Flying into history

AirAsia X’s maiden flight to London flew into exceptionally beautiful weather and a royal welcome from the Duke of York, Prince Andrew.

THE AirAsia X aircraft stood gleaming in the afternoon sun. It looked all freshened up, thanks to the splash of ceremonial water cannon welcome at London Stansted Airport.

But you can’t really fault what the airline has touted as the latest girl in town for strutting its stuff.

Blazing the trail: Capt Azhanudin (centre), Capt Adrian (right) and First Officer Ahmad Zulismadi congratulating one another after the successful landing at Stansted Airport.

Moments later, you get that surreal feeling as you catch sight of the Jalur Gemilang and Union Jack fluttering side by side atop the Airbus A340 at Britain’s third busiest airport.

Well, the pilot, Captain Chin Nyok San, was actually waving the flags out of the cockpit window. A sudden burst of patriotism, so to speak.

For the plane carrying 286 passengers had just completed a textbook landing despite a gruelling 13,000km journey during its maiden flight from Kuala Lumpur last Wednesday.

Save for some air turbulence over India and eastern Europe, it was pretty much plain sailing all the way.

Malaysian pride: Capt Chin proudly waving the Jalur Gemilang and Union Jack flags upon landing at Stansted Airport. — The Star / Choi Tuck Wo

The plane flew not just into exceptionally beautiful weather but also into a royal welcome from none other than the Duke of York, Prince Andrew, himself.

Arriving ahead of schedule by 24 minutes, the crew was commended by the prince who reportedly remarked that there were not many low-cost, long-haul airlines that come in early. Suffice to say, Malaysians had reason to be proud that day.

Good omen

The Kuala Lumpur-London route had shown that a Malaysian company had risen from the bottom to become Asean’s first low-cost carrier connecting Asia and Europe.

If AirAsia X can do it, any Malaysian entity will be able to achieve what it sets out to do.

Amid the euphoria surrounding the historic flight, the four pilots and 11 cabin crew of Flight D7 2006 deserved no less mention for their role in ensuring a wonderful ride.

But when names like Capt Hans and Capt Adrian Jenkins – apart from Capt Chin and First Officer Ahmad Zulismadi – cropped up, one might be forgiven for thinking that the first two are Mat Sallehs.

“That’s just my nickname. Everyone calls me that,” said an upbeat Capt Azhanudin Shah Azman at the Radisson SAS Hotel about two hours after the touchdown.

The Johor Baru-born head of flight operations still could not get over the fact that they had actually landed in London.

“Just before we landed, I remember telling Adrian, congratulations guys, we’re here! And when we parked the aircraft, I was like, huh, very relieved,” he said.

Capt Azhanudin, 40, said the fantastic weather and favourable winds had helped bring their flight to an early arrival.

Call it a good omen but the sudden change in weather prompted him to quip that they had brought over the sun and the Malaysian charm.

“It has been proven today that we can achieve on time performance as one of our best key performance indicators,” said Capt Azhanudin, who has clocked over 10,000 flying hours in nearly 20 years.

On the most challenging part of the 13-hour flight, he said it was more the human factor, such as dealing with tiredness rather than the journey itself.

He, however, said there was no concern in terms of operation as the pilots were well trained and knowledgeable due to their good training foundation.

Bigger challenge

Capt Adrian admitted that he had to be extra cautious to avoid violating any speed or height restrictions as it was his first landing at the airport.

“We came in rather smoothly as there was not much traffic,” said the 40-year-old pilot who also has nearly 10,000 hours of flying experience in his 15-year career.

Capt Adrian, who originally hailed from Kota Kinabalu, paid tribute to the air traffic controllers for their professionalism and precision, which made their job so much easier.

But this is only the beginning, as Asean secretary-general Dr Surin Pitsuwan aptly put it.

The bigger challenge would be for all 10 capitals of Asean to be connected directly with their European counterparts to boost intra-regional business, tourism and investment.

If the airline can keep up its services and continue to maintain its low, low fares, the sky’s the limit.

As AirAsia boss Datuk Seri Tony Fernandes always says, believe the unbelievable, dream the impossible. Above all, it should never say no to lower fares.

LCCT plans unveiled

PETALING JAYA: KL International Airport’s new Low Cost Carrier Terminal, located about 1.5km from the main terminal, will be able to handle 45 million passengers yearly.

"With the new LCCT, KLIA would be able to handle up to 90 million passengers a year" - DATUK SERI BASHIR AHMAD

A new 4km runway will also be built with the LCCT, which is expected to be operational in the third quarter of 2011.

Unveiling Malaysia Airports Holding Bhd’s (MAHB) plans for the new LCCT, its chief executive officer Datuk Seri Bashir Ahmad said work on the RM2bil project would begin in June.

