$1000 flights between Australia and UK
AirAsia X have announced plans to offer regular fares between Australia and London for A$1,000 (plus taxes/charges) from late 2008.
The flights will depart from Gold Coast and fly to London Stansted Airport, via Kuala Lumpur.
Azran Osman-Rani, CEO of AirAsia X, said: “We are a point-to-point service, so a passenger would have to buy two tickets: Gold Coast-KL and KL-London. While we have promotional fares and generally lower fares for bookings far in advance, on average, we are looking at a combined price of AU$1,000 for both round-trip tickets�.
He said the airline hoped to commence with a daily service, but that this was subject to aircraft availability.
The airline is still waiting for its Kuala Lumpur to Stansted route to open.
“The wide body lease market is very tight at the moment,� said Azran.
Azran said that AirAsia X was in “advance stages of discussion� with airport officials at London Stansted and Manchester airports.
“Both airports are very keen to have us and are willing to accommodate our low-cost requirements. However, we can only finalise the airport once we can confirm availability for dedicated aircraft for this route.�
Robert Milton, the CEO of Air Canada’s parent, recently acquired a minority interest in AirAsia X.
Mr Milton’s airline experience will be valuable for the airline and, says Azran, may help the airline secure aircraft to launch the UK service.
Other factors which could help the airline secure aircraft are the weakening US economy and high fuel prices, leading some airlines to “let go of four-engine aircraft like the A340�.
The airline is also planning to add two more Australian ports to its network within the next two years.
“We have had active discussions with Melbourne and remain interested to serve Victoria. However, other cities have put forth compelling proposals in conjunction with the respective state governments and tourism bodies, which we are seriously studying�, said Azran.
AirAsia X hopes to finalise its second Australian port by May 2008.
Tags: Australian Travel News
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This entry was posted on Friday, March 28th, 2008 at 11:15 am and is filed under BCD Australia News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
