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AirAsia to develop Singapore hub

By Budget Airline News

AirAsia, the biggest budget airline in Asia, is planning to develop a hub at Changi Airport in Singapore. The airline has been lobbying for years in Singapore to get a air operator’s certificate (AOC) and it will be issued in the near future.

Singapore will be the airline’s fourth hub after Kuala Lumpur, Jakarta, and Manila. Having canceled long-haul routes to Europe earlier this year, AirAsia plans to develop itself as a regional carrier with long-term plans to have hubs in all of the ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) countries.

But AirAsia will have plenty of competition in Singapore, as the city-state is also a hub for low cost carriers Tiger Airways, Jetstar, and the up-coming Scoot Airlines.

AirAsia to offer direct Bali – Yogyakarta flights

By Budget Airline News

AirAsia has announced it will offer direct flights from Bali (Denpasar) to Yogyakarta starting June 8, 2012. The airline will offer one round-trip flight each day.

Flight QZ8440 from Denpasar to Yogyakarta will depart at 06:00am, and flight QZ8441 from Yogyakarta to Denpasar will depart at 06:35am. The flight time is approximately 1 hour and 10 minutes.

In a statement, the Air Asia Indonesia president director Mr. Dharmadi said:“With this new route, tourists who aim to go to Bali from Yogyakarta won’t have to transit through Jakarta anymore.”

Tickets are now available through the AirAsia website and start from IDR149,000 (USD $16) for a one-way ticket.

AirAsia Philippines’ new Clark-Palawan route

By Budget Airline News

AirAsia Philippines, a new regional wing of budget airline AirAsia, has announced it will begin direct flights from Clark to Palawan. This will be AirAsia Philippines’ third destination and the new route will begin on April 20, 2012.

Flights will depart from Diosdado Macapagal International Airport and arrive at Puerto Princesa, Palawan, an island recently voted one of the new ‘Seven Wonders of Nature”.

AirAsia CEO Marianne Hontiveros said: “”We’re a new player and we have to be sensitive to market demand. Palawan is a beautiful destination that travelers from Northern and Central Luzon would want to see. It is a market with lots of potential. It is gaining popularity and highly likely for us to anticipate additional frequencies.”

Budget airlines ordered to move to Bangkok’s Don Mueang Airport

By Budget Airline News

Budget airlines operating in Bangkok, Thailand, have been ordered to move to older Don Mueang Airport. The move is intended to reduce congestion at the main Suvarnabhumi International Airport.

The move has been ordered by Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra who says budget airlines should be offered incentives to relocate, but was announced Thursday, March 15, by Deputy Prime Minister and Tourism and Sports Minister Chumpol Silapa-archa.

Domestic budget airline Nok Air is currently the only commercial airline operating from Don Mueang Airport. The other airlines that would be affected include Bangkok Airways, Orient Thai, and AirAsia.

Suvarnabhumi Airport was designed with a capacity of 45 million passengers per yet, but is expected to handle 51 million passengers in 2012. Shifting budget and chartered airlines to Don Mueang Airport could reduce passenger traffic by 15-20 million passengers per year.

AirAsia cancels Darwin-Bali route

By Budget Airline News

Budget airline AirAsia will be terminating its direct route between Denpasar (Bali), Indonesia, and Darwin, Australia. The final flight is currently scheduled for April 29, 2012.

The Darwin Airport has confirmed that AirAsia will be pulling out of Darwin. AirAsia began flying Darwin-Bali in 2010, but reduced flight frequency in 2011.

For passengers who already have bookings for Darwin – Bali flights in May 2012 or later, AirAsia will offer refunds, credit, or tickets on a different airline.

The AirAsia Australia office can be contacted by calling 1300 760 330

Philippine AirAsia will launch in March 2012

By Budget Airline News

Philippine AirAsia, the new budget airline, will launch domestic operations on March 28, 2012. Its first routes will be Manila – Davao and Manila – Kalibo.

The initial schedule will be two flights per day from Clark International Airport to Francisco Bangoy International Airport in Davao and Kalibo International Airport in Kalibo.

