sdn Bhd, AirAsia’s largest shareholder, dropped the takeover bid after failing to raise funds because of deteriorating credit markets, AirAsia said on December 5.

Tune Air had signaled an “indicative” price of RM1.35 a share for the buyout. The company owns about 31 per cent of AirAsia, according to Bloomberg data.

AirAsia last month reported its first loss since becoming publicly traded after charges related to foreign-exchange fluctuations and fuel hedging.

The Malaysian stock market was closed yesterday because of a national holiday. - Bloomberg

nazrey

December 9th, 2008, 06:18 PM

rizalhakim

December 10th, 2008, 09:57 AM

AirAsia shares down 4% on news of stalled privatisation
by Chong Jin Hun
Email us your feedback at fd@bizedge.com

http://www.theedgedaily.com/cms/storage/images/com.tms.cms.image.Image_1eae162e-cb73c03a-19ccba00-c12c9a45/1/Air_Asia.jpg

KUALA LUMPUR: Shares of AirAsia Bhd fell 3.8% or 3.5 sen to 88 sen yesterday on news that the low-cost carrier’s (LCC) privatisation has stalled. The stock, which saw 4.06 million units done, could face selling pressure in the near future amid a bleak outlook on the aviation sector, according to analysts.

“We do not agree that AirAsia is undervalued, thus, the termination of the privatisation does not come as a surprise. The pullout of its major shareholder from the proposed privatisation certainly spells disaster for the company’s share price in the near future,” OSK Research wrote in a note yesterday.

“We also believe that financing became more difficult after the company reported a huge quarterly loss that was exacerbated by a writedown of its derivatives position held with Lehman Brothers Holdings, unrealised foreign exchange losses and losses from the unwinding of its fuel hedges, which we are still not convinced should be treated as an exceptional item,” it said while reiterating a sell on AirAsia shares with an unchanged target price of 67 sen.

The stock, which was initially traded at RM1.16 apiece on Bursa Malaysia in November 2004, touched its one-year high of RM1.91 on Dec 10, 2007, and sank to a low of 79 sen on June 24, 2008.

News of AirAsia’s privatisation surfaced in October after The Edge reported that Tune Air might take the LCC private. AirAsia, in its reply to the exchange query then, had indicated that Tune Air, which owns 30.8% of airline, was considering acquiring all the shares it did not own in the aviation entity at RM1.35 apiece.

AirAsia announced that Tune Air was in talks with financial institutions and potential investors to secure funds for the planned privatisation. Last Friday, the LCC told the bourse that the privatisation had stalled as Tune Air was unable to obtain financing from financial institutions due to tight credit market conditions.

The outlook for AirAsia remains gloomy, said OSK Research. While it expected AirAsia to return to profitability in the financial year (FY) 2008’s fourth quarter (4Q) which was traditionally its strongest quarter, declining jet fuel prices and unwinding of its fuel hedge position would have downward pressure on the LCC’s performance.

Meanwhile, Aseambankers Research said a key advantage for AirAsia since 2004 has been Malaysia Airline System Bhd’s (MAS) rising ticket prices.

“Price differentials have narrowed considerably in 2008, and could be neutralised or even reversed from 1QFY09 as MAS continues to remove unnecessary costs from its fixed-cost structure,” it added.

A weaker global economic outlook does not augur well for airlines either, noted Aseambankers, which also maintained its sell call with an unchanged fair value of 71 sen for AirAsia shares.

rizalhakim

December 12th, 2008, 08:38 AM

What's next for AirAsia?
By Doreen Leong
Email us your feedback at fd@bizedge.com

Many were sceptical when news of AirAsia Bhd's proposed privatisation surfaced. Thus, it does not come as a surprise that the budget carrier has not been able to convince investors to participate in the buyout of the company.
Investors who were initially said to be keen on the buyout have backed out, probably spooked by the current economic turmoil that has taken a toll on travel demand.
In an announcement last Friday, AirAsia confirmed a report in The Edge Financial Daily that its privatisation exercise was not taking off. It said its major shareholder Tune Air Sdn Bhd had notified the company that due to the tight credit market conditions, it was unable to secure financing on acceptable terms and conditions from financial institutions to fund the potential privatisation exercise of AirAsia.
This latest development in the failed privatisation talks comes after AirAsia announced its first quarterly loss since going public in 2004. The loss was exacerbated by its exposure to derivatives held by the now-bankrupt Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc and by foreign exchange losses.
Analysts are still at a loss to explain Air*Asia's accounting treatment of the derivatives and the losses incurred.
For many, AirAsia's hedging strategy has been a point of contention. Some believe the budget carrier is speculating on oil due to its complex hedging contracts. But group CEO Datuk Seri Tony Fernandes has explained it is not speculating, but merely seeking stability in prices.
What is puzzling are the massive hedging losses incurred in the airline's 3Q results. For one, Fernandes had earlier told analysts that AirAsia was not hedged after June this year. But the results for the 3Q (between July and September) say otherwise.
"It entered into some hedging contracts at prices of between US$70 and US$92 per barrel in the earlier quarters. It took a decision to liquidate its position when oil prices started to tumble below US$90. If it had not liquidated its position, AirAsia would have run out of cash from margin calls," says a source.
In terms of performance, some losses can be expected in 4Q but not as massive as in 3Q, say sources. On the whole, AirAsia's 4Q results will likely be better than a year ago.
"In 4Q2007, oil cost for AirAsia was about US$100 per barrel and it made a net profit of RM202 million. This year, in 4Q, oil prices are at about US$60 per barrel and AirAsia would have added an average of over 30% capacity this year," says a source familiar with the company.
Despite the setbacks, Fernandes has not given up hope of taking the company private. In response to an article in The Edge Financial Daily, Fernandes was quoted by Bloom*berg as saying a buyout by Tune Air was still an option.
But getting investors to put in huge capital outlays to fund the buyout may not be easy. Investors who are already reeling from losses from collapsing financial markets may not have the stomach to go along with AirAsia's contrarian approach in tackling slowing traffic demand.
Fernandes has repeatedly said AirAsia will continue to take delivery of its planes and grow its network while many other airlines are cutting capacity.
Anyway, he seems to have no choice but to grow AirAsia's network and offer cheap fares to spur travel demand. The budget carrier has huge commitments as it has a firm order of 175 Airbus 320 planes up to 2014. It is taking delivery of 23 A320s in 2008 and 19 in 2009.
Alternatively, the debt market is not a viable option, given AirAsia's high gearing level. Analysts' concerns have always centred on the health of AirAsia's balance sheet. They reckon that the airline, which has net debt of RM3.5 billion, may find it tough to secure financing for its expansion amidst the current turmoil.
While the privatisation of AirAsia remains a possibility, some analysts believe the poor prospects for the budget carrier outweigh the positive news of privatisation.
"Even as we see AirAsia returning to profitability, we are concerned about its long-term prospects as its associates continue to bleed and AirAsia reaches saturation point in Malaysia," OSK Investment Research says in a recent report.
AirAsia posted a net loss of RM465.5 million in 3QFY2008 ended Sept 30, as it had a charge of RM215 million to cover costs from the unwinding of hedging contracts and the likely non-recovery of collateral for trades held by Lehman.
Even after stripping out these exceptional losses, OSK says AirAsia posted RM76.5 million of operating core losses, which are significantly below its expectations.
"In addition, we are not certain if the losses incurred from the unwinding of its fuel hedges should be treated as an exceptional item. Other items to be concerned about are its net gearing of 307% and amounts outstanding from its loss-making associates, which now total RM244 million," the research house adds.
That said, most analysts remain cautious on the outlook for the aviation sector as most airlines will face a tough year in 2009 as competition intensifies in a slowing economy.
The recent second consecutive month of global traffic decline confirms the bleak outlook for the industry. The International Air Transport Association (IATA) recently announced that international air traffic for October has declined by 1.3% compared to the same month a year ago — a smaller decline than the 2.9% drop experienced in September.
The load factor in October was down 2% to 75%, compared to the previous year's level. IATA's director-general and CEO Giovanni Bisignani expects the gloom to continue and while the drop in oil prices is a relief, recession is now the biggest threat to the profitability of airlines.

rizalhakim

December 15th, 2008, 07:58 AM

Pikom nobat AirAsia organisasi ICT cemerlang

PERSATUAN Industri Komputer dan Multimedia Malaysia (Pikom) menobatkan syarikat penerbangan tambang murah, AirAsia Bhd sebagai pemegang Anugerah Organisasi ICT Cemerlang.

Anugerah berkenaan diterima Ketua Pegawai Eksekutif AirAsia, Datuk Seri Tony Fernandes daripada Menteri Sains, Teknologi dan Inovasi, Datuk Dr Maximus Ongkili di Kuala Lumpur, baru-baru ini.

Tony berkata, kebijaksanaan pihaknya dalam membangunkan teknologi maklumat dan komunikasi (ICT) itu membuka peluang lebih luas kepada AirAsia berbanding syarikat penerbangan lain.

“Dengan penggunaan ICT, kami menawarkan pilihan tempahan penerbangan kepada lebih 50 juta pelanggan secara lebih inovatif.

“Laman web kami airasia.com dan tempahan secara selular melalui mobile.airasia.com yang kedua-duanya dibangunkan dengan ICT, mampu menawarkan jutaan kemudahan hanya menerusi ‘hujung jari’ kepada semua pengembara seluruh dunia,” katanya.

Katanya lagi, peruntukan AirAsia dalam penggunaan teknologi ini menyumbang kepada pertumbuhan perniagaan syarikat berkenaan lebih memberangsangkan.

“Semua sektor kami kini dibangunkan dengan ICT dan ia menjadikan perkhidmatan kami lebih cepat. Lebih 80 peratus penempahan penerbangan kami adalah menerusi Internet,” katanya.

nazrey

December 16th, 2008, 08:49 PM

AirAsia Offers 100,000 Free Seats In Massive Regional Campaign
December 16, 2008 20:32 PM

KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 16 (Bernama) -- AirAsia is offering 100,000 free seats from its hubs primarily in Malaysia (Kuala Lumpur, Johor), Thailand (Bangkok) and Indonesia (Jakarta) in its massive regional marketing campaign as part of its initiative to support Thailand's travel, trade and tourism.

The campaign, aptly themed "Get Your Baht To Thailand", "Mai Pen Rai Thailand" and "Same Same Thailand".

The Thailand tourism sector has been severely affected by the declining number of visitors due to the recent political upheaval.

This proactive campaign, initiated by the "People's Airline", is a joint collaboration between AirAsia and Tourism Authority of Thailand to bring back tourists and businessmen by reinstating the core message that it is now safe to travel back to the country.

In a statement Tuesday, AirAsia Group Chief Executive Officer Datuk Seri Tony Fernandes said the airline hoped this campaign will instil confidence among travellers and help boost tourism.

"With close to 800 domestic and international flights weekly to and from various points in Thailand, we are more than confident the country's tourism will bounce back," he said.

The 100,000 free seats allocation include all international flights on AirAsia's route network in Thailand.

Free seats are also available for domestic destinations. The seats also include routes from Kuala Lumpur to Phuket, Chiang Mai and Krabi.

This regional campaign will be launched exclusively online at www.airasia.com for the booking period between Dec 17-19 for travel between Jan 6 and March 31, 2009.

-- BERNAMA

nazrey

December 16th, 2008, 08:50 PM

AirAsia Sees 25 Percent Growth In 2009
December 16, 2008 23:22 PM

BANGKOK, Dec 16 (Bernama) -- AirAsia, Asia's leading budget carrier, is set to achieve 25 per cent growth in passenger traffic this year and is confident of a similar growth in 2009, its Group Chief Executive Officer Datuk Seri Tony Fernandes said.

He said the seven-year-old airline carried 15 million passengers in 2007 and the passenger volume is expected to rise to 19 million by end of this year.

"There is no reason it will be less next year. We hope the passenger traffic can grow between four to five million in 2009," he said after launching the "Mai Pen Rai Thailand" (No Problem) and "Same Same Thailand" campaign Tuesday aimed at restoring confidence in the country's tourism and travel sector after the recent political crisis.

Thailand's tourism industry was badly affected when anti-government protesters closed the Suvarnabhumi and Don Muang Airports for eight days recently.

AirAsia is offering 100,000 free tickets from its hubs in Kuala Lumpur, Johor, Bangkok and Jakarta.

Present were Governor of Tourism Authority of Thailand Phornsiri Manoharn and Thai AirAsia Chief Executive Officer Tassapon Bijleveld.

Fernandes said despite the anticipated economic recession next year, he was confident of good business for the airline as more travellers would be looking at short-and medium-haul travels compared to long-haul journeys which are more expensive.

"In fact, we can go more in terms of growth but it is being limited by the number of aircraft. All our 37 planes are well financed up to 2011 and we don't hedge on oil," he said.

Fernandes said the increase in passenger volume was based on its planes to more destinations in 2007, including the planned five routes to India from Kuala Lumpur, and three from Bangkok as well as Bangkok-Bali and Bangkok-Guangzhou which were expected to start in January.

Despite the economic gloom and political upheavals in Thailand, he was confident of overcoming the obstacles as the airline had managed to survive many hindrances like SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome), bird flu, tsunami and Bali bombings.

"The important thing is aggressive marketing, especially in the Asean region, which has close to 600 million population, but we need more support from the governments in the region," he said.

Citing Thailand as an example, Fernandes said the Airport Authority of Thailand (AOT) should build a low cost carrier terminal (LCCT), similar to Malaysia and Singapore and reduce the 700 baht airport tax which was among the most expensive in the region.

He said Thailand should consider building a LCCT with the capacity of between 10 million and 15 million passengers, adding that AirAsia was willing to invest in it.

On Thai AirAsia badly affected by the airport stand-off, Fernandes said bookings increased to 80 percent in the past week and was confident the Thai subsidiary would break even next year with a full fleet of Airbus, maturity in routes and larger market share.

-- BERNAMA

nazrey

December 16th, 2008, 11:13 PM

AirAsia kicks off Thai marketing campaign
17-12-2008:

BANGKOK: AirAsia has kicked off a massive regional marketing campaign, “Get Your Baht To Thailand”, “Mai Pen Rai Thailand” and “Same Same Thailand” as part of its initiative to support Thailand’s travel, trade and tourism by offering 100,000 free seats* from its hubs primarily in Malaysia (Kuala Lumpur, Johor), Thailand (Bangkok) and Indonesia (Jakarta).

In a statement yesterday, AirAsia said the campaign was a joint collaboration between the low cost carrier and Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) aimed at bringing back tourists and businessmen. It said prior to this, the Thailand tourism sector had been severely affected, evident with the declining number of visitors due to the recent political upheaval.

The campaign will be launched exclusively at www.airasia.com for the booking period between Dec 17-19, 2008 for travel between Jan 6, 2009 – March 31, 2009.

AirAsia Bhd group CEO Datuk Seri Tony Fernandes said: “As an ‘asean airline’, we are pleased to be the first airline to respond to this recent political instability climate by driving the traffic back to the country with this free seat campaign.

"With close to 800 domestic and international flights weekly to and from the various points in Thailand, we are more than confident that the country’s tourism will bounce back,” he said.

“With our rapid expansion and ongoing brand new Airbus A320 fleet roll-out, we expect our capacity to grow and more new points connected within Asean and beyond so that more people can fly with us,” he added.

I saw this campaign in Thai TV yesterday night after drama for thai tv3 (drama after prime time news) :cheers:

nazrey

December 16th, 2008, 11:19 PM

100,000 AirAsia seats up for grabs
Published: 2008/12/17

http://www.btimes.com.my/articles/asiatai/pix_topright

AIRASIA (5099) is offering 100,000 free seats from its hubs primarily in Malaysia (Kuala Lumpur, Johor), Thailand (Bangkok) and Indonesia (Jakarta) in its massive regional marketing campaign as part of its initiative to support Thailand's travel, trade and tourism.

The campaigns are themed "Get Your Baht To Thailand", "Mai Pen Rai Thailand" and "Same Same Thailand". The Thailand tourism sector has been affected by the declining number of visitors due to the recent political upheaval.

This proactive campaign, initiated by the "People's Airline", is a joint collaboration between AirAsia and Tourism Authority of Thailand to bring back tourists and businessmen by reinstating the core message that it is now safe to travel back to the country.

In a statement yesterday, AirAsia group chief executive officer Datuk Seri Tony Fernandes said the airline hoped this campaign will instil confidence among travellers and help boost tourism.

"With close to 800 domestic and international flights weekly to and from various points in Thailand, we are more than confident the country's tourism will bounce back," he said.
The 100,000 free seats allocation includes all international flights on AirAsia's route network in Thailand.

Free seats are also available for domestic destinations. The seats also include routes from Kuala Lumpur to Phuket, Chiang Mai and Krabi.

This regional campaign will be launched exclusively online at www.airasia.com for the booking period between December 17 and 19 for travel between January 6 and March 31 2009. - Bernama

rizalhakim

December 17th, 2008, 03:34 AM

AirAsia Offers 100,000 Free Seats In Massive Regional Campaign

KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 16 (Bernama) -- AirAsia is offering 100,000 free seats from its hubs primarily in Malaysia (Kuala Lumpur, Johor), Thailand (Bangkok) and Indonesia (Jakarta) in its massive regional marketing campaign as part of its initiative to support Thailand's travel, trade and tourism.

The campaign, aptly themed "Get Your Baht To Thailand", "Mai Pen Rai Thailand" and "Same Same Thailand".

The Thailand tourism sector has been severely affected by the declining number of visitors due to the recent political upheaval.

This proactive campaign, initiated by the "People's Airline", is a joint collaboration between AirAsia and Tourism Authority of Thailand to bring back tourists and businessmen by reinstating the core message that it is now safe to travel back to the country.

In a statement Tuesday, AirAsia Group Chief Executive Officer Datuk Seri Tony Fernandes said the airline hoped this campaign will instil confidence among travellers and help boost tourism.

"With close to 800 domestic and international flights weekly to and from various points in Thailand, we are more than confident the country's tourism will bounce back," he said.

The 100,000 free seats allocation include all international flights on AirAsia's route network in Thailand.

Free seats are also available for domestic destinations. The seats also include routes from Kuala Lumpur to Phuket, Chiang Mai and Krabi.

This regional campaign will be launched exclusively online at www.airasia.com for the booking period between Dec 17-19 for travel between Jan 6 and March 31, 2009.

-- BERNAMA

rizalhakim

December 17th, 2008, 03:35 AM

AirAsia Sees 25 Percent Growth In 2009

BANGKOK, Dec 16 (Bernama) -- AirAsia, Asia's leading budget carrier, is set to achieve 25 per cent growth in passenger traffic this year and is confident of a similar growth in 2009, its Group Chief Executive Officer Datuk Seri Tony Fernandes said.

He said the seven-year-old airline carried 15 million passengers in 2007 and the passenger volume is expected to rise to 19 million by end of this year.

"There is no reason it will be less next year. We hope the passenger traffic can grow between four to five million in 2009," he said after launching the "Mai Pen Rai Thailand" (No Problem) and "Same Same Thailand" campaign Tuesday aimed at restoring confidence in the country's tourism and travel sector after the recent political crisis.

Thailand's tourism industry was badly affected when anti-government protesters closed the Suvarnabhumi and Don Muang Airports for eight days recently.

AirAsia is offering 100,000 free tickets from its hubs in Kuala Lumpur, Johor, Bangkok and Jakarta.

Present were Governor of Tourism Authority of Thailand Phornsiri Manoharn and Thai AirAsia Chief Executive Officer Tassapon Bijleveld.

Fernandes said despite the anticipated economic recession next year, he was confident of good business for the airline as more travellers would be looking at short-and medium-haul travels compared to long-haul journeys which are more expensive.

"In fact, we can go more in terms of growth but it is being limited by the number of aircraft. All our 37 planes are well financed up to 2011 and we don't hedge on oil," he said.

Fernandes said the increase in passenger volume was based on its planes to more destinations in 2007, including the planned five routes to India from Kuala Lumpur, and three from Bangkok as well as Bangkok-Bali and Bangkok-Guangzhou which were expected to start in January.

Despite the economic gloom and political upheavals in Thailand, he was confident of overcoming the obstacles as the airline had managed to survive many hindrances like SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome), bird flu, tsunami and Bali bombings.

"The important thing is aggressive marketing, especially in the Asean region, which has close to 600 million population, but we need more support from the governments in the region," he said.

Citing Thailand as an example, Fernandes said the Airport Authority of Thailand (AOT) should build a low cost carrier terminal (LCCT), similar to Malaysia and Singapore and reduce the 700 baht airport tax which was among the most expensive in the region.

He said Thailand should consider building a LCCT with the capacity of between 10 million and 15 million passengers, adding that AirAsia was willing to invest in it.

On Thai AirAsia badly affected by the airport stand-off, Fernandes said bookings increased to 80 percent in the past week and was confident the Thai subsidiary would break even next year with a full fleet of Airbus, maturity in routes and larger market share.

-- BERNAMA

rizalhakim

December 17th, 2008, 05:09 AM

AirAsia hopes to get visitors back to Thailand
By PHILIP GOLINGAI

BANGKOK: AirAsia is offering 100,000 free seats to draw tourists back to Thailand after political turbulence saw the closure of Bangkok’s two airports.

The regional campaign cheekily themed “Get your Baht to Thailand” is the budget airline’s effort to help the Thai tourism industry which was severely affected over the last few months.

“We are here to make sure that the world does not forget that Thailand is a wonderful place for tourists,” said AirAsia group chief executive officer Datuk Seri Tony Fernandes.

“We want to ensure that AirAsia brings people from Asean countries, India and China and the world – especially through AirAsia X – to visit Thailand.”

“AirAsia was there during the Bali (bombing), SARS, tsunami and Aceh (when no airlines wanted to fly there) and with this promotion, we are showing our commitment to Thailand.”

AirAsia’s campaign, launched exclusively at www.airasia.com, starts today at midnight and ends on Friday for travel between Jan 6 and March 31.

rizalhakim

December 17th, 2008, 07:58 AM

Thai AirAsia gagal capai sasaran

BANGKOK 16 Dis. - Syarikat penerbangan tambang murah Thai AirAsia, syarikat milik AirAsia Bhd. berkemungkinan gagal mencapai sasaran trafik penumpang berikutan penutupan Lapangan Terbang Antarabangsa Suvarnabhumi dan Don Mueang selama berminggu-minggu, kata Ketua Eksekutifnya, Tassapon Bijleveld.

Trafik penumpang yang diunjurkan pada tahun ini adalah 4.1 juta berbanding 4.6 juta, tetapi diramal akan kembali meningkat kepada 5.2 juta tahun depan, katanya.

''Kami akan menambah lagi pesawat, memperkenalkan destinasi baru dan meningkatkan kekerapan penerbangan," katanya.

Bijleveld juga berkata, syarikat penerbangan bajet itu sedang mengambil langkah 'tunggu dan lihat' dalam rancangannya untuk disenaraikan dalam Bursa Saham Thailand pada Disember tahun depan.

Thai AirAsia berkata, kerugian sebanyak 350 juta baht (RM35.76 juta) telah dicatatkan ekoran tunjuk perasaan anti kerajaan di beberapa lapangan terbang di Bangkok pada hujung November lalu sehingga menyebabkan kemudahan penerbangan terpaksa ditutup.

Jumlah kerugian itu tidak termasuk kos pemindahan operasi sementara ke lapangan terbang berhampiran bagi membantu lebih 100,000 penumpang yang terkandas.

Berikutan itu, faktor muatan turut dijangka turun kepada 80 peratus daripada 90 peratus yang diunjurkan sebelum ini.

''Faktor muatan kami pernah mencecah faktor muatan antara 92 hingga 93 peratus pada tahun lalu,'' kata Bijleveld.

Syarikat penerbangan itu dijangka untuk melancar sekurang-kurangnya enam laluan yang baru pada tahun depan, iaitu Guangzhou, Bali, dan Kunming di China serta tiga lagi ke India.

Sementara itu, Thai AirAsia dijangka pulang modal tahun depan dengan meningkatnya penguasaan dalam pasaran berbanding dua pesaingnya, Nok Air dan One-Two-Go, yang berdepan dengan penguncupan kerana kelembapan ekonomi, kata Ketua Pegawai Eksekutif AirAsia, Tony Fernandes.

- Dow Jones

rizalhakim

December 17th, 2008, 08:17 AM

Dua laluan baru AirAsia ke Thailand

SYARIKAT Penerbangan Tambang Murah, AirAsia semalam melancarkan dua laluan baru bagi membantu memulihkan industri pelancongan di Thailand yang terjejas berikutan krisis politik yang melanda negara itu, baru-baru ini.

Dua laluan baru itu ialah penerbangan pergi balik dari Bangkok ke Guangzhou, China dan Bangkok ke Bali, Indonesia yang bermula 21 Januari depan.

Ketua Eksekutif Kumpulan Air Asia, Datuk Seri Tony Fernandez, berkata walaupun berlaku beberapa kejadian yang menjejaskan imej Thailand, ini hanya tanggapan kerana hakikatnya Thailand masih negara yang menarik sebagai destinasi pelancongan.

Katanya, AirAsia sentiasa membantu walaupun dalam kesusahan seperti melancarkan penerbangan ke Acheh dan Bali, Indonesia dan sekarang Thailand.

“Kita tidak berdiam saja dan pastikan seluruh dunia tidak akan melupakan Thailand sebagai negara yang cantik dan menarik untuk dilawati.

“Kita datang ke sini selepas dua minggu kejadian penutupan dua lapangan terbang dan kita melancarkan dua penerbangan baru,” katanya pada sidang media pelancaran kempen Get Your Bath to Thailand di Bangkok, semalam.

Tony turut melancarkan promosi 100,000 tempat duduk percuma untuk penerbangan dari Malaysia dan Indonesia ke Thailand bagi menggalakkan pelancongan ke negara itu.

Sementara itu, Gabenor Badan Pelancongan Thailand (TAT) Phornsiri Manoharn, berkata beliau amat menghargai usaha AirAsia mengembalikan kepercayaan pelancong terhadap mereka.

rizalhakim

December 17th, 2008, 09:20 AM

AirAsia kicks off Thai marketing campaign

Email us your feedback at fd@bizedge.com

BANGKOK: AirAsia has kicked off a massive regional marketing campaign, “Get Your Baht To Thailand”, “Mai Pen Rai Thailand” and “Same Same Thailand” as part of its initiative to support Thailand’s travel, trade and tourism by offering 100,000 free seats* from its hubs primarily in Malaysia (Kuala Lumpur, Johor), Thailand (Bangkok) and Indonesia (Jakarta).

In a statement yesterday, AirAsia said the campaign was a joint collaboration between the low cost carrier and Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) aimed at bringing back tourists and businessmen. It said prior to this, the Thailand tourism sector had been severely affected, evident with the declining number of visitors due to the recent political upheaval.

The campaign will be launched exclusively at www.airasia.com for the booking period between Dec 17-19, 2008 for travel between Jan 6, 2009 – March 31, 2009.

AirAsia Bhd group CEO Datuk Seri Tony Fernandes said: “As an ‘asean airline’, we are pleased to be the first airline to respond to this recent political instability climate by driving the traffic back to the country with this free seat campaign.

"With close to 800 domestic and international flights weekly to and from the various points in Thailand, we are more than confident that the country’s tourism will bounce back,” he said.

“With our rapid expansion and ongoing brand new Airbus A320 fleet roll-out, we expect our capacity to grow and more new points connected within Asean and beyond so that more people can fly with us,” he added.

rizalhakim

December 20th, 2008, 04:35 AM

Fernandes gets tourim award

KUALA LUMPUR: AIRASIA received another recognition when AirAsia group chief executive officer Datuk Seri Tony Fernandes was named Tourism Personality of the Year at the Libur Tourism Awards 2008.

AirAsia was also recognised with the Best Tourism Transportation Award in the airline category for its contribution in transporting millions of tourists each year into Malaysia.

rizalhakim

December 22nd, 2008, 09:00 AM

AirAsia tawar tiket kompetitif

PERMINTAAN penerbangan jarak dekat yang mantap dan penurunan ketara harga minyak mentah global dijangka memberi kelebihan kepada AirAsia Bhd yang menumpukan kepada model perjalanan sebegitu, di samping menawarkan harga tiket kompetitif.

