SINGAPORE: AirAsia X, the low-cost long-haul airline, has appointed Lufthansa Technik Philippines (LTP) as its maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) services provider.

Both parties signed an agreement on the sidelines of the Singapore Airshow at the Changi Exhibition Centre yesterday for the LTP to provide MRO services for AirAsia X’s fleet of eight Airbus aircraft comprising A330s and A340s for three years beginning next month.

The services will be provided at LTP facility in Manila. LTP is a subsidiary of Hamburg-based Lufthansa Technik AG, the world’s largest MRO provider.

AirAsia X is an affiliate of short-haul carrier, AirAsia, Asia’s leading and largest low-cost airline.

“With LTP on board to provide expert MRO services, we are able to continue providing safe flights and ensure that our aircraft are kept in an optimum condition,” said AirAsia X engineering head Anaz Ahmad Tajuddin. — Bernama

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Another good news for those who want to travel to Melbourne as Emirated was granted a KL International Airport (KLIA)-Melbourne route which makes them the first foreign airline to ply the route. Several other airlines had pulled out of that route several years ago. Travellers now have more option of using Emirates, Malaysia Airlines (MAS) or AirAsia X.

Emirates will operate a daily service and is offering a promotional fare of RM1,880 for an all-inclusive return economy class ticket. It offers three-class layout for this sector using an A340-500 aircraft.

For records, Emirates began mounting flights on the Dubai-KL-Dubai route in 1996 and now flies twice daily but yesterday’s flight brings its daily frequency to three. With the Dubai-KL-Melbourne-KL-Dubai flight, KL is essentially a transit stop for the carrier. Currently, the bulk of the traffic will originate from Dubai and Europe but “when the route establishes, there will be more traffic going in and out of KL.

The new frequency from Dubai to Melbourne via KLIA would not have an impact on the carrier’s direct flights to Melbourne that used the ultra-long aircraft. The rationale for the additional frequency is the growing traffic volumes on the Kangaroo route and KLIA is seen as a good stopover for passengers from Europe, the Middle East and Australia.

Via : TheStar

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AirAsia’s secret is out according to the AirAsia twitter. AirAsia has announced FIVE (5) new city additions to our India route – New Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Hyderabad, and Bangalore! AirAsia announces Gear up as India is going to rawk red this year with us opening the doors to the mystique of sights and sounds. The adventure of a lifetime in 2010 begins tomorrow.

In total AirAsia’s has 9 destinations in India, after Trichy, Kochi, Trivandrum and Kolkata. AirAsia’s destinations in India had been very encouraging, with the airline carrying 237,367 passengers to the four cities it currently flew to.

To mark the opening of sales for the new routes, AirAsia is offering all-in-fare from LCCT as low as RM199 for the booking period from Wednesday to Sunday.

The India flight  will be operated by AirAsia X. All flights will take off from the Low-Cost Carrier Terminal (LCCT).

AirAsia will also commence flights to Chennai from Penang beginning April 28. Flights from LCCT to Chennai will commence on May 17 (daily); Bangalore on May 20 (daily); Hyderabad on July 20 (daily); Mumbai on May 6 (Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday); and New Delhi on Aug 4 (daily).

For details visit HERE.

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Another history was recorded yesterday where the world’s first budget airline alliance was forged yesterday between AirAsia and Australia’s Jetstar. The alliance will enable both companies to pool resources and expertise, procure new aircraft and revenue-sharing deals which could lead to cost savings of between A$200mil and A$300mil annually.

Other than the cost saving of which will only be materialized 16 months from the signing date, what can we expect as the customer from this deal.? Based on what has been reported in the media, I summarized as follows :

• Negotiating on how they can procure fuel in bulk for the needs of both carriers in markets that we operate in and this will lead to significant savings for us.
• Sharing spare parts and that is a big (area for cost savings)
• A key component of the agreement is its ability to influence aircraft makers to manufacture robust planes that suit the LCC specifications as most planes made today are more suited for full service carriers and remodification costs a lot more. Qantas Airways Ltd CEO Alan Joyce, who was at the press conference, said the parties “have the purchasing power to influence aircraft makers’’ to design the next generaton of narrow body aircraft for the LCC industry.
• The next step for the partners would be to look at joint venture on routes and other commercial actitivies including joint procurement of hotel inventory for holiday packages.
• Whether AirAsia X gets to fly the controversial Kuala Lumpur-Sydney route which has been dropped by Jetstar a year ago as they focused on Tokyo route.
• Are we able to Fly to Tokyo through AirAsia X alliance JetStar !