“In celebration of our very first promo in the Philippines, there are a total of 20,000 free seats up for grabs,” said AirAsia CEO Marianne Hontiveros. For this promotion, customers only pay 250 Pesos to cover the fuel surcharge and taxes.

Bookings can be be made at www.airasia.com.

AirAsia eyes Middle East

By Budget Airline News

AirAsia CEO Tony Fernandes has revealed that the budget airline group is eying the Middle East as its next potential market.

Speaking at a press conference in Doha, Fernandes said “As a low cost carrier, we are into creating new markets. The key is to create really low fares which I think the Gulf hasn’t seen”. Fernandes was in Doha, Qatar, to mark the opening of the first Tune Hotel, an AirAsia franchise, in the Middle East.

AirAsia is also rumored to be considering flights between Doha and Kuala Lumpur.

“The beauty of our relationship (between Tune Hotels and Qatari partner Mohammad Al Saad) is anything is possible,” Fernandes stated.

AirAsia Japan OK’ed by Japanese government

By Budget Airline News

AirAsia Japan, the up-coming budget airline, has officially received its air transportation business license from the Japanese government. This is a major step in getting AirAsia Japan off the ground, and the airline hopes to launch in summer 2012.

AirAsia Japan plans to offer domestic flights from Tokyo’s Narita Airport to Sapporo, Fukuoka and Okinawa by August 2012. In October, it plans to launch international flights to Seoul-Incheon and Busan, South Korea.

The plans for the new AirAsia Japan, a joint venture between Malaysia’s AirAsia and Japan’s ANA, were announced in 2011. It will be the second low-cost airline to be based in Japan, after Peach Aviation.

AirAsia X Increasing Kuala Lumpur – Tokyo flights

By Budget Airline News

AirAsia X, the long-haul wing of AirAsia, will be increasing flight frequency from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia – Tokyo (Haneda), Japan. Starting March 23, 20120, flights will increase from 3 per week to 6 per week

Starting June 22, 2012, the number of flights will further increase to a daily service.

The increase in frequency is part of the airline’s realignment plan which will focus the core markets in Southeast Asia, Australasia, China, Taiwan, Japan, and Korea.

Thai AirAsia to end Bangkok-New Delhi flights

By Budget Airline News

Thai AirAsia, the Thai subsidiary of AirAsia, is pulling out of the highly contested Bangkok-New Delhi route. The withdrawal will begin with a reduction to four flights a week from February 14 and full suspension from March 24, 2012.

TAA became the first low-cost carrier to operate the Thailand-India sector in December 2010, with flights from the Thai capital to New Delhi and Kolkata.

TAA’s announcement of axing the Bangkok-New Delhi service came a week after its affiliated long-haul low-cost carrier AirAsia X decided to end flights from Kuala Lumpur to Gatwick airport in London and Orly in Paris.

Azran Osman-Rani, AirAsia X’s chief executive, said visa restrictions for travel between India and Malaysia and an increase in airport and handling charges in India forced the withdrawal.

AirAsia X plans to focus on its core markets in Australia, China, Taiwan, Japan and South Korea, opening new services and stepping up frequency.

While Mr Tassapon insisted India is a priority destination for TAA, he said any Indian route must allow for low fares.

He stressed that TAA’s daily Bangkok-Kolkata service remains intact.

Dropping the Bangkok-New Delhi route is also meant to improve efficiency and enable a focus on new international and domestic routes this year as TAA takes delivery of more A320 jets.

The first quarter will see three new routes from Bangkok to Trang province, which began on Jan 15; to Nakhon Phanom province, set to begin Feb 15; and to Colombo from March 1.

TAA will offer passengers who hold bookings on Bangkok-New Delhi an alternative travel option at no additional cost or a full refund.

The airline has been looking to serve more Indian cities such as Bangalore and Chennai from Bangkok. It was unclear yesterday whether that plan will be affected by circumstances leading to the end of Bangkok-New Delhi service.