Sejak tercetus kesan krisis subprima pertengahan tahun lalu, permintaan penerbangan jarak dekat meningkat lebih tinggi berbanding perjalanan jarak jauh.

“Pada mula krisis, permintaan jarak dekat meningkat kukuh khususnya bagi syarikat penerbangan perkhidmatan penuh, berbanding permintaan jarak jauh ke Amerika Syarikat (AS), Eropah dan Asia,” kata Penganalisis Pengangkutan CIMB Investment Bank Bhd, Raymond Yap menerusi laporan penyelidikannya, baru-baru ini.

“Bagaimanapun, selepas tumbangnya Lehman Brothers pada September lalu, penerbangan perkhidmatan penuh mula mengalami kelembapan trafik bagi kabin utama perjalanan jarak dekat dan penumpang lebih memilih kelas ekonomi,” tambahnya.

Katanya, kekukuhan permintaan jarak dekat dan pemilihan kos penerbangan lebih murah memberi kelebihan kepada syarikat penerbangan kos rendah seperti AirAsia.

“Dengan model perjalanan kurang daripada empat jam, AirAsia dijangka mampu mempamerkan pendapatan kukuh berbanding syarikat penerbangan perkhidmatan penuh yang terpaksa berdepan penurunan permintaan perjalanan jarak jauh.

“Pada masa sama, penumpang kelas ekonomi penerbangan perkhidmatan penuh sedang beralih menggunakan penerbangan kos rendah ekoran penjimatan yang kini menjadi perhatian utama dikalangan penumpang,” kata Yap.

Dengan pesawat baru A320s, AirAsia mampu menawarkan perjalanan Bangkok, Jakarta, Singapura, Hong Kong, Shengzhen, Kuching dan Kota Kinabalu pada harga sekitar 50 peratus lebih rendah berbanding penerbangan perkhidmatan penuh.

Pada masa sama, kejadian kerosakan yang kurang, penangguhan perjalanan susulan penggunaan pesawat baru membolehkan kos diuruskan dengan lebih cekap, sekali gus membenarkan syarikat itu membuat tawaran istimewa untuk menarik lebih ramai penumpang.

“Walaupun faktor muatan susut kira-kira empat peratus dalam tiga bulan pertama tahun ini berbanding tempoh sama tahun lalu, namun ia disebabkan pertumbuhan tinggi kapasiti dari segi jumlah tempat duduk kosong perkilometer (ASK) yang mencecah 30 peratus berbanding tahun lalu.

“Pendapatan perkilometer (RPK) AirAsia pula meningkat pada kadar memuaskan sekitar 25 peratus berbanding tahun lalu, di sebalik penurunan RPK beberapa syarikat penerbangan terkemuka. Justeru, menunjukkan AirAsia memiliki permintaan kukuh susulan statusnya sebagai syarikat penerbangan kos rendah jarak dekat,” jelasnya.

Aktiviti pengembangan operasi secara agresif dari segi penerokaan laluan baru dan penambahan kekerapan di laluan sedia ada, membuka peluang kepada AirAsia mewujudkan permintaan baru.

Bermula 1 Disember lalu, syarikat itu menambah kekerapan penerbangan KL-Singapura kepada tujuh kali sehari berbanding dua kali sehari sebelum ini.

“Kami berpendapat, langkah AirAsia itu akan merebut pasaran bagi laluan KL-Singapura daripada syarikat penerbangan perkhidmatan penuh,” kata Yap.

“Pada masa sama, AirAsia X pula melancarkan penerbangan ke Melbourne dan Perth menggunakan pesawat terbarunya, A330-300s dan akan ke United Kingdom pada Mac 2009. Laluan baru ke Thirupalli, India yang diperkenalkan AirAsia baru-baru ini juga dilihat mendapat sambutan susulan mendapat tempahan penuh antara 1 hingga 18 Disember,” katanya.

CIMB Invesment mengunjur pendapatan syarikat itu kekal kukuh pada 18.10 sen/RPK pada 2009, namun pendapatan tempat duduk kosong perkilometer (RASK) dijangka susut 2.7 peratus pada tahun depan susulan penurunan jumlah muatan kepada 74 daripada 76 peratus pada tahun ini.

Namun, hasil kekal mantap berikutan sumbangan daripada sektor laluan pendapatan tinggi KL-Singapura yang akan mengimbangi penurunan pendapatan bagi sektor laluan lain.

“Kami tidak jangka hasil AirAsia terjejas susulan pemansuhan surcaj bahan api,” kata Yap.

Selain itu, kos bahan api yang ketara lebih rendah akan memberi impak positif yang dramatik kepada syarikat penerbangan itu pada tahun depan.

“Selepas melupuskan kos lindung nilai bahan api sebanyak RM215.3 juta tahun ini, AirAsia tidak lagi menjalankan aktiviti lindung nilai bagi keperluan bahan apinya tahun depan.

“Kami yakin syarikat itu kini aktif mencari paras harga sesuai untuk membuat tempahan bahan api bagi tempoh jangka panjang. Mungkin sekitar AS$40 setong (minyak mentah) dan jika berjaya, ia tentunya memberi kesan positif besar kerana ia memberi gambaran lebih jelas,” katanya.

CIMB Investment mengunjurkan purata harga bahan api jet bagi 2009 adalah kira-kira AS$80 satu tong dan AS$85 satu tong pada 2010.

Harga bahan jet ketika ini berada pada paras sekitar AS$40 satu tong, selepas melonjak ke paras AS$180 satu tong pada Julai lalu.

Sementara itu, isu pembiayaan bagi penerimaan 37 lagi pesawat A320 mulai pertengahan tahun depan sehingga awal 2011 juga sudah selesai, apabila syarikat itu mendapat sokongan kewangan daripada European Credit Agencies baru-baru ini.

CIMB Investment menaikkan harga sasaran AirAsia daripada 91 sen kepada RM1.80 sesaham.

rizalhakim

December 22nd, 2008, 10:07 AM

AirAsia rises to 2-week high
Published: 2008/12/22

AIRASIA Bhd, Malaysia’s biggest discount airline, rose to a two-week high in Kuala Lumpur trading after the New Straits Times reported the carrier plans to invest in a new low-cost airport in the country.

The shares rose as much as 3.8 per cent to 96.5 sen on the Malaysian stock exchange, their highest since December 4, and traded at 95 sen, up 2.2 per cent at noon break. The stock has lost 41 per cent this year.

Becoming the operator of the airport in Labu in Malaysia’s southwest will lower costs for AirAsia compared with flights to the low-fare airlines terminal in Kuala Lumpur, Vincent Khoo, an analyst at Aseambankers Malaysia Bhd said in a report today.

Malaysia’s government approved the airport, the newspaper reported December 20.

Sime Darby Bhd, the world’s largest palm oil producer, will build the airport on 2,800 hectares (6,900 acres) in Labu town, Negeri Sembilan state, the newspaper said, citing Transport Minister Datuk Ong Tee Keat. AirAsia will run the airport in 2011, Aseambankers analyst Vincent Khoo said.

Sime climbed 5 sen, or 0.9 per cent, to RM5.50. Malaysia Airport added 4 sen, or 1.8 per cent, to RM2.24. - Bloomberg

nazrey

December 22nd, 2008, 12:49 PM

-delete-

^tamago^

December 22nd, 2008, 01:03 PM

Dec 21, 2008

Cheaper AirAsia flights?

KUALA LUMPUR: AIRASIA'S budget fares will go even lower with at least a 15 per cent reduction in prices when the airline's proposed low-cost terminal opens in Labu, Negri Sembilan, in February 2011.

A senior AirAsia official said the airline's plan was always to look for a cheaper venue to lower costs as it was paying about RM100 million (S$42.2 million) in airport fees yearly to Malaysia Airports Bhd (MAB).

'MAB is charging us too much. We have been looking for another place for a long time, whether it was to buy or build a new airport,' he told The Star on Saturday.

The official said the current terminal in Sepang was only a temporary measure as it could comfortably handle only 10 million passengers yearly. By March next year, it would reach 15 million.

'AirAsia needs an airport that can handle more than 15 million by 2011,' the official said.

The Cabinet on Friday gave the greenlight for the new RM1.6 billion airport to be developed under a private finance initiative between conglomerate Sime Darby Bhd and AirAsia on a 2,800ha plot in Labu, which is between Nilai and Bandar Enstek.

The new terminal will be large enough to handle some 15 million passengers yearly and will feature a wider array of shops as part of an integrated city in Labu, comprising five townships and facilities for education, health, sports, high technology and entertainment.

Closer to the nation's capital than the current low-cost carrier terminal, a 7km link to the North-South Expressway was also slated to be built, along with an Express Rail Link to KL International Airport.

We will provide shuttles between the main terminal and LCCT. The road and rail links between KLIA and the new LCCT would also be privately financed,' the AirAsia official said.

He also said the cost of operating the new airport would be lowered by incorporating advanced technology and it being run privately without government bureaucracy.

'The airport will be built entirely by us. The latest technology and better retail facilities will mean more money. More money will mean lower airport tax and fares.'

Asked if MAB would be involved in the deal, the official said MAB was not involved in the project but did not discount the possibility that it would be made a shareholder.

According to him, the proposal was brought up by Sime Darby in the first place as they wanted an airport in the centre of a large development project - to turn the area into an Asean community hub. -- The Star/ANN

^tamago^

December 22nd, 2008, 01:05 PM

'KLIA East @ Labu’ gets government go-ahead
Airport part of 'massive city'
By : V. Vasudevan

KUALA LUMPUR: The cabinet has given the green light for a new low-cost carrier terminal on a 2,800-hectare site in Labu, Negri Sembilan, Transport Minister Datuk Seri Ong Tee Keat said.

Ong said the new LCCT would be built under a private finance initiative by conglomerate Sime Darby Bhd and budget airline AirAsia.

The airport will anchor Sime Darby's "massive integrated city" development in Labu, which includes five townships with services in education, health, sports, high technology, recreation and entertainment.

The RM1.6 billion terminal will be funded by Sime Darby and joint-venture partners which could include AirAsia and Malaysia Airports Bhd.

Ong said the new terminal was needed as the current facility in Sepang would not be able to cope with the increased passenger volume.
Under its final expansion phase, after which there will be no more room for growth, the Sepang LCCT will have its capacity increased to 15 million passengers a year, a figure industry sources say is likely to be exceeded by 2011.

Including its Thai and Indonesian affiliates, AirAsia flew some 18 million people this year. The new terminal will be built to accommodate 25 million passengers a year, and last on present forecasts until 2030.

Ong said he could not give a timeline on when work would start on the new LCCT.

"It is up to them as to when they want to start work. For our part we will make sure there is connectivity between the Kuala Lumpur International Airport and the new LCCT.

"We want to ensure passengers will be able to move from both places speedily, smoothly and efficiently."

To be called "KLIA East@ Labu", the new terminal is slightly closer to central Kuala Lumpur than the present LCCT and will boast connectivity by both road and rail.

A 7km branch road will link it with the North-South Expressway and a 3km spur line will be built from the railway station in Labu -- a stop on the KL-Seremban KTM Komuter route.

Welcoming the project's approval, Negri Sembilan Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Mohamad Hassan said the KLIA would be connected to the new terminal by a 7km Express Rail Link (ERL).

Industry sources said a ground-breaking ceremony was being slated for late next month with construction planned for completion in two years.

When the new facility is commissioned, the Sepang LCCT, which has more than recovered its cost from the explosive increase in passenger numbers over the last two years, will serve other budget carriers, such as Singapore's Tiger Airways.

Mohamad said the siting of the new terminal near Kampung Gadong Jaya in Labu would boost economic growth in the state.

"The location is not far from the existing terminal. It will be an extension of the KLIA.

"When the airport is built, the state can expect economic development, such as housing estates and business centres, in the surrounding areas," he said.

Copyright © 2007 NST Online. All rights reserved.

ethan

December 23rd, 2008, 12:53 AM

AirAsia-Jetstar merger brewing

Airlines’ bosses mulling over idea

PETALING JAYA: Something may be in the air between Qantas Airways Ltd and AirAsia Bhd. If things work out, a merger between AirAsia and the Australian carrier’s units Jetstar and JetstarAsia may be in the offing.

The talks are still in preliminary stages and it is learnt that AirAsia’s boss Datuk Seri Tony Fernandes and Qantas new chief executive officer Alan Joyce have been mulling over it. They last talked on the issue last week, a source said.

This comes at a time when Malaysia Airlines (MAS) is also in talks with Qantas for a possible alliance, but any alliance between Qantas and MAS will be between the network airlines.

http://biz.thestar.com.my/archives/2008/12/23/business/p1-airlinechti.JPG

Last week Qantas and British Airways announced the calling off of plans to merge into a mega carrier after failing to agree on key terms. The merger could have created an A$8bil plus carrier by market value with a fleet of about 500 planes.

The end of talks with BA opens new doors for other players such as MAS and AirAsia to search for synergies with Qantas. Now the brewing merger involves the low-cost carriers – AirAsia, Melbourne-based Jetstar and Singapore-based JetstarAsia.

Fernandes, when contacted yesterday, told StarBiz that “we are always talking and looking at ways to strengthen AirAsia into a global brand. If there are opportunities of equals which will enhance the brand, then it is something worth considering.’’ He declined to comment further.

Qantas’ Joyce was not immediately available for comment.

But a Qantas spokesman, in an e-mail response to a query from StarBiz, said: “We talk to airlines all the time about possible partnerships, relationships and cooperative agreements.’’

Jetstar’s Australian operation is wholly owned by Qantas but is managed separately and operates independently. Jetstar’s intra-Asian operation – JetstarAsia – is a Singapore-based partnership between Qantas (49%), local businessmen Tony Chew (22%) and FF Wong (10%), and Temasek Holdings (19%). JetstarAsia officials declined to comment when contacted yesterday.

In an economic downturn when passenger traffic is on a decline, airlines look to cooperate by forming code shares, alliances, strategic partnerships and even mergers to sustain operations. If a merger shapes up, it could possibly involve a share swap, a source said.

“A possible merger of Jetstar, JetstarAsia and AirAsia would mean that the operations of the airlines will be merged to create a stronger airline which could potentially be known as AirAsia/Jetstar with a larger network, a bigger aircraft fleet and wider access to many more markets.

“There are synergies by combining AirAsia and Jetstar. With a merger, passengers from Asia will have wider choices to fly to Asia, Australia, New Zealand, India, China and even Honolulu (via Jetstar),’’ he said.

The Kangaroo route (from any Australian point to KL and on to Europe) is a possible route that these airlines will capitalise on. Jetstar stopped flying the Sydney-KL route in September due to the economic slowdown.

Qantas and MAS talks were still progressing, another source added. He said the alliance would be modelled alongside the KLM/Air France structure. That model allows MAS to retain its identity.

MAS first began talking to Qantas a year ago.

Yesterday Qantas also announced that it has reduced its international and domestic fuel surcharges for the third time in recent months because of falling oil prices.

The new surcharges apply to tickets bought on, or after, Dec 23. Qantas executive general manager John Borghetti said the group’s fuel bill this financial year would still be A$400 million higher than in 2007/08. The surcharge has been cut by A$20 to A$35 for shorter-haul Asian destinations such as Bali.

The fuel surcharge for a one-way ticket from Australia to the United Kingdom and Europe has been cut by A$30 to A$160.

Qantas joins the league of airlines that are reducing fuel surcharges since crude oil prices have fallen over 70% from its July height of US$147 a barrel.

rizalhakim

December 23rd, 2008, 02:56 AM

^^dats cool!!

patchay

December 23rd, 2008, 04:38 AM

no no .. AirAsia is Malaysia's pride ... lol

rizalhakim

December 23rd, 2008, 09:33 AM

Jetstar and AirAsia synergy not that great
Published: 2008/12/23

JETSTAR'S strong presence in Australia and New Zealand’s domestic routes, seems synergistic to AirAsia to tie up or merge with the company for potential interlining, according to OSK Research.

However, the research house said judging from AirAsia’s “point to point" aviation business model, it was curious whether this may fit in with the company’s low-cost-cum-fast-turnaround business model.

“Although we may see the combination of both airlines expanding the network coverage and potentially code-share or even replace some similar routes, we think the synergy is not all that great,” OSK Research said in its research note in Kuala Lumpur today.

Local newspapers today reported that something may be in the air between Qantas Airways Ltd and AirAsia Bhd.

The talks for a merger are reportedly still in the preliminary stages with AirAsia’s group chief executive officer Datuk Seri Tony Fernandes and Qantas chief executive officer Alan Joyce mulling over the prospects. — Bernama

chene

December 23rd, 2008, 09:36 AM

if malaysia airline + singapore airline??????hehehehehehehe:lol::lol::lol::lol:

nazrey

December 24th, 2008, 02:26 AM

Jetstar denies merger plan with AirAsia
Published: 2008/12/24

SINGAPORE: Jetstar Asia Airways Pte Ltd, the Singapore-based budget carrier backed by Qantas Airways Ltd, denied a report saying it was in talks with AirAsia Bhd (5099) on a possible combination.

There is "no discussion on any merger", Jetstar chief executive officer Chong Phit Lian said in an e-mail reply to Bloomberg queries. The two are working on commercial arrangements, such as transferring passengers between each others' flights when delays occur, she added.

AirAsia, Southeast Asia's biggest discount airline, and Jetstar may be in exploratory talks on a possible merger, a Malaysian newspaper reported yesterday, citing people it didn't identify.

Sepang, Malaysia-based AirAsia's chief executive officer Datuk Seri Tony Fernandes didn't answer calls to his mobile phone or reply to an e-mail seeking comment.
AirAsia closed half a sen lower at 92.5 sen in Kuala Lumpur trading, after earlier rising as much as 2.2 per cent. The shares have declined 43 per cent this year. Jetstar is closely held, with Qantas owning the largest stake. - Bloomberg

nazrey

December 24th, 2008, 09:21 AM

AirAsia can't wait for MAHB, takes up Sime Darby's offer
24-12-2008: by Surin Murugiah

KUALA LUMPUR: AirAsia Bhd took up Sime Darby Bhd's proposal to construct a private low-cost carrier (LCC) airport in Labu, Negri Sembilan, as it could not wait for Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd (MAHB) to finalise plans for the setting up of a bigger LCC terminal to replace the existing LCCT at KLIA.

Hearing of AirAsia's predicament, Sime Darby itself took the opportunity to approach AirAsia with the KLIA East@Labu airport plan, which would complement the conglomerate's multi-billion ringgit development project at Negri Sembilan Vision Valley.

Sime Darby and AirAsia officials called for a press conference here yesterday to comment on the Labu airport, which has received a lot of flak from analysts, particularly questioning the former's involvement in the off-beat project. The officials spoke only on condition of anonymity.

An AirAsia official said MAHB's plan for the permanent LCCT had yet to be finalised and if the carrier were to follow the airport operator's schedule, it could potentially face a shortfall of at least 41 parking bays for its aircraft.

He said the earliest possible date for the permanent LCCT to be realised was estimated by MAHB to be in 2014, by which time there would be a 12-million passenger capacity shortfall at the present terminal.

"Even with the extensions at the current LCCT, there would be a shortfall for both aircraft and passengers within a year-and-a-half. As it is there has been an 18-month delay in completion of works," he said.

"Also, the alternative sites offered by MAHB for the permanent LCCT were unsuitable. Seven months after the cost had been agreed, MAHB told us that the runways could not be built at one location because of the height of the express rail link track, while the other site was marshland where construction works can only start one year after it has been filled with earth," he added.

A Sime Darby official said it mooted the idea of the terminal some six months ago and had approached AirAsia on the plan, which was part of the infrastructural development that would act as the growth catalysts to its planned Vision Valley.

Sime Darby would build the airport on a 1,200-hectare land at its Labu Estate and it would be operated by AirAsia.

"Sime is purely the developer, and will sell the land and building to AirAsia. The construction financing has not been finalised but it would be totally private investment and no government funds will be involved," said the Sime Darby official.

"The RM1.6 billion estimated cost is for the terminal building and runway, and does not include the land cost," he said.

Assuming it gets the government's nod to go ahead with the project, the airport could be completed for operations by March 2011. It is designed to handle 30 million passengers per annum and would have about 70 parking bays for aircraft.

AirAsia group was projected to handle 60 million passengers per annum to use its services by 2013, said the carrier's official.

Sime Darby's Vision Valley will comprise self-contained cities with each particular theme - entertainment, education, hi-tech, recreation and sport.

"It could become the centre for conferences, sports events, tourism and even rock concerts in the region with the facilities that we are planning," said the Sime Darby official. "The proposed LCCT is also a catalyst for other development around the area, would create many jobs and lead to permanent infrastructure development," he said.

He said it was also an opportune time for Sime Darby to embark on the project as construction costs had started coming down.

The AirAsia official said a bus depot, and possibly an extension of the ERL service as well as a link road to the KLIA main terminal were being explored under the plan.

Asked how the airline planned to fund the acquisition of the airport and land, he said the company was studying various options.

"We might not even own the building. There are many private investors who view infrastructure as stable property that would generate a steady income, so we could even be leasing it from someone."

nazrey

December 24th, 2008, 09:22 AM

MAHB's restructuring finally approved
24-12-2008: by Doreen Leong

KUALA LUMPUR: After more than four years, Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd's (MAHB) financial restructuring plan has finally received the cabinet's approval yesterday, resolving the long outstanding issues that had bogged down the company.

Ironically, the approval on MAHB's plan came hot on the heels of the government giving Sime Darby Bhd and AirAsia Bhd the green light to build and operate a low-cost carrier terminal (LCCT) in Labu, Negri Sembilan. Sime Darby officials told reporters late yesterday evening that the airport was entirely a private initiative and would not involve government funds.

Under the plan, MAHB would pay the government RM1.01 billion, of which RM508 million would be in cash, and the remaining to be set off against capital expenditure projects, which include upgrading works at the LCCT and aerotrain in KLIA.

The amount owing was incurred from concession agreements between MAHB and the government for the latter to shoulder the infrastructure and development costs of the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) and other local airports.

The restructuring would also establish the framework for the review of aeronautical charges, which was one of the key issues that determine MAHB's future prospects.

"The full details will be announced once the documents are signed. For a start, there will now be a structured review of charges unlike now when our charges can remain unchanged," MAHB managing director Datuk Seri Bashir Ahmad Abdul Majid told The Edge Financial Daily .

"For example, landing charges have not been increased for 26 years. The structure will give a basis for our request. Even with any increase in charges, it will still be low compared to major airports in the region. Secondly, revenue will be shared instead of a fixed amount. The more we make, the more we pay and vice versa," he added.

Despite the resolution on the plan, OSK Research associate director Chris Eng told The Edge Financial Daily that in the absence of further details on the lease payments and airport charges, sentiments on the company could possibly remain negative.

In a statement yesterday, Bashir said it would pay the government in the form of revenue sharing and the money could be used by the government for future airport capital expenditure.

"The government will gain from the new revenue share arrangement and higher corporate taxes while our shareholders will gain from a continued improvement in financial performance and dividend payouts," he added.

Apart from this revenue sharing, which was the cornerstone of a benefit sharing arrangement under the new Public Private Partnership formula, the restructuring also allows for MAHB to undertake airport development on its own discretion and cost.

This would further alleviate the government from the financial burden of undertaking airport development expenditure, Bashir said.

"The approved restructuring plan addresses our current capital expenditure obligations to develop or upgrade existing airports in the country. Previously, we had to incur additional capital expenditure when we developed airports outside of KLIA, even though there was insufficient corresponding revenue to be generated," Bashir said.

The plan also unbundled some of the non-core activities like the Sepang International Circuit, which would be sold to the government.

Bashir said it was a "win-win" situation for the government and MAHB.

"The government's approval will set the stage for MAHB's new direction and business philosophy going forward, which we hope to unveil before the end of the first quarter of 2009.

"With all this in place, we can now focus on our core business - airport operations - for which we have been recognised, as can be seen by our revenue and profits generated in managing and operating airports in Malaysia and beyond. It immediately places us on a stronger financial footing from where we can concentrate on building the company from a clean slate.

"As part of this effort, we will revalidate our existing vision and mission, taking into consideration our renewed commercial airport operator status, and develop a five-year business plan to grow our airport management and operations business domestically and internationally," he added.

Bashir said it would be able to announce an enhanced incentive scheme for all airlines operating in Malaysia, which was held back pending the approval for the restructuring plan.

xavierchoong

December 24th, 2008, 09:06 PM

Urgent Urgent
Is it Airasia already cancel all the flight between Kuala Lumpur and Kuantan on Jan 2009 Onward. Because i can find any kuantan to kuala lumpur ticket on Airasia website. Me and my parent will take Airasia from kuantan to Kuala Lumpur on 30 Jan 2009 and take MAS to Bangkok in the same day. Any body can tell me is it cancel, thank a lot.

nazrey

December 28th, 2008, 09:53 AM

AirAsia X to expand routes, staff
Published: 2008/12/28

MALAYSIAN budget carrier AirAsia X said it can weather the storm of a sharply deteriorating global economy and is hiring pilots to expand its routes to China, India, South Korea and Japan.

Chief executive Azran Osman Rani said while it is a challenging period for the aviation industry as many countries slip into a recession and carriers go bust, there are “a lot of business opportunities for us”.

Bookings for its direct London flight on its leased Airbus 340-300, due to begin March 11, were overwhelming, he said, with 30,000 seats sold.

Demand was great as ticket prices cost about RM2,000 (US$580), less than half the price of a regular non-budget flight.

AirAsia X will fly five times a week between the Malaysian capital Kuala Lumpur and Stansted Airport on the outskirts of London.

Azran said AirAsia X is looking to expand its routes in 2009 into northern India, including New Delhi, Amritsar and Mumbai, and to Beijing.

In 2010, it aims to target South Korea as well as Tokyo and Kyushu.

Azran said it is taking on new staff for its expansion. “We are still hiring pilots and cabin crew despite the tough economic outlook next year,” he said.

AirAsia X, which now flies to Australia’s Gold Coast, Perth and Melbourne, and Hangzhou in China, will end the year with about RM362 million in sales.

It aims to expand sales tenfold to US$1 billion by the end of 2010, despite the global slowdown.

Azran said the main challenge amid the uncertain global outlook is “to effectively scale up the scope of our business while keeping the lid on costs.”

He said that oil prices, which have sunk sharply in recent months, are not expected to surge in the short and medium term.

The carrier has three A330-300 aircraft, one of which is leased.
It has placed an order for 25 more by 2013, of which Airbus has delivered two.

Richard Branson’s Virgin Group has taken a 20 per cent stake in the airline and the British billionaire has vowed to ensure that it turns a profit. - AFP

rizalhakim

December 30th, 2008, 07:19 AM

AirAsia X mampu harungi kemelesetan ekonomi

SYARIKAT penerbangan tambang murah jarak jauh, AirAsia X, berkata, ia mampu mengharungi kemelesetan ekonomi global dan sedang berusaha menambah bilangan juruterbang untuk melebarkan laluannya ke China, India, Korea Selatan dan Jepun.

Ketua Eksekutifnya, Azran Osman Rani, berkata ketika industri penerbangan berdepan cabaran getir yang menyaksikan banyak negara terjerumus dalam kemelesetan ekonomi dan syarikat penerbangan tersungkur, syarikat itu melihat keadaan itu sebagai "menyediakan banyak peluang perniagaan."

Katanya, tempahan untuk penerbangan terus syarikat itu ke London menggunakan pesawat Airbus 340-300 yang dipajak dan dijadual memulakan operasi pada 11 Mac, adalah sangat menggalakkan dengan 30,000 tempat duduk sudah dijual.

Permintaan adalah sangat baik kerana harga tiket ditawarkannya iaitu kira-kira RM2,000 (AS$580), adalah separuh daripada harga ditawarkan syarikat penerbangan bukan tambang murah biasa.