“It will be designed to handle up to 45 million passengers a year and be connected to the main terminal via an extended Express Rail Link (ERL) and a new side road,” Bashir said at a press conference yesterday.

“With the new LCCT, KLIA would be able to handle up to 90 million passengers a year.”

The present LCCT would then be reverted into a cargo handling terminal.

The new LCCT, spread over 150,000 sq metres, would be larger than the main terminal with retail and food outlets to ensure passenger comfort.

There are plans for a 6,000-vehicle parking complex, parking bays for 70 planes and an integrated transport hub for buses and taxis.

“We are also taking the views of various airlines into account,” Bashir said, adding that AirAsia had requested at least 95,000 sq metres for the new LCCT.

Bashir said 10,000 sq metres of the space would go towards setting up AirAsia’s headquarters, which would be sited away from airport operation areas.

He said landing and aircraft parking fees and airport tax would most likely remain unchanged.

“The Government decides on all aeronautical charges and airport tax, not us,” he said, adding that MAHB would fund the project through loans.

“We have received letters of offers from several sources,” he said, adding that tenders would be called in the next few months.

Bashir added that KLIA’s master plan took into account long-term use of infrastructure and land to handle up to 120 million passengers annually. Currently, only 30% of the entire complex and land are used.

A joint proposal to build a new low cost carrier terminal in KLIA East@Labu, Negri Sembilan, by Sime Darby and AirAsia was rejected.

Bashir said the plan to build the new LCCT near the main terminal was part of the National Airport Master Plan for Malaysia to strategically develop all 24 airports in the country over 50 years.

“This is to ensure KLIA will grow into a significant regional hub.”

Cheap flights to London as AirAsia X pounces

14 March 2009

New horizons ... AirAsia X has begun flying the kangaroo route to London. Photo: AFP

March 14, 2009

Qantas faces tough new competition on the Kangaroo Route to London, writes Clive Dorman.

Battered by the strength of Singapore Airlines for decades, threatened more lately by the success of Dubai's high-quality upstart Emirates Airlines, Qantas this week faced the first real low-cost assault on its so-called Kangaroo Route to London.

Malaysia AirAsia X, which already operates daily services to Kuala Lumpur from Melbourne and Perth and four a week from the Gold Coast, this week launched five daily connections from Kuala Lumpur to London's low-cost hub, Stansted Airport, charging little more than $1000 return for the entire journey.

Qantas had planned to have its low-cost subsidiary, Jetstar, flying to Europe by now but those plans were scuttled by Boeing, which has run into problems producing its new Dreamliner jet, the Boeing 787.

Qantas has orders and options for more than 100 of the new 300-seat Dreamliners - the first batch of which will go to Jetstar - but its delivery is running two years behind schedule because of teething problems with the radical new plane, which airlines love because it is 25 per cent more fuel efficient per seat than the old 747.

The best Qantas can do between Australia and London is about $2000 return. No-frills AirAsia X is charging about $1200 return from Melbourne, although the fare can vary depending on how far ahead you book, the season and and the number of "extras" you require - such as meals and checked luggage.

Qantas retains the advantage that its service is fast and all the extras are included, whereas the AirAsia X experience is anything but simple and convenient. If you want to fly from Australia to London, you have to book twice - once to get to Kuala Lumpur and the separate flight from KL to Stansted (north of the capital but, like Heathrow, with a train service into the city).

You'll almost need the skills of a travel agent to make sure your flights roughly connect.

It may not be what passengers are used to on competing airlines but for AirAsia X chief executive Azran Osman-Rani, the system works. "Even today, 85 per cent of our Australian passengers are not ending their journey at Kuala Lumpur," he says. "They're used to buying two tickets. That's the whole idea - keeping it simple, otherwise you add complexity and cost."

Unlike Qantas, which is highly dependent on business travellers - who have been hit by the global downturn - Osman-Rani says his airline sees nothing but growth ahead. He says he has noticed a temporary slowdown in bookings on AirAsia X's daily services from Melbourne to Kuala Lumpur, which attributes to the recent bushfires. He sees only blue skies three months down the track.

REFILE-Air Asia X CEO says long-haul, low-cost going strong

BERLIN - AirAsia's long-haul, low-cost unit has so far weathered the global economic crisis as it taps into a customer segment that has not yet stopped travelling, said Air Asia X head Azran Osman-Rani.

Yields for pre-sold tickets through the rest of 2009 are up 20 percent, and the average proportion of seats on each plane -- the load factor -- is up 4 percent from the year-earlier period, he said at the ITB travel fair on Friday.

While airlines are struggling to remain profitable as businesses and consumers rein in their spending on travel during the recession, Osman-Rani remains determined.

"You just have to fight harder and scream louder," he said, adding his airline lured customers on board with promotional offers linked to major sporting events or concerts.

However, the world's airlines lost up to $8 billion in 2008, the International Air Transport Association said last week.

Business travel in particular has slowed, with booking system provider Amadeus saying business bookings dropped around 20 percent in January and February from the year-earlier period. And the trend was still pointing downward, it said on Thursday.

Not all long-haul, low-cost carriers have escaped the downturn. Irish carrier Aer Lingus said on Wednesday its long-haul business was "struggling" and it may have to cut more capacity in the segment.

Osman-Rani said one of the reasons that Air Asia X was doing better was that it targeted consumers who were not looking for the same premium services and comforts one would expect on higher priced airlines such as Lufthansa

"The people who are flying Lufthansa now will still fly Lufthansa (in the future). We're creating a whole new market," he said.

Nonetheless, the company is working hard to keep customers buying plane tickets and just launched a route to London Stansted from Kuala Lumpur five times a week, the longest long-haul flight by a budget airline.

Parent company AirAsia said on Wednesday it expected to expand its services and remain resilient this year as it saw good demand for budget air travel despite the recession.

Budget carrier Ryanair's Chief Executive Michael O'Leary has also said in the past he could help create a sister company to launch a long-haul low-cost airline if cheap aircraft became available in 2009.

AirAsia X brings low-cost, long-haul flights to London Stansted

13 March 2009



In the spotlight: Where Oasis Hong Kong and Zoom Airlines have failed in the no-frills long-haul market, Air Asia X is hoping to gain from its Kuala Lumpur-London service. With five direct flights a week, Air Asia X now connects Australia to London via its hub in Kuala Lumpur. To see the live ceremony, visit: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xXO1IZfDNgU.

This week saw the launch by AirAsia X of long-haul, low-cost flights between Asia and Europe. Using an A340 the airline is linking Kuala Lumpur with London Stansted five times per week. This will complement its existing services using three A330s from Kuala Lumpur to Melbourne, Perth and the Gold Coast in Australia and Hangzhou (Shanghai) in China. AirAsia X becomes the second Asian carrier to attempt long-haul low-cost flights between Europe and Asia following Oasis Hong Kong, which operated to London Gatwick from Hong Kong between October 2006 and early 2008.

The UK to Malaysia market grew rapidly during the 90s from 185,000 annual passengers in 1990 to over 660,000 in 2000. Between 2000 and 2005 the market was relatively stable but since then it has fallen significantly to just 400,000 passengers in 2008. Manchester non-stop services which were started by Malaysian Airlines in 1999 ended in 2006. At present only Malaysian Airlines operates non-stop flights (twice daily) between London Heathrow and Kuala Lumpur. British Airways ended its non-stop flights to Malaysia in 2001.

AirAsia X will operate aircraft 19 hours per day

With only one aircraft dedicated to the route and a flight time of between 13 and 14 hours it is not possible to operate a daily service. As a result AirAsia X operates five weekly flights with a variety of departure times to keep the aircraft in the air as much as possible.

Day of week	KUL - STN	STN - KUL
Monday		Dep 01:25 - Arr 21:25
Tuesday	Dep 01:00 - Arr 08:00	Dep 09:30 - Arr 05:30*
Wednesday	Dep 09:50 - Arr 16:50	Dep 18:10 - Arr 14:10*
Thursday	Dep 17:00 - Arr 00:00*
Friday		Dep 01:25 - Arr 21:25
Saturday	Dep 09:50 - Arr 16:50	Dep 18:10 - Arr 14:10*
Sunday	Dep 17:00 - Arr 00:00
* Arrives next day Source: AirAsia X website for flights from 29 March 2009

Turnaround times at London Stansted are scheduled for between 80 and 90 minutes. Ground time at Kuala Lumpur is considerably longer. Based on the schedule the A340 will operate for over 19 hours per day.

AirAsia X around 20% cheaper than Malaysian

Based on a snapshot of fare data collected by anna.aero for one-week trips originating in the UK during the next eight months, AirAsia X’s fares are around 20% lower than those of Malaysian Airlines operating from London Heathrow.

Fares shown include all taxes and fees for a return journey for a random week in each month. For Malaysian the cheapest available combination of flights was selected during each travel period. On eight occasions out of nine AirAsia X is cheaper. While this is only a small selection of potential travel dates it gives a good indication of how AirAsia X’s fares compare in the market.

Connections to over 50 other destinations

From AirAsia’s low-cost terminal at Kuala Lumpur airport it will be possible to connect to over 50 other destinations in 15 countries, though connection times will vary considerably depending on the route and day of travel. AirAsia connects to 14 other Malaysian airports from Kuala Lumpur, plus 13 in Indonesia. In addition there are daily flights to Bangladesh, Brunei, Cambodia, China, India, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. At Stansted, budget-conscious Asian travellers will be able to connect to over 130 European destinations primarily served by either Ryanair (100 routes) or easyJet (22 routes).