Low-cost airlines information center
By Budget Airline News
Thai AirAsia has announced it will offer direct flights from Bangkok, Thailand to Mandalay, Myanmar starting October 4, 2012. This will be the low-cost airline’s second destination in Myanmar (Burma), as they already fly to Yangon.
Tickets are already available and one-way promotional fares start from $49 USD including taxes and surcharges.
By Budget Airline News
AirAsia Japan, the country’s newest low-cost carrier, commenced flights from Tokyo to Fukuoka and Sapporo on August 1, 2012. It will offer daily flights on these domestic routes.
The inaugural flight from Tokyo to Fukuoka departed on time at 7:00am and had a flight load of 80%.
The CEO of AirAsia Japan, Kazuyuki Iwakata, said: “AirAsia and ANA entered into a joint venture only about a year ago and the response has been overwhelming. I am delighted and emotional to see our first flights take off today to Fukuoka and Sapporo.
I would like to express our heartfelt thanks to everyone who has supported and assisted us. We hope to get your continuous support as we take all effort to ensure that we provide the best quality service and affordable air travel for everyone.”
The CEO of the AirAsia Group, Tony Fernandes, said “This is a dream come true for all of us at AirAsia. I have always believed in dreaming the impossible, but seeing AirAsia Japan’s inaugural flights take-off today puts a smile on my face. It has only been one year since we announced AirAsia Japan’s establishment and now we already have 2 aircraft, 243 staff in Japan and 3 domestic routes on the day we start our operations. Congratulations to Kazuyuki and his team for pulling this off.”
In celebration of these new routes, one-way fares are being sold for as little at 100 JPY plus taxes/surcharges.
By Budget Airline News
Long-haul, low-cost airline AirAsia X will introduce a Quiet Zone in its economy seating area starting in February 2013. The Quiet Zone will be located in rows 7 – 14 and travelers with children age 12 and under will not be permitted to sit there.
According to the AirAsia X website the Quiet Zone will offer “minimal noise with no disturbances” and “special ambiance lighting”.
While there is no extra charge for the Quiet Zone, AirAsia X’s standard seat selection fee of MYR 35 (USD $11) will apply.
AirAsia X is the second airline to introduce a child-free zone after Malaysia Airlines.
By Budget Airline News
Plans are underway for Thailand’s Nok Air budget airline to begin international routes by 2013.
Nok Air CEO Patee Sarasin said that the airline plans to launch new routes to China in the first quarter of the year using their growing fleet of Boeing 737-800 aircraft. The airline will focus on destinations within a 3-4 hour flying distance from their base at Bangkok’s Don Mueang Airport.
Nok Air experimented with international routes in the past, flying to Bangalore and Hanoi, but these routes were cancelled in 2007.
By Budget Airline News
Budget airline AirAsia has revealed plans to purchase Indonesian airline Batavia Air for a sum of USD $80 million . This acquisition will help AirAsia compete in Indonesia, the biggest market in Southeast Asia.
The acquisition should be completed by the second quarter of 2013. In accordance with Indonesian ownership laws, AirAsia will own 49% of Batavia Air and the other 51% will be owned by the Indonesian firm Fersindo.
“The Batavia Air acquisition is a fantastic opportunity for AirAsia to accelerate our growth plans in one of the most exciting aviation markets in Asia and further underlines our belief in the growth potential of Indonesia’s aviation sector,” said Tony Fernandes, the AirAsia Group Chief Executive.
Once the acquisition is complete, Indonesia AirAsia and Batavia Air aim to carry more than 14 million passengers to 42 domestic destinations across Indonesia as well as 12 international destinations.
By Budget Airline News
Thailand’s Nok Air has announced it will add three domestic routes to its autumn 2012 schedule.
Starting September 2, Nok Air will offer three flights per week from Bangkok’s Don Mueang Airport to Buriram. Starting October 1, Nok Air will offer daily flights from Bangkok’s Don Mueang Airport to Chumphon.
Starting September 1, Nok will also offer daily flights from Chiang Mai to Mae Sot operated with aircraft chartered from Siam General Aviation (Nok Mini). It will also increase the frequency of flights from Bangkok to Mae Sot to 2 flights per day.
By Budget Airline News
A Jetstar Hong Kong spin-off is one step closer to reality now that it has applied for its air operator certificate (AOC) with China’s Civil Aviation Department. This up-coming budget airline is a 50-50 joint venture between Qantas and China Eastern Airlines.
Jetstar Hong Kong aims to launch in mid-2013 with a fleet of three Airbus A320 aircraft, and expanding to 18 aircraft by 2015. The airline is anticipated to fly short-haul routes from Hong Kong to cities in China, Japan, and Southeast Asia.
Once launched, Jetstar Hong Kong will be Hong Kong’s only low-cost airline after Oasis Hong Kong airlines ceased operations in 2008.
As stated in the Jetstar press release: “Recent research showed that 70 per cent of Hong Kong residents believed airfares to-and-from the city were too expensive and 66 per cent agreed low cost carriers would benefit the local economy.”
By Budget Airline News
Malaysian low-cost carrier Firefly will offer direct flights from Penang to Koh Samui, Thailand starting from August 11, 2012. The schedule will be three round-trip flights per week on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday.
Flight FY3602 will depart Penang at 25:15pm and arrive in Koh Samui, Thailand at 2:45pm local time. The return flight FY3603 will depart Koh Samui at 3:05pm and arrive in Penang at 5:35pm local time. There is a one hour time difference between Malaysia and Thailand.
Firefly also offers direct flights between Kuala Lumpur’s Subang Airport and Koh Samui. The airline initially launched Penang – Koh Samui flights in 2007, but this service was cancelled in one year after due to low interest.
One-way fares for this new route start from 199 MYR ($65 USD) including taxes/surcharges.
By Budget Airline News
Scoot Airlines, the new low-cost wing of Singapore Airlines, has pushed forward the launch date of its newest route from Singapore to Taipei, Taiwan. Initially planned for October, flights will now begin on September 18, 2012.
The outbound flight will depart Singapore’s Changi Airport at 1:05am and arrive at Taiwan’s Taoyuan International Airport at 5:40am. The return flight will depart Taipei at 3:40pm and arrive in Singapore at 8:10pm local time.
Taipei is Scoot’s 5th destination after Sydney, Gold Coast, Tianjin, and Bangkok. The airline’s sixth destination will be Tokyo, Japan, and a launch date has not yet been announced.
One-way fares for Scoot’s new route start from just $88 SGD for one-way travel.
By Budget Airline News
Chinese low-cost carrier Spring Airlines will offer daily flights from Shanghai to Bangkok, Thailand, starting on August 10, 2012. This is the airline’s second foreign destination for Spring Airlines after Japan.
The initial schedule will be one round-trip flight per day. Spring Airlines is the third carrier to fly the Shanghai – Bangkok route.
One-way fares start from 399 RMB ($65 USD) plus taxes and airline surcharges.