AirAsia X akan melakukan penerbangan lima kali seminggu dari Kuala Lumpur ke Lapangan Terbang Stansted, di pinggir bandaraya London.

Azran berkata, tahun depan, AirAsia X bercadang mengembangkan laluannya ke utara India termasuk New Delhi, Amritsar dan Mumbai, serta ke Beijing, China. Pada 2010, ia mensasarkan untuk mengembangkan laluan Korea Selatan dan ke Tokyo dan Hokkaido di utara Jepun serta Kyushu di bahagian selatan.

Beliau berkata, AirAsia X sedang mengambil kakitangan baru bagi tujuan pengembangannya itu.

"Kami masih mengambil juruterbang dan kakitangan kabin di sebalik tinjauan meramalkan keadaan ekonomi adalah sukar tahun depan," katanya. – AFP

rizalhakim

December 30th, 2008, 10:08 AM

AirAsia call centre ready by February 15
Published: 2008/12/30

AIRASIA expects its world-class integrated call centre in Kuala Lumpur, currently under construction, to be up and ready for service by February 15 next year.

The centre will cater to all its operations in the country and will be capable of dealing with any crisis situation, the low cost carrier company said in a statement in Kuala Lumpur today.

“As we are presently undergoing migration, our call centre is operating with limitations and thus you may find the lines to be heavily congested,” said its group chief executive officer Datuk Seri Tony Fernandes.

The airline’s present call centre receives an average total of 15,000 calls a day.

Amid the congestion, AirAsia is encouraging its customers to utilise its website at AirAsia.com where they will be able to perform a host of tasks and transactions related to their flight bookings.

“We sincerely apologise for the frustration caused by our call centre congestion. I assure you that you will have a whole new experience with our new international call centre when it’s up and running in six weeks,” Fernandes said. — Bernama

rizalhakim

December 31st, 2008, 02:48 AM

AirAsia's integrated call centre ready by Feb
Published: 2008/12/31

AIRASIA'S (5099) new integrated call centre in Kuala Lumpur will be completed by February 15 2009, chief executive officer Datuk Seri Tony Fernandes said yesterday.

He said in a statement that the call centre will be used for all the group's country operations - Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, Australia, Brunei, Cambodia, China, India, Laos, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Vietnam and the UK.

"As we are presently undergoing migration, our call centre is operating with limitations and thus you may find the lines to be heavily congested. On average we receive a total of 15,000 calls a day," he said.

Fernandes said if possible, customers should avoid calling the call centre for the next six weeks while it is ramping up.
As an alternative, they can utilise the airline's website to perform various tasks and transactions relating to their flight bookings and even holiday and hotel reservations.

"Our continuous improvements on the website will enable you to do even more things online in the future. We acknowledge that technology will cost us more but at the same time we are committed to giving you excellent services," Fer-nandes added.

rizalhakim

December 31st, 2008, 04:02 AM

AirAsia to set up integrated call centre

PETALING JAYA: AirAsia is building an integrated call centre to handle problems faced by customers at all its destinations.

The carrier said the call centre would link the low cost airline’s operations in Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, Australia, Brunei, Cambodia, China, India, Laos, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Vietnam and Britain.

Based in Kuala Lumpur, the centre would enable AirAsia to better respond to the more than 15,000 calls it receives daily.

It will become fully operational on Feb 15.

AirAsia’s chief executive officer Datuk Tony Fernandes has appealed to the public not to use its call centre for the next six weeks.

He said customers would experience difficulty getting through to the centre during the migration process from the current to the new system.

“We sincerely apologise for the frustrations caused by our call centre congestions.

“You will have a whole new experience with our new international call centre when it’s up and running” he said.

Fernandes advised customers to refer to the airline’s website to perform any necessary tasks or transactions.

rizalhakim

December 31st, 2008, 05:59 AM

Laman portal beli barangan, produk AirAsia

AIRASIA, peneraju penerbangan tambang murah di Asia, melancarkan laman portal membeli-belahnya baru-baru ini, The Red Megastore, yang menawarkan pelbagai barangan dan produk AirAsia mampu milik.

Pelancarannya sejajar dengan musim perayaan terutama sambutan Krismas baru-baru ini, memudahkan pelanggan dengan menawarkan laman membeli-belah dengan selesa kerana pembelian boleh dilakukan dari rumah atau di mana saja hanya dengan menekan papan kekunci komputer.

Ketua Komersial Serantau AirAsia, Kathleen Tan, berkata, pelanggan boleh melayari www.redmegastore.com untuk membeli-belah pelbagai barangan menarik menerusi katalog yang disediakan di laman berkenaan.

Menurutnya, melalui katalog berkenaan, pelanggan dapat memilih barangan mengikut kategori seperti fesyen yang menawarkan pilihan kemeja-T dan topi serta kategori produk teknologi termasuk adaptor perjalanan universal dan USB flash drive yang merangkumi rekaan menarik seperti kartun serta model mini kapal terbang Airbus A320.

“Menerusi The Red Megastore, pelbagai barangan dan produk yang sebelum ini hanya dijual di dalam penerbangan dan di kios kami di terminal kini boleh didapati secara terus di Internet.

“Barangan dan produk kami ditawarkan dengan harga yang berpatutan bagaimanapun dijamin berkualiti memandangkan produk kami direka oleh vendor terpilih yang menawarkan khidmat kualiti dan nilai yang tinggi,” katanya dalam satu kenyataan, di Kuala Lumpur, baru-baru ini.

rizalhakim

January 6th, 2009, 02:51 AM

AirAsia launches regional sale
Published: 2009/01/05

AIRASIA, Asia’s pioneering low-cost airline, has launched a regional sale offering airfares starting as low as RM9 excluding airport taxes, administration fees and applicable for one-way travel for domestic and international routes.

The low fares offered are available to all of its Asian destinations departing from its hub from Kuala Lumpur, Kota Kinabalu, Kuching, Johor, Bangkok, Jakarta and Bali, it said.

The sale will be from January 6-18 for travel from February 9 to June 30, this year, AirAsia said in a statement in Kuala Lumpur today.

“With over 100 routes to choose from, we believe we cater to leisure and business travellers, giving them more choices and flexibility with our unbeatable low fares and extensive flight frequencies,” its regional head of commercial, Kathleen Tan, said.

The offer is only applicable through Internet booking at www.airasia.com. - Bernama

rizalhakim

January 7th, 2009, 06:55 AM

New Low Cost Long Haul Flights from the UK to Malaysia Could Boost Property Purchases

http://www.overseaspropertymall.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/11/airasiax-thumb.jpg
AirAsia X, part of Asia’s leading low-cost carrier AirAsia have announced their intention to provide low-cost, long-haul flights between Europe and the Asia-Pacific region. The intended launch is scheduled for March 2009 and will feature flight services between London Stansted and Kuala Lumpur.

The flights are aimed at undercutting the fares of existing full-service network carriers by 40 to 50 per cent. As more and more Brits buy second homes in Malaysia, this could potentially be a great booster for overseas property purchases. The “Malaysia My Second Home” (MM2H) program has been increasingly popular with British investors since it was introduced in 2002.

Lead-in fares will start at £99 ($151) one way. This fare includes taxes and charges. Average fares are expected to be about £150 one way.

The chief executive and founder of Asia’s low cost air carrier, Tony Fernandes is convinced that the new airline will revolutionise air travel between Asia and Europe. The company plans to offer around 20 percent of low priced seats. We believe that besides the obvious, the launch of this new route will also help to invigorate property purchases for both the Malaysian and European markets. The ideal seven hour flight time allows second home owners to toggle between their home and their investment property at affordable prices.

The MM2H program in Malaysia is open to citizens of all countries recognized by Malaysia regardless of race, religion, gender or age. Applicants are allowed to bring their spouses and unmarried children below the age of 18 as dependants. Some of the benefits of the MM2H program include:

Each participant is allowed to purchase residential houses at price above RM250,000, depending on the location of the property.
Each participant is allowed to bring in his/her own personal car OR to purchase a locally-assembled car without the need to pay import duty, excise duty and sales tax.
Each applicant is allowed to apply for one maid subject to the prevailing guidelines of the Immigration Department of Malaysia.
Applicants are allowed to bring their children under 18 years old and not married as their dependants under this programme. Children who intend to continue their schooling in Malaysia are required to apply for a Student Pass and should be insured throughout their stay under this programme.
Participants are bound by the policies, systems and regulations of taxes of this country and they do not have exemption qualifications as granted to Diplomatic Missions in Malaysia. However, tax exemption is given to pension remitted into Malaysia. Participants are required to obtain the endorsement from the Authorities in their country of origin as to the total amount of yearly pension received. A copy of this letter has to be submitted in their application. Source: MM2H
The targeted route will aggressively target existing airlines, offering passengers options to travel light on the old wallet. In the future, AirAsiaX will also offer low fare competition between Australia and the UK, with the intention of being the first ever airline to do this successfully.

In the past, many trials like these have not seen the light of day such as Freddie Laker’s Skytrain and People express of the US 30 years ago. Oasis Hong Kong Airlines, which launched in October 2006 between Hong Kong and London Gatwick and Zoom Airlines, which started in June 2007 between Gatwick and New York, both collapsed in 2008.

One of the biggest issues of far distance travel has always been the cost of air fares. With the new launch, this might well be a thing of the past.

AirAsia X, started flying in November 2007 between Australia’s Gold Coast and Kuala Lumpur. In February this year they extended their network to include flights to China and not so long ago from Kuala Lumpur to Perth and Melbourne in Australia.

Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin group holds a 16 per cent stake in AirAsiaX. Eventually, the company will offer flights from Kuala Lumpur to destinations such as China, the Middle East, India, Australia and Japan.

patchay

January 7th, 2009, 12:54 PM

http://img65.imageshack.us/img65/7558/airasiagt0.jpg

rizalhakim

January 8th, 2009, 08:35 AM

AirAsia terus gamit penumpang
Oleh Efindi Badarudin

AIRASIA, syarikat perintis penerbangan kos rendah Asia memulakan langkah awal bagi menarik lebih ramai penumpang menggunakan perkhidmatan syarikat penerbangan itu walaupun ketika dalam keadaan krisis ekonomi global supaya mereka mampu menggunakan pengangkutan udara ketika krisis.

Sehubungan itu AirAsia melancarkan jualan serantau dengan menawarkan tambang udara bermula serendah RM9 tidak termasuk cukai lapangan terbang kepada penumpangnya.

Tambang murah yang ditawarkan itu boleh didapati di semua destinasi Asianya yang berlepas dari habnya di Kuala Lumpur, Kota Kinabalu, Kuching, Johor, Bangkok, Jakarta dan Bali, katanya.

Jualan itu ialah dari 6 hingga 18 Januari ini bagi perjalanan dari 9 Februari hingga 30 Jun tahun ini, mampu memberikan banyak pilihan kepada pelanggan untuk menikmatinya.

Bagaimanapun, tiket tambang murah itu hanya boleh dilanggan melalui laman web di www.airasia.com.

Ketua Komersial Serantaunya, Kathleen Tan (gambar) berkata, dengan tawaran tambang serendah RM9 itu pelanggan dapat memilih destinasi mereka seperti Singapura, Langkawi, Pulau Pinang, Alor Star, Kota Bahru dan Johor Bahru dengan berlepas dari habnya di Kuala Lumpur.

Menurutnya, selain itu laluan popular turut dimasukkan dalam tawaran tambang murah iaitu pelanggan hanya perlu membayar RM59 bagi perjalanan sehala untuk perjalanan termasuk ke Kota Kinabalu, Kuching, Phuket, Krabi, Medan dan banyak lagi destinasi pelancongan.

Katanya, sesetengah destinasi pelancongan popular seperti Bali, Chiang Mai, Macau dan Shenzhen pula ditawrakan tambang pada harga RM99.

“Tawaran ini mampu menarik minat lebih ramai penumpang untuk menggunakan perkhidmatan udara kami kerana ia memberikan mereka lebih banyak pilihan dan keanjalan dengan tambang murah kami tidak boleh diatasi dan kekerapan penerbangan yang luas,” katanya.

Kathleen berkata, AirAsia turut bergabung dengan AirAsia X dengan menawarkan kempen ke Hangzhou dan Perth dengan harga RM259, Melbourne dan Gold Coast RM499 serta laluan yang baru dilancarkan London hanya dengan RM999.

Skyprince

January 8th, 2009, 12:05 PM

next route: KL- Tianjin ?

rizalhakim

January 9th, 2009, 03:18 AM

AirAsia in funding talks
By Presenna NambiarPublished: 2009/01/09

The airline is exploring financing options in the event that it has to be the party developing the RM1.6 billion low cost carrier terminal in Labu

AIRASIA Bhd is in talks with infrastructure funds and bankers on the funding needed to develop the RM1.6 billion airport in Labu, Negri Sembilan.

"Sime Darby Bhd has not finalised whether they will be an equity holder, developer or just outright sell the land to us. So, on our side, we have to be prepared for any eventuality," AirAsia Bhd deputy chief executive officer Datuk Kamaruddin Meranun told reporters in Sepang yesterday.

AirAsia said the group was prepared to own the airport, but preferred to be just an operator.

The airport, to be built on 1,200ha, is to be completed by March 2011.

"So, in the event that Sime Darby says we have to develop it ourselves, we have already started talking to some infrastructure funds and bankers. We are not concerned about financing," Kamaruddin said.

Yesterday, AirAsia held a briefing and tour of the proposed site for the new airport in an effort to stem a public outcry against the project.

Sime Darby officials are expected to speak to the media about the project next week.

AirAsia chief executive officer Datuk Seri Tony Fernandes has dubbed the low cost carrier terminal (LCCT) to be built in Labu as "Terminal Rakyat".

"We want the public to understand what we are trying to do and that we are trying to do something good for the country," Fernandes said.

KLIA East is to be connected to two rail links, via Keretapi Tanah Melayu and Express Rail Link, at a cost of RM20 million.

Details on which party will finance the links have not been finalised.

On why AirAsia needed its own airport when Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd (MAHB) had already made known plans of building a permanent LCCT with a capacity of 30 million passengers, Fernandes said he did not think that it would be feasible for MAHB to build the terminal, considering the delays which had occurred during the expansion of the existing LCCT.

According to Fernandes, the expanded LCCT was supposed to be ready by September 2007. It is still undergoing work and will be completed by March this year.

"The last time I spoke to MAHB, they told me they could only build me a permanent LCCT by 2014 at a site opposite the main terminal now. That made us very, very nervous," he said.

Consequently, the airline began looking for an alternative, Fernandes said.

"The key thing is, we cannot slow down our growth; we have planes coming in. For AirAsia X alone, there will be six planes by the end of 2009," he said.

MAHB, in a press statement last Monday, had said that AirAsia had been consulted on the development of its National Airport Master Plan, which includes the proposed permanent LCCT.

Fernandes said that he was open to MAHB having an interest in the Labu airport.

rizalhakim

January 10th, 2009, 05:00 AM

Tambang murah punca Malaysia transit sindiket dadah

KUALA LUMPUR: Penerbangan tambang murah yang ditawarkan syarikat penerbangan tempatan dikenal pasti antara faktor Malaysia dijadikan pangkalan dan pusat transit sindiket pengedaran dadah antarabangsa didalangi warga Afrika.

Pengarah Jabatan Siasatan Jenayah Narkotik Bukit Aman, Datuk Zulhasnan Najib Baharudin, berkata siasatan terhadap beberapa sindiket pengedaran dadah antarabangsa yang ditum-paskan mendapati Malaysia menjadi pilihan sebagai negara transit.

Katanya, kebanyakan anggota sindiket ini membawa masuk dadah ke Malaysia dan membawa ke luar negara menggunakan perkhidmatan penerbangan tambang murah kerana kos perbelanjaan penerbangan yang murah.

“Apabila anggota sindiket tiba di Malaysia bersama dadah, mereka akan menghubungi ahli yang sedia menunggu untuk mencari sasaran warga tempatan teru-tama wanita untuk dijadikan kurier.

“Berdasarkan tangkapan sebelum ini, kita dapati kebanyakan dadah diseludup masuk adalah untuk pasaran negara luar. Ini kerana, beberapa dadah seperti kokain dan heroin menjadi pilihan pelancong asing di negara tertentu,” katanya pada sidang media di sini, semalam.

Zulhasnan berkata, selepas beberapa kejayaan diperoleh polis dengan kekuatan anggota yang digandakan baru-baru ini, sindiket terbabit didapati mengubah taktik dengan menggunakan warga asing sebagai kurier.

Katanya, tahun lalu, kebanyakan kurier warga asing yang digunakan adalah dari Singapura, Indonesia dan Filipina kerana mereka masih tidak mengetahui muslihat sindiket ini berbanding wanita Malaysia.

“Sepanjang tahun lalu, 50 warga tempatan dijadikan kurier dadah berjaya ditahan berbanding 70 pada 2007.

“Pada masa sama, 27 warga Afrika yang menjadi anggota sindiket itu sudah dikenakan tindakan seperti didakwa mengikut Seksyen 39B Akta Dadah Berbahaya, Langkah-langkah Pencegahan Khas (LLPK),” katanya.

Zulhasnan berkata, hasil operasi pencegahan didapati tahun lalu jumlah rakyat Malaysia yang ditahan kerana menjadi kurier di luar negara menurun kepada 85 berbanding 134 pada 2007.

“Pada tahun lalu, polis juga berjaya merampas pelbagai jenis dadah bernilai RM148.9 juta di seluruh negara,” katanya.

rizalhakim

January 12th, 2009, 04:18 AM

AirAsia X eyes Japan after Tokyo eases visa rules
Published: 2009/01/12

LONG-haul budget airline AirAsia X said it hopes to launch flights to at least three destinations in Japan by year-end after Tokyo relaxed its tough visa requirements for Malaysians.

"With our new A330-300 being delivered, I hope to mount flights by end of the year to at least three destination in Japan," chief executive officer Azran Osman-Rani said yesterday.

Azran said since October, Japanese officials had dropped the requirement for Malaysian travellers to show a confirmed ticket and accommodation before a visa was issued.

"We explained to the Japanese authorities how our ticket booking model works and they accepted it," he said.

Azran last July said AirAsia had to delay flying to Japan due to the tough visa rules. AirAsia was concerned over what would happen if a passenger bought a ticket online but was then refused a visa.

The three destinations are to the north (Hokkaido), Osaka and Fukuoka, he said. - AFP

rizalhakim

January 12th, 2009, 05:32 AM

AirAsia X eyes Japan after easing of tough visa rule

KUALA LUMPUR: Long-haul budget airline AirAsia X hopes to launch flights to at least three destinations in Japan by the end of the year after Tokyo relaxed its tough visa rules for Malaysians.

“With our new A330-300 being delivered, I hope to mount flights to at least three destination in Japan,” chief executive officer Azran Osman-Rani told AFP.

Azran said since October, Japanese officials had dropped the requirement for Malaysian travellers to show a confirmed ticket and accommodation before a visa was issued.

“We explained to the Japanese authorities how our ticket booking model works and they accepted it,” he said.

In July, Azran said AirAsia had to delay flying to Japan due to the tough visa rules.

He added that AirAsia was concerned over what would happen if a passenger bought a ticket online but was then refused a visa.

The three destinations are to the north (Hokkaido), Osaka and Fukuoka, he said.

An affiliate of regional low-cost carrier AirAsia and Virgin Group, AirAsia X was launched in January 2007.

AirAsia and AirAsia X have common shareholders, including AirAsia founder and CEO Tony Fernandes.

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

rizalhakim

January 13th, 2009, 09:54 AM

AirAsia starts new baggage policy
Published: 2009/01/13

LOW cost carrier AirAsia has implemented a new baggage policy from today.

Dubbed Supersize, AirAsia pasengers can now choose from three tiers of baggage sizes when purchasing tickets online.

For domestic flights, customers can choose from Supersize Regular for up to 15kg of baggage and pay a nominal sum of RM5, Supersize Medium for up to 20kg at RM43 or Supersize Large for up to 25kg at RM80.

For international sectors, the charges are RM5, RM55 and RM105 for Supersize Regular, Supersize Medium and Supersize Large respectively, it said in a statement today.

“With the implementation of Supersize, customers no longer have to pay the checked-in baggage handling fee of RM5 per piece of luggage.

“This means passengers who opt for Supersize Regular can check in more than one piece of luggage but only pay RM5 as long as the total weight does not exceed 15kg,” regional head of commercial Kathleen Tan said.

She said a similar baggage policy had previously been implemented for AirAsia X flights with rate revisions for its Supersize implementation.

Tan also said from today, Supersize Regular for AirAsia X remains at the previous rate of RM20, while Supersize Medium and Supersize Large now cost RM55 and RM105 respectively.

Meanwhile, the over-the-counter excess baggage fees remains at RM15 per kg for domestic flights and RM20 per kg for international sectors, she said.

“There is also no change to AirAsia X excess baggage charge of RM20 per kg on all its international sectors, except for London Stansted, where the charge is RM50 per kg,” Tan added. — Bernama

rizalhakim

January 14th, 2009, 06:38 AM

AirAsia perkenal dasar bagasi baru tiga saiz

SYARIKAT penerbangan tambang murah, AirAsia kini menawarkan satu dasar bagasi baru untuk pelanggan dalam talian yang membabitkan tiga saiz bagasi ketika membeli tempat duduk secara dalam talian berkuat kuasa semalam.

Bagi penerbangan domestik, pelanggan boleh memilih bagasi dari 'Supersize Regular' sehingga berat 15 kilogram (kg) dan membayar jumlah nominal RM5, 'Supersize Medium' sehingga 20kg pada harga RM43 atau 'Supersize Large' sehingga 25kg pada harga RM80.

Bagi sektor antarabangsa, caj yang dikenakan masing-masing ialah RM5, RM55 dan RM105 bagi 'Supersize Regular,' 'Supersize Medium' dan 'Supersize Large', katanya di dalam satu kenyataan hari ini.

Ketua Serantau Komersialnya, Kathleen Tan, berkata dengan pelaksanaan bagasi 'Supersize,' pelanggan kini tidak perlu membayar yuran pengendalian bagasi yang didaftar masuk sebanyak RM5 bagi setiap beg.

"Ini bermakna penumpang yang memilih 'Supersize Regular' boleh mendaftar masuk lebih daripada satu beg tetapi hanya perlu membayar RM5, asalkan jumlah berat tidak melebihi 15kg," katanya.

Beliau berkata, dasar bagasi yang sama dilaksanakan sebelum ini bagi penerbangan AirAsia X, dengan semakan semula kadar bagi pelaksanaan 'Supersize.'

"Mulai semalam, 'Supersize Regular' AirAsia X kekal pada kadar RM20 sebelum ini, manakala 'Supersize Medium' dan 'Supersize Large' kini masing-masing perlu bayar RM55 dan RM105," katanya.

rizalhakim

January 15th, 2009, 03:06 AM

AirAsia staff call for public support of proposed LCCT
Published: 2009/01/15

BUDGET airline AirAsia Bhd's (5099) employees have voiced their support for a low-cost carrier terminal (LCCT) to be built in Labu, Negri Sembilan, and appealed to the public to do the same.

The staff have set up a blog or website where they will try and clear misconceptions and provide answers regarding the proposed terminal, dubbed KLIA East@Labu.

"We would like to appeal to you to voice out your support for the project and for lower fares, convenience and a comfortable environment," they said in a statement, signed by "the 6,500 dedicated and hardworking staff at AirAsia", yesterday.

They have also asked the public to write in to the various media, including blogs, on the issue.
Of late, the proposed LCCT has generated much debate and discussion in the print, broadcast and online media.

"We appreciate the fact that almost all who have voiced their views agree that AirAsia and AirAsia X need a new terminal.

"For us, the staff, the new terminal is very much a matter of the company's survival given the number of new aircraft joining our ranks - at least two are being delivered every month - and the growth in passengers, estimated to reach 60 million in 2013."

The employees also said that complaints had been made about the cramped facilities at the existing LCCT in Sepang, operated and managed by Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd.

The new terminal is slated for operation in March 2011.

rizalhakim

January 15th, 2009, 08:23 AM

AirAsia terbang semula dari

AIRASIA, syarikat peneraju penerbangan tambang murah Asia, mengumumkan akan membuka semula laluannya dari Kota Kinabalu ke Macau dan Kuching ke Macau bermula 1 Mac depan.

Syarikat penerbangan berkenaan turut meningkatkan kekerapan bagi perkhidmatan Kuala Lumpur ke Macau kepada empat penerbangan sehari bermula 1 Mac depan berbanding tiga penerbangan sehari ketika ini.

Sehubungan itu, AirAsia turut menawarkan tambang rendah istimewa untuk semua penerbangan ke Macau dari semua destinasi berkenaan. Tiket Kuala Lumpur ke Macau kini serendah RM99 sehala manakala Kota Kinabalu ke Macau dan Kuching ke Macau untuk RM49 sehala untuk direbut.

AirAsia juga melancarkan laluan baru domestiknya, Kota Kinabalu ke Sibu dengan tempat duduk percuma.

Tempoh tempahan untuk semua tambang istimewa itu bermula 14 Januari (semalam) sehingga 18 Januari ini, untuk jangka masa penerbangan dari 1 Mac hingga 24 Oktober 2009.

Laluan baru itu bakal menawarkan laluan udara dan pelengkap kepada operasi syarikat berkenaan merangkumi timur Malaysia serta menyokong usaha kerajaan membangunkan Sabah dan Sarawak sebagai pusat dagangan, pelaburan dan pelancongan rantau ini.

Ketua Komersial Serantau AirAsia, Kathleen Tan, dalam kenyataannya di Kuala Lumpur, semalam, berkata, meluaskan laluan udara adalah kunci kepada pertumbuhan syarikat di mana pada masa sama, ia menawarkan perkhidmatan untuk perniagaan dan pelancongan.

“AirAsia akan berterusan menyesuaikan diri dengan kapasiti kami dalam kedudukan pasaran dan berusaha untuk mencari peluang baru bagi menepati permintaan pasaran.

“Kami berbesar hati berpeluang membuka semula laluan berkenaan dari Malaysia Timur ke Macau memandangkan ia memenuhi kehendak pasaran yang inginkan laluan itu. Manakala laluan baru Kota Kinabalu ke Sibu pula dijangka akan mengukuhkan lagi komunikasi antara kedua-dua pusat dagangan di Malaysia Timur itu,” katanya.

rizalhakim

January 19th, 2009, 06:52 AM

LCCT: AirAsia sepatutnya fokus perniagaan teras
KUALA LUMPUR 16 Jan. - AirAsia Bhd. sepatutnya memberi fokus kepada perniagaan terasnya sebagai syarikat penerbangan tambang murah kerana perniagaan lapangan terbang tidak menjaminkan keuntungan.

Penganalisis OSK Research, Ng Sem Guan berkata, mengambil contoh Senai Airport Terminal Services Sdn. Bhd. (SATS), yang mengambil alih Lapangan Terbang Antarabangsa di Johor daripada Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd. (MAHB) pada 2003 masih lagi bekerja keras untuk meraih keuntungan.

Berikutan itu beliau mempersoalkan mengapa AirAsia berhasrat untuk mengendalikan lapangan terbang sendiri di Pulau Pinang.

''MAHB telah menawarkan caj perkhidmatan penumpang (PSC) dan perkhidmatan keselamatan penumpang (PSSC) yang rendah bagi penumpang yang berlepas dari Terminal Penerbangan Tambang Murah (LCCT) di Lapangan Terbang Antarabangsa Kuala Lumpur (KLIA) dan Kuching.

''Oleh itu, kami berpendapat MAHB akan mengenakan pakej yang sama sekiranya LCCT dibina di Pulau Pinang.

''AirAsia juga menikmati pelbagai insentif pendaratan percuma dan yuran letak kapal terbang dengan memperkenalkan laluan baru, oleh itu tidak semestinya AirAsia mampu mengekalkan kos lebih rendah jika mengendalikan lapangan terbang sendiri,'' katanya dalam nota penyelidikan.