We just wait and see how they going to make all this happen.

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OAKLAND (California): AirAsia X has arrived in the United States with “Xcellence” – its Airbus A340 – touching down here on Monday morning.

The no-frills airline is the first from Asia to associate itself with a performance driven National Football League team, the Oakland Raiders.

Newly-appointed Malaysian Ambassador Datuk Seri Dr Jamaludin Jarjis, who was at the Oakland International Airport to witness the touchdown, congratulated AirAsia for promoting a Malaysian brand in the US.

“This is a great step in building bilateral ties and contribute to the development of the tourism industry in this part of the world and in Malaysia,” Dr Jamaludin said at his first official function since presenting his credentials to Deputy State Secretary Dr James B. Steinberg in Washington on Friday.

Also present were the city’s Mayor Ron Dellums, Oakland Raiders owner Mark Davis and CEO Amy Trask, AirAsia X CEO Azran Osman-Rani and director Datuk Lim Kian Onn.

“With AirAsia, we will see new business opportunities in the services sector,”he said.

Dr Jamaludin said he hoped relations between Malaysia and the US would be further enhanced under his tenure.

There are 5,428 Malaysians studying in over 250 universities in the US and AirAsia would provide them with an affordable means of transport.

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PETALING JAYA: AirAsia Bhd has announced a firm order for 10 Airbus A350 XWB aircraft with an option for five more by its low-cost long-haul carrier AirAsia X, a deal valued at US$2.2bil.

Deliveries were scheduled for between 2016 and 2018, the company said in a statement yesterday after the announcement was made by AirAsia and Airbus at the Paris Air Show.

It said AirAsia X had selected the A350-900 variant for its fleet, which would be configured to seat 425 in a two-class layout.

AirAsia group chief executive officer Datuk Seri Tony Fernandes said: “Business is all about timing and long-term strategy. At AirAsia, we have always planned for the long term.”

The new deliveries would further complement AirAsia X’s fleet of A330, he said in the statement.

The airline has ordered 25 A330s which are due for delivery through 2015. Two of the aircraft have been delivered so far since October 2008.

AirAsia, on the other hand, is the largest customer for Airbus A320 aircraft. It has a firm order, signed in 2005, for 175 A320s and an option for 50 more. It has taken delivery of 60 of the aircraft and the balance will be delivered by 2014.

“The purchase indicates AirAsia X’s ambition to fly farther afield and to serve more destinations than it currently serves, including London, Melbourne, Perth and Gold Coast (Australia) and Tianjin and Hangzhou (China),” Fernandes said.

Fernandes, who is also director and founder of AirAsia X, added that during the current global economic uncertainties, where airlines were cutting routes and grounding staff and aircraft, AirAsia and AirAsia X were determined to fulfil and realise their potential.

“The economic downturn presents AirAsia with an opportunity to gain market share with our low-fare, high-quality business model,” he said.

AirAsia X CEO Azran Osman-Rani said it selected the A350 XWB for the step-change it offered, in terms of operating economics and its exceptional passenger appeal.

“We believe the A350 aircraft will be an industry game changer that will allow us to dramatically operate with unprecedented unit costs for long-haul flights to Europe and North America, opening up new tourism markets and exciting destinations.

“With the A350 XWB in our fleet, we will be able to set new standards in the low-cost long-haul market, making it possible for more people to fly farther in comfort at ever more affordable prices,” he said.

AirAsia’s passenger volume grew by 21% year-on-year to 3.1 million in the first quarter of 2009. It has so far carried over 70 million guests.

An analyst from a local research house said the purchase of 10-plus-five Airbus A350 was in line with AirAsia X’s expansion.

He said this showed the commitment of the management to grow the company. “We do not see any immediate impact on the company’s financial performance but the only concern is the gearing level of the company,” he told StarBiz.

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