AirAsia X
Encyclopedia
AirAsia X is a long-haul
Flight length
In aviation, the flight length is defined as the time airborne during a flight.- Domestic :A short-haul domestic flight is commonly categorized into being no longer than 1.5 hours in length, meaning that all domestic flights within a country such as the United Kingdom are short-haul...

, budget
Low-cost carrier
A low-cost carrier or low-cost airline is an airline that generally has lower fares and fewer comforts...

 airline
Airline
An airline provides air transport services for traveling passengers and freight. Airlines lease or own their aircraft with which to supply these services and may form partnerships or alliances with other airlines for mutual benefit...

 based in Malaysia. The airline is operated by AirAsia X Sdn. Bhd. (previously known as FlyAsianXpress Sdn. Bhd.). It commenced operations on 2 November 2007. Its first service flew from Kuala Lumpur International Airport
Kuala Lumpur International Airport
Kuala Lumpur International Airport , or KLIA serves the capital city of Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur, and is one of Southeast Asia's largest airports. It is also Malaysia's main international airport. It is situated in the Sepang district, in the south of the state of Selangor, about from Kuala Lumpur...

, Malaysia, to Gold Coast Airport
Gold Coast Airport
Gold Coast Airport, or Coolangatta Airport, is an Australian domestic and international airport on the Gold Coast and is located some south of Brisbane and 25 km south of Surfers Paradise. The entrance to the airport is situated in the suburb of Bilinga on the Gold Coast...

 in Australia. AirAsia X flies to destinations within Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...

, as well as destinations in Oceania
Oceania
Oceania is a region centered on the islands of the tropical Pacific Ocean. Conceptions of what constitutes Oceania range from the coral atolls and volcanic islands of the South Pacific to the entire insular region between Asia and the Americas, including Australasia and the Malay Archipelago...

 and Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...

. The airline operates a fleet of 11 aircraft and has placed orders for more.

AirAsia X operates as a franchise of the brand AirAsia
AirAsia
AirAsia Berhad is a Malaysian-based low-cost airline. AirAsia is Asia's largest low-fare, no-frills airline and a pioneer of low-cost travel in Asia. AirAsia group operates scheduled domestic and international flights to over 400 destinations spanning 25 countries. Its main hub is the Low-Cost...

, which is Asia's largest low-cost carrier
Low-cost carrier
A low-cost carrier or low-cost airline is an airline that generally has lower fares and fewer comforts...

. The franchise is able to keep costs down by using a common ticketing system, aircraft livery
Aircraft livery
Aircraft livery is a paint scheme applied to an aircraft, generally to fuselage, wings, empennage , or jet engines. Most airlines have a standard paint scheme for their aircraft fleet, usually prominently displaying the airline logo or name. From time to time special liveries are introduced, for...

, employee uniforms, and management style. AirAsia X is also affiliated with Virgin Group
Virgin Group
Virgin Group Limited is a British branded venture capital conglomerate organisation founded by business tycoon Richard Branson. The core business areas are travel, entertainment and lifestyle. Virgin Group's date of incorporation is listed as 1989 by Companies House, who class it as a holding...

 and Air Canada
Air Canada
Air Canada is the flag carrier and largest airline of Canada. The airline, founded in 1936, provides scheduled and charter air transport for passengers and cargo to 178 destinations worldwide. It is the world's tenth largest passenger airline by number of destinations, and the airline is a...

.

History

On 17 May 2007, Tony Fernandes
Tony Fernandes
Tan Sri Anthony Francis Fernandes CBE is a Malaysian entrepreneur and the founder of Tune Air Sdn. Bhd., who introduced the first budget no-frills airline, AirAsia, to Malaysians with the tagline "Now everyone can fly"...

 announced plans to commence flights from Malaysia to Australia. Fernandes said he would be avoiding Sydney Airport
Sydney Airport
Sydney Airport may refer to:* Sydney Airport, also known as Kingsford Smith International Airport, in Sydney, Australia* Sydney/J.A. Douglas McCurdy Airport, in Nova Scotia, Canada...

 due to its high fees. Instead the airline would concentrate on cheaper alternatives such as Melbourne's Avalon Airport
Avalon Airport
Avalon Airport is the second busiest of the four airports serving Melbourne and is located in Avalon, Victoria, Australia, which is north-east of the city of Geelong and to the south-west of the state's capital city of Melbourne....

, Williamtown Airport in Newcastle, and Adelaide Airport. Sustained fares were predicted to be around MYR
Malaysian ringgit
The Malaysian ringgit is the currency of Malaysia. It is divided into 100 sen...