OSK Research memberi reaksi itu ekoran keputusan AirAsia untuk mendapatkan lesen sebagai pengendali lapangan terbang di LCCT barunya di Pulau Pinang dengan alasan untuk mengekalkan kos yang lebih rendah.

Cadangan membina LCCT di Pulau Pinang itu dijangka menelan kos sebanyak RM120 juta.

Ia merupakan 'perjuangan' kedua syarikat tersebut selepas mendapat kelulusan membina KLIA-East di Labu.

Sem Guan berkata, OSK Research tidak terpengaruh cadangan KLIA-East dan LCCT di Pulau Pinang kerana kedua-duanya tidak mempunyai kesan keuntungan kepada kewangan AirAsia dalam jangka pendek.

Bagaimanapun, Sem Guan dalam ulasannya menyokong pembinaan LCCT baru di Pulau Pinang atau meningkatkan infrastruktur di lapangan terbang sedia ada bagi menyediakan lebih banyak laluan baru, khususnya penerbangan terus antarabangsa dan menyediakan lebih banyak rangkaian penerbangan ke negeri itu.

''Dengan kedudukan Pulau Pinang sebagai negeri industri utama dan menjadi lokasi tumpuan syarikat multinasional, lapangan terbang yang besar akan meningkatkan lagi jumlah pelabur ke negeri itu.

''Ia juga akan meningkatkan pertumbuhan ekonomi negeri-negeri jirannya seperti Kedah, Perlis dan Perak,'' katanya.

rizalhakim

January 19th, 2009, 09:59 AM

AirAsia to fly to Macau from Penang Mar 1
Published: 2009/01/19

AIRASIA will launch its new international route from Penang to Macau beginning March 1 this year.

There will be four direct weekly flights from Penang and three direct weekly flights from Macau, the low-cost carrier said in a statement today.

AirAsia said one-way minimum fare is RM49 and available online via its website from January 19-25 for travel between March 1 and October 24.

With this addition, AirAsia now serves four international routes namely Indonesia, Thailand, China and within Peninsular Malaysia. — Bernama

rizalhakim

January 20th, 2009, 02:53 AM

AirAsia to start Penang-Macau flights on March 1
Published: 2009/01/20

BUDGET carrier AirAsia Bhd (5099) will fly from Penang to Macau from March 1 2009, with four weekly flights from Penang and three weekly flights from Macau.

To promote the new route, it is offering fares from as low as RM49 one way excluding airport taxes, and admininstration fees.

The promotional offer is exclusively available online via AirAsia's website.

Booking period is from January 19 to January 25 this year for travel between March 1 and October 24 2009.
"We anticipate more travellers from China to the state when the flight commences in March and look forward to working closely with AirAsia in stimulating traffic demand to the state," Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng said in a statement yesterday.

He said the state will continue to support the airline in boosting its tourism industry.

With this new addition, AirAsia now serves four international destinations from Penang, namely Jakarta, Medan, Bangkok and Macau. Within Peninsular Malaysia, it flies from Penang to Johor Baru, Kota Kinabalu, Kuala Lumpur and Kuching.

AirAsia is currently lobbying to have a low-cost carrier terminal in Penang.

rizalhakim

January 20th, 2009, 08:05 AM

AirAsia keen on more landing rights in Philippines
by Gan Yen Kuan
Email us your feedback at fd@bizedge.com

KUALA LUMPUR: AirAsia Bhd is working on securing more landing rights in the Philippines to expand its network in the republic, its group chief executive Datuk Seri Tony Fernandes said.

In particular, he said, the budget carrier was keen for both its associates — Indonesia AirAsia and Thai AirAsia — to fly to Cebu, Manila, Davao and Zamboanga in the Philippines next year.

“We are keen to open more points from Thailand into the Philippines, as well as from Jakarta. We are looking at Cebu right now, and we are very keen on going to Manila. We also really want to develop Zamboanga and Davao.

“(Our target) is next year for sure. We hope we get the rights. Getting rights is not easy,” he told reporters after the launching of the Asean Basketball League here yesterday.

Currently, AirAsia’s only destination in the Philippines is Clark, about 80km north of Manila, with daily flights out of Kuala Lumpur and Kota Kinabalu.

At yesterday’s event, Fernandes launched the Asean Basketball League (ABL), an initiative by South East Asian Basketball Association and several private investors to create a regional basketball league that will see the participation of professional teams owned and operated by private owners.

ABL will be hosted by cities in each Asean member country, with the first season scheduled to start in September this year and end in February 2010. Fernandes, who is the league’s chairman, and several other investors would provide the initial funding of some RM5 million.

“This (ABL) has got nothing to do with AirAsia and Tune group. It’s in my personal capacity. I’ve always loved sports,” Fernandes said.

Asked if AirAsia would be chosen as the exclusive carrier to transport ABL’s players and fans, he said: “It’s up to ABL to propose to AirAsia. Naturally, it makes sense for AirAsia. We can move fans around due to our strong connectivity in Asean.”

Bernama reported that AirAsia would launch a new route from Penang to Macau beginning March 1. There will be four direct flights a week from Penang and three a week from Macau. The minimum fare for a one-way trip is RM49 and tickets can be booked online from Jan 19 to 25, for travel between March 1 and Oct 24.

rizalhakim

January 21st, 2009, 03:19 AM

AirAsia launches Bangkok-Bali route
Published: 2009/01/21

AIRASIA has launched its direct daily flights to Bali from Bangkok.

In a statement yesterday, AirAsia said the route, which was opened for booking on December 17, 2008, would further strengthen its aggressive expansion plans.

The airline said yesterday also marked the start of its maiden flight to Guangzhou, China, from Bangkok.

Both routes are operated by Thai AirAsia, an associate of the AirAsia group.

“To commemorate this special occasion, the airline is offering special low fares online for flights to Bali from Bangkok.

“The flight is now on sale for 999 baht one way,” it said. — Bernama

nazrey

January 26th, 2009, 07:08 AM

New routes can mean more business, says AirAsia X’s CEO
Monday January 26, 2009

BEIJING: AirAsia X’s new routes to more Chinese cities in the future can translate into more business opportunities for both countries, said AirAsia X Sdn Bhd chief executive officer Azran Osman Rani.

“We started flying to China less than two years ago but the number of passengers has grown 50%,” he said in an interview.

Azran was among the over-70-member delegation led by MCA president Datuk Seri Ong Tee Keat for a six-day visit to Beijing to foster closer ties and strengthen co-operation in various areas such as aviation and port development.

On Tuesday, Ong met his counterparts before calling on Jia Qinglin, China’s People’s Political Consultative Conference chairman, and raised the question of greater aviation co-operation between both countries.

It was reported earlier that Ong had said the two countries would fully utilise the rights allowed in their bilateral agreement after 2010.

The low-cost carrier will be flying to Tianjin five times a week from March and will increase the frequency to daily flights after September.

It will also begin flights to Xi’an and Chengdu this year after time slots have been confirmed.

On the new routes, Azran said they expected to see a big surge of passengers once they were able to fly direct to other Chinese cities.

Currently, AirAsia X, the long-haul low-cost affiliate of AirAsia, flies to Macau and Hangzhou in China.

The electrical engineer from Stanford University added that the carrier would make Beijing more affordable and would bring people to the capital through Tianjin.

“After this, we want to include Chengdu, Xi’an, and Chongqing.’

“We hope our presence will help people (the Chinese) here understand that the low-cost carrier brings a much greater market,” he said.

With China’s significant new middle class, Azran said the new routes would help the carrier get a greater share of the market.

“China is so huge that what we are doing now is just scratching the surface,” he added.

One challenge to entering the Chinese market had been getting approval.

“Had we not got our Minister of Transport here, we may not have obtained the approval to fly to Tianjin this fast,” he said in expressing his gratitude to Ong.

On the cost of entering the Chinese market, Azran said it would take them two to three years to recoup the expenses, adding it was long-term investment for them.

http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2009/1/26/nation/3118813&sec=nation

rizalhakim

February 1st, 2009, 09:23 AM

AirAsia X targets RM200mil profit
By JAGDEV SINGH SIDHU

AIRASIA X Sdn Bhd, which started business just over a year ago, is projecting revenue of RM1bil and a net profit of RM200mil this year.

The long-haul associate company of AirAsia Bhd posted a modest profit in the last quarter and says the big leap in the business will come as it takes delivery of more planes and flies to more destinations this year.

“We have more seats per plane and we fly more hours,” chief executive officer Azran Osman Rani tells StarBizWeek. “These two things give us a 50% unit-cost advantage over a traditional long-haul carrier.”

Azran Osman Rani
The huge improvement forecast by AirAsia X is a stark contrast to what most airlines around the world are saying and experiencing. Mounting losses and sluggish load factors have cast a long shadow over the industry that has been rocked by one problem after another, the latest being high fuel prices and poor demand.

The International Air Transport Association has forecast airlines would lose billions of dollars globally as passenger travel is expected to decline by 3% and cargo by 5% in 2009.

The global economic slowdown will depress travel demand, but AirAsia X feels whatever passengers it will lose would be made up by those who opt for cheaper fares.

“This is a climate where people will be more value-conscious,” Azran says. “The bottom market will fall and the top end of the market will trade down.”

The path to profitability for AirAsia X began in November last year when, after using just one leased plane since November 2007, it took delivery of two new aircraft.

The new A330s had 383 economy class seats as opposed to the traditional layout of between 280 and 295 seats.

“By having more seats, our unit costs were lower,” Azran says, adding that the new planes also mean higher fuel efficiency. He is targeting a cost of 2.5 US cents per available seat km in 2009, as opposed to what the benchmark of between 6 cents and 7 cents for traditional full service airlines.

The airline has also been lucky that it has been buying fuel from the spot market and is not paying the penalty of hedging fuel costs at much higher prices.

Azran says even though hedging is something the airline will look at as its fleet grows, that will not be done at the moment.

Another plus for AirAsia X is that its planes fly more hours per day than a traditional full service airline because it does not employ a spoke and hub model.

By connecting into AirAsia’s regional network from the low-cost carrier terminal, AirAsia X has been able to cater to travellers who do not have Kuala Lumpur as their final destination. Those factors - high turnaround, lower cost and more seats - mean it can charge far less for each ticket and make a good profit at the same time.

Helping growth and profitability are the high load factors enjoyed since its launch. The original routes to the Gold Coast in Australia and Hangzhou in China enjoyed a load factor of 80% and newer routes to Perth and Melbourne saw load factors of 72% and 78% respectively.

“That shows we can quickly get volume - and at prices that make the business work,” says Azran.

More seats and flights led to AirAsia X posting a profit of US$10mil and a profit margin of 30% during the last quarter. For 2008, revenue was RM250mil but AirAsia X sold RM375mil worth of tickets for the year.

The forward sales, currently RM125mil, are expected to grow dramatically this year as more destinations and planes are added to the fleet, and this would help fund the purchase of new aircraft this year.

AirAsia X is expected to take in three new A330s this year from September, four in 2010, six in 2011, six in 2012 and four in 2013.

The airline will fly to Stansted Airport on the outskirts of London from March 11 and will use a A340 that will be configured much like a full service aircraft with business class seats and economy class seats.

Azran believes the flight to London, even though the profit margin would likely be in the single-digit range, would be a key driver for the airline in other aspects.

“London will be a challenge but it’s more for brand recognition and it enhances our credibility with suppliers and financiers,” he says, adding that it should also appeal to the growing number of cost-conscious business class travellers.

The airline plans to take delivery of two A340s this year and have daily flights to Stansted.

Apart from London, AirAsia X will be exploring more routes to China, Australia and India this year.

Should AirAsia X achieve its targeted financial performance for 2009 and based on what it thinks it could do in 2010, Azran says, that would make it an attractive listing candidate. Timing of a listing will, however, depend on the health of the global equities market.

patchay

February 2nd, 2009, 01:27 PM

AirAsia to add 6 new East Asian destinations

PETALING JAYA: Budget airline AirAsia Bhd is increasing the total number of destinations to the greater China region to 13 by year-end from the current seven.

It currently flies to Guangzhou, Guilin, Haikou, Hangzhou and Shenzhen in China and, the Special Adminstrative Regions of Hong Kong and Macao.

AirAsia chief executive officer Datuk Tony Fernandes said at a media briefing Monday that the airline’s new destinations are Tianjin, Chengdu, Chongqing and Xian in China and Taipei and Kaoshiung in Taiwan.

He also said the airline was aiming to increase the total number of passengers on the Malaysia - China routes to 1.5 million.

rizalhakim

February 3rd, 2009, 03:14 AM

AirAsia to expand China routes
By Chong Pooi KoonPublished: 2009/02/03

LOW-cost carrier AirAsia Bhd (5099) will fly to six more cities in China and Taiwan this year, including a city 30 minutes away from Beijing, and aims to carry 1.5 million passengers from that country.

It flew one million passengers to seven China destinations last year, chief executive officer Datuk Seri Tony Fernandes said. AirAsia expects to carry 24 million passengers on all its flights this year, up from an estimated 19 million last year.

"China was phenomenally strong for us in 2008. We now have more flights to China than Singapore's Changi has. It's an amazing feat," Tony told a news conference in AirAsia office at Sepang yesterday.

AirAsia has 76 aircraft currently and will take delivery of another 14 this year, mainly to cater for its China and India routes, Tony said. All its aircraft are financed for the next two years, he said.
He is confident that AirAsia will make a profit this year despite the world recession.

"There is no reason why we won't (make a profit). We are optimistic," he said.

Its first flight to Tianjin, the budget carrier's alternative landing point for Beijing, is scheduled on April 2 and ticket sale will start next week.

The capital city of populous China, Beijing is a crucial destination for AirAsia and travellers to and from that city can fly via Tianjin, which is a mere 30 minutes away through high speed train, Tony said.

AirAsia plans to start flying to Taipei, the capital of Taiwan, within the first six months of the year.

Other new destinations in Greater China include Chengdu, Chongqing, Xian, and Kaoshiung in Southern Taiwan.

"We found that many people are using us to go to other parts of Malaysia, and Australia even. The hub has already happened," he said.

The carrier already flies to seven destinations in China, namely Macau, Hong Kong, Hangzhou, Haikou, Shenzhen, Guangzhou and Xiamen.

It also started flying to some China cities from Kota Kinabalu and Kuching, and will soon launch flights between Penang and Macau. With the new cities this year, it will be servicing almost 20 routes to China.

"We only started flying to China four years ago, but the pace is unbelievable for me. We will do the same with India. Together with Australia and Europe, this will make Malaysia a very strong hub," Tony said.

Meanwhile, Tony has declined to comment on the government's rejection of its plan to build a low-cost terminal in Labu.

"Let's see what happens in two weeks time. Whatever it is, it is going to be good. AirAsia has made its case: we need a new terminal, although we are not insisting on having Labu. It just has to be different from now," he said.

The temporary terminal for low-cost carrier at the KLIA has a capacity for 15 million passengers, and is handling 10 million passengers currently.

rizalhakim

February 3rd, 2009, 03:22 AM

AirAsia flying to new stops in China and Taiwan
By YVONNE TAN

SEPANG: AirAsia Bhd will fly to new destinations in China and Taiwan, according to group chief executive officer Datuk Seri Tony Fernandes.

The stops are Tianjin, Chengdu, Chongqing, Xian in China, as well as Taipei and Kaoshiung in Taiwan.

“China and Taiwan have become very important for Malaysia and we are not slowing down on our expansion,” Fernandes told a media briefing yesterday.

AirAsia first started flying to China in 2002 and has so far carried more than two million passengers between the two countries.

The seven destinations that AirAsia and its associate company AirAsia X are currently flying to are Hangzhou, Macau, Hong Kong, Shenzhen, Haikou, Guilin and Guangzhou.

The low-cost carrier aimed to fly 1.5 million passengers between China and Malaysia this year, up from one million last year, Fernandes said.

“Business is good, business is strong. In these times of gloom and doom, we have been able to create some light in China.

“We will look at India next and are hoping to get rights to about six points there,” Fernandes said.

AirAsia will kickstart its new destinations in China by flying to Tianjin in April and tickets will go on sale this week.

“People in Beijing have been asking me when are we going to Beijing, now we are (in Beijing) as Tianjin is only a 30-minute high-speed train ride to Beijing (and vice-versa),” Fernandes said.

To cope with the new flights, he said AirAsia would take delivery of 14 aircraft this year and AirAsia X, six. AirAsia currently has 76 aircraft in its fleet while AirAsia X has three.

To a question, Fernandes said the financing for aircraft over the next two years had been secured.

On whether the airline would turn in profits this year, he said: “Profits? Wait and see. No reason why we won’t.”

On another matter, he said the low-cost terminal in Sepang currently had a capacity of 10 million passengers per year.

This would increase to 15 million by March with the completion of the new international arrival hall.

“This should last us until 2011,” he said.

On AirAsia’s proposal to build a new low-cost carrier terminal costing RM1.6bil in Labu, Negri Sembilan, he said: “I am not going to comment on this, we will just have to wait.

“The airport will be good, whatever happens. I think AirAsia has made its case very well.”

rizalhakim

February 3rd, 2009, 05:08 AM

AirAsia To Add Six New Destinations To China Region

SEPANG, Feb 2 (Bernama) -- AirAsia Bhd will introduce six new destinations to the China region by year-end, chief executive officer Datuk Seri Tony Fernandes said Monday.

He said the new destinations would be Tianjin, Chengdu, Chongqing and Xian in China and Taipei and Kaoshiung in Taiwan. Currently, AirAsia flies to Guangzhou, Guilin, Haikou, Hangzhou and Shenzhen in China and Hong Kong and Macao.

Tony said flights to Tianjin and Taipei were expected to be available by the first half while Chengdu and Chongqing in the second half and Xian by end of the year.

"From our review we found out that China was phenomenally strong for us in 2008 and so far since we started flights to China, AirAsia have carried two million passengers from and into China.

"This shows that Malaysia has become a very important destination for Chinese people," he said at a press conference here.

He said the review also revealed that the low-cost carrier carried one million passengers in 2008 alone, hence it was aiming to increase the total number of passengers on the Malaysia-China routes to 1.5 million.

"The numbers shows my faith that we could be a strong hub here to China as we now have more flights per week as compared to Changi Airport in Singapore," he said.

The review was a "silver lining for the airline despite the current economic situation and negative news it has been linked to recently," he added.

-- BERNAMA

rizalhakim

February 3rd, 2009, 07:40 AM

AirAsia sasar penumpang China meningkat 1.5 juta

AIRASIA Bhd, syarikat penerbangan tambang murah terkemuka Asia, mensasarkan jumlah penumpangnya dari China meningkat kepada 1.5 juta tahun ini berbanding sejuta tahun lalu, dibantu oleh pengenalan enam destinasi baru.

Ketua Eksekutif Kumpulannya, Datuk Seri Tony Fernandes, berkata enam destinasi baru AirAsia ke China yang akan diperkenalkan tahun ini ialah ke Tianjian (Beijing), Taipei, Chengdu, Chongqing, Xian dengan menggunakan pesawat AirAsia X, manakala satu lagi destinasi iaitu ke Kaushiung, menggunakan pesawat AirAsia.

Beliau berkata, penambahan enam destinasi baru itu akan menjadikan jumlah keseluruhan penerbangan AirAsia ke China tahun ini sebanyak 13 destinasi, termasuk tujuh destinasi sedia ada seperti Shenzhen, Ghuangzhou, Haikou, Macau, Hong Kong dan Guilin.

Beliau menambah, pertambahan 1.5 juta penumpang dari China ke negara ini dijangka merancakkan lagi industri pelancongan dan memberi kesan positif terhadap ekonomi negara.

Sementara itu, Tony berkata, AirAsia ketika ini mempunyai 75 pesawat dan untuk menampung operasinya yang bertambah, ia dijangka menerima 14 lagi pesawat baru untuk AirAsia dan enam untuk AirAsia X tahun ini.

Beliau berkata, tahun ini AirAsia mensasarkan membawa 24 juta penumpang merangkumi semua destinasi penerbangannya berbanding 19 juta, tahun lalu.

"Tahun ini, kami juga menjangkakan kadar muatan penumpang akan meningkat kepada 80 peratus berbanding 75 peratus sekarang," katanya sambil mendedahkan Macau adalah destinasi penyumbang utama pendapatan AirAsia ketika ini.

"Penerbangan pertama ke Tianjian akan bermula 2 April ini, diikuti Taiwan manakala destinasi lain akan bermula pada separuh kedua tahun ini," katanya pada sidang media di pejabatnya di Terminal Penerbangan Tambang Murah (LCCT), Sepang, semalam.

Tony berkata, sejak memulakan operasinya ke China lebih tiga tahun lalu, syarikat sudah mengangkut kira-kira dua juta penumpang dari negara itu dan Malaysia kini adalah satu daripada destinasi terpenting di kalangan rakyat republik itu berdasarkan kekerapan penerbangan.

"Sekarang kita mempunyai lebih banyak penerbangan ke China dalam tempoh seminggu berbanding Lapangan Terbang Antarabangsa Changi, Singapura," katanya.

rizalhakim

February 3rd, 2009, 09:06 AM

Sasar 1.5j penumpang
Oleh Hayati Ibrahim
ya_t@hmetro.com.my

AIRASIA Berhad (AirAsia), syarikat penerbangan tambang murah terkemuka Asia mensasar jumlah penumpang dari China meningkat kepada 1.5 juta tahun ini berbanding satu juta tahun lalu didorong pengenalan enam destinasi baru.

Ketua Eksekutif Kumpulan AirAsia Berhad, Datuk Seri Tony Fernandes, berkata enam destinasi baru akan diperkenalkan sepanjang tahun ini termasuk Tian Jian (Beijing), Taipei, Cheng Du, Chong Qing, Xi An dan Kou Shiong.

Menurutnya, penerbangan ke Kou Shiong menggunakan perkhidmatan AirAsia manakala penerbangan ke Tian Jian (Beijing), Taiwan (Taipei), Cheng Du, Chong Qing, Xi An yang melebihi tempoh penerbangan empat jam akan menggunakan perkhidmatan AirAsia X.

“Penerbangan pertama ke Tian Jian bermula pada 2 April ini sementara Taiwan suku pertama tahun ini manakala tiga lagi destinasi bermula hujung tahun ini.

“Penambahan enam lagi destinasi tahun ini menjadikan jumlah keseluruhan penerbangan AirAsia ke China sebanyak 13 destinasi termasuk sedia ada seperti Shenzhen, Ghuang Zhou, HaiKou, Macau, Hong Kong dan Guilin,” katanya ketika mengumumkan destinasi baru ke China di pejabatnya di Terminal PenerbanganTambang Murah (LCCT), Sepang, semalam.

Menurut Tony, kejayaan Air Asia meraih satu juta penumpang sepanjang 2008 menunjukkan satu fenomena yang amat membanggakan memandangkan ekonomi dunia sedang mengalami kegawatan.

Menurutnya, sejak beroperasi ke China lebih tiga tahun lalu, Air Asia sudah membawa kira-kira dua juta penumpang dari negara Tembok Besar terbabit, sekali gus menunjukkan kadar pertumbuhan penumpang yang amat amat cepat dan memberangsangkan.

“Ini menunjukkan Malaysia kini menjadi satu daripada destinasi terpenting di kalangan rakyat republik itu. Sekarang kita mempunyai lebih banyak penerbangan ke China dalam masa seminggu berbanding Lapangan Terbang Antarabangsa Changi, di Singapura.

“Malah, Malaysia menjadi satu daripada destinasi terbesar berdasarkan kekerapan penerbangan dan ini menunjukkan perkembangan yang amat baik dalam masa singkat,” katanya.

Beliau berkata, pertambahan 1.5 juta penumpang dari China ke negara ini dijangka merancakkan lagi industri pelancongan dan memberi kesan positif terhadap ekonomi di negara ini.

Katanya, ketika ini AirAsia mempunyai 75 pesawat untuk menampung operasi penerbangan syarikat terbabit sama ada yang dimiliki AirAsia atau AirAsia X, malah masing-masing akan menerima 14 dan enam lagi pesawat tahun ini.

Dalam perkembangan lain, Tony berkata sepanjang tahun ini AirAsia mensasarkan untuk membawa 24 juta penumpang dari semua operasi penerbangannya seluruh negara berbanding 19 juta tahun lalu.

“Tahun lalu, kadar muatan kebanyakan penerbangan kami adalah 75 peratus, tetapi tahun ini kami menjangkakan kadar itu akan bertambah kepada 80 peratus,” katanya.

rizalhakim

February 10th, 2009, 05:45 AM

Airasia offers 500,000 free tickets
BERNAMA

BANGKOK, THAILAND, TUES:

AirAsia is offering 500,000 free seats to dozens of its destinations in Southeast Asia, China and Australia.

The latest promotion gives away free seats to holiday destinations Bali, Bangkok, the Gold Coast, Haikou, Hangzhou, Ho Chi Minh City, Hong Kong, Jakarta, Kota Kinabalu, Langkawi, Kuala Lumpur, Kuching, Melbourne, Perth, Phuket, Shenzhen, Siem Reap, Singapore, Yogyakarta and many more other destinations.

“Our 500,000 regional free seats campaign is an important impetus to boost tourist numbers and spread the economic benefits brought on by tourism. We continue our role as the chief campaigner for tourism in this part of the world,” she said in a statement today.

“This should speed up development of tourism and transportation infrastructure here,” Tan said.

AirAsia, which operates over 108 routes to cities in all 10 Asean countries, China, India and Australia, has played a leading role in the growth of tourism in the region, having carried over 55 million passengers over six years.

According to the airline, its no fuel surcharge policy makes the free seats even more attractive to guests who only need to pay for airport tax and administration fee. Guests may also buy complete holiday packages at www.goholiday.airasia.com, where they may choose their holiday lodgings from over 50,000 hotels.

^tamago^

February 10th, 2009, 12:09 PM

It's the usual promo, for travel in October to January. :S

OshHisham

February 10th, 2009, 02:14 PM

seriously, how to get the 'free seat'? i tried for all dates in Oct to Dec but all are charged.

^tamago^

February 10th, 2009, 03:12 PM

rizalhakim

February 11th, 2009, 03:29 AM

AirAsia Offering 500,000 Free Tickets

BANGKOK, Feb 10 (Bernama) -- AirAsia is offering 500,000 free seats to dozens of its destinations in Southeast Asia, China and Australia.

The latest promotion gives away free seats to holiday destinations Bali, Bangkok, the Gold Coast, Haikou, Hangzhou, Ho Chi Minh City, Hong Kong, Jakarta, Kota Kinabalu, Langkawi, Kuala Lumpur, Kuching, Melbourne, Perth, Phuket, Shenzhen, Siem Reap, Singapore, Yogyakarta and many more other destinations.

Guests can grab the free tickets by logging onto www.airasia.com or via mobile phone at mobile.airasia.com. The free seats are available for bookings made from Feb 10-15 for travel from Oct 12 this year till Jan 31 next year.

Kathleen Tan, Commercial Regional Head, AirAsia said that during a time when most people are cutting down on traveling and holidays, the Kuala Lumpur-based airline was coming up with an irresistible alternative that reinforces its commitment to promote tourism in the region.

"Our 500,000 regional free seats campaign is an important impetus to boost tourist numbers and spread the economic benefits brought on by tourism. We continue our role as the chief campaigner for tourism in this part of the world," she said in a statement today.

"This should speed up development of tourism and transportation infrastructure here," Tan said.

AirAsia, which operates over 108 routes to cities in all 10 Asean countries, China, India and Australia, has played a leading role in the growth of tourism in the region, having carried over 55 million passengers over six years.

According to the airline, its no fuel surcharge policy makes the free seats even more attractive to guests who only need to pay for airport tax and administration fee. Guests may also buy complete holiday packages at goholiday.airasia.com, where they may choose their holiday lodgings from over 50,000 hotels. -- BERNAMA

rizalhakim

February 11th, 2009, 09:17 AM

AirAsia to begin KL-Dhaka route Mar 12
Published: 2009/02/11

LOW-cost carrier AirAsia Bhd will start Kuala Lumpur-Dhaka daily route from March 12, the airline said today.

