Malaysian budget carrier AirAsia has been named the world’s best low-cost airline by travelers around the world.
Both the regional and its long-haul subsidiary AirAsia X made the Skytrax World Airline Awards top 10 list this year in the category of best no-frills
airlines.
Here are the top 10 low-budget airlines for 2013:
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No-frills carrier AirAsia has announced plans to introduce a “‘quiet zone'” on its AirAsia X flights, allowing passengers to avoid the screams of babies and young children.
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Passengers booked on AirAsia’s X flights next year can opt for the seats for an additional cost of RM 35 (US$11) or RM 110 — the standard fee charged for picking specific seats in economy class and in the “‘hot seats'” section, which provide more leg room.
AirAsia’s competitor, Malaysia Airlines, started flying this year with kid-free first class cabins as well as a kid-free upper deck economy section on its A380 service.
Australia’s consumer watchdog has taken budget airline AirAsia to court for allegedly failing to disclose the full price of fares for international flights from Australia.
The regulator began legal proceedings in Melbourne seeking penalties and orders for the Malaysian airline to issue corrective notices on its website.
In documents filed in the Federal Court, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission claims that fares sold on the airline’s website disclosed only part of the total price for flights from Melbourne, the Gold Coast and Perth to destinations in Asia, Europe and India because they excluded taxes, fees and other charges.
source: Heraldsun.com.au
AirAsia chief Tony Fernandes revealed Monday his plans to start a new super-premium regional airline in partnership with national carrier Malaysia Airlines.
Fernandes said the proposed short-haul carrier would cater largely to business travellers, among others, who need to travel across the region quickly.
Malaysia-based AirAsia has become one of the airline industry’s biggest success stories after Fernandes acquired the then-failing company a decade ago.
Its 2010 full-year net profit nearly doubled to 1.07 billion ringgit ($340 million) compared to 2009.
source: The Economic Times
Air Asia is to introduce fuel surcharges from May becoming one of the first major low-cost airlines to do so.
The Asian budget carrier, which operates a network across Asia and to long-haul destinations including Seoul, Delhi, Melbourne, London and Paris through its AirAsia X long-haul carrier said it would introduce the charges on May 3.
It will affect all domestic flights within Malaysia and all international routes, although domestic flights within Thailand and Indonesia will not be affected.
Passengers flying to Paris, London and Christchurch in New Zealand will have to pay the most – an extra RM90 (€20) per flight.
source: Independent.co.uk
AirAsia’s latest print advertisement inside two Singaporean newspapers has been interpreted as a competitive swipe at rival airline.
The full page ad in The Straits Times and Business Times was perceived as a dig at Thai Tiger Airways recent flight cancellations where hundreds of passengers were left stranded.
The ad featured a tiger cub crying accompanied with the tag line, ‘’If Tigers were meant to fly, they would be born with wings”.
The ad also said AirAsia ‘’guaranteed to fly every day”.
source: etravelblackboardasia.com
Air Asia will begin operating from a fourth national base this year after agreeing to buy into and rebrand a Vietnamese airline, even as the local affiliate of rival Jetstar struggles with a barrage of difficulties with the government in Hanoi.
The move strengthens Air Asia’s lead in Southeast Asia over Jetstar and Tiger Airways as the three Asia-Pacific, no-frills groups race to set up multinational franchise chains. For the first time, two of them will have franchised affiliates in the same country.
source: aviationweek.com
A battle for low-cost airline revenue in Asia intensified on Wednesday as Malaysia’s AirAsia and Jetstar, owned by Qantas Airways, finalised a passenger handling and aircraft maintenance deal they said would cut millions of dollars from annual costs.
The agreement signed by Jetstar and AirAsia stops short of equity participation, and will not involve code sharing – the revenue-generating arrangement under which airlines book passengers directly onto each other’s flights.
The deal also includes co-operation on airport passenger and ramp handling services, and reciprocal arrangements for switching passengers to available flights if one airline’s service is disrupted.
source: FT.com
AirAsia, the Malaysia-based low-cost airline, is considering setting up airports in several south-east Asian countries following its proposal to build its own airport near Kuala Lumpur.
Tony Fernandes, the Air Asia founder and chief executive, has discussed opening budget terminals in Thailand, Indonesia and Burma to support the carrier’s regional network in what would be a further business expansion for AirAsia, according to people familiar with the plans.
source: FT.com
European visitors are expected to flock to Southeast Asia next year as a low-cost airline starts flying from a London-based hub for European budget airlines to Kuala Lumpur in March.
AirAsia X started accepting bookings on Tuesday for its new direct flights between London Stansted and the Kuala Lumpur International Low-Cost Carrier Terminal.
source: BusinessWorld
