Julian2 Posted January 18, 2012 Report Share Posted January 18, 2012 Pay just $99 for flights to Asia AN airfare war is set to break out on flights to Asia following the announcement that budget carrier AirAsia X will begin flying from Sydney to Malaysia. The airline is offering introductory flights to Kuala Lumpur from April from $99 one way, on to Bali from $159 and Phuket in Thailand from $139. It follows Singapore Airlines' budget offshoot Scoot's announcement last month that it would begin flying from Sydney to Singapore in July. The new airlines will make it quicker and cheaper to get to Asia than ever before, with AirAsia X offering links to more than 80 destinations. AirAsia X already flies to KL from the Gold Coast, Melbourne and Perth, and the introduction of flights from Sydney had been highly anticipated. Last week, AirAsia X announced it would suspend flights to Europe and India this year in a bid to concentrate on the core markets of Australasia, China, Taiwan, Japan and Korea. AirAsia Group chief executive and AirAsia X director Tony Fernandes said the new route would also be good for Sydney tourism. Destination NSW, Tourism Australia and AirAsia X will be investing in a two-year marketing and promotion campaign. The route will be operated on the Airbus A330-300 aircraft with a configuration of 12 premium-fly flatbed seats and 365 economy seats. rink Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gobbledonk Posted January 18, 2012 Report Share Posted January 18, 2012 You can bet those flights are gone - still, its good if its a sign of things to come. Cheap flights to KL make me very happy, but there is no way I would fly to KL to get to Denpasar .... Its interesting that so many casual observers have been predicting Air Asia's demise virtually since the airlines inception, on the basis that you cant run an airline on margins that thin, but they have defied their critics. Not sure I'd want to work for them, but as a consumer its fantastic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gobbledonk Posted January 18, 2012 Report Share Posted January 18, 2012 The Wikipedia page may go some way to explaining Air Asia's newfound enthusiasm for Aussie airspace: AirAsia X Sdn Bhd has announced that AirAsia X will stop services Europe route at the end of March 2012 and also halt India route. There are many formal reasons to axe the routes, but one of them is high fuel cost I've flown Gold Coast-KL with them a few times - no complaints - but its good to see them flying out of Sydney. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julian2 Posted January 18, 2012 Author Report Share Posted January 18, 2012 You can bet those flights are gone - still, its good if its a sign of things to come. Cheap flights to KL make me very happy, but there is no way I would fly to KL to get to Denpasar .... Its interesting that so many casual observers have been predicting Air Asia's demise virtually since the airlines inception, on the basis that you cant run an airline on margins that thin, but they have defied their critics. Not sure I'd want to work for them, but as a consumer its fantastic. I ran a check SYD-BKK return for April/July and it came to about $550 all up which is still pretty good. I'm involved online with a group of Aussie pensioners who spend a bit of time looking at this type of flight and it's surprising what bobs up if you keep your eye on it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gobbledonk Posted January 18, 2012 Report Share Posted January 18, 2012 The key is to book well in advance and hope there are no dramas when the date finally rolls around - fwiw, I dont know that booking 24 hours before the flight would save you from some of the BS Aussie travellers have had to endure of late. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julian2 Posted January 19, 2012 Author Report Share Posted January 19, 2012 Unfortunately I'm in a situation where I have to book days, rather than months ahead. What I like about this though is the mainstream airlines will almost certainly adjust their prices in the interests of survival. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Torneyboy Posted January 19, 2012 Report Share Posted January 19, 2012 I saw in the BKK post yesterday an add for 4000thb BkkSyd one way ...is that the same airline?...think it was Air Asia Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julian2 Posted January 19, 2012 Author Report Share Posted January 19, 2012 Could be, 130 bucks sounds like them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gobbledonk Posted January 19, 2012 Report Share Posted January 19, 2012 As long as its not Garuda - they have a somewhat unfortunate definition of 'one-way ticket' ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hugh_Hoy Posted January 21, 2012 Report Share Posted January 21, 2012 As long as its not Garuda - they have a somewhat unfortunate definition of 'one-way ticket' ... You mean "almost" one-way ticket? HH Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.