To mark the introduction of the route, AirAsia is offering fares from as low as RM99 (US$29) for a one-way flight, excluding airport tax and administrative fees.

This promotion is available online via AirAsia's website at www.airasia.com.

Booking is open from February 9 to February 15 for travel between March 12 and January 31, 2010, it said in a statement.

The flight to Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh and the country's largest city, will be at 2.10 pm, while from Dhaka to Kuala Lumpur is at 4.45 pm. - Bernama

Skyprince

February 11th, 2009, 06:14 PM

just booked KL-Jakarta flights on Free-seat promo, only RM 47.50 all inclusive wtf !?

fairul

February 11th, 2009, 07:18 PM

http://www.airasiaplus.com/

There is practically none on the medium-haul routes. Only the short-haul routes have free seats left.

http://img12.imageshack.us/img12/8505/picture2ew2.png

The list here (http://www.airasia.com/site/my/en/page.jsp?reference=1mfs) is not accurate.

too bad that the travel period is only for the end of the year..so i end up with 3K and TR for my trip to SIN later this month...RM110 and RM 86...still quite cheap though..

LeeighIam

February 12th, 2009, 12:55 AM

just booked KL-Jakarta flights on Free-seat promo, only RM 47.50 all inclusive wtf !?

why would you 'wtf'?? thought you'd be excited and glad?

OshHisham

February 12th, 2009, 01:17 AM

just booked KL-Jakarta flights on Free-seat promo, only RM 47.50 all inclusive wtf !?

bila gi?

rizalhakim

February 12th, 2009, 04:16 AM

rizalhakim

February 12th, 2009, 04:49 AM

279,000 tiket AirAsia dijual dalam sehari
KUALA LUMPUR - AirAsia, syarikat penerbangan tambang murah terbesar Asia, berjaya menjual 279,000 tempat duduk dalam sehari pelancaran promosi tambangnya yang terkini.

Kira-kira 40 peratus daripada jualan itu datang daripada promosi 500,000 tempat duduk percuma syarikat itu, demikian menurut AirAsia dalam satu kenyataan di sini semalam.

Promosi itu menawarkan tempat duduk percuma kepada hampir semua laluan AirAsia dan AirAsia X.

Kenaikan mendadak yang mencatatkan rekod itu bermula tengah malam Isnin ketika tawaran tempat duduk percuma itu dibuka, dan dalam tempoh dua jam sebanyak 40,000 tempahan diterima dari seluruh dunia.

"Meskipun keadaan ekonomi yang suram, permintaan untuk perjalanan udara masih amat kukuh," kata Ketua Pegawai Eksekutif Kumpulan AirAsia, Datuk Seri Tony Fernandes.

Katanya, jaringan perkhidmatan yang meluas dengan meliputi lebih 108 laluan memainkan peranan utama dalam menarik orang ramai terbang dengan syarikat itu.

Tempat duduk percuma itu boleh didapati dengan tempahan yang dibuat dari 10-15 Februari 2009 bagi perjalanan dari 12 Oktober 2009 hingga 31 Januari 2010. - Bernama

Skyprince

February 12th, 2009, 05:37 AM

why would you 'wtf'?? thought you'd be excited and glad?

camana depa buat duit !?

bila gi?

bulan 10

rizalhakim

February 12th, 2009, 08:54 AM

AirAsia sells record seats in single day

Email us your feedback at fd@bizedge.com

SEPANG: AirAsia on Tuesday sold a record 279,000 seats in a single day.

In a statement yesterday, AirAsia said industry experts were “scurrying” to confirm if it was the largest single-day sales in aviation history, at least for a low-cost carrier.

“What’s more amazing is that the sales were recorded when other airlines are reporting slumping sales and falling revenues at a time of global economic uncertainty,” it said.

AirAsia chief executive officer Datuk Seri Tony Fernandes said: “There are predictions that demand for air travel will be feeble this year, but we remain bullish that it will grow instead for us.”

About 40% of the record sales were derived from its 500,000 free-seats promotion on almost all of its and AirAsia X’s routes. Within two hours after the offer was opened at midnight on Monday, 40,000 bookings were made.

patchay

February 12th, 2009, 09:17 AM

congrats AirAsia...........

rizalhakim

February 12th, 2009, 09:40 AM

AirAsia passengers can pick seats for a fee
Published: 2009/02/12

AIRASIA Bhd is introducing a "Pick A Seat" product whereby passengers can choose their seating for a small fee.

Previously, this option was only available for AirAsia X, the low-cost carrier said in a statement today.

It said the "Pick a Seat" comes in two categories, namely, hot seat and standard seat.

The hot seat comes with the fee of RM25, which is for the first five front row seats, and the two rows of seats at emergency exits of the aircraft cabin.

The standard seats are the remaining seats on board for RM5. — Bernama

rizalhakim

February 12th, 2009, 09:43 AM

AirAsia sees LCCT issue resolved soon
Published: 2009/02/12

AIRASIA Bhd hopes that the issue over a new low-cost carrier terminal (LCCT) will be resolved soon, its group chief executive officer Datuk Seri Tony Fernandes said today.

“It will be resolved at some stage,” he said.

“The quicker the better. We got to move. I think every effort is being made to resolve it quickly,” he told reporters after launching the airline’s “Pick A Seat” service in Kuala Lumpur.

The government recently turned down AirAsia’s proposal to build a RM1.6 billion airport in Labu, Negeri Sembilan, but the low-cost carrier managed to win some important concessions in the process, said a recent news report quoting sources.

Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd (MAHB) will be given the task of building a new LCCT, which will be located near the present terminal at Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) in Sepang, the report said.

It added that AirAsia managed to get assurance about lower airport charges and tax, which it will negotiate with MAHB, and it will be also allowed to provide some input on the specifications for the new LCCT.

AirAsia has been complaining about the charges at the present LCCT as it argued that with less facilities available, the airport charges and tax should be much lower than those imposed at KLIA.

Meanwhile, AirAsia is eyeing further expansion into India and China in the near term, said Fernandes.

“Tiruchirappalli (in India) has been a huge success,” he told reporters when asked about the new destinations that AirAsia was planning to fly.

He said that besides India and China, AirAsia was also planning to fly to Taipei, Taiwan and South Korea.

- Bernama

ntly1

February 12th, 2009, 02:01 PM

AirAsia X wants to lease five A340-300s: CEO

AFP - Friday, February 13SINGAPORE, Feb 12, 2009 (AFP) - Long-haul budget carrier AirAsia X wants to lease up to five Airbus A340-300s so it can fly to new markets in Europe and New Zealand, its chief executive said Thursday.

"For the right price, we would like to lease five A340-300s, although they are in tight supply," chief executive Azran Osman Rani told Dow Jones Newswires.

"Depending on the availability of the aircraft, we want to move to new markets like Germany, France and New Zealand."

AirAsia X, the long-haul unit of Malaysia's AirAsia Bhd, currently flies to Australia's Gold Coast, Perth and Melbourne, and Hangzhou in China. It will start flying to London next month.

The carrier currently has a fleet of three A330s and one longer-range A340.

An affiliate of regional low-cost carrier AirAsia and Virgin Group, AirAsia X was launched in January 2007. AirAsia and AirAsia X have common shareholders, including AirAsia founder and CEO Tony Fernandes.

Richard Branson's Virgin Group has taken a 20 percent stake in AirAsia X.

More airlines are opting to lease aircraft than buy them as the global economic downturn puts a squeeze on corporate finances, Singapore-based aircraft leasing firm BOC Aviation said last month.

Azran has said previously that he sees "a lot of business opportunities" despite the deteriorating global economy.

AirAsia X said last month it hoped to launch flights to at least three destinations in Japan by year-end.

rizalhakim

February 13th, 2009, 04:21 AM

Those flying AirAsia can now choose seats, for a fee
By Jeeva ArulampalamPublished: 2009/02/13

PASSENGERS flying on budget carrier AirAsia (5099) can now choose their seats when booking a flight, but for a fee.

Under its "Pick A Seat" option, there are two categories namely hot seats and standard seats.

Hot seats, which are the first five front-row seats and the two rows of seats located at the emergency exit of the aircraft, will cost passengers an additional RM25 per flight.

Since these hot seats come together with priority boarding service, the latter will be discontinued as a stand-alone service.
"Currently, priority boarding (Xpress boarding) draws an income of RM2 million per month in Malaysia for AirAsia. I'm confident that "Pick A Seat" will outdo this number," AirAsia Bhd group chief executive officer Datuk Seri Tony Fernandes told reporters at the launch of the new service in Kuala Lumpur yesterday.

Standard seats are the remaining seats on the aircraft, which costs RM5 per flight.

"Passengers who do not wish to purchase this service ('Pick A Seat') will be assigned seat numbers randomly prior to check-in," said Fernandes.

He said that AirAsia was not deviating from its model but was enhancing its services to attract potential passengers.

"(It is learnt that) AirAsia passengers do want seating options as practised on AirAsia X flights. This is also in compliance with the Civil Aviation Authority requirements in countries like India and Indonesia," Fernandes said.

He added that AirAsia was also narrowing the gap with premium carriers by offering such services, as more corporate travellers now fly with AirAsia due to the economic downturn.

For passengers who have already purchased their tickets, they can still use the "Pick A Seat" option to select their seats by paying the required fee. This new service will be implemented on all AirAsia flights starting February 17.

rizalhakim

February 13th, 2009, 04:22 AM

AirAsia X in talks to raise funds for aircraft buys
Published: 2009/02/13

SINGAPORE: AirAsia X (5099) , the Malaysian budget airline backed by Sir Richard Branson's Virgin Group Ltd, is in talks with export credit agencies to raise funds for three Airbus SAS planes valued at US$602.4 million (US$1 = RM3.61) at list prices.

The carrier will take delivery of the A330-300s in the fourth quarter of this year and take another three next year, chief executive officer Azran Osman Rani said in an interview yesterday.

The discount carrier is adding more routes and offering lower fares to win customers as the global recession and rising unemployment prompt travellers to seek cheaper flights. The airline, which flies to Australia and China from its base in Kuala Lumpur, has ordered 25 aircraft to expand.

"We want to add one or two more destinations in China and hopefully one more in Australia," Azran said. "I would love to do India."
AirAsia X will start flights to Tianjin in April and is considering Chengdu and Xian as other possible Chinese destinations, he said. The airline is also looking at New Delhi, Mumbai, or Amritsar in India. AirAsia X is keen to start services to Sydney if it gets approval from the Malaysian government.

The carrier is filling an average of 78 per cent of its seats, Azran said. - Bloomberg

rizalhakim

February 13th, 2009, 04:44 AM

Now there’s no need to rush for seats on AirAsia

KUALA LUMPUR: From Tuesday, AirAsia passengers need not rush to get a seat.

The airline has introduced its “Pick A Seat” service for all flights where every passenger would automatically be assigned a seat number when they make a booking.

http://thestar.com.my/archives/2009/2/13/nation/n_16tony.jpg
Take your pick: Fernandes (seated right), AirAsia Bhd regional head of commercial Kathleen Tan, AirAsia chairman Aziz Bakar and the airline’s cabin crew introducing its latest product offering – Pick A Seat – which allows air travellers the opportunity to choose their seating arrangement for a fee.

For those who want a specific seat, they can either purchase a “hot seat” for RM25 one way or a “standard seat” for RM5.

They have the option of choosing a window or aisle seat or anywhere else.

The hot seats are those in the first five front rows and the two rows at the emergency exit. A hot seat comes automatically with express boarding facility.

The standard seat allows passengers to choose the other seats.

The Xpress boarding facility as a standalone service will be scrapped from Tuesday. Those who have already booked or paid through this facility will be given a hot seat. Those who do not like the seat assigned to them can change them.

“Passengers now have a choice on whether they want to sit by the aisle, window or anywhere else,” AirAsia group chief executive officer Datuk Seri Tony Fernandes said at the launch of the service yesterday.

“The days of running to the plane or pretending to be a rugby player while trying to grab a seat are over.”

He said passengers had always wanted seating options as practised by long-haul services on AirAsia X flights.

“The response has been good so far with 7,000 choice of seats booked in five days.

The service was opened for sale from Feb 5.

On the 500,000 free tickets promotion, Fernandes said the response was “fantastic” with a record 279,000 seats sold in one day despite the economic downturn.

“We will not be cutting down on our plans. We believe we have the product that people want which can bring in more tourists,” he said.

He added that the new LCCT departure terminal would be ready by March 15.

rizalhakim

February 13th, 2009, 07:40 AM

AirAsia cipta sejarah
Oleh Wan Noriza Meor Idris
wannoriza@nstp.com.my

SYARIKAT penerbangan tambang murah terkemuka, AirAsia percaya mencipta sejarah apabila menjual 279,000 tempat duduk dalam masa hanya sehari, iaitu Selasa lalu dan lebih membanggakan jumlah itu dicatat ketika syarikat penerbangan lain merekod penurunan pendapatan.

Kira-kira 40 peratus jualan itu dipacu promosi yang menawarkan 500,000 tempat duduk percuma bagi hampir semua laluan AirAsia dan AirAsia X. Jualan tempat duduk itu mula dibuka tengah malam Isnin lalu, dan dalam masa dua jam, menerima 40,000 tempahan dari seluruh dunia.

Promosi terbaru menawarkan tempat duduk percuma itu membabitkan destinasi, termasuk Bali, Bangkok, Gold Coast (Australia), Haikou, Hangzhou, Ho Chi Minh City, Hong Kong, Jakarta, Kota Kinabalu, Langkawi, Kuala Lumpur, Kuching, Melbourne, Perth, Phuket, Shenzhen, Siem Reap (Kemboja), Singapore dan Yogyakarta.

Promosi itu sah untuk tempahan dibuat antara 10 hingga 15 Februari bagi penerbangan dari 12 Oktober 2009 hingga 31 Januari 2010.

Semalam, AirAsia yang sebelum ini memansuhkan surcaj bahan api, memperkenalkan satu lagi produk inovatif, iatu Pilih Tempat Duduk (Pick A Seat) khusus untuk keselesaan pelanggan.

Pelanggan kini boleh memilih tempat duduk dalam penerbangan dan ia dibuka untuk jualan mulai 5 Februari lalu bagi penerbangan 17 Februari.

Pelanggan boleh memilih daripada dua kategori iaitu kerusi utama (hot seat) dan kerusi biasa (standard seat).

Hot seat dikenakan bayaran RM25 bagi lima barisan hadapan tempat duduk dan dua barisan tempat duduk di pintu kecemasan kabin pesawat manakala kerusi biasa pula bagi baki tempat duduk dalam pesawat pada bayaran RM5.

Bagi pelanggan yang memilih kerusi utama, mereka juga akan menikmati Pelepasan Ekspres (Xpress Boarding) manakala kerusi biasa pula adalah lebihan tempat duduk lain dalam penerbangan terbabit.

Bagaimanapun, pelanggan yang memilih untuk tidak membuat pilihan tempat duduk akan diletakkan di mana-mana tempat duduk dalam penerbangan secara rawak.

Ketua Pegawai Eksekutif Kumpulan AirAsia, Datuk Seri Tony Fernandes, berkata kini pelanggan tidak perlu bersesak dan beratur panjang bagi mendapatkan tempat duduk yang diingini.

“Dengan bayaran yang sedikit, pelanggan boleh memilih mana-mana tempat duduk mengikut keselesaan mereka dalam penerbangan,” katanya.

nazrey

February 14th, 2009, 01:47 PM

AirAsia to launch route to northern China
Published: 2009/02/13

AIRASIA will launch a new route from Kuala Lumpur to Tianjin beginning April 2.

Tianjin is located in northern China and 120km from Beijing. It is connected to the Chinese capital via a 30-minute high-speed Beijing-Tianjin Intercity Rail service.

In a statement today, AirAsia said that the new service would be operated by AirAsia X, the low cost long-haul airline, affiliated to it.

“This route is part of AirAsia’s strategic expansion plan in China and East Asia, in response to strong demands from Malaysia and the greater Asean population, as well as China,” said AirAsia X chief executive officer, Azran Osman-Rani.

He said that apart from benefiting tourism, the new route would further enhance business and economic ties between the region and China.

AirAsia’s China network currently includes Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Hangzhou, Guilin, Haikou, Macau and Hong Kong.

Bookings for the new route open from now until February 22 for travel between April 2,2009 and January 31, 2010. — Bernama

nazrey

February 14th, 2009, 01:54 PM

AirAsia X in talks to raise funds for 3 Airbus A330s
13-02-2009:-

SINGAPORE: AirAsia X Sdn, the Malaysian budget airline backed by Richard Branson’s Virgin Group Ltd, is in talks with export credit agencies to raise funds for three Airbus SAS planes valued at US$602.4 million (RM2.17 billion) at list prices.

The carrier will take delivery of the A330-300s in the fourth quarter of this year and take another three next year, chief executive officer Azran Osman Rani said in an interview here yesterday.

The discount carrier is adding more routes and offering lower fares to win customers as the global recession and rising unemployment prompt travellers to seek cheaper flights. The airline, which flies to Australia and China from its base in Kuala Lumpur, has ordered 25 aircraft to expand.

“We want to add one or two more destinations in China and hopefully one more in Australia,” Azran said. “I would love to do India.”

AirAsia X will start flights to Tianjin in April and is considering Chengdu and Xian as other possible Chinese destinations, he said. The airline is also looking at New Delhi, Mumbai or Amritsar in India. AirAsia X is keen to start services to Sydney if it gets approval from the Malaysian government.

The carrier is filling an average of 78% of its seats, Azran said. — Bloomberg

nazrey

February 14th, 2009, 01:57 PM

AirAsia sells record seats in single day
12-02-2009:

SEPANG: AirAsia on Tuesday sold a record 279,000 seats in a single day.

In a statement yesterday, AirAsia said industry experts were “scurrying” to confirm if it was the largest single-day sales in aviation history, at least for a low-cost carrier.

“What’s more amazing is that the sales were recorded when other airlines are reporting slumping sales and falling revenues at a time of global economic uncertainty,” it said.

AirAsia chief executive officer Datuk Seri Tony Fernandes said: “There are predictions that demand for air travel will be feeble this year, but we remain bullish that it will grow instead for us.”

About 40% of the record sales were derived from its 500,000 free-seats promotion on almost all of its and AirAsia X’s routes. Within two hours after the offer was opened at midnight on Monday, 40,000 bookings were made

Skyprince

February 14th, 2009, 07:50 PM

Just booked Surabaya-KL ( flight time : 2 hr 40 mins ) for mid-November

Total including tax 70000 IDR = RM 21.59 ( !!! )
alahai rasa berat hatilah , rasa macam bersalah pulak kat pakcik Tony

OshHisham

February 14th, 2009, 10:13 PM

Just booked Surabaya-KL ( flight time : 2 hr 40 mins ) for mid-November

Total including tax 70000 IDR = RM 21.59 ( !!! )
alahai rasa berat hatilah , rasa macam bersalah pulak kat pakcik Tony

rasa bersalah kenapa plak? setahu aku Tony tu makin lama makin kaya dgn RM21.59 tu., nko pulak? makin kaya ke..? :lol:

ha....itulah you kena fikir, bagaimana Encik Tony boleh jadi kaya dengan tambang kapal terbang serendah RM21.59?

nah....fikir2 kan...kalo dah tahu, let me know! ;)

rizalhakim

February 17th, 2009, 04:00 AM

AirAsia Plans KL-Kathmandu Route By July

By P. Vijian

NEW DELHI, Feb 16 (Bernama) -- Kathmandu-based Incentive group of companies is close to finalising talks with AirAsia to begin direct flights from Kuala Lumpur to the Himalayan capital.

Incentive group chairman Hariman Lama said regardless of the ongoing global economic slowdown, both parties were sorting out final details to operate the first chartered flight between the two destinations by this July.

"Final discussions are underway, we need to finalise some fee issues, like the ground-handling charges and the airport tax. We are discussing with the Nepalese government and Nepal Tourism Ministry," Lama told Bernama.

"By July we will have our first charter flight and later operate full commercial flight," he said from Kathmandu.

Lama said initially there would be two flights per week, largely targeting the tourist segment and the increasing Nepalese students heading to Australia via Malaysia for high education.

"We will be targeting Korean and Japanese tourists visiting Kota Kinabalu, and AirAsia has flights to Sabah. So we can use Kuala Lumpur as a gateway. Recently Kuala Lumpur has become a major destination for Nepalese and they will add to our traffic volume," he said.

About 400,000 Nepalese are currently working in Malaysia.

At present, only Nepal Airlines operates direct flights to Malaysia from Kathmandu.

Last month, AirAsiaX, a subsidiary of AirAsia, started its inaugural flight to India by connecting to Tiruchi, the fourth largest city in south India.

-- BERNAMA

smoothcake

February 18th, 2009, 07:05 AM

aiyo makin byk lh pendatang asing kat negara tercinta nii :(

daeng_jal

February 18th, 2009, 11:09 AM

OshHisham

February 18th, 2009, 01:47 PM

kalau ko rase bersalah, jual lah tiket tu kat aku..aku bagi $30, nak?:)

mana boleh buat camtu....nama dah register dah....

aku dah tak berani nak book awal2 ni, sebab aritu time g bangkok, aku terpaksa cancel sebab ada kerja penting...:(

aiyo makin byk lh pendatang asing kat negara tercinta nii :(

pendatang asing naik bot jer, kalo tak naik lori kontena ramai2...:lol: tp orang putih (adventurous/backpackers) suka g tempat2 macam tu...i believe KLIA would be asia's main hub someday...

rizalhakim

February 19th, 2009, 02:48 AM

MIDF confident AirAsia can ride out turbulence
Published: 2009/02/19

There are many things that could throw AirAsia off balance: severe competition, local and foreign government regulations, spiking fuel prices, loss of tax benefits and declines in travel demand, says the research firm

MIDF Research said it is confident that the management of AirAsia Bhd (5099) will be able to guide the budget airline out of the current turbulence faced by the global airline industry.

"The negative factors that the company faces can be mitigated with sufficient government support which we are confident that AirAsia would obtain," it wrote in a report yesterday.

"This is evident in the Tourism Ministry discussions with AirAsia, which indicate that the government views AirAsia as an important brand and an ally in promoting tourism, a core component of economic development," it added.

The local research firm has initiated coverage of the stock with a "neutral" rating and a target price of RM1.08.
MIDF Research said it expects the stock to perform in line with the market.

"AirAsia will not be having it easy this year or the next. Our projections indicate that the company walks a tight rope and there are many things that could throw it off balance: severe competition, local and foreign government regulations, spiking fuel prices, loss of tax benefits and declines in travel demand.

"These are all compounded by the large liabilities on its balance sheet," it said.

At RM0.95, AirAsia stock has fallen by 42 per cent from its peak on February 5 2008 and down 55 per cent from its historical peak achieved on May 7 2007.

"In the year to February 16 2009, the stock has gained 8 per cent, outperforming the Kuala Lumpur Composite Index by 5.3 per cent point.

"Even on that score, we are skeptical that the stock will perform better than the market for the rest of this year. The airline industry is going through a tough phase and budget airlines are no exception," said MIDF Research.

rizalhakim

February 19th, 2009, 09:31 AM

Daftar masuk AirAsia mudah

AIRASIA, syarikat penerbangan tambang murah terkemuka, mendapat maklum balas memberangsangkan daripada pelanggan mengenai perkhidmatan terkininya iaitu kemudahan daftar-masuk sendiri yang bermula kelmarin.

Menerusi inovasi terkini itu, pelanggan boleh menjimatkan masa dalam prosedur berlepas apabila menggunakan perkhidmatan percuma daftar masuk melalui laman web yang diguna pakai di seluruh rangkaian AirAsia dan AirAsia X.

Pelanggan AirAsia, Janice Kuek, berkata ia adalah inovasi menarik. Dengan adanya daftar masuk laman web AirAsia, dia berupaya mendaftar sendiri dari pejabat tanpa risau perlu beratur panjang di kaunter.

“Ia juga memberi saya peluang menguruskan perjalanan dengan lebih baik, malah menjimatkan masa tanpa bimbang terlepas penerbangan,” katanya.

Kemudahan daftar masuk laman web itu diperkenalkan untuk memudahkan pelanggan tanpa perlu beratur jika mereka mendaftar masuk di www.airasia.com antara empat hingga 48 jam sebelum berlepas.

Melalui khidmat daftar masuk laman web itu, pelanggan juga boleh membuat pilihan tempat duduk dalam penerbangan dan layak untuk Bagasi AirAsia Saiz Super, yang memberi peluang membawa bagasi lebih berat.

Sementara itu, Ketua Serantau Komersial AirAsia, Kathleen Tan (gambar), berkata beratur panjang di kaunter untuk daftar masuk kini menjadi sejarah di AirAsia.

Katanya, syarikat itu kini melabur untuk teknologi yang menawarkan pelanggan daftar masuk menerusi laman web untuk seluruh rangkaian 114 laluan di lebih 64 destinasi.

“Dengan peningkatan penggunaan teknologi ini, ia mencerminkan komitmen kami memenuhi permintaan pelanggan yang sentiasa mahukan keselesaan perjalanan,” katanya.

rizalhakim

February 20th, 2009, 04:39 AM

AirAsia Sells 13,000 Seats For New Tianjin Route Within A Week

BEIJING, Feb 19 (Bernama) - Despite the economic gloom, Malaysia's budget carrier AirAsia has sold 13,000 seats for its new service to Tianjin, since bookings opened a week ago.

Tianjin is AirAsia's first destination in northern China.

AirAsia's inaugural flight to the busy port city will take off on April 2, the eighth overall destination in China and the airline has plans to grow its mainland network to three more cities.

"We have already received 13,000 bookings for Tianjin with about 15 per cent from China and the rest mostly from Malaysia," Kathleen Tan, Air Asia's commercial regional head, told Bernama after meeting Beijing-based media and travel agents on Thursday to promote the new route.

One-way tickets from Tianjin are sold from RM199 from Kuala Lumpur and 428 yuan(RM1=1.9 yuan) from Tianjin.

The port city, which co-hosted the 2008 Olympics football competition, is 30 minutes by high speed train to Beijing's South Station.

AirAsia will use a new A330 plane with 383 seats for the direct six-hour and five times weekly service.The flight will depart Kuala Lumpur at 8.30am and arrive in Tianjin at 3.50 pm. There is no time difference between Malaysia and China.

Tan projected AirAsia's passenger load from China this year to rise to 1.5 million from 1.1 million last year.

Chengdu, the provincial capital of Southwestern Sichuan province, is the next stop for Air Asia in the second half of the year, Tan said.

"There is good potential in Chengdu with many Malaysians working there as well as other businessmen and foreign investments," she said.

AirAsia already services Guangzhou, Guilin, Haikou, Hangzhou and Shenzhen in China and the Special Adminstrative Regions (SAR) of Hong Kong and Macao.

It has also announced plans to expand to the cities of Chongqing and Xian on the mainland.

-- BERNAMA

patchay

February 22nd, 2009, 05:27 AM

AirAsia approached to sponsor Man United jersey

KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 21 — Low-cost-carrier AirAsia Bhd has been approached by Manchester United to sponsor the jersey of the football giants.

This was revealed by AirAsia chief executive officer Datuk Seri Tony Fernandes in his blog on Wednesday.

"Manchester United have just approached me on whether AirAsia would be interested in becoming their shirt sponsor," said Fernandes in his blog.

He said having the players of the most famous football club in the world donning jerseys with the name and logo of a Malaysian-born global brand was something all Malaysians could be proud of.

He, however, did not state whether AirAsia would make the commitment and asked visitors to the blog to give their feedback.

As of today, 88 per cent of the visitors voiced their support.

Manchester United had to find new sponsors for the jersey after insurance giant AIG (American International Group), which is facing financial difficulties as a result of the world economic crisis, did not seek to renew the deal.

The four-year sponsorship contract with AIG, due to expire in 2010, is reported to be worth US$100 million (RM360 million).

Earlier this year, the club was also reported to have invited India's Sahara Group to enter the sponsorship deal.