 800 (A$
Australian dollar
The Australian dollar is the currency of the Commonwealth of Australia, including Christmas Island, Cocos Islands, and Norfolk Island, as well as the independent Pacific Island states of Kiribati, Nauru and Tuvalu...

285) for a return fare, plus taxes. Interest was also expressed in using Gold Coast Airport
Gold Coast Airport
Gold Coast Airport, or Coolangatta Airport, is an Australian domestic and international airport on the Gold Coast and is located some south of Brisbane and 25 km south of Surfers Paradise. The entrance to the airport is situated in the suburb of Bilinga on the Gold Coast...

 as another Australian destination.

Several major developments were announced on 10 August 2007. AirAsia X announced its first route from Kuala Lumpur to the Gold Coast. One way fares for this route have been touted to begin at MYR 50 (A$17) excluding taxes and charges, with average return prices to be approximately MYR1,800 (A$598), inclusive of taxes and charges.
The airline also announced that Sir Richard Branson of the Virgin Group, will take a 20% share in the airline to help kick-start its long haul operations and to finance its aircraft purchases. Branson also forecast a strong possibility of future, formal links between Virgin Blue and AirAsia X, including codeshare agreements and Loyalty program
Loyalty program
Loyalty programs are structured marketing efforts that reward, and therefore encourage, loyal buying behavior — behavior which is potentially beneficial to the firm....

s.

The first AirAsia X aircraft arrived at Kuala Lumpur International Airport
Kuala Lumpur International Airport
Kuala Lumpur International Airport , or KLIA serves the capital city of Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur, and is one of Southeast Asia's largest airports. It is also Malaysia's main international airport. It is situated in the Sepang district, in the south of the state of Selangor, about from Kuala Lumpur...

 on 15 September 2007. It was named "Semangat Sir Freddie" (English: "Spirit of Sir Freddie") after the pioneer and founder of the low cost model; the late, Sir Freddie Laker of Skytrain.

FlyAsianXpress

FlyAsianXpress (FAX) was an airline based in Sarawak
Sarawak
Sarawak is one of two Malaysian states on the island of Borneo. Known as Bumi Kenyalang , Sarawak is situated on the north-west of the island. It is the largest state in Malaysia followed by Sabah, the second largest state located to the North- East.The administrative capital is Kuching, which...

, Malaysia. It operated services on some of the smaller routes dropped by national carrier Malaysia Airlines
Malaysia Airlines
Malaysian Airline System Berhad , DBA Malaysia Airlines , is the government-owned flag carrier of Malaysia. Malaysia Airlines operates flights from its home base, Kuala Lumpur International Airport, and its eastern hub in Kota Kinabalu. It has its headquarters on the grounds of Sultan Abdul Aziz...

. Its routes have been taken over by MASwings
MASwings
MASwings Sdn. Berhad is a regional airline operating the Rural Air Services in East Malaysia. It took over the RAS previously operated by FlyAsianXpress. The first flight was on 1 October 2007,which is also the anniversary of the founding of Malaysia Airlines in 1972. Its headquarters are in Jalan...

.

FAX was privately owned by Kamarudin Meranun, Raja Razali, Raja Azmi and Tony Fernandes. The airline was subcontracted by AirAsia to operate several domestic services following the withdrawal of Malaysia Airlines from rural air service routes within East Malaysia
East Malaysia
East Malaysia, also known as Malaysian Borneo, is the part of Malaysia located on the island of Borneo. It consists of the Malaysian states of Sabah and Sarawak, and the Federal Territory of Labuan. It lies to the east from Peninsular Malaysia , which is located on the Malay Peninsula. The two are...

. Its maiden flight was on 1 August 2006, despite being delayed for 50 minutes by bad weather. FAX was not a low cost carrier, but it incorporated some of AirAsia’s practices in order to reduce cost. Namely; internet and phone bookings, as well as ticketless check-in systems.

Within days of operation it was subject to a flood of criticisms from commuters, civil servants, and people working in the tourism industry. Critics argued that the new turboprop
Turboprop
A turboprop engine is a type of turbine engine which drives an aircraft propeller using a reduction gear.The gas turbine is designed specifically for this application, with almost all of its output being used to drive the propeller...

 service provided by FAX should not be more expensive than the rural air service previously operated by Malaysia Airlines, as FAX was subsidised by the Malaysian Government
Politics of Malaysia
The politics of Malaysia takes place in the framework of a federal constitutional monarchy, in which the Yang di-Pertuan Agong is head of state and the Prime Minister of Malaysia is the head of government. Executive power is exercised by the federal government and the 13 state governments. ...

