AirAsia X adds Europe cargo services

26 Feb 2009

Low-cost long-haul carrier AirAsia X will begin cargo operations to and from Europe from 11 March when it inaugurates flights between Kuala Lumpur and UK's London Stansted. The five times weekly direct flights will be operated using an A340-300, with around eight tonne cargo capacity per flight.
The airline has appointed IAM, Network Cargo Services, FlyUs, Global Cargo Management and ACT as cargo sales agents in Western Europe, while cargo handling at London Stansted will be undertaken by Aviance.

AirAsia X currently operates three A330 aircraft plying routes from Kuala Lumpur to Australia and China and has orders for 25 A330 aircraft to be delivered progressively over the next five years.


Azran Osman-Rani, ceo of AirAsia X says: “We believe Stansted is an excellent hub to serve all of Europe, with its extensive network of services that provide excellent connectivity. In addition to that, with our extensive network across Southeast Asia, China, Australia, India and now Europe combined with the services offered by Aviance, we are confident that this new service offered to the airfreight industry will be extremely appealing to freight forwarders.”

Meanwhile, Dato’ Abdul Nasser Abu Kassim, AirAsia’s regional head of Cargo commented “We are truly delighted to expand our cargo business in Europe due to the potential huge demand. This will give us the flexibility to offer lower rates to the market, while maintaining reliability. AirAsia X’s cost efficiencies are derived from maintaining a simple aircraft fleet and a route network based on low-cost airports, without complex code-sharing and other legacy overheads that weigh down traditional airlines. This will give us the flexibility to offer lower rates to the market.”