United, who are now leading in the English Premier League, have also announced that Malaysia would be one of their destinations in the club's Asian tour this year.

Their match against a Malaysian selection is scheduled for July 26. - Bernama

Manchester United have just approached me on whether AirAsia would be interested in becoming their shirt sponsor. Yes, you read that right.

http://www.tonyfernandesblog.com/media/users/antff64/thumb_plugin/MU1.jpg

The world's most famous football club wants to proudly wear shirts bearing the name and logo of a Malaysian-born global brand. Doing this would be a first for a Malaysian company and would truly solidify us as a global brand.

http://www.tonyfernandesblog.com/media/users/antff64/thumb_plugin/mu1.jpg

This pure acknowledgement of us, AirAsia as a global brand to be reckoned with is simply a moment where you just step back and say, “Wow! We’re actually there right now!”.

http://www.tonyfernandesblog.com/media/users/antff64/thumb_plugin/mu2.jpg

From the business front, its simply astonishing as it clearly shows how we have progressed as a brand and that this little Malaysian company has gone so far in a mere 7 years to raised our brand to such high levels.

Heres the million dollar question, or rather the multi-million dollar question: Do I commit to the shirt sponsorship of Manchester United?

ManUtd apparently approached another Malaysian company too. Guess who?

-

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http://img527.imageshack.us/img527/4664/tnbmanu.jpg
HAHAHAHA

chene

February 22nd, 2009, 07:19 AM

^^yeah...i also heard that..

TNB will be a main sponsor for MU..:cheers:

nazrey

February 22nd, 2009, 07:50 AM

TNB???!!! hOW COME???

pynshi91

February 22nd, 2009, 01:33 PM

WHAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!TNB!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!............omg~what a shocker!~

OshHisham

February 22nd, 2009, 06:34 PM

TNB punya version is just 'play-play' lah i guess.....da hell company with a lot of problems, and dont even have any competitor to make their brand stand out. branding is marketing. and i dont see any nessasary for TNB to market their brand overseas...as they have no business there. unlike airasia....

rizalhakim

February 23rd, 2009, 09:35 AM

AirAsia offers free seats for 4 new routes
Published: 2009/02/23

AIRASIA is giving away free seats to mark the launch of four new routes - Bali-Singapore, Bandung-Singapore, Jakarta-Singapore and Yogyakarta-Singapore.

The booking is open for travel from March 24 till January 31, 2010 and is also available online via the website www.airasia.com.

The four new routes further enhances AirAsia’s present vast network, especially across the Asean region.

With brand new routes being constantly introduced, countries across the region are efficiently connected with each other and the rest of the world through the budget carriers' hubs in Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand.

Indonesia AirAsia CEO Dharmadi said: "These new routes are a significant achievement for us as it signifies our drive and commitment in expanding our network, providing an extensive choice of destinations to our guests.” - Bernama

rizalhakim

February 24th, 2009, 03:16 AM

AirAsia free seats for four new routes
Published: 2009/02/24

BUDGET airline AirAsia Bhd is giving away free seats in conjunction with the launch of four new routes from Singapore to Bali, Bandung, Jakarta and Yogyakarta.

However, passengers will still be required to pay airport taxes and administrative fees for the one-way trip.

This promotion is available online via AirAsia’s website at www.airasia.com.

Booking is open from February 24 to 28 2009, for travel between March 24 2009 and January 31 2010.

rizalhakim

February 24th, 2009, 03:17 AM

AirAsia secures Barclays funding
Published: 2009/02/24

BUDGET carrier AirAsia Bhd (5099) has managed to secure funding for 15 of its A320-200 planes on order, from Barclays Capital, the investment banking division of Barclays plc.

The financing will bring AirAsia's total fleet to 85 aircraft by early 2010, operated collectively by the airline and its affiliates, Indonesia AirAsia and Thai AirAsia.

So far three aircraft have been delivered under this facility since December 31 2008, with the support of the Export Credit Agencies of the UK, France and Germany.

"This partnership between AirAsia and Barclays Capital is a testament of the confidence and trust that the global financial community has towards AirAsia's prospects and potential. We are very positive that we will carry through the global economic storm and emerge bigger and stronger," added Fernan-des.
AirAsia became the largest airline customer in the world of the Airbus A320-200, after placing a firm order for a total of 175 aircraft in December 2007, with the option for 50 more. Deliveries are expected to run until 2014.

Fernandes said the carrier is working very hard to secure rights to fly to more destinations, which will only be possible with deliveries of the new aircraft.

A signing ceremony was held yesterday in London to formalise the facility and attended by representatives from AirAsia, Barclays Capital, Airbus and BayernLB.

AirAsia services the most extensive network in Southeast Asia with over 114 routes covering more than 64 destinations.

In seven years of operation, AirAsia has carried over 55 million passengers.

AirAsia's low-cost long-haul carrier affiliate, AirAsia X, will soon commence service between Kuala Lumpur and London (Stansted), in addition to its existing routes to Australia (Melbourne, Perth and Gold Coast) and China (Hangzhou and Tianjin).

"This transaction is the culmination of a close long-standing relationship between AirAsia and Barclays Capital.

"Our focus is on meeting our clients' needs, especially in the most challenging conditions. We are proud to support AirAsia and Airbus in the financing of these aircraft and assist the airline in achieving its ambitious growth plans," said Barclays Capital head of aviation Arnaud Fiscel said.

rizalhakim

February 24th, 2009, 03:31 AM

Barclays Capital To Finance 15 New Airbus For AirAsia

KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 23 (bernama) -- AirAsia has mandated Barclays Capital, the investment banking division of Barclays PLC, to finance 15 of its new Airbus A320-200 aircraft.

The financing will bring AirAsia's total fleet to 85 aircraft by early 2010, operated by Malaysia-based AirAsia Berhad and its affiliates, Indonesia AirAsia and Thai AirAsia, said AirAsia in a statement.

So far, three aircraft have been delivered under this facility since Dec 31, 2008, with the support of the Export Credit Agencies of the United Kingdom, France and Germany, it said.

A signing ceremony was held today in London to formalise the facility, attended by senior officials of AirAsia Bhd, Barclays Capital, Airbus and BayernLB.

Datuk Seri Tony Fernandes, AirAsia Group CEO, said: "AirAsia is very pleased to have secured this financing from Barclays Capital which represents part of the financing that we have secured for our Airbus A320 aircraft purchases for the next couple of years.

AirAsia services the most extensive network in South East Asia, with over 114 routes covering more than 64 destinations.

AirAsia has carried over 55 million passengers and grown its fleet from just two aircraft in 2001.

AirAsia is proud to be a truly Association of South East Asian Nations (Asean) airline with established operations based in Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand, servicing a network stretching across all Asean member countries, China, India and Bangladesh.

AirAsia's low-cost long-haul carrier affiliate, AirAsia X, will soon commence service between Kuala Lumpur and London (Stansted), in addition to its existing routes to Australia (Melbourne, Perth and Gold Coast) and China (Hangzhou and Tianjin).

"This partnership between AirAsia and Barclays Capital is a testament of the confidence and trust that the global financial community has towards AirAsia's prospects and potentials. We are very positive that we will carry through the global economic storm and emerge bigger and stronger," added Fernandes.

AirAsia became the largest airline customer in the world of the Airbus A320-200 after placing a firm order for 175 aircraft in December 2007, with the option for 50 more. Deliveries are expected to run until 2014.

"This transaction is the culmination of a close long-standing relationship between AirAsia Berhad and Barclays Capital.

"Our focus is on meeting our clients' needs, especially in the most challenging conditions. We are proud to support AirAsia and Airbus in the financing of these aircraft and assist the airline in achieving its ambitious growth plans," said Arnaud Fiscel, Head of Aviation at Barclays Capital in London.

-- BERNAMA

rizalhakim

February 24th, 2009, 03:52 AM

AirAsia needs RM13bil funding
By B.K. SIDHU

http://biz.thestar.com.my/archives/2009/2/24/business/airasia.jpg

PETALING JAYA: AirAsia Bhd yesterday sealed a deal in London mandating Barclays Capital to fund the purchase of 15 new A320-200 aircraft worth nearly US$700mil (RM2.5bil) for delivery largely in 2009 despite global banks clamping down on lending.

After yesterday’s deal, AirAsia needs another RM13bil to fund 104 aircraft orders it has placed from 2010 to 2014.

It is learnt that AirAsia is also in talks with BNP Paribas to secure more funding for 14 new A320 aircraft whose deliveries are in 2010.

But beyond that, can it secure all the funding it needs to take delivery of all the orders it has placed?

“We are thrilled to have secured the funding. It is not easy to raise money in (current times). The fact that we are able to do it shows the confidence of the financial community in our business model as it is the worst period for the credit market.

“This financing takes care of our 2009 and part of 2010 deliveries. Getting more guarantees for 2010 will not be an issue as our model is strong and it enables us to raise the money,’’ group chief executive officer Datuk Seri Tony Fernandes said in London yesterday evening.

He added that “this financing (via Barclays Capital) and the one (being negotiatied with BNP Paribas) will take us till end of 2010.”

“If people cannot get credit after that, i.e. in 2011, it would mean that the aviation sector will really be in difficult times.

“If by then we are not able to get credit, then we will have to cancel our aircraft orders but we hope we will not have to get to that stage. I think two years is a long time and we will cross the bridge when we get there.

“In the immediate horizon we have two years worth of financing (to see us through). We dare say we have achieved what not many airlines could have achieved in current times,’’ he said.

The signing ceremony was held in London to formalise the facility and it was attended by Fernandes, Barclays Capital, Airbus (the aircraft manufacturer) and BayernLB.

The funding via Barclays Capital – the investment banking division of Barclays PLC – comes three months after AirAsia secured a facility for US$336mil (RM1.21bil) to fund eight new A320 aircraft purchases.

The lead arrrangers for that earlier deal was BNP Paribas and Natixis Transport Finance.

The signing yesterday also confirmed a StarBiz report on Nov 13 that AirAsia was then close to securing a deal to purchase aircraft worth about US$1bil.

AirAsia has ordered 175 aircraft with an option of 50 more. Thus far, it has taken delivery of 56 aircraft and will take delivery of 14 and 24 aircraft this year and in 2010 respectively.

The budget airline is on an expansion trail even though many carriers globally including full service carriers are grounding aircraft on many of their routes in the current economic slowdown.

“We will continue to grow and launch new routes. Dhaka will be our next new launch route. We are also seeing growth from the corporate sector, a sector which is new to us,” Fernandes said.

Asked why AirAsia had a sale and leaseback arrangement with Doric for its last two aircraft deliveries and whether it would do similar arrangements for the current order of the 15 new Airbus A320-200 aircraft, Fernandes said: “Doric was a unique arrangement where there were clear tax advantages. Our aim is to own aircraft.’’

rizalhakim

February 24th, 2009, 04:12 AM

AirAsia wants more efficiency and good cost structure to stay put
By CHOI TUCK WO

LONDON: AirAsia Bhd wants the Government to work out an efficient, low-cost structure deal for the airline to continue operating from the KL International Airport (KLIA).

Its CEO Datuk Seri Tony Fernandes said the airline could bring in 30 million passengers annually if its costs were reduced.

He said they are prepared to stay at KLIA instead of building a low-cost carrier terminal (LCCT) in Labu, Negri Sembilan.

“All we ask for is a good cost-structure and greater efficiency so that we can grow to 30 million passengers annually,” he told Malaysian journalists after signing an agreement with Barclays Capital and BayernLB to finance 15 new A320-200 aircrafts costing a total of US$700mil (RM2.5bil) yesterday.

Fernandes hoped the ideas and benefits for the proposed Labu LCCT could be gestated in KLIA for greater cost efficiency.

“Labu was a great idea. I stand by it,” he said in response to reports quoting Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak as quashing any possibility of reviving the project.

Najib had said the project could not continue because Sime Darby did not want to fund the RM800mil infrastructure cost.

Fernandes said the government must find a new model for LCCTs if it is serious in making Kuala Lumpur the regional aviation hub and gateway to Asean, China and Australia.

“It doesn’t matter where we are. What’s important is a highly efficient airport with low costs,” he said, adding he would return to Malaysia tomorrow to continue discussions with Malaysia Airport Bhd.

On AirAsia X’s inaugural flight from Kuala Lumpur to London Stansted on March 11, Fernandes said five Australians from Melbourne would be among the 316 passengers flying to Britain.

Describing the five as taking the “longest, low-cost long-haul” flight, he said it showed that Malaysia could be the gateway for many people travelling to Europe and vice-versa.

He also said that 65% of the seats for March and April had been sold out, and 64% of the passengers were travelling from Britain to Malaysia, including Malaysians residing in Britain.

patchay

February 24th, 2009, 01:52 PM

Tony Fernandes in London to meet Manchester United FC.

http://www.tonyfernandesblog.com/main.php/2009/02/23/meeting-manchester-united

rizalhakim

February 25th, 2009, 05:31 AM

Terbang tinggi

SYARIKAT penerbangan tambang murah, AirAsia akan terus terbang tinggi. Mereka bakal menjadi rakan karib kelab bola sepak terkemuka England, Manchester United.

AirAsia kini dikatakan sedang mengadakan perbincangan dengan United mengenai kemungkinan untuk menjadi penaja jersi kelab dari Old Trafford itu.

Ketua eksekutifnya, Tony Fernandes dilaporkan berada di London kelmarin untuk berjumpa dengan pegawai United bagi membincangkan kemungkinan itu.

“Memang tidak dinafikan langkah ini akan membawa banyak kebaikan kepada United dan ia dilihat pelaburan yang berbaloi,” kata Fernandez dalam laman blognya.

“Kami tidak akan menjadi jenama global hari ini jika kami tidak membuat pelaburan awal. Persoalan sekarang, adakah kami perlu menambahnya dan itu yang akan dinilai terlebih dahulu.”

United sebelum ini memberitahu, segala prospek penajaan baru berkemungkinan besar perlu membayar lebih daripada 19 juta pound (RM101 juta) setahun yang merupakan nilai tajaan semasa oleh AIG.

“Secara jujurnya, saya tak tahu apakah keseluruhan nilai harga yang ditetapkan untuk keseluruhan pakej penajaan ini.

“Tapi perlu dinyatakan semua komitmen penjenamaan kami agar ia memberi impak kepada kami sendiri.”

Justeru, timbul tanda tanya sama ada AirAsia dan Fernandes sanggup mengeluarkan jumlah wang melebihi RM101 juta setahun bagi memenuhi kehendak penajaan yang ditetapkan United itu. – AP

pedang

February 25th, 2009, 05:46 AM

^^yeah...i also heard that..

TNB will be a main sponsor for MU..:cheers:

lawak ke nie ?

patchay

February 25th, 2009, 07:02 AM

AirAsia could set record sponsorship deal by a Malaysian company
ANALYSIS
By K. Anand

FEB 25 – In the summer of 2004, Proton became the first-ever Malaysian company to have an English Premier League (EPL) club carry its brand on the front of the players’ shirt. That club was Norwich City.

Actually, Proton’s involvement began in August 2003 when Norwich City was still in the League Championship, one division below the Premiership.

Proton became directly involved in sponsoring the club only because the Lotus factory was located in Norfolk. As we all know, Proton bought over Lotus back in late 1996.

Having been part of the local community since then, it was no surprise that Proton chose Norwich City as the club to sponsor. It was, after all, the local football club with many workers in the plant being supporters of the club as well. It was a sound decision by the Proton management, I believe.

The sponsorship deal at the time cost the Malaysian national automaker £500,000 per year for a 3-year contract, but with a key clause.

That clause was invoked at the start of the next league season, 2004-05, as Norwich City gained promotion to the glamorous EPL with tens of millions more eyeballs focused on the most popular football league in the world.

Proton ended up paying an extra £500,000 for the enhanced status of the club they supported. But this was to last for only a season, too. So, the total outlay for the three years of sponsorship was £2,000,000.

Incidentally, there is nothing elitist or exclusive about having a shirt sponsorship deal with an EPL club. It is simply a case of “money talks”.

If you have the dough, you can be on the show, as far as the EPL management and the various club owners are concerned.

How else can you explain the presence of SBOBET on the shirts of London side, West Ham United? Until just a few years ago, SBOBET was one of the biggest players in the underground sports betting scene in Asia. Now, they are fully licensed out of the Philippines, and also in the Isle of Man (UK).

The Hammers were desperate for a sponsor after the untimely demise of their previous sponsor, XL Holidays. The two parties were still in the middle of a three-year deal said to be worth £7.5 million.

SBOBET stepped in and negotiated a great deal to be the new shirt sponsors from December 2008 until the end of the 2009-2010 season. It was a great marketing coup for them and obviously sets them apart now from other Asian bookmakers.

But back to Malaysia and the EPL. Now there is another Malaysian company hoping to follow in the footsteps of Proton and become a shirt sponsor of an EPL club.

But not just any club, mind you. It is Manchester United.

Malaysian low cost carrier AirAsia has joined the race to become Manchester United’s new shirt sponsor.

This follows the financial troubles plaguing the US parent of MU’s current sponsor AIG. The insurer has said that they will not renew the deal beyond the current contract, which ends in May 2010.

Of course, President Barack Obama or the US Treasury Secretary could turn out to be a closet MU fan and overturn the decision and instead use part of the bailout funds to renew the deal . . . Not!

AirAsia founder Tony Fernandes said on his blog on Tuesday that the Premier League side had invited him to discuss a possible deal.

Fernandes said: “I was just thrilled that we have reached a stage where Manchester United would actually think that we are a big enough brand to afford them and that they would want our brand on them.”

“To be honest, I don’t know what the entire package would amount to, as prices would have come down,” he added.

Fernandes was in London on Monday when his statement on the negotiations came out in his blog.

It is ironic that Fernandes and AirAsia are taking this route (pun unintended) now with the defending champions of the EPL.

It was only about five years ago that AirAsia made an approach to MU’s arch-rivals Liverpool to take over the shirt sponsorship deal as the club’s association with long-time sponsor Carlsberg was coming to an end.

The deal had been negotiated between an agency representing Liverpool FC and a sports marketing company acting on behalf of the rapidly-growing airline. Everything had been agreed to between the two middlemen and AirAsia was all set to become an even bigger brand than before across Asia, what with the large following that Liverpool had in this part of the world.

Then the deal landed on LFC chief executive Rick Parry’s desk. It was to both agents’ (and later AirAsia’s) shock and dismay that Parry turned it down, simply asking “Who is AirAsia?” or something to that effect, and brushed them off as being unworthy to sponsor the most successful club in England.

In a way, it turned out to be good for Liverpool because Carlsberg got wind of other sponsor interest and signed a new – and improved – deal with the club, who were soon to be European Champions again.

Still, it showed Rick Parry’s ignorance that many, across all levels of the club’s administration, have blamed for the lack of commercial initiative by the club in competing for the global market based on such a popular football brand over more than three decades.

Liverpool still lag far behind MU, Chelsea and even Arsenal as far as making money from the hundreds of millions of fans they have gained over the years.

AirAsia really did not lose, too. If anything, they gained more commercial mileage (again, pun unintended) with a much bigger global brand when they crossed over to Manchester United and became an Official Partner for a year.

The benefits included usage of the club logo on its aircraft and also pitch-side advertising. A year later, AirAsia renewed the deal in a new partnership that also involved Tourism Malaysia.

Since then the company has improved their sponsorship relationship to become the club’s Official Low Fare Airline.

The only question now is, how much is it going to cost AirAsia to be shirt sponsors of Manchester United, even for a year, let alone two or more?

Well, based on past deals, and taking into account the current global economic climate, it would be at least £15 million per year.

Of course, the deal will cost less to the airline in today’s RM value compared with what it would have cost just a year ago, taking into account the dramatic decline in the GBP’s value relative to the RM over the past six months.

As you would have read above, Fernandes was quite frank about the high cost of shirt sponsorship for a club like Manchester United and whether AirAsia can afford it.

But he, who has dreamt big before and achieved his dream, also wrote in agreement with many of the readers’ feedback on his blog, “there is no doubt that this would be great for AirAsia and, it is worth the money”.

If nothing else, such a deal would mean AirAsia can fly as high as Emirates Airline, the shirt and stadium sponsor of Arsenal.

Nice one, Tony.

2206

February 26th, 2009, 07:42 AM

KOTA KINABALU INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT TERMINAL 2

http://i342.photobucket.com/albums/o417/cth2206/RIMG0018.jpg
http://i342.photobucket.com/albums/o417/cth2206/RIMG0020-2.jpg
http://i342.photobucket.com/albums/o417/cth2206/RIMG0019.jpg

solidsnake

February 26th, 2009, 08:07 AM

lawak ke nie ?

Apparently a photographer uploaded 2 pictures of the prototype jersey on his flickr page:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/safriz/3259736305/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/safriz/3297885618/in/set-72157611353283164/

I'm gonna ask my friend who's working in TNB if he has any news regarding this thing.:lol:

rizalhakim

February 27th, 2009, 02:54 AM

AirAsia X cargo service to London’s Stansted
Published: 2009/02/27

LONG-HAUL budget carrier AirAsia X will begin offering five-days-a-week cargo service between Kuala Lumpur and London Stansted Airport, as it makes its maiden flight on March 11.

It will operate an A340-300, which has 8,000kg of cargo capacity.

In a statement, AirAsia X said it has appointed IAM, Network Cargo Services, FlyUs, Global Cargo Management and ACT as its cargo sales agents in Western Europe, while cargo handling at London Stansted will be undertaken by Aviance.

rizalhakim

February 28th, 2009, 04:51 PM

RM177m Q4 loss for AirAsia
By Jeeva ArulampalamPublished: 2009/02/28

Budget carrier AirAsia Bhd (5099) made its second consecutive quarterly loss of RM176.9 million for its fourth quarter, as it took a hit from an exceptional item loss of RM426 million.

Group chief executive officer Datuk Seri Tony Fernandes said the loss was attributed to AirAsia completely unwinding all its remaining fuel hedges and some of its interest rate swap (IRS) derivative structures.

But by doing so, Fernandes said, AirAsia will be better positioned this year to deal with oil prices having fallen and lending rates reduced.

"If we cut our losses now, we will recover very quickly if oil prices remain around US$40 per barrel. Also, we fixed our IRS at 3.25 per cent to 5.2 per cent for roughly 12 years two years ago, not anticipating the current global situation," Fernandes said in a conference call with analysts yesterday.

He remains bullish on AirAsia's outlook, expecting a 15 to 20 per cent increase in AirAsia passengers for 2009 due to routes expansion to China, India and Singapore.
"We will also launch aggressive promotional campaigns and enhance customer service delivery to counter the weak global economy. The focus is on maintaining high load factor, driving ancillary income and expanding market share," he said.

The aim is to increase ancillary income contribution from nine per cent to 15 per cent in relation to overall revenue contribution.

Revenue for the three-month period ended December 31 2008 grew 32 per cent to RM838.3 million from RM632.7 million one year ago.

This was due to higher passenger volume by 21 per cent to 3.3 million and higher contribution from ancillary income by 78 per cent to RM73.8 million

Its core operating profit doubled to RM194 million compared with the previous corresponding period.

For the first time since its listing in 2004, AirAsia posted a net loss of RM471.7 million for its full year ended December 31 2008 due to losses of RM641 million in unwinding its fuel and IRS derivatives structures.

This was a 167 per cent plunge from its net profit of RM697.6 million a year ago.

"In relation to fuel, we are now completely un-hedged for 2009. We will ride the market this year and if we do hedge for 2010, it will be clean vanilla swaps," Fernandes said.

Revenue for the full year grew 37 per cent to RM2.64 billion as passenger volume grew 22 per cent to 11.8 million. Its load factor for last year was 75 per cent.

AirAsia expects it affiliates Thai AirAsia, Indonesia AirAsia and AirAsia X to perform better this year and contribute positively to the group.

Meanwhile, Fernandes said he is optimistic that operating costs in the soon-to-be-built permanent low-cost carrier terminal (LCCT) will be lower.

AirAsia has had five meetings with airport operator Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd (MAHB) so far on the new LCCT, to be built at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport in Sepang.

"We are confident we will resolve our discussions with MAHB within the next week or so," he said.

rizalhakim

February 28th, 2009, 06:41 PM

Rugi RM662 juta tahun lalu

KUALA LUMPUR 26 Feb. - AirAsia Bhd. (AirAsia) mencatatkan kerugian sebelum cukai sebanyak RM662.3 juta bagi tahun kewangan berakhir 31 Disember 2008 berbanding keuntungan sebelum cukai berjumlah RM450.1 juta tempoh yang sama tahun sebelumnya.

Menurut kenyataan AirAsia kepada Bursa Malaysia, syarikat penerbangan tambang murah itu turut merekodkan kerugian selepas cukai sebanyak RM472 juta.

Kerugian tersebut adalah disebabkan peruntukan bahan bakar dan struktur derivatif pertukaran kadar faedah, katanya.

Selain daripada itu, AirAsia berkata, kelemahan nilai Ringgit berbanding Dolar Amerika Syarikat juga telah menyebabkannya mengalami kerugian sebanyak RM192 juta.

Bagaimanapun, perolehan bagi tahun kewangan tersebut naik sebanyak 37 peratus kepada RM2.64 bilion daripada RM1.92 bilion bagi tempoh yang sama tahun 2007.

''Peningkatan tersebut disebabkan pertambahan penumpang sebanyak 22 peratus berbanding tahun sebelumnya,'' kata kenyataan itu.

Bagi suku keempat, AirAsia mencatatkan kerugian sebelum cukai sebanyak RM221.3 juta berbanding keuntungan sebelum cukai berjumlah RM202.02 juta dalam suku ketiga tahun kewangan berkenaan.

Mengenai prospek syarikat dalam menghadapi ketidaktentuan ekonomi semasa, AirAsia berkata, ia akan melancarkan kempen promosi secara agresif di samping meningkatkan perkhidmatan pelanggannya.

Strategi ini bertujuan untuk memenuhi keperluan pelanggan yang sentiasa inginkan tambang murah, mengekalkan kadar muatan penumpang, menyokong pendapatan sampingan dan meluaskan perkongsian pasaran.

Selain daripada itu, harga bahan api pesawat yang kini diniagakan pada nilai purata RM474 setong (AS$128) juga dijangka memberikan kesan positif kepada tahun kewangan 2009.

peromyvi

March 1st, 2009, 01:24 AM

AirAsia mention in its presentation it will focus on Singapore market in 2009.

This can be seen from the massive 4 new routes to JKT, DPS, Bandung and Yogjakarta.

Upcoming destination from Singapore include Langkawi, Penang and perhaps Medan. This will bring it to the MAS-Silk Air-SIA turf head on and also that of Garuda.

With a low fare, I think more people will fly to Langkawi for holiday. Very soon Singapore will be a big gambling destination by 2010.

nazrey

March 1st, 2009, 05:27 AM

by ahmadpi
http://flickr.com/photos/ahmadpi/2499500270/

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3236/2499500270_483216d574_b.jpg

rizalhakim

March 3rd, 2009, 02:56 AM

'MAHB can take legal action against AirAsia'
Published: 2009/03/03

MAHB CAN TAKE LEGAL ACTION AIR ASIA TO RECOVER DEBTSKUALA LUMPUR, March 2 (Bernama) --

Malaysia Airports Holding Bhd (MAHB) can take legal action against AirAsia to recover airport tax amounting to RM99,881,491 owed by the low-cost-carrier to MAHB as of January 31, the Dewan Rakyat was told today.

Deputy Transport Minister Datuk Seri Lajim Ukin said at the moment, MAHB was holding discussions with AirAsia to recover the debt.

"If necessary, we do not dismiss taking legal action to recover the money," he said when winding up debate on the motion of thanks for the Royal address on behalf of his ministry.

On the uniforms worn by stewardesses of local airlines, he said the ministry has issued reminders that they must conform to Malaysian requirements. - Bernam

rizalhakim

March 3rd, 2009, 03:06 AM

AirAsia Expects New Routes To Do Well
By Zakaria Abdul Wahab

SINGAPORE, March 2 (Bernama) -- AirAsia expects its new routes between Singapore and four Indonesian cities to do well, judging from the over 50,000 seats snapped up during its six-day promotion sale last week despite the current gloomy economic conditions.

