AirAsia
- This article is about a Malaysian airline. For the Taiwanese aircraft service company and ex-CIA front corporation, refer to Air Asia (Taiwan).
| AirAsia | ||
|---|---|---|
| IATA AK | ICAO AXM | Callsign Asian Express |
| Founded | 1993 | <tr><th colspan="2">Hubs</th><td>Kuala Lumpur International Airport</td></tr><tr><th colspan="2">Focus cities / secondary hubs</th><td>Suvarnabhumi Airport|
| Fleet size | 50[1] | |
| Destinations | 48 | |
| Headquarters | Kuala Lumpur | |
| Key people | Tony Fernandes (CEO) | |
| Website: http://www.airasia.com | ||
</td></tr>AirAsia is a low-cost airline based in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. It operates scheduled domestic and international flights and is Asia's leading low fare, no frills airline. It is also the first airline in the region to implement fully ticketless travel and unassigned seats. AirAsia has been expanding rapidly and is very popular among the travelling public thanks to its frequent low fare deals. Its main base is the Low Cost Carrier Terminal (LCCT) at Kuala Lumpur International Airport.
Contents |
History
The airline was established in 1993 and started operations on 18 November 1996. It was originally founded by a government-own conglomerate DRB-Hicom. On December 2 2001 the heavily indebted airline was purchased by former Time Warner executive Tony Fernandes's company Tune Air Sdn Bhd for the token sum of one ringgit. Fernandes proceeded to engineer a remarkable turnaround, turning a profit in 2002 and launching new routes from its hub in Kuala Lumpur International Airport at breakneck speed, undercutting former monopoly operator Malaysia Airlines with promotional fares as low as RM1 (US $0.27).
Many passengers have complained that the problem with being a ticketless airline is that the passengers often have to fight for seats as they board.
In 2003, AirAsia opened a second hub at Senai Airport in Johor Bahru near Singapore and launched its first international flights to Bangkok. AirAsia has since started a Thai subsidiary, added Singapore itself to the destination list, and commenced flights to Indonesia. Flights to Macau started in June 2004, while flights to Mainland China (Xiamen) and the Philippines (Manila) started in April 2005. Flights to Vietnam and Cambodia followed later in 2005 and to Brunei and Myanmar in 2006, the latter by Thai AirAsia.
On 22 July 2005 AirAsia announced a partnership with Manchester United Football Club. The sponsorship deal saw AirAsia advertisements appearing at Old Trafford Stadium in Manchester which provides exposure to millions of television viewers worldwide.
A new budget terminal, the first of its kind in Asia was opened in Kuala Lumpur International Airport on 23 March 2006. Built at a cost of RM108 million (US $29.2 million) and spanning some 35,000 square metres (116,000 square feet), the Low Cost Carrier Terminal (LCCT) is the new home for AirAsia Bhd. LCCT will initially handle 10 million passengers a year. AirAsia Group is expected to carry 9 million passengers in 2006.
On 27 March 2006, the Government of Malaysia announced that AirAsia will take over 96 non-trunk routes, in addition to 19 domestic trunk routes. This was part of Malaysia Airlines route rationalization programme which saw a large number of its domestic sectors being transferred to AirAsia from 1 August 2006.
Associate Companies
Thai AirAsia
Thai AirAsia (Thai: ไทยแอร์เอเชีย) was established on 8 December 2003 as joint venture with Shin Corporation. Flight operations commenced on 13 January 2004 from its base in Don Mueang International Airport. Since 25 September 2006, the airline is based at the new Suvarnabhumi Airport.
Indonesia AirAsia
AirAsia acquired the then defunct Awair in 2004 with a 49% stake in the airline. Awair commenced services on behalf of AirAsia in December 2004; full rebranding to Indonesia AirAsia was completed on 1 December 2005. The airline is based in Soekarno-Hatta International Airport.
Bangladesh AirAsia
AirAsia has signed a memorandum of understanding with East West Airlines, a sister concern of Bangladesh’s Orion group, to run the first-ever airlines joint venture and budget airlines in Bangladesh. [2]
AirAsia Lanka
AirAsia Lanka, formerly HolidayAir, is an upcoming LCC based in Sri Lanka. The airline is presently 100% owned by Sri Lankan interests, but it will use AirAsia's name, booking engine and pilot training facilities, with an option for AirAsia to acquire a stake at a later stage. Flights are tentatively scheduled to start in March 2007. [3]
FlyAsianXpress (FAX)
AirAsia subcontracts the operations of Rural Air Service within Sabah and Sarawak previously operated by Malaysia Airlines to a new airline, FlyAsianXpress (FAX). Established on 1 August 2006, the airline is a newly founded subsidiary of Tune Air.
Destinations
Air Asia operates about 200 flights a day, to 48 destinations in 10 countries.
- Further information: AirAsia destinations
Ground arrangements
AirAsia offers convenient ground and ferry transfer from the following destination in partnership with local operators.
- Kuala Lumpur International Airport (LCCT) to KL Sentral Station on SkyBus
- Macau International Airport to Hong Kong and Shenzhen by ferry and to Guangzhou by coach
- Xiamen International Airport to various parts of China by long-distance coach
- Surat Thani Airport to Koh Samui by coach + ferry
- Clark International Airport to Central Manila by coach
- Soekarno-Hatta International Airport to various parts of Jakarta by coach
- Johor Bharu (Senai Airport) to Singapore by coach
- Alor Star Airport to Hat Yai by van
Fleet
As of August 2006 the AirAsia fleet includes [1] :
| Aircraft | # in Service | # on Order | # of Seats |
|---|---|---|---|
| Airbus A320-200 | 13 | 87 | 180 |
| Boeing 737-300 | 19 | - | 140 |
AirAsia has ordered 100 Airbus A320 with the option of 30 more[2], the first of which arrived in December 2005. The new A320 enables AirAsia to further add capacity to existing popular routes and introduce new routes.
Timeline
Main Article : AirAsia Timeline
Awards & Recognition
Main Article : AirAsia Awards & Recognition
Future plans
- Possibility of setting up Bangladesh AirAsia in partnership with East-West Airlines[3].
- AirAsia has been granted the rights to fly to Shenzhen and Xiamen from Malaysia; flights will be operated from Kota Kinabalu[4]
- AirAsia will make Kota Kinabalu the main hub for flight to China from Malaysia due to Kota Kinabalu shortest distance between.
- AirAsia will start flights from Kota Kinabalu to Macau on 26 December 2006
- The first AirAsia budget hotel (Tune Hotels) will be set up by end 2006 in Kuala Lumpur
- CEO is not ruling out Kuching-Perth service in the future following Malaysia Airlines withdrawal from the route[5]
- A new low cost terminal will be built at Kota Kinabalu International Airport capable of handling 3 million passengers and will be the main hub for flights to China.
- AirAsia is considering a hub in either Alor Star or Penang or Ipoh to serve Northern Peninsular Malaysia[6]
External links
- AirAsia
- FlyAsianXpress (FAX)
- AirAsia Fleet Age
- AirAsia Fleet Detail
- AirAsia Passenger Opinions
- AirAsia flights search engine
- AirAsia E-Group
References
- ^ Flight International, 3-9 October 2006
- ^ "AirAsia orders 40 more A320 Family aircraft", Airbus.com.
- ^ "Air Asia eager to start operations in Dhaka", Daily Star Bangladesh.
- ^ "Air Asia given rights for Xiamen and Shenzen flights", The Star.
- ^ "Kuching-Perth flights in the pipeline", The Star.
- ^ "AirAsia forced to suspend Ipoh-JB flights", The Star.
 | Airlines of Malaysia: | AirAsia • FlyAsianXpress • Berjaya Air • Malaysia Airlines • MASkargo • Transmile Air Services | [edit] |
Categories
Airlines of Malaysia | Companies of Malaysia | Low-cost airlines