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Tag: long haul

  • AirAsia X Eyes Expansion: Unveils Plans for New Long-Haul Routes to Europe

    AirAsia X Eyes Expansion: Unveils Plans for New Long-Haul Routes to Europe

    AirAsia X, a budget airline based in Malaysia, recently commenced operations on its Istanbul route and has intentions to further extend its long-haul services to Europe in the coming year, according to CEO Benyamin Ismail. This move signifies the airline’s return to the European market, following a period of corporate restructuring in response to operational challenges caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.

    Currently, AirAsia X provides four flights weekly, connecting Istanbul and Kuala Lumpur. This service offers over 150,000 seats per year; however, the company has plans to increase this capacity by offering daily flights between the two cities.

    Expanding its airline’s reach beyond Asia, AirAsia X aims to bridge Asian and European cities through its Istanbul hub. The company also has plans to introduce additional long-haul routes to Europe.

    CEO, Benyamin Ismail, indicated that the company aims to add “at least one or two cities in one year”. However, he did not disclose the exact European destinations that the company is exploring.

    Questions & Answers

    What are AirAsia X’s plans for expansion in Europe?
    AirAsia X intends to extend its long-haul services to Europe in the coming year, providing a bridge between Asian and European cities through its Istanbul hub.

    How often does AirAsia X currently operate flights between Istanbul and Kuala Lumpur?
    Presently, AirAsia X operates four flights weekly between Istanbul and Kuala Lumpur.

    What is the company’s strategy to increase its flight capacity?
    AirAsia X plans to increase flight capacity by offering daily flights between Istanbul and Kuala Lumpur, as opposed to the current four flights per week.

  • AirAsia Seeks Up to $600 Million Cash Injection to whitstand Crisis

    AirAsia Seeks Up to $600 Million Cash Injection to whitstand Crisis

    AirAsia Group is seeking to raise as much as 2.5 billion ringgit ($600 million) by the end of the year as it tries to survive a business slump exacerbated by the coronavirus pandemic.

    The Subang, Malaysia-based budget carrier may borrow up to 1.5 billion ringgit from banks and another 1 billion ringgit from investors, a spokeswoman said Tuesday. AirAsia is also in talks with local and foreign investors including private equity firms, strategic partners, and conglomerates, she said, confirming an earlier report that cited Group Chief Executive Officer Tony Fernandes.

    Airlines around the world are losing money after grounding thousands of planes as countries shut borders and restrict people’s movements. AirAsia, which last month posted its largest quarterly loss on record, resumed domestic operations in late April but its long-haul unit, AirAsia X Bhd., still isn’t flying. Auditor Ernst & Young said in July their ability to continue as going concerns may be in “significant doubt.”

    South Korea’s SK Group said in June that it was in talks to buy a small stake in AirAsia, without providing further details. AirAsia has also cut the salaries of management, trimmed jobs, and deferred plane deliveries in an attempt to shave costs by 30% this year.

    AirAsia is also evaluating its operations in Japan and will make a decision very soon, the company’s spokeswoman said Tuesday. Its India venture remains as is, she said without elaborating. The airline is looking to consolidate and strengthen its business in Southeast Asia, even if that means exiting Japan and India, Reuters reported earlier.

    AirAsia said last month that it needs to reach agreements with major creditors to restructure outstanding debt because it faces “severe liquidity constraints” that threaten its ability to resume flying and continue as a going concern.

    The long-haul budget unit and its AAX Leasing Two Ltd. have received a claim from BOC Aviation Ltd. regarding $23 million of outstanding amounts due under lease agreements, according to an exchange filing Friday. AirAsia X, which said it is seeking legal advice, leases four aircraft from BOC.

    AirAsia is one of Airbus SE’s major customers for A320s while AirAsia X is the world’s biggest customer of Airbus A330neo planes. AirAsia X has 78 of the aircraft on order, according to Airbus’s website, and has already deferred the delivery of some A330neos.

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  • AirAsia prepares for budget long-haul flights

    AirAsia prepares for budget long-haul flights

    Malaysian low-cost carrier AirAsia launched the first of 66 new long-haul aircraft during the annual Paris Air Show on Monday, as it began to expand in Australia and could revive its Europe service to keep with the burgeoning market for budget long-haul flights.

    The new Airbus A330-900 aircraft, showcased during the 2019 Paris International Air Show, is expected to take off on June 25 on the Bangkok-Brisbane (Australia) route via AirAsia’s long-haul affiliate, Thailand X.

    AirAsia declined to provide a definite timetable for the other 65 to take flight, saying it depended on Airbus. It also remained cagey about the other planned routes. But AirAsia X Group CEO Nadda Buranasiri said they were eyeing more destinations to and from Bangkok and other parts of China.

    With this purchase, AirAsia would become the first airline in Asia-Pacific to operate the A330-900: a wide-body 377-seater aircraft that could fly 12,000 miles over a 10 and a half-hour power range, said AirAsia X chair Tan Sri Rafidah Aziz.

    The planes boasted of comfort, with more legroom, larger cabin bag storage spaces and power sockets in every seat, she added.

    “Our destination reach is not limited because of the capabilities of the plane,” she said. “We can strategize now about where we want to go beyond what we have right now.”

    AirAsia was named the world’s best low-cost airline during this year’s Skytrax World Airlines Awards, the aviation industry’s Oscars, marking its record-breaking 11th win in a row.

    The Malaysian airline has always wanted to expand its footprint, but it has only gone so far as Hawaii in the United States.

    It earlier tried to operate in Europe via London, but the AirAsia chief said, “the fleet that we used to go to London, that was not the right plane. The cost factor killed us.”

    “Maybe now seems like an opportunity for us to start again in London, but I cannot say that yet,” she said. “So perhaps this plane (A330-900) could give us an advantage. We have to look it up very carefully.”

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