From this March 24, the low-cost carrier's Indonesian operations will start to operate four direct scheduled flights from Singapore to Jakarta twice daily, and to Bali, Bandung and Yogyakarta daily.

AirAsia's commercial regional head Kathleen Tan said "people still need to fly despite the economic slowdown", adding that some would fly out just to de-stress themselves from the economic doldrums and Indonesia could provide the suitable holiday spots for such people.

At a media briefing here today, she said the new routes would be popular among Singaporeans and the airline was targeting between 60 and 80 percent of passenger load to each destinations.

On the Singapore market, Tan said the airline hoped to attract the business travellers, family and students for the four new air services.

Indonesia AirAsia's chief executive officer Dharmadi said the airline hoped the new routes could help stimulate the tourism industry in Indonesia and Singapore as the cheap fares and frequencies would attract more tourists from both sides.

He said Indonesia received over a million visitors from Singapore last year while about 1.76 million Indonesians visited the island republic.

Dharmadi also said that AirAsia planned to expand its air services from Singapore to include other major Indonesian cities such as Medan, Balikpapan and Semarang by this year.

Currently, AirAsia only flies to Pekanbaru, Sumatra, out of Singapore.

Indonesia AirAsia is an affiliate of AirAsia Bhd, the leading and largest low-cost carrier in Asia serving 114 routes covering 64 destinations in the region.

rizalhakim

March 4th, 2009, 03:49 AM

AirAsia set to raise money for expansion
Published: 2009/03/04

SINGAPORE: AirAsia Bhd, Southeast Asia's biggest discount airline, plans to raise as much as RM2.1 billion to expand its fleet this year as it adds new routes.

The airline plans to add "at least 15 new routes" and is in talks to fly to Indian cities including Kolkata, Bangalore and Mumbai, it said yesterday in an e-mailed statement.

The company will receive 14 new Airbus SAS A320 aircraft while retiring nine Boeing Co 737-300 airplanes this year, increasing its fleet to 80 aircraft from 75, it said.

AirAsia, which had a net loss of RM176.9 million in the three months ended December 31, said last month it had obtained financing from the investment banking unit of Barclays plc for the new Airbus aircraft. - Bloomberg

rizalhakim

March 5th, 2009, 08:29 AM

AirAsia seeks waiver on landing and parking charges
By B.K. SIDHU

http://biz.thestar.com.my/archives/2009/3/5/business/p3-airasia.JPG

KUALA LUMPUR: AirAsia Bhd group chief executive officer Datuk Seri Tony Fernandes feels the airline and sister carrier AirAsiaX should not pay for parking and landing charges at the new permanent low cost carrier terminal (LCCT) that will be ready by 2011.

“We should not be charged for the landing and parking of our airplanes as we are bringing in the volume of passengers for the airport operator,’’ he told StarBiz in an interview.

He said airport operator Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd (MAHB) should be able to earn enough income from letting its shoptlots at the new terminal to cover its costs.

“MAHB can keep the rental income from the shoplots but waive our charges,’’ he said.

He said by 2014, AirAsia would be able to grow its passenger volume to 26 million.

“We need to get the right cost structure to enable us to provide low fares as our business model is about low fares and free seats,’’ Fernandes said.

“Our business has a multiplier effect and in times of an economic crisis, which Malaysian brand has gone so far? MAHB should be fair to enterpreneurs.’’

He also wants the international passenger service charge (PSC) or airport tax at the new LCCT reduced from the current RM25 per passenger to RM10. His rationale for that is not to burden passengers in the current economic downturn.

With planning for the new facility under way, Fernandes was quick to point out that he did not want any aerobridges to keep costs down.

He did not disclose AirAsia and AirAsia X’s landing and parking charges at the existing LCCT.

The Government recently decided that the new permanent LCCT will be built near the KL International Airport (KLIA) main terminal in line with the National Airport Masterplan and to allow optimisation of resources such as runways, control towers and transportation infrastructure. MAHB will operate the new terminal, for which construction is expected to begin this year.

The new permanent LCCT will cater for 30-35 million passengers annually.

Giving incentives in the airline industry is not new. MAHB has been doing that to encourage airlines to fly into KLIA.

When AirAsia moved from Subang to LCCT, it was given a five-year incentive programme to facilitate its move.

During this period, AirAsia enjoyed a waiver on aeronautical charges for all its flights, which included landing, parking, aerobridge and check-in counter charges. It also got special rental rates for office space at all airports. This programme expired in 2007.

MAHB could not accede to AirAsia’s request for an extension as MAHB wanted to be fair to all airlines and not continue to single out one airline for the incentives.

The parking and landing charges have not changed for the past 27 years and MAHB is formulating a new incentive scheme, which will include waivers and discounts as incentives for growth. It is learnt that the new scheme will be very helpful to airlines including AirAsia.

The Government decides on PSC and approves any proposal on landing and parking charges. MAHB declined to comment on AirAsia’s request.

rizalhakim

March 5th, 2009, 09:04 AM

200 tempat duduk percuma ke london

KUALA LUMPUR - Syarikat penerbangan tambang rendah, AirAsia, menawarkan 200 tempat duduk percuma mulai semalam sempena kempen kiraan detik globalnya sempena penerbangan sulung syarikat penerbangan itu ke London yang dijadualkan pada 11 Mac ini.

Sektor itu akan dikendalikan oleh syarikat penerbangan tambang rendah jarak jauhnya, AirAsia X.

Dalam satu kenyataan di sini semalam, AirAsia menyatakan ia akan menganjurkan pameran permainan bergerak, dengan peserta perlu menjawab soalan mudah tentang syarikat itu untuk berpeluang memenangi tiket penerbangan.

Katanya, dua tiket penerbangan pergi balik akan ditawarkan pada setiap pameran bergerak yang diadakan di lokasi strategik di Lembah Klang mulai semalam hingga 11 Mac. - Bernama

rizalhakim

March 5th, 2009, 09:33 AM

AirAsia tawar 200 tiket percuma ke London

AIRASIA Bhd menganjurkan kempen besar-besar meraikan penerbangan sulungnya ke London yang dikendalikan syarikat sekutunya, AirAsia X, 11 Mac ini dengan menawarkan 200 tiket percuma ke destinasi berkenaan kepada pemenang bertuah.

Syarikat penerbangan tambang murah itu dalam kenyataannya semalam, berkata, kempen perkhidmatan penerbangan tambang murah pertama dunia yang menghubungkan Asia dengan Eropah itu diadakan di lokasi strategik di Lembah Klang.

Menampilkan, ‘Bas London’ yang akan bergerak ke lokasi utama di bandar raya, kempen itu diceriakan dengan persembahan muzik British dan imej pengawal Diraja Britain.

Kempen bermula semalam di Jalan Raja Chulan, Kuala Lumpur, sebelum berakhir di Sepang pada 11 Mac ini jam 7.00 pagi hingga 2.00 petang.

Antara lokasi dilalui termasuk Desa Sri Hartamas, Damansara Heights, Bangsar, Taman Tun Dr Ismail, Jalan Sultan Ismail, Bukit Tinggi (Klang), Berjaya Times Square, Centre Point (Bandar Utama), Mutiara Damansara, Ikano Power Centre, Kota Damansara, Uptown (Damansara Utama), Section 14 (Petaling Jaya), Subang Parade dan Bandar Sunway.

Setiap lokasi menawarkan hadiah dua tiket penerbangan ke London dan peserta berpeluang menjawab dua soalan mudah dan menyertai permainan yang dianjurkan.

Antaranya, peserta diminta menunjukkan cara memakai tali pinggang dan jaket keselamatan, mengumumkan prosedur laluan kecemasan, berjalan seperti krew penerbangan atau membuat pengumuman dalam pesawat.

Kempen yang sama turut dianjurkan di Singapura, Bangkok dan Jakarta bermula 10 Mac ini.

Maklumat lanjut mengenai kempen bergerak dan penerbangan ke London itu boleh diperoleh dengan melayari laman web www.airasia.com.

rizalhakim

March 6th, 2009, 04:28 AM

AirAsia to promote tourism
By : Shuhada Elis

http://www.nst.com.my/Friday/National/2497373/insidepix1
Datuk Seri Azalina Othman (right) and AirAsia group chief executive officer Datuk Seri Tony Fernandes (left) after the launching of ‘Zoom! Malaysia with AirAsia’ campaign at the Low-Cost Carrier Terminal yesterday.

SEPANG: Budget airline AirAsia Bhd, which carried close to 12 million passengers last year, is going all out to help Tourism Ministry bring in more visitors to the country.

The low-cost carrier will distribute brochures on local travel packages among its long-haul passengers in the next few weeks.

AirAsia group chief executive officer Datuk Seri Tony Fernandes said it was important to promote domestic tourism to long-haul passengers to help Kuala Lumpur become a tourism hub.

"Malaysia has better advantages than Singapore in terms of tourist attractions and we should get people to stay here longer," he said after the launch of "Zoom! Malaysia with AirAsia" by Tourism Minister Datuk Seri Azalina Othman yesterday.

Present was Malaysia Airports Holdings Berhad senior general manager (operation services) Datuk Azmi Murad.

Fernandes said the brochures would promote the Xcape holiday packages, which offer leisure holidays under Zoom! Malaysia campaign to attract passengers to visit places such as Kota Kinabalu and Penang.

He added that AirAsia website had also been promoting the campaign aggressively.

Azalina said the promotion was a good way to reach out to potential clients as the packages were priced reasonably.

"Our food and hotel rates are cheaper compared with Singapore, Jakarta and Bangkok, and we also offer homestay programmes.

"Sometimes, visitors only come here for business but we would like them to come back for holidays. So, we have to inform them of our packages."

Azalina suggested that AirAsia offer privilege cards for frequent travellers to help promote domestic tourism.

Earlier, she boarded AirAsia's Airbus A320, which was "wrapped" in a Zoom! Malaysia campaign logo and colourful local tourist attractions at the Low-Cost Carrier Terminal.

The aircraft will fly to 65 destinations in the Asean region, including China, India, Bangladesh, Australia and the United Kingdom, for 18 months.

Azmi said airport operators had set up service counters inside the building since the past four months to resolve the problem of touts at the LCCT.

"Last year, the Road Transport Department had issued 1,542 summonses to touts and we managed to reduce the number of cases this year.

"We are also looking at ways to reduce baggage waiting time to less than 25 minutes."

On Thursday, it was reported that Kuala Lumpur International Airport would place ticketing counters for taxis, travel agents and hotels inside the building and improve baggage delivery time by up to 30 minutes.

erwinkarim

March 6th, 2009, 05:19 AM

Khaw

March 6th, 2009, 09:35 AM

Right!!! I say open up the market and let others (foreigners alike) form their own low-cost airlines and compete with AA. Give them better incentives than what AA is getting and see how TF reacts. Soon he will realize every one is not indispensible. He seems to have the attitude that AA is god's gift to the flying public. Competition will always dictate who rules!!! :)

^tamago^

March 6th, 2009, 03:03 PM

Give them better incentives? Then where is the competition?

rizalhakim

March 10th, 2009, 05:29 AM

AirAsia plans more stops in India soon
By B.K. SIDHU

AirAsia and AirAsiaX still expanding while other airlines downsizing

Kuala Lumpur: While many airlines in the world are grounding airplanes and cutting down on frequencies, AirAsia Bhd and its sister airline AirAsiaX are still expanding and plan to fly to several destinations in India this year.

“There is a slowdown but people are still travelling. Many are also switching from premium travel to low-cost travel and that is why we are just expanding,’’ said AirAsia group chief executive officer Datuk Seri Tony Fernandes.

“AirAsia and AirAsiaX have been expanding to China and this year our focus will be India. We started off with flights to Trichi in Tamil Nadu at the end of last year and have seen high load factors. Now we want to expand further into several destinations in India,’’ he told StarBiz in an interview.

The destinations on the India list include Hyderabad, New Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Bangalore, Kochi, Madurai and Calcutta.

AirAsiaX would begin flights to Hyderabad in October, he said.

But flights originating from Bangkok to India will come online earlier.

“We will fly the Amritsar and Calcutta routes even sooner but out from Bangkok,’’ Fernandes said without elaborating. “India is a huge market and we want to be in that market.’’

AirAsia takes on routes whose durations are four hours and below while AirAsiaX plies routes beyond five hours.

The only thing that could slow down the group’s plans is landing rights but Fernandes remains positive that the airlines will get the rights to fly into the destinations they want this year.

http://biz.thestar.com.my/archives/2009/3/10/business/b_pg02trichi.jpg
Passengers boarding an AirAsia plane in its inaugural flight to Trichi in Tamil Nadu.

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) said on Monday that air traffic for Asia declined 13.5% in December 2008 with premium travel showing the greatest degree of weakness.

Demand fell faster at 8.4% and the load factor was down 3.3%.

Business travel slumped 13.3% while that of economy dropped 5.3%.

“We are still going ahead with our expansion as low-cost travel is what consumers want,’’ Fernandes said.

The AirAsia chief said even Colombo and Maldives are on the cards this year but he would not reveal the schedule dates for the flights.

Both AirAsia and AirAsiaX fly to six destinations in China besides Hong Kong.

AirAsia flies to Guanzhou, Guilin, Haikou and Shenzhen.

AirAsiaX services the Hangzhou (Shanghai) route and will start plying the Tianjin route soon.

The airlines are also considering flying to Chengdu and Xian in the future.

AirAsia and AirAsiaX fly 114 routes covering 64 destinations.

AirAsiaX is currently gearing for its inagural flight to London via Stanstead on March 11 while Dhaka is next on AirAsia’s list.

rizalhakim

March 10th, 2009, 08:44 AM

MIDF: MAS, AirAsia bersaing sengit

KUALA LUMPUR 9 Mac - Dua syarikat penerbangan - Malaysia Airlines dan AirAsia - berdepan persaingan sengit dalam jangka masa terdekat ini untuk memenangi hati pengguna yang cukup yakin berbelanja untuk perjalanan udara.

"Ia pasaran penumpang udara sebenarnya apabila pilihan yang diberikan ialah perkhidmatan bertaraf lima bintang pada kos yang amat rendah dan memberi lebih nilai untuk wang," kata MIDF dalam nota penyelidikannya.

Keputusan suku keempat yang baru selesai diumumkan tidak mencapai ke paras seperti dijangkakan firma penyelidikan memandangkan sektor itu merasakan kesan kemerosotan ekonomi yang lebih teruk daripada apa yang dijangkakan dan unjuran harga bahan api yang tersasar, katanya hari ini.

"Walaupun begitu, jangkaan itu merupakan satu penangguhan pada tahun ini, terutamanya ke atas lindung nilai bahan api struktur kos yang akan meringankan sedikit tekanan terhadap keuntungan operasi," katanya.

MIDF berkata, sekiranya pemulihan berlaku dalam separuh pertama 2010, kedua-dua syarikat penerbangan seharusnya mendapat faedah daripada peningkatan mendadak jumlah penumpang udara yang di luar jangkaan dari rantau Asia.

"Harga bahan api yang rendah menyebelahi AirAsia memandangkan syarikat itu boleh meletakkan harga tiketnya secara agresif dan kami menjangkakan syarikat ini akan memulakan lindung nilai sekali lagi sekiranya harga bahan api meningkat dalam jajaran AS$60 hingga AS$70 (RM222 hingga RM259) setong," katanya.

Selain daripada penumpang udara, operasi kargo MAS dijangka menunjukkan prestasi yang baik, kata firma penyelidikan itu.

rizalhakim

March 10th, 2009, 08:45 AM

AirAsia X sasar RM1b

http://www.utusan.com.my/pix/2009/0310/Utusan_Malaysia/Korporat/ko_01.1.jpg
AZRAN Osman Rani mengunjurkan pendapatan AirAsia X akan meningkat lagi dengan penambahan laluan baru.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

KUALA LUMPUR 9 Mac - AirAsia Bhd. (AirAsia) peneraju penerbangan tambang murah melalui anak syarikat penerbangan jarak jauhnya AirAsia X menyasar pendapatannya meningkat tiga kali ganda kepada RM1 bilion tahun ini berbanding RM250 juta pada tahun lalu.

Ketua Pegawai Eksekutifnya, Azran Osman-Rani yakin unjuran itu mampu dicapai meskipun dalam keadaan sangat mencabar dengan meningkatkan lagi tiga kali ganda laluan baru.

Menurut beliau, AirAsia X yang telah memperkenalkan penerbangan jarak jauh di empat bandar utama dan kini ia akan melancarkan 11 laluan baru, termasuk London pada 11 Mac ini.

''Saya tidak menafikan pada saat sekarang semakin banyak syarikat penerbangan antarabangsa mengurangkan kapasiti tetapi tidak bagi AirAsia X kerana kami memiliki strategi yang berbeza,'' katanya kepada Utusan Malaysia di sini.

Azran berkata, seperti Singapore Airlines, ia terpaksa berbuat demikian kerana mahu mengekalkan harga tambang yang ditawarkan sebelum ini.

Bagaimanapun, tambah beliau, model perniagaan AirAsia X sebaliknya kerana memberi keutamaan kepada kapasiti penumpang dengan menawarkan harga lebih rendah dan dengan cara tersebut dapat mengurangkan kos tambang.

''Memang ramai yang tidak percaya model ini tetapi kami telah membuktikannya.

''Lagipun sebagai syarikat penerbangan yang sedang berkembang, kami tidak ada pilihan lain kecuali perlu meneruskan peluasan operasi,'' ujar beliau,

Antara laluan penerbangan baru itu membabitkan negara China, India, Korea, Jepun dan India.

Beliau menambah, AirAsia X akan melancarkan laluan-laluan lain yang baru apabila mendapat empat pesawat baru pada tahun ini berbanding empat pesawat sekarang.

Beliau yakin syarikat penerbangan tersebut mampu mendapat harga pesawat yang lebih kompetitif memandangkan permintaan semakin merosot ketika ini.

Mengulas tentang pelancaran laluan ke London, Azran berkata, bagi penerbangan pertama, semua tempat duduk telah habis dibeli.

Beliau yang menyifatkan ia sebagai perkembangan positif dan di luar dugaan, menyasarkan laluan itu mampu mencatatkan faktor muatan sebanyak 70 peratus.

Jelas beliau, AirAsia X tidak menumpukan penumpang di dalam negara sahaja, sebaliknya menyasarkan penumpang domestik hanya 60 peratus, 35 peratus lagi dari United Kingdom dan bakinya dari Australia.

''Unjuran ini berdasarkan tempahan semasa dengan menyaksikan ramai penumpang asing menjadikan AirAsia untuk bergerak dari satu destinasi ke destinasi lain,'' kata beliau.

Azran memberitahu, penerbangan ke London adalah perjalanan terus ke Lapangan Terbang Stansted.

Menurut beliau, AirAsia X memilih lapangan terbang itu kerana ia merupakan pintu masuk ke Eropah serta turut menawarkan pelbagai perkhidmatan penerbangan tambang murah ke destinasi seluruh benua itu.

Selain itu, Stansted mempunyai rangkaian hubungan pengangkutan ke Barcelona, Rom, Geneva, Dublin dan Stockholm.

''Dengan ini, kami berpotensi untuk mendapatkan lebih ramai penumpang pada masa depan,'' jelas beliau.

Ditanya mengapa AirAsia melakukan penerbangan terus, Azran memberitahu, ia untuk menjimatkan kos-kos pentadbiran seperti caj letak pesawat, penggunaan sistem komputer, tiket dan macam-macam lagi.

''Kita tidak mahu jadi seperti SIA mahupun MAS, terpaksa menunggu kira-kira tujuh jam di lapangan terbang Heathrow disebabkan terlibat dalam perjanjian perkongsian kod serta hab dan rangkaian.

''Sedangkan AirAsia X akan hanya menurunkan penumpang dan kemudian menunggu antara 60 hingga 75 minit sebelum berlepas semula.

''Kami sebenarnya menggunakan kos yang sama tetapi berupaya mendapat pendapatan yang lebih,'' tambahnya.

Khaw

March 10th, 2009, 09:44 AM

Give them better incentives? Then where is the competition?

so all future carriers (if any one is interested in setting a hub at KLIA, but not at a pie-in-the-sky location) are playing on even field with air asia. air asia is now getting a lot of "help" from taxpayers and still demanding for more and more, unless the government draws a line in the sand, which ain't gonna happen anytime soon... it will also make a point to TF with the message "anyone is replaceable in the airline business" so that "everyone can fly". ultimately, the increased traffic into KLIA (thereby spawning a lot more industries and businesses) will greatly offset the incentives given out initially.

rizalhakim

March 11th, 2009, 04:32 AM

On the other hand, budget-carrier AirAsia Bhd is enjoying healthy passenger traffic on its KL-Macau route with a load factor of 82%. “There is no change (for the route). In fact, we are adding two more flights to Macau,” its group chief executive officer Datuk Seri Tony Fernandes said.

rizalhakim

March 11th, 2009, 05:41 AM

AirAsia X takes off to London
Published: 2009/03/11

AIRASIA X finally took off for London, with 286 passengers on board, after almost a two-year delay.

AirAsia X, which operates the sector, is an affiliate of AirAsia Bhd, the parent company.

The destination was first announced in January 2007 and flights were targeted to begin in June the same year; but due to various reasons including higher leasing cost operations did not go according to plan.

AirAsia X will fly into Stansted Airport, Britain’s third busiest airport, with 22.8 million passengers passing through and many leading low-cost airlines making it their base.

The newly-acquired Airbus A340-300 took off at 9am from the Low Cost Carrier Terminal (LCCT) in Sepang; the event was attended by AirAsia X Chairman Datuk Seri Kalimullah Hassan, chief executive officer Azran Osman-Rani, Asean secretary-general Dr Surin Pitsuwan and British High Commissioner to Malaysia Boyd McCleary. - Bernama

rizalhakim

March 11th, 2009, 06:36 AM

AirAsia boss happy with promise of new LCCT

AIRASIA chief executive officer Datuk Seri Tony Fernandes is a happy man with the confirmation that a new low-cost carrier terminal (LCCT) will be built by 2011.

He feels it is a step forward.

Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak announced in the mini-budget that Malaysia Airport Holdings Bhd (MAHB) would build and operate a new LCCT at the KL International Airport at an estimated cost of RM2bil.

“It’s a good step, but we hope MAHB will still do more on its part.

“We can’t rest on the airlines and the Government to do all the work,” Fernandes said yesterday.

He added that he hoped MAHB would impose fair charges commensurate with the RM2bil investment.

Asked if AirAsia had been affected by the economic crisis, he said, “No”.

“On the contrary, we’ve been having good growth. We’re taking a positive stand on this and reducing our cost structure.

“Value is key for our customers and what we’re doing is giving them better value and lower fares,” he said.

Asked if he thought the measures announced in the mini-budget would help AirAsia, he replied: “What the Government has done, it’s good.

“Now we have to ask MAHB to play its part in lowering the cost structure for the consumers as well. They should also give incentives for all airlines to promote growth.”

Fernandes added that he had no plans to lay off workers. Instead, he was hiring more people.

rizalhakim

March 11th, 2009, 06:38 AM

New route expected to soar
By K. SUTHAKAR

AIRASIA is stepping up its marketing campaign to increase passenger load for its Penang-Macau flights which began on March 1.

Its Penang station head Kenneth Tan said it expected the load to peak up gradually.

“The current passenger load is promising. We expect it will increase in due time as more people become aware of the flights,” he said before sending off a group of newsmen for a familiarisation trip to Macau at the Penang International Airport recently.

The budget airline makes four trips weekly to Macau — on Mon-days, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays and the return trips are on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays.

It uses a new airbus with a sea-ting capacity for 180 passengers for the trip which takes three hours and 15 minutes.

Tan said AirAsia flies to the most number of destinations from Penang compared with other airlines. Besides Macau, it flies direct to Kuala Lumpur, Johor Baru, Kuching, Kota Kinabalu, Bangkok, Medan and Jakarta.

It operates six daily flights to Kuala Lumpur, two daily flights to Bangkok and Johor Baru and a daily flight to Kuching, Kota Kinabalu, Medan and Jakarta.

“We are the only airline to fly direct from Penang to Johor Baru, Kuching, Kota Kinabalu and Jakarta and one of two airlines to fly to Bangkok,” Tan said.

He said the airline would fly from Penang to Singapore once it obtained the necessary approvals.

“Now, our passengers fly to Senai and then take either a bus or taxi to Kranji in Singapore,” he said.

Tan said the airline had big plans to further boost Penang as an international tourist desti-nation.

“We want to make Penang our hub just like the hubs we have in Kuala Lumpur, Johor Baru, Kuching, Kota Kinabalu, Bangkok and Jakarta,” he said.

On the flights to Macau, he said he hoped Penang and Macau tourism players would set up a joint committee to promote both destinations.

“They must come up with value-added packages during these difficult times to ensure there is a win-win situation for both parties,” he said.

rizalhakim

March 11th, 2009, 07:04 AM

http://www.bharian.com.my/Current_News/BH/mutakhirPix/lcct.jpg
PASUKAN muzik dari Air Asia meraikan penumpang pertama menaiki pesawat Airbus Air Asia dari Kuala Lumpur ke London di LCCT, Sepang pagi tadi. - Foto Izhari Ariffin

rizalhakim

March 11th, 2009, 09:48 AM

AirAsia X inaugural flight to London
Published: 2009/03/11

AIRASIA X finally took off for London, with 286 passengers on board, after almost a two-year delay.

AirAsia X, which operates the sector, is an affiliate of AirAsia Bhd, the parent company.

The destination was first announced in January 2007 and flights were targeted to begin in June the same year; but due to various reasons including higher leasing cost operations did not go according to plan.

AirAsia X will fly into Stansted Airport, Britain’s third busiest airport, with 22.8 million passengers passing through and many leading low-cost airlines making it their base.

The newly-acquired Airbus A340-300 took off at 9am from the Low Cost Carrier Terminal (LCCT) in Sepang; the event was attended by AirAsia X Chairman Datuk Seri Kalimullah Hassan, chief executive officer Azran Osman-Rani, Asean secretary-general Dr Surin Pitsuwan and British High Commissioner to Malaysia Boyd McCleary.

Meanwhile, Azran said that AirAsia X sees the 50 per cent rebate for landing charges as an opportunity to lower cost and lower fares to passengers.

"As costs become lower, we will be passing it through, in terms of lower fares, to our passengers. When we offer low fares, more people will fly," he said when asked to comment on the 50 per cent rebate for landing charges.

Under the RM60 billion second stimulus package announced by the government yesterday, rebates will be given for two years, effective April 1, to all airlines that operate from Malaysia.

"We are not afraid of competition because, we have a low-cost structure, and are in the best place to offer low fares," he said at the launch of AirAsia's inaugural KL-London flight that took off from the Low Cost Carrier Terminal in Sepang today.

London is AirAsia-X's fifth international destination after Gold Coast,Perth and Melbourne in Australia and Hangzhou in China. -- Bernama

rizalhakim

March 12th, 2009, 04:24 AM

AirAsia X Lauds 50 Pct Rebate For Landing Charges - Azran Osman

KUALA LUMPUR, March 11 (Bernama) -- AirAsia X, Malaysia's long-haul budget carrier, sees the 50 percent rebate for landing charges as an opportunity to lower cost and lower fares to passengers, chief executive officer Azran Osman-Rani said today.

"As cost comes lower, we will be passing through in terms of lower fares to our passengers. When we offer low fare, more people will fly," he said when asked to comment on the 50 percent rebate for landing charges.

Under the RM60 billion second stimulus package announced by the government yesterday, rebates will be given for two years, effective April 1, to all airlines that operate from Malaysia.

"We are not afraid of competition because when we have the low-cost structure, you are the best place to offer low fares," he told reporters at the launch of AirAsia's inaugural KL-London flight that took off from the Low Cost Carrier Terminal in Sepang today.

London is AirAsia-X's fifth international destination after Gold Coast, Perth and Melbourne in Australia and Hangzhou in China.

