A Dream Fulfilled For AirAsia Chief

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.