11 March 2009

AirAsia starts Stansted-KL flights

AirAsia flies its inaugural London Stansted to Kuala Lumpur flight today, the first low-cost, long-haul service connecting the UK to Asia.

The new service will initially operate five times per week, connecting to 64 destinations such as Bangkok, Phuket, Singapore, Ho Chi Minh City and Bali from Ã&#pound;10, and on to Australia for under Ã&#pound;100.

AirAsia group CEO Tony Fernandes said: Ã¢â¬ÅâœSince Sir Freddie LakerÃ¢â¬â¢s Skytrain, no airline has ever managed to carry passengers this far at such low fares.

Ã¢â¬ÅâœThis is a revolutionary moment for the aviation industry and a great day for passengers, who can have an amazing Asian experience for the price of travelling to Europe.

Ã¢â¬ÅâœOur sales have proved this business model not only works, but is flourishing in a tough market. Long-haul legacy carriers have charged too much for too long to millions and millions of passengers, and today we have made the sky a fairer place to flyÃ¢â¬~

Ã¢â¬ÅâœWe are at the very beginning of realising our ambitions in Europe. We will aim to add more frequency to create a daily shuttle to Asia and lower our fares even further.Ã¢â¬~

The economy promo fare offered at Ã&#pound;99 were all snapped up within 48 hours after the airline opened for sale last November.

Other regular fares offered at Ã&#pound;149 and Ã&#pound;199 one way were also sold very fast, said the airline.

The route will be serviced by an Airbus A340-300, which holds 286 seats including 30 XL seats which have a 60-inch pitch.

XL seats start at Ã&#pound;699, with recent offers driving prices as low as Ã&#pound;399.

By Bev Fearis