AirAsia to beat Jetstar on cheap flights to Malaysia
Scott Rochfort and Nadia Jamal in The Age Business Day last week said that Asia’s largest low-cost carrier, AirAsia, has issued the biggest challenge to Jetstar’s international operations to date, announcing plans to be the first budget carrier to operate between Australia and Malaysia.
AirAsia founder Tony Fernandes said yesterday his airline’s new long-haul offshoot — AirAsiaX — planned to begin services on September 8, either to Avalon Airport or Adelaide, one day before Jetstar is due to begin flights from Sydney to AirAsia’s base, Kuala Lumpur.
It is expected AirAsia would then offer passengers the opportunity to fly on to its short-haul destinations in Asia.
Mr Fernandes said his airline would offer $285 return fares from Australia to Kuala Lumpur, undercutting the $990 return fares offered on the Jetstar website yesterday, but given the expense of landing and parking aircraft at Sydney, Mr Fernandes said it was unlikely AirAsiaX would fly to Australia’s largest airport any time soon.
“I would want to go to Newcastle before Sydney,” Mr Fernandes said.
He said AirAsiaX’s aim to offer cheaper fares would be aided by its plans to fly to airports with lower costs. Avalon Airport’s landing fees are negligible compared with Melbourne’s Tullamarine and, unlike Jetstar, AirAsiaX would use the low-cost terminal in Kuala Lumpur.
AirAsia’s plans come on top of Viva Macau’s confirmation this week that it planned to become the first low-cost Asian carrier to fly to Sydney in July. Singapore’s Tiger Airways, which plans to start domestic flights out of Melbourne this year, already has international flights to Perth and Darwin.
Avalon Airport boss Tim Anderson said he had talked to AirAsia. “We’re considering all of the options at the moment,” he saidm adding, “They are complex, but we do believe that we will be able to provide all the facilities and services necessary for international activity.”
Jetstar declined to rule out using Avalon for international flights.
Meanwhile, the Australian and International Pilots Association has launched a campaign to pressure the Qantas board “to commit to maintaining a world-class airline and ensuring that its low-cost operation — Jetstar — does not threaten the Qantas Group’s international reputation”.
The union has called on the airline to provide pilots with an “economic stake in the airline’s future” and to ditch Jetstar’s plans to put new pilots on Australian Workplace Agreements.
Report by The Mole
John Alwyn-Jones
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