AirAsia X will be launching a new route from Kuala Lumpur to Tianjin, China, on April 2.

Tianjin, located in northern China and 120km from Beijing, is connected to the Chinese capital via a 30-minute high-speed Beijing-Tianjin Intercity Rail service.

"We are looking at expanding further to Asia-Pacific, more destinations in China and Australia. India is also very interested and the Middle East," he said.

AirAsia X, an associate of AirAsia with shareholders including the Virgin Group and AirAsia Bhd, is a low-cost long-haul airline launched in January 2007. It commenced commercial services in November 2007.

-- BERNAMA

rizalhakim

March 12th, 2009, 04:34 AM

AirAsia X flies to London’s Stansted Airport from the LCCT
By LEONG HUNG YEE

SEPANG: AirAsia Bhd’s long-haul airline, AirAsia X, finally took off to London from the Low Cost Carrier Terminal (LCCT) yesterday with 289 passengers on board, 1½ years after the plan was first announced.

The maiden flight on an Airbus A340-300 was scheduled to land at Stansted Airport, Britain’s third busiest airport.

AirAsia X chairman Datuk Seri Kalimullah Hassan, chief executive officer Azran Osman Rani, Asean secretary-general Dr Surin Pitsuwan and British High Commissioner to Malaysia Boyd McCleary were present at the launch of the flight.

Azran said the 50% rebate for landing charges would present an opportunity to lower cost and lower fares to passengers.

http://biz.thestar.com.my/archives/2009/3/12/business/b_06SeriBashir.jpg
From left: Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd MD and CEO Datuk Seri Bashir Ahmad Abdul Majid, Dr Surin Pitsuwan, Kalimullah Hassan and Azran at the launch on Wednesday.

“As cost becomes lower, we will be passing through in terms of lower fares to our passengers. When we offer low fares, more people will fly.

“We are not afraid of competition because when we have the low-cost structure, it is the best place to offer low fares,” he told reporters.

Azran also said AirAsia X was looking at expanding further in Asia-Pacific, and to more destinations in China and Australia.

He said it was also interested in India and the Middle East. London is AirAsia X’s fifth international destination after Gold Coast, Perth and Melbourne in Australia and Hangzhou in China. AirAsia X will be launching a new route from Kuala Lumpur to Tianjin, China, next month.

rizalhakim

March 12th, 2009, 05:15 AM

AirAsia X may offer cheaper fares to UK
By Lydia Gomezlegomez@nst.com.my

SEPANG: The first AirAsia X direct flight to London took off yesterday with promises that fares could dip even lower.

At the launch of the Stansted-bound flight, AirAsia X chief executive Azran Osman-Rani said with the 50 per cent rebate on landing charges in Tuesday's mini-Budget, the airline will offer lower fares if its costs go down.

"Whatever savings we get from landing charges, we will pass on to our passengers.

"We are always looking for opportunities to lower our fares," Azran said before boarding the fully-occupied Airbus A340-300 that took off from the Low-Cost Carrier Terminal at 9am.

With five flights a week, the Kuala Lumpur-Stansted route is expected to bring in more tourists from the United Kingdom.

The first passengers booked their tickets last November, when the one-way fare was RM499.

Azran also said the airline plans to launch its next route to Tianjin, China, on April 2.

"We are also looking at more destinations in China, the Middle East and India," he added.

AirAsia X chairman Datuk Seri Kalimullah Hassan, British High Commissioner Boyd Mcleary and Asean secretary-general Dr Surin Pitsuwan were also on the flight.

Dr Surin said the possibility of allowing people to travel throughout the region on a single visa was being looked at, to encourage more travel within Asean.

Among the passengers were wildlife conservationist Sarah Brook and her fiance Simon Mahood, who were heading home from Vietnam to get married.

Brook said: "We live just 10 minutes away from Stansted. And this is the cheapest airline offering direct flights.

"The money we save will go towards our wedding and honeymoon."

Jagjit Kaur, from Miri, said the low fares and promotions helped to realise her parents' wish to visit relatives in London.

"I sat in front of my laptop at 7.45am and booked the tickets when booking began at 8am," said Jagjit, who plans to travel with her parents and brother to France and Holland.

Her brother Jasmair has only one wish:

"I'm going to Liverpool. My sister and father are Manchester United fans, so I bought myself a ticket to visit my favourite football team's home ground."

rizalhakim

March 12th, 2009, 10:32 AM

AirAsia X in advanced talks to lease A340
Published: 2009/03/12

LONDON: AirAsia X, an affiliate of low-cost carrier AirAsia Bhd, is in advanced negotiations to lease another Airbus A340 to increase its frequency of the just-launched Kuala Lumpur-London route.

“We want to have the KL-London route on a daily basis from July onwards,” said AirAsia X’s chief executive officer Azran Osman Rani.

Launched yesterday with the inaugural flight from KLIA to Stansted Airport outside London, the company would mount five direct flights per week.

He said after a six-year lease of the aircraft model, the airline might consider buying the next generation Airbus A350 for its long haul services.

“The A350 is still at the design stage, we will wait for it to be more at the advanced stage before deciding,” he told Malaysian media on board the KL-London inaugural flight.

Stansted Airport is Britain's third busiest airport, with 22.8 million passengers passing through and many leading low-cost airlines making it their base.

In London, the passengers were received by Duke of York Prince Andrew, AirAsia Bhd’s chief executive officer Datuk Seri Tony Fernandes, British Airports Authority (BAA) managing director Steward Wingate and BAA’s commercial and development director Nick Barton.

AirAsia X also aims to expand into to Central and Eastern Europe, said Azran.

“Countries like Russia and Poland are emerging markets, it will be interesting to tap into it,” he said, adding that, Germany and Italy could also be attractive destinations.

However, for now, AirAsia X will concentrate on London and add another route only next year, he said.

Despite the economic downturn, AirAsia X remained upbeat about the aviation industry as there was still a lot of demand in what he said was relatively an untapped market.

“It is easier to take up market share when we go into the market at a time when other airlines are cutting back,” he said.

Although the low-cost carrier might see a decline in certain segments of passenger traffic as they can’t afford to travel anymore, it was gaining from the business segment.

“A lot of companies that are on cost cutting measures choose to travel with low-cost carriers,” he said.

AirAsia X has also benefited from airline companies cancelling some of their aircraft purchases.

"We only had two slots for 2009 for the A330 that was ordered but because some airline companies cancelled their orders we got a third slot in September 2009, which means we will receive our new aircraft faster,” he said.

The airline would want to expand its destinations from five now to 11 by the end of this year, possibly to Sydney, New Delhi, Chengdu and the Middle East.

“I just came back from Abu Dhabi and Dubai. Things are promising. We have to finalise discussions with the airports,” he said. - Bernama

rizalhakim

March 13th, 2009, 06:57 AM

Flight a low-cost record for AirAsia
From Shahrum Sayuti and Zaharah Othman in London

AIRASIA celebrated its inaugural Kuala Lumpur-London flight on Wednesday, becoming the first low-cost, long-haul service connecting the United Kingdom and Asia.

The Airbus A340-300 flight from the Low-Cost Carrier Terminal (LCCT) in Sepang touched down at the Standsted Airport here at 2.40pm local time, 20 minutes ahead of schedule.

It carried 240 passengers, among them AirAsia X chairman Datuk Seri Kalimullah Hassan, chief executive officer Azran Osman Rani, Asean secretary-general Dr Surin Pitsuwan and British High Commissioner to Malaysia William Boyd McCleary.

The event was made significant with the presence of the Duke of York Prince Andrew at the airport, accompanied by AirAsia group chief executive officer Datuk Seri Tony Fernandez.

Fernandez said the event was akin to a "bright sunny day after days of dark clouds" for AirAsia.

"This is truly a happy occasion and, coincidentally, this is the first day that the sun is shining since I arrived here (in London)."

AirAsia was recently embroiled in a controversy over the proposed new airport for low-cost carriers in Labu, Negri Sembilan.

The project was cancelled by the government following public protest.

Fernandez said the success of the inaugural flight vindicated the low-cost carrier against its detractors because it had proven that AirAsia was the best choice not only for Malaysian budget-travellers but also for those in Asia and Europe.

Of the 240 passengers on the flight, 33 were Malaysians, 90 British, while the rest were from Southeast Asia, Europe and Australia.

"This indicates our long-haul flights will be a favourite in these regions," said Fernandez.

The new service will operate five direct flights per week, providing passengers with access via AirAsia's Kuala Lumpur international hub, to 64 destinations, including Bangkok, Phuket, Singapore, Ho Chi Minh City and Bali for as low as RM53, and to Australia for RM520.

The flights will be operated by AirAsia's associate, AirAsia X.

Meanwhile, it was reported that AirAsia launched its inaugural Dhaka-Kuala Lumpur flights yesterday.

AirAsia Bangladesh chief executive officer Noman Chowdhury said the standard fare with return tickets was 20,000 taka (RM1,080), adding that it was nearly 40 per cent lower than the normal rates.

rizalhakim

March 13th, 2009, 07:06 AM

Prince Andrew greets inaugural flight from Kuala Lumpur to Stansted
By CHOI TUCK WO

LONDON: AirAsia X’s inaugural flight from Kuala Lumpur touched down at Stansted Airport at 2.36pm on Wednesday, marking Asean’s first low-cost carrier connecting Asia and Europe.

The Airbus A340 aircraft carrying 286 passengers made the historic landing 24 minutes ahead of schedule.

The passengers on board flight D7 2006 broke into applause as the pilot, Captain Adrian Jenkins, guided the plane to a soft landing after the 13-hour flight.

As the aircraft was being taxied to stand A12, the Duke of York Prince Andrew spoke briefly to the pilot via radio from the airport’s departure lounge.

When the engines were turned off, the captain and his crew proudly displayed the Malaysian flags and Union Jack from the port and starboard windows.

http://thestar.com.my/archives/2009/3/13/nation/n_24london.jpg
Happy landing: Prince Andrew greeting cabin crew members followed by Fernandes at London’s Stansted airport yesterday.

Later, Prince Andrew, accompanied by AirAsia Bhd Group CEO Datuk Seri Tony Fernandes, British Airports Authority (BAA) Stansted managing director Stewart Wingate and BAA Stansted commercial & development director Nick Barton, to tour the aircraft.

Among the VIPs were Asean secretary-general Dr Surin Pitsuwan, British High Commissioner to Malaysia Boyd McClearly, AirAsia X chairman Datuk Seri Kalimullah Hassan and its CEO Azran Osman-Rani.

Also present was AirAsia deputy Group CEO Datuk Kamarudin Meranun.

Fernandes said the airline was at the beginning of realising its ambition of creating a daily shuttle between Europe and Asia. He also said there were 33 Malaysians and 90 Britons among the 240 passengers returning to Kuala Lumpur later that day.

The remaining passengers were from countries such as Estonia, Sweden, Austria, Slovakia, Australia and Holland.

Meanwhile, in Sepang, DHARMENDER SINGH reported that former Manchester United player David May and former Liverpool player Phil Babb, were among passengers on board the first AirAsia flight from London to Kuala Lumpur that arrived here yesterday afternoon.

“It is a 13-hour flight from London but I have no complaints over the level of comfort or the service. It was all great,” Babb said when met at the Low Cost Carrier Terminal (LCCT) here yesterday.

Babb and May are here to appear as special guests at the Stadium Viewing Party to be held at the Sunway Lagoon Amphitheatre tomorrow.

Tourism Malaysia International Marketing Division deputy director Maizan Ahmad and AirAsia officials were on hand to give them a warm welcome.

OshHisham

March 13th, 2009, 07:16 AM

http://thestar.com.my/archives/2009/3/13/nation/n_24london.jpg
Happy landing: Prince Andrew greeting cabin crew members followed by Fernandes at London’s Stansted airport yesterday.

eh, perasan tak stewardess india yg paling kanan tu? dia selalu ada time promotion AirAsia...

anak beranak Tony Fernandez kot...:lol:

rizalhakim

March 13th, 2009, 09:35 AM

AirAsia X sasar tarik 120,000 penumpang
Daripada NIEZAM ABDULLAH
(Yang menyertai penerbangan
sulung AirAsia X ke London)

http://www.utusan.com.my/pix/2009/0313/Utusan_Malaysia/Korporat/ko_01.1.jpg
Pramugari-pramugari AirAsia X menyambut ketibaan sebahagian daripada 286 penumpang yang tiba dengan penerbangan sulung AirAsia X ke London di Lapangan Terbang Stansted, London, semalam.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

LONDON 12 Mac – AirAsia X, anak syarikat AirAsia Bhd. menyasarkan 120,000 penumpang akan menggunakan penerbangan tambang murah jarak jauh itu bagi laluan Kuala Lumpur – London menjelang akhir tahun ini.

Ketua Pegawai Eksekutifnya, Azran Osman Rani berkata, keyakinan itu berdasarkan tempahan yang dibuat orang ramai selepas syarikat penerbangan itu memulakan laluan tersebut pada 11 Mac lalu.

“Melihat kepada tempahan awal para pelanggan menerusi internet dalam tempoh tiga bulan lalu, kami yakin dapat menarik kira-kira 120,000 penumpang untuk mencuba destinasi baru Kuala Lumpur – London yang diperkenalkan ini,” katanya.

Beliau berkata demikian ketika meraikan pendaratan pertama pesawat AirAsia X dari Kuala Lumpur di lapangan terbang antarabangsa Stansted di sini hari ini.

Turut hadir meraikan penumpang pertama penerbangan itu ialah kerabat diraja Britain, Putera Andrew, Setiausaha Agung ASEAN, Dr. Surin Pitsuwan, Ketua Pegawai Eksekutif AirAsia Bhd., Datuk Seri Tony Fernandes dan Pengerusi AirAsia X, Datuk Seri Kalimullah Hasan.

Berdasarkan kepada sambutan yang memberangsangkan kata Azran, pihaknya bersetuju menambah tujuh penerbangan seminggu bermula Julai akan datang berbanding lima penerbangan sekarang ini.

Katanya, pertambahan itu perlu dilakukan segera agar orang ramai terus percaya terhadap kemampuan syarikat penerbangan tambang murah jarak jauh itu mencapai misinya iaitu “semua orang boleh terbang”.

Sebagai bukti katanya, penerbangan pertama Kuala Lumpur ke London mencatatkan sambutan yang amat baik kerana 98 peratus tempat duduk yang disediakan habis dijual.

Menurut Azran berdasarkan kepada bancian dalam tempoh tiga bulan lalu sebanyak 60 peratus tempahan datangnya daripada rakyat Malaysia, 35 peratus dari United Kingdom sementara lima peratus lagi adalah dari Australia yang menjadikan Kuala Lumpur sebagai tempat transit sebelum ke Eropah.

Beliau berkata, penumpang hari ini amat menitikberatkan harga untuk melancong dan mereka tentu sekali akan memilih mana-mana syarikat yang menawarkan tambang murah walaupun terpaksa menghabiskan banyak masa untuk transit asalkan tidak perlu mengeluarkan banyak belanja. – Utusan

rizalhakim

March 13th, 2009, 10:09 AM

Bekas bintang bola ceria naiki AirAsia X

SEPANG: Dua bekas bintang bola sepak dunia, Phill Babb dan David May antara 216 penumpang penerbangan awal AirAsia X dari London Stansted ke Kuala Lumpur tiba di Terminal Penerbangan Tambang Murah (LCCT), petang semalam.

Penerbangan dengan pesawat D7 2007 itu berlepas dari Lapangan Terbang Stansted, London jam 6 petang (waktu United Kingdom) tiba di LCCT, pada jam 3 petang semalam.

Bekas pemain Manchester United dan Liverpool tiba di tanah air dijadualkan muncul dalam program ‘Stadium Viewing Party’ bagi mengulas perlawanan antara Manchester United dan Liverpool di Amphitheatre Sunway Lagoon, esok (Sabtu).

Babb ketika ditemui mengakui selesa menggunakan perkhidmatan AirAsia X walaupun menempuh perjalanan kira-kira 13 jam memandangkan kerusinya yang luas dan selesa, selain keramahan pramugari serta pramugara bertugas.

“Ini kali ketiga saya ke Kuala Lumpur dan pengalaman menaiki pesawat penerbangan tambang murah AirAsia amat menarik. Saya meluangkan masa lima hari, empat malam di Malaysia dan jika berpeluang saya melawat beberapa lokasi menarik di sini,” katanya ketika ditemui sebaik tiba di LCCT, semalam.

Ketibaan penumpang berkenaan disambut Timbalan Pengarah Kanan Antarabangsa/ Jabatan Pemasaran (Amerika, Eropah/Oceania) Tourism Malaysia, Maizan Ahmad.

Penerbangan sulung AirAsia X ke London Stansted berlepas jam 9 pagi, kelmarin (waktu Malaysia) dan pada jam 2.40 petang (waktu United Kingdom) disambut Ketua Pegawai Eksekutif Kumpulan AirAsia, Datuk Seri Tony Fernandes dan Putera Andrew.

Ibu negara Britain itu menjadi destinasi kelima AirAsia X, yang memulakan perkhidmatan penerbangan komersialnya dengan penerbangan dari Kuala Lumpur ke Gold Coast, Australia, pada 2 November 2007, sebelum menambah destinasinya ke bandar raya Hangzhou, China serta Perth dan Melbourne tahun lalu.

AirAsia X melakukan penerbangan terus lima kali seminggu bagi sektor berkenaan.

rizalhakim

March 16th, 2009, 05:20 AM

Popular coffee brand will be available on board AirAsia
By JADE CHAN

FANS of Old Town White Coffee and coffee lovers alike can now look forward to enjoying a hot cuppa on board AirAsia flights and at a soon-to-be-opened outlet at the Low Cost Carrier Terminal (LCCT).

Old Town White Coffee group marketing general manager Alex Chuah spoke about the company’s latest collaborations with AirAsia during a recent press conference.

“From March onwards, the Old Town White Coffee will be served on board all local AirAsia flights.

http://thestar.com.my/archives/2009/3/16/central/m_pg18oldtown.jpg
Enjoying a nice cuppa: The Old Town 3-in-1 Classic White Coffee will be served on board the AirAsia flights. It is already available on AirAsia’s local flights, and will be served on board all flights that depart from AirAsia’s regional hubs in Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia next month.

“From next month onwards, they will be served on board all flights that depart from AirAsia’s regional hubs in Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia,” he said.

The Old Town 3-in-1 Classic White Coffee will be sold at RM5 per cup. There are plans to include the Milk Tea and Hazelnut flavours soon.

Chuah said the company had allocated RM100,000 to advertise its latest milestone in the local print media, and would also be advertising in Travel 3Sixty, AirAsia’s inflight magazine.

Flying high: Chuah with the Old Town 3-in-1 Classic White Coffee.

The advertisements feature the tagline Now Everyone Can Fly and Drink Old Town White Coffee.

“The response has been encouraging thus far, and we’re selling about 300 cups of Old Town White Coffee per day,” said Chuah.

“Our target would be to sell 1,000 cups per day once the coffee is available on the flights that depart from the three regional hubs.”

On the company’s other milestone, he said Old Town White Coffee would be opening an F&B outlet at the entrance of the departure hall in the LCCT’s new wing.

“It will be open for business in the middle of this month and will mark our 121st outlet. This outlet will be open 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

“The outlet, which is a joint venture project, will feature most of the items available at most of our F&B outlets, with some adjustments on the food items as we will be introducing three or four additions,” he said.

He said the company had invested RM600,000 for the outlet located at the LCCT, and planned to open 40 more throughout Malaysia.

“Selling our coffee on board AirAsia’s flights offers a good channel to promote our coffee and cover the entire South-East Asia market,” he said, adding that they are also looking at exploring new markets in the Middle East and Australia.

OshHisham

March 16th, 2009, 01:56 PM

^^ i drink this coffee everyday!!

patchay

March 16th, 2009, 02:29 PM

issit really nice? i havent try b4

OshHisham

March 16th, 2009, 02:46 PM

if it is not good, then i'll not have it everyday :yes: the best 3 in 1 instant coffee so far.

try OldTown milk tea, good too.

rizalhakim

March 17th, 2009, 04:44 AM

AirAsia and Tune Money in IT tie-up

KUALA LUMPUR: AirAsia Bhd has entered into an information technology (IT) shared services agreement with Tune Money Sdn Bhd to maximise and optimise the use of the resources, expertise and facilities of AirAsia’s IT department and as an additional source of recurring income to AirAsia.

Under the terms of the agreement, the company would provide Tune Money a range of IT services on sharing basis including but not limited to resources, expertise, and facilities in exchange for a payment of a fee, it told Bursa Malaysia yesterday.

The relevant fee is based on 25% of the total monthly payroll costs of AirAsia’s IT department and the cost of any shared facilities provided by AirAsia to Tune Money by virtue of the agreement.

It is estimated that the fee payable by Tune Money to AirAsia will be RM100,000 per month. Both companies have common shareholders.

rizalhakim

March 22nd, 2009, 01:17 PM

Securing AirAsia's contract wasn't a smooth ride: SkyBus
By Roziana HamsawiPublished: 2009/03/21

THE enthusiasm in Chris S. Thiagarajah's voice when he talks about his company SkyBus Ventures Sdn Bhd may be reminiscent of his close friend Datuk Seri Tony Fernandes, but their friendship didn't necessarily improve the chances of his company tying up with the airline.

He said SkyBus had to show that it deserved the contract before the airline finally agreed to make it the official bus.

"Bear in mind that it took AirAsia one-year-and-a-half before it made us the official bus, and only last September were we invited to sell our tickets online on AirAsia's website," Thiagarajah said.

In an interview in Kuala Lumpur on Thursday, the founder and chief executive officer of SkyBus said it was not easy being the first bus operator for a low-cost carrier terminal (LCCT), offering cheap fares when other costs were on the rise.

"We wanted to change the perception of buses in the country. Our passengers may be customers of a budget airline but we want to give them the best quality bus service that we could," said Thiagarajah, adding that cleanliness of the bus topped SkyBus' to-do list.

Good customer service was also important, he said, adding that most of the times he personally handled the customer service line to ensure that passengers' complaints were quickly resolved.

Thiagarajah said SkyBus worked hard to differentiate itself from competitors, and it was that hard work that proved to AirAsia that SkyBus is a reliable land budget passenger transportation company.

"We do not want to be associated with passengers complaining about being harassed or touted to buy tickets. We interact directly with our passengers."

Such differentiation, he said, impressed AirAsia which decided to sell SkyBus tickets on-board incoming flights and later online.

"That is why we do not have plans to lower our ticket fare from RM9 because to us, pricing is never the issue. Quality service is," he said.

(SkyBus' competitor Aerobus sells its tickets at RM8 one way while return tickets are priced at RM14. SkyBus' ticket sold on AirAsia website is priced at RM6.50 one way while those sold on board are RM9 each.)

Thiagarajah, who until 2006 was in the tea industry for a good 15 years, said for a slightly higher price, SkyBus passengers get new buses that are insured, well-maintained, and drivers who are lawfully employed.

SkyBus, which has a paid-up capital of RM750,000, started operating the KL Sentral-LCCT-KL Sentral route on March 23 2006 and broke even within five months.

Revenue, he said, continued to register double-digit growth while profits remained healthy.

With a fleet of 20 buses, its average passenger load has grown to 85 per cent from 70 per cent during the first year.

"We are happy with our achievement being a young company and all," he said, adding that SkyBus will continue to work on winning passenger loyalty and not worry about its higher fare.

rizalhakim

March 25th, 2009, 04:07 AM

AirAsia, Firefly given more routes to Singapore
By Marina EmmanuelPublished: 2009/03/25

http://www.btimes.com.my/articles/terba-2/pix_bottom

Malaysia's two low-cost carriers (LCCs) have been granted rights to fly to Singapore from several domestic destinations, including Subang and Penang.

Transport Minister Datuk Seri Ong Tee Keat said that the Cabinet had granted permission to turboprop operator Firefly to fly to Singapore from Subang, Penang, Kuantan and Terengganu.

It also allowed AirAsia (5099) to fly to Singapore from Penang in addition to Langkawi, Sandakan and Tawau.

"Based on the applications submitted by both airlines, I felt it was only right and fair to present both to the Cabinet," Ong told Business Times in a telephone interview.

He did not give a time-frame as to when the two airlines could begin servicing the new sectors.
Malaysia has to negotiate bilateral air service agreements with its Singaporean counterpart before the carriers are granted access to the routes.

Ong said that apart from the Penang-Singapore route, AirAsia has also obtained the go-ahead to fly from Kuala Lumpur to four Indian cities: Chennai, Hyderabad, Kolkatta and Bangalore.

Sister long-haul low-cost carrier AirAsia X, which has been flying from Kuala Lumpur to some destinations in Australia and, more recently, London, has been granted approval to fly from Kuala Lumpur to Delhi and Mumbai.

It has also been given approval to service additional destinations in China, including Chengdu and Xian

ethan

March 27th, 2009, 08:01 PM

AirAsiaX eyes US market by year-end

SEPANG: AirAsiaX, the low-cost long-haul carrier, is eyeing the US market by year-end following its successful launch of the Kuala Lumpur-London route, chief executive officer Azran Osman Rani said Friday.

"There has been a lot of interest from the John F. Kennedy International Airport (in New York) and airports in California have also contacted us," he said.

Azran said the US airport operators realised that the air-travel traffic growth was coming from Asia and the premium airlines were also cutting back on their capacity to the West Coast and East Coast of the United States.

AirAsia X, which has already finalised the leasing of its second A340-300 from Air Canada, will either fly the Kuala Lumpur-Los Angeles route or Kuala Lumpur-London-New York route, he told reporters after AirAsia Academy's graduation ceremony here.

"If we have one plane, at most we can do is five times a week to Los Angeles. The challenge is to secure the rights from the governments," he said, adding that this would be a new market for AirAsiaX.

On the Middle East, Azran said the possibility of the airline flying there could also materialise within this year. - Bernama

rizalhakim

March 29th, 2009, 07:49 PM

Hollywood, Big Apple now beckon
By Azlan Abu Bakar Published: 2009/03/28

http://www.btimes.com.my/Current_News/BTIMES/articles/BIGAP-2/Article/Current_News/BTIMES/Images/btgraph10/azran28.jpg

AirAsia X, the long-haul affiliate of budget carrier AirAsia Bhd (5099), may fly to the US by the year-end to expand its business.

Airports in Los Angeles and New York have asked the carrier whether it could make the longer trip to the US, after the launch of its Kuala Lumpur-London service, chief executive officer (CEO) Azran Osman Rani said yesterday.

London is AirAsia X's fifth destination after Gold Coast, Perth and Melbourne in Australia and Hangzhou in China.

"We received a lot of interest from airports such as the John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York and airports in California," he said.

Azran said US airport operators were starting to realise that most of the air travel growth was coming from Asia. At the same time, premium airlines were reducing flights to the West and East Coasts of the US.
The US would be a new market for AirAsia X.

"The US market has enormous tourism potential and people there will have a chance to come to Southeast Asia directly through AirAsia X," Azran told reporters after attending the graduation ceremony of 100 new flight attendants at the AirAsia Academy in Sepang, Selangor. Also present was AirAsia group CEO Datuk Seri Tony Fernandes.

Azran said the airline will most likely fly five times a week to Los Angeles using one aircraft.

"We have already finalised the leasing of our second A340-300 from Air Canada, which will start operating in July, and will either fly the Kuala Lumpur-Los Angeles route or Kuala Lumpur-London-New York route," he said.

More Airbus planes will be available next year, he added.

However, Azran said the real challenge for AirAsia X was to secure government rights to fly to more cities around the world.

On its expansion to the Middle East, he said the airline would most likely fly there this year.

Recently, AirAsia X was given approval to fly from Kuala Lumpur to Delhi and Mumbai in India. It will also service additional destinations in China, including Chengdu and Xian.

As for AirAsia, it will fly from Kuala Lumpur to Chennai, Hyderabad, Kolkatta and Bangalore in India.

YeahWho

March 30th, 2009, 04:00 PM