. As well as cost, the airline was criticized for poor service, such as sudden flight cancellation
Flight cancellation
Flight cancellation occurs when an airline cancels a scheduled flight for a certain reason. When flights are canceled, passengers may be entitled to compensation due to rules obeyed by every flight company, usually Rule 240, or Rule 218 in certain locations...

s without notice. The CEO of Sarawak
Sarawak
Sarawak is one of two Malaysian states on the island of Borneo. Known as Bumi Kenyalang , Sarawak is situated on the north-west of the island. It is the largest state in Malaysia followed by Sabah, the second largest state located to the North- East.The administrative capital is Kuching, which...

 Tourism Board also stated that disruptions to cargo supply flights to the interior, caused tourists to take their own food rations, rather than rely upon the air cargo supplies of food and fuel. FAX released a new flight timetable citing the sudden need for heavy maintenance on its Fokker 50 fleet as the trigger for severe disruption to its schedules.
On 11 April 2007, Tony Fernandes, CEO of the parent company of FAX (AirAsia), publicized details of a handover offer of FAX's rural routes, to Firefly
Firefly (airline)
FlyFirefly Sdn Bhd, operating as Firefly, is a full service point to point carrier and a full subsidiary of Malaysia Airlines. Its head office is located on the grounds of Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah Airport in Subang, Selangor. It claims to be the first community airline in Malaysia...

, a subsidiary airline of Malaysia Airlines. He described it as "the logical thing to do", as Firefly can be the only national company operating turboprop aircraft. On 26 April 2007, the government announced Malaysia Airlines would take over the operation of rural air services from FAX, and gave assurance that any financial loss will be born by the government. Malaysia Airlines announced the take over of FAX destinations beginning on 1 October 2007. Malaysia Airlines would operate these routes through a new subsidiary, MASwings
MASwings
MASwings Sdn. Berhad is a regional airline operating the Rural Air Services in East Malaysia. It took over the RAS previously operated by FlyAsianXpress. The first flight was on 1 October 2007,which is also the anniversary of the founding of Malaysia Airlines in 1972. Its headquarters are in Jalan...

.

With FAX rural air services replaced by MASwings, the corporate name was changed from FlyAsianXpress Sdn. Bhd. to AirAsia X Sdn. Bhd. with this, the airlines focus switched to a new market. Namely, low cost, long haul flights.

Shareholders

The entrance of two new major investors has given the company financial aid for future expansion plans.

As of 14 February 2008, 48% of AirAsia X is owned by Aero Ventures; a venture of Tony Fernandes and other prominent Malaysians, as well as Air Canada
Air Canada
Air Canada is the flag carrier and largest airline of Canada. The airline, founded in 1936, provides scheduled and charter air transport for passengers and cargo to 178 destinations worldwide. It is the world's tenth largest passenger airline by number of destinations, and the airline is a...

's Robert Milton
Robert Milton
Robert A. Milton is the Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of ACE Aviation Holdings Inc., the parent company of Air Canada. He is also a former Chairman, President and CEO of Air Canada.-Early life and education:...

. Virgin Group
Virgin Group
Virgin Group Limited is a British branded venture capital conglomerate organisation founded by business tycoon Richard Branson. The core business areas are travel, entertainment and lifestyle. Virgin Group's date of incorporation is listed as 1989 by Companies House, who class it as a holding...

 own 16% and a further 16% is owned by AirAsia. Bahrain-based Manara Consortium, and Japan-based Orix Corp
ORIX
is a financial services group established 17 April 1964 as Orient Leasing Co., Ltd.. The company's name was changed to ORIX Corporation in 1989...

 have taken a 20% stake in AirAsia X for RM250 million.

Destinations

Future expansion

AirAsia X is poised to take delivery of 12 more Airbus A330
Airbus A330
The Airbus A330 is a wide-body twin-engine jet airliner made by Airbus, a division of EADS. Versions of the A330 have a range of and can accommodate up to 335 passengers in a two-class layout or carry of cargo....

s by 2011, and will be a major airline in Kuala Lumpur's new KLIA2 terminal, scheduled to open in April 2012.

In June 2011, the airline received government approval to begin service to five cities: Beijing
Beijing
Beijing , also known as Peking , is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19,612,368 as of 2010. The city is the country's political, cultural, and educational center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's...

, Shanghai
Shanghai
Shanghai is the largest city by population in China and the largest city proper in the world. It is one of the four province-level municipalities in the People's Republic of China, with a total population of over 23 million as of 2010...

, Osaka
Osaka
is a city in the Kansai region of Japan's main island of Honshu, a designated city under the Local Autonomy Law, the capital city of Osaka Prefecture and also the biggest part of Keihanshin area, which is represented by three major cities of Japan, Kyoto, Osaka and Kobe...

, Jeddah
Jeddah
Jeddah, Jiddah, Jidda, or Jedda is a city located on the coast of the Red Sea and is the major urban center of western Saudi Arabia. It is the largest city in Makkah Province, the largest sea port on the Red Sea, and the second largest city in Saudi Arabia after the capital city, Riyadh. The...

, and Istanbul
Istanbul
Istanbul , historically known as Byzantium and Constantinople , is the largest city of Turkey. Istanbul metropolitan province had 13.26 million people living in it as of December, 2010, which is 18% of Turkey's population and the 3rd largest metropolitan area in Europe after London and...

; however, the airline's application to fly to Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...

 was rejected.

AirAsia X also plans to fly to Xi'an
Xi'an
Xi'an is the capital of the Shaanxi province, and a sub-provincial city in the People's Republic of China. One of the oldest cities in China, with more than 3,100 years of history, the city was known as Chang'an before the Ming Dynasty...

, Wuhan
Wuhan
Wuhan is the capital of Hubei province, People's Republic of China, and is the most populous city in Central China. It lies at the east of the Jianghan Plain, and the intersection of the middle reaches of the Yangtze and Han rivers...

 and Shenyang
Shenyang
Shenyang , or Mukden , is the capital and largest city of Liaoning Province in Northeast China. Currently holding sub-provincial administrative status, the city was once known as Shengjing or Fengtianfu...

 in the People's Republic of China
People's Republic of China
China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...

. Recently, the airline announced that it plans to serve Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...

. The airline is also planning to expand to Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

 and Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

.

On 24 October 2011, AirAsia X transferred London operations from Stansted to Gatwick.

Seating expansion

In January 2010, AirAsia X announced that all of its A330 and A340's longhaul seats will be refurbished, with the first aircraft's refurbishment being scheduled to be completed in early February, and the remaining aircraft in June 2010. AirAsia X CEO Azran Osman-Rani, said that fares for premium class tickets will rise with the introduction of lie flat beds, although stressing that its premium service fares would remain competitive, which is cited to be comparable to the cost of an economy class fare on a full service airline. Prices for AirAsia X Economy class tickets will remain unchanged. This expansion comes at a reported cost of US$10 million.

Fleet

As of 27 November 2010, the AirAsia X fleet consists of the following aircraft with an average age of 4.4 years:
AirAsia X fleet
Aircraft In Service Orders Options Passengers Routes Notes
P Y Total
Airbus A330-200
Airbus A330
The Airbus A330 is a wide-body twin-engine jet airliner made by Airbus, a division of EADS. Versions of the A330 have a range of and can accommodate up to 335 passengers in a two-class layout or carry of cargo....

3 24 264 288 Europe, Asia, Oceania Entry in service: 2014
Airbus A330-300
Airbus A330
The Airbus A330 is a wide-body twin-engine jet airliner made by Airbus, a division of EADS. Versions of the A330 have a range of and can accommodate up to 335 passengers in a two-class layout or carry of cargo....

9 16 12 365 377 Asia, Oceania 9-abreast economy configuration
Airbus A340-300
Airbus A340
The Airbus A340 is a long-range four-engine wide-body commercial passenger jet airliner. Developed by Airbus Industrie,A consortium of European aerospace companies, Airbus is now fully owned by EADS and since 2001 has been known as Airbus SAS. a consortium of European aerospace companies, which is...

2 18 309 327 Europe, Oceania 9-abreast economy configuration
New configuration, business class mid section
Airbus A350-900 10 5
TBA
425 Europe, North America Entry in service: 2016
Total 11 26 5



On 14 May 2007, AirAsia confirmed that it had ordered 15 Airbus A330-300 aircraft, 5 more than originally announced. The aircraft are scheduled for delivery from the fourth quarter of 2008. On 27 March 2008, AirAsia signed a firm contract for another 10 Airbus A330-300s bringing the airline's total order to 25. AirAsia X received its first A330 on 31 October 2008 in Toulouse, France.


See also

  • Thai AirAsia
    Thai AirAsia
    Thai AirAsia is a joint venture of Malaysian low-fare airline AirAsia and Thailand's Asia Aviation. It serves AirAsia's regularly scheduled domestic and international flights from Bangkok and other cities in Thailand....

  • Indonesia AirAsia
    Indonesia AirAsia
    PT. Indonesia AirAsia is a low-cost airline based in Jakarta, Indonesia. It operates scheduled domestic, international services and is an Indonesian associate carrier of Malaysian low-fare airline AirAsia. Its main base is Soekