Buy Air Asia merchandise online

12 Jan 2009

WHAT’S fun, red and available online?

Answer: The Red Megastore – an online store by AirAsia offering its own merchandise.

The affordable AirAsia merchandise range from fashionable, exclusively designed caps and tee-shirts to practical items like universal travel adaptors, watches, thermos mugs, in-flight comfort kits and durable leather passport holders.

Products also include USB flash drives – encased in cartoon-like, miniature Airbus A320s for easy document storage on the go.

Just log on to www.redmegastore.com, from the comfort of home or anywhere you can go online.

With a click of the mouse shoppers can browse through the store’s online catalogue which organised under specific categories so shoppers can easily navigate through the portal and choose the products that they wish to purchase.

Extending its motto of providing everyday low fares, AirAsia also ensures that all products sold via the Red Megastore are meticulously designed and manufactured to meet the highest quality standards, while maintaining its affordability.

"AirAsia is such a popular brand name in Malaysia and the region and is very fast making waves across the globe. Our merchandise are highly sought after by both ardent collectors as well as the general public," said AirAsia regional commercial head Kathleen Tan (pix).

"Our merchandise is available at very affordable prices, but high quality is our assurance.

"This is possible as we design many of our products in-house, and select vendors that offer high quality products with good value."

When it comes to quality and customer satisfaction, we are very stringent," she said, adding merchandise like the Airbus A320 aircraft models are available exclusively in the Red Megastore.

The Red Megastore which accepts payments via Visa and MasterCard, also ensures that delivery of purchases will reach customers in Malaysia within seven days and for overseas shipments to major cities, 14 days from the date of order.

AirAsia X eyes Japan

Jan 11, 2009
KUALA LUMPUR - LONG-HAUL budget airline AirAsia X on Sunday said it hoped to launch flights to at least three destinations in Japan by year-end after Tokyo relaxed its tough visa requirements for Malaysians.

'With our new A330-300 being delivered, I hope to mount flights by end of the year to at least three destination in Japan,' chief executive officer Azran Osman-Rani told AFP.

Mr Azran said since October, Japanese officials had dropped the requirement for Malaysian travellers to show a confirmed ticket and accommodation before a visa was issued.

'We explained to the Japanese authorities how our ticket booking model works and they accepted it,' he said.

Mr Azran last July said AirAsia had to delay flying to Japan due to the tough visa rules. AirAsia was concerned over what would happen if a passenger bought a ticket online but was then refused a visa.

The three destinations are to the north (Hokkaido), Osaka and Fukuoka, he said.

An affiliate of regional low-cost carrier AirAsia and Virgin Group, AirAsia X was launched in January 2007. AirAsia and AirAsia X have common shareholders, including AirAsia founder and CEO Tony Fernandes.

Richard Branson's Virgin Group has taken a 20 percent stake in the airline and the British billionaire has vowed to ensure that the project turns a profit.

Abacus helps airlines bolster passengers.

Saturday, 10th January 2009
Asia’s leading travel facilitator, is helping its airline partners boost passenger loads by pushing their seat inventories to its extensive network of travel agents using its proprietary technology solution.

Abacus International recently launched successful promotions in Thailand with AirAsia, Asia’s largest low-cost carrier (LCC).

Abacus International Vice-President for North Asia and Content Marketing, Patrick Lai said that in such a challenging market, it is crucial that every partner in the supply chain steps up their efforts to help stimulate the travel market.

“When the economic indicates were starting to head downwards, we saw the importance of opening new market avenues for regional airlines and embarked on a campaign with AirAsia to make their flights available to Abacus-connected travel agencies in Thailand via the Abacus Whiz system. We further encouraged the agents to make bookings by adding a reward scheme to the campaign,” said Mr. Lai.

The campaign saw an increase in bookings of AirAsia content in Thailand by five-fold. Abacus-connected travel agencies in Thailand enjoyed positive business results and received great feedback from their agents and customers on the Abacus-AirAsia campaign.

“Previously our consultants had to separately go to the internet to make AirAsia bookings and this can be quite inefficient as the internet has its connectivity issues during peak hours. Now that we can access AirAsia’s content via Abacus Whiz, our consultants are able to respond to customers’ requests faster and enjoy a much improved workflow,” said Mr. Tientavee Chityongyutt, Managing Director of S.T. International Co., Ltd.

Mr. Lai also added that “with the success of the campaign with AirAsia, we will continue to work with the other airlines for more promotions to stimulate demand across the regions in the coming months.”

Fire at KL budget airport

Jan 9, 2009

KUALA LUMPUR - A FIRE broke out at Malaysia's budget airport terminal on Friday, forcing the evacuation of all passengers and staff and disrupting flight operations, its main tenant AirAsia said.

AirAsia's chief executive officer Tony Fernandes said there were no casualties in the blaze, which started around 11.15am (Singapore time) and was extinguished just over an hour later.

'AirAsia has efficient evacuation plans in place and I am very pleased at how our emergency and crisis team responded that we managed to get everything back to normal within one hour,' he said in a statement.

AirAsia officials said the blaze occurred at a new section of the terminal currently under construction, but the fire department said it broke out at a duty-free store.

'It was a small fire... We scrambled two fire engines and 12 personnel,' a fire department operations room spokesman told AFP. 'We are investigating the cause.'

AirAsia officials said the fire produced thick smoke but failed to trigger the fire alarms. Staff nevertheless shepherded all those in the terminal outside the building.

AirAsia said flights scheduled for Friday 'might experience slight delays' buy that it did not expect any cancellations.

An eyewitness at the scene, 31-year-old businessman Cham Ze Hoe, said he joined a large crowd of people standing outside the terminal when he arrived to catch his flight but was prevented from going inside.

'I was stuck in a bus outside the LCCT and I thought it was a traffic jam... I got down from the bus and walked towards the terminal,' he told AFP.

'I could see smoke coming from the LCCT building. There were hundreds of people standing outside.'

The LCCT, which opened in 2006, is located 20 kilometres from the capital's main facility, the Kuala Lumpur International Airport. It is used by AirAsia as well as Cebu Pacific and Tiger Airways.

AirAsia on Thursday unveiled plans to shift to its own US$460 million (S$679.2 million) airport outside Kuala Lumpur and abandon the overcrowded LCCT, which it has rapidly outgrown.

The warehouse-style terminal, built at a cost of US$29.2 million, was designed to handle 10 million passengers a year.

Labu LCCT ownership structure ready by April

Friday January 9, 2009

SEPANG: AirAsia Bhd expects the ownership and financing structure for the proposed low-cost carrier terminal (LCCT) at Labu in Negri Sembilan to be finalised by April, said group chief executive officer Datuk Seri Tony Fernandes.

“We are in talks with several domestic and international investors who have expressed interest in financing the project,’’ he told reporters yesterday in a briefing on the project, to be known as KLIA East.

He did not name the potential investors.

Sime Darby Bhd was recently given the nod by the Government to build the low-cost terminal at Labu, which is estimated to cost between RM1.6bil and RM2bil.

Datuk Seri Tony Fernandes briefing the media near the proposed site of the new low-cost carrier terminal on Thursday.

Sime Darby will provide about 3,000 acres of land which will house a terminal building that can cater up to 30 million passengers a year.

The facility can be expanded to handle 50 million passengers with two runways.

The Labu site is 50km from Kuala Lumpur and 18km from KLIA.

If all goes as planned, the terminal will be completed by 2011, at a time when AirAsia’s passenger capacity will be much higher than the 10 million it handles at the current domestic LCCT.

AirAsia handled about 20 million passengers last year, taking into account its operations in Thailand and Indonesia, and that of sister airline, AirAsiaX.

By 2013, it expects to fly 60 million passengers per year, when it will have 159 narrow-bodied and 25 wide-bodied aircraft.

“By 2013, only Japan Airlines will be bigger than us in terms of passenger numbers. We would be the second biggest airline in Asia by 2030,’’ Fernandes said.

That was why AirAsia needed a new terminal as the existing terminal’s capacity at LCCT, which is being expanded to handle 15 million passengers annually, would not be able to handle the projected growth, he said.

Fernandes said the airline had seen 13 sites but found the Labu location ideal.

“The key thing is that we cannot slow down our growth because we have bought aircraft and we need a bigger terminal. We are building for 30 million passengers and we should be supported,” he said.

By having a dedicated terminal, Fernandes said the airline could bring down its cost by 20% and this would be translated to lower fares.

Asked if other airlines would be able to use the KLIA East airport, Fernandes said “the idea is not to go into (the) airport business but to serve our business.’’

AirAsia to have own airport

AirAsia announces plans for own airport outside Malaysian capital KUALA LUMPUR - BUDGET carrier AirAsia said on Thursday it will shift to its own US$460 million (S$681.4 million) airport outside Kuala Lumpur, and abandon its overcrowded terminal next to the main international airport.

The move has thrown into doubt the national airport operator's plans to build a new Low Cost Carrier Terminal next to Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA), to replace the existing facility that opened in 2006.

'We believe in lowering our business costs, it is the key to our success,' AirAsia founder Tony Fernandes told a press conference.

'The new airport which will be known as KLIA East will provide more capacity for aircraft and passengers, and enable us to bring down fares,' he said, adding that costs could be lowered by 30 per cent.

Mr Fernandes rejected criticism that KLIA has more than enough capacity to handle AirAsia's growth plans, and that the sprawling city has no need for what would be its fourth airport.

'I think we know what we need, we are not silly,' he said. 'There is nothing here (at the old terminal) to add value to our passengers. Allow us to take our destiny in our own hands.' Mr Fernandes said the new airport would be exclusively for AirAsia, and designed to handle up to 30 million passengers annually. Construction could begin within six months with a completion date of March 2011.

The new airport would be linked by new train and road links, and be about 30 minutes' drive from the city centre - less than the journey to KLIA.

Malaysian conglomerate Sime Darby had said it has won government approval to begin the project, which is to be the centrepiece of its new development at Labu in Negri Sembilan state.

'We have a fantastic partner, it will enhance tourism. We will also have a theme park, it will be like Orlando airport where Disneyland is located,' Mr Fernandes said.

AirAsia has dramatically outgrown its rough-and-ready terminal adjoining KLIA, which has no rail links with the city or the main airport, and has become increasingly crowded and unpleasant for passengers.

The terminal was completed in just nine months, with a capacity for 10 million passengers and a provision for expansion to 15 million passengers.

The expansion of the current low-cost terminal is due to be completed by March, but by then AirAsia will already have exceeded its enlarged capacity with some 15.7 million passengers a year.

AirAsia Launches Regional Sale

AirAsia Launches Regional Sale

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 5 -- AirAsia, Asia's pioneering low cost airline, has launched a regional sale offering airfares starting as low as RM9 excluding airport taxes, administration fees and applicable for one-way travel for domestic and international routes.

The low fares offered are available to all of its Asian destinations departing from its hub from Kuala Lumpur, Kota Kinabalu, Kuching, Johor, Bangkok, Jakarta and Bali, it said.

The sale will be from Jan 6-18 for travel from Feb 9 to June 30, this year, AirAsia said in a statement here Monday.

"With over 100 routes to choose from, we believe we cater to leisure and business travellers, giving them more choices and flexibility with our unbeatable low fares and extensive flight frequencies," its regional head of commercial, Kathleen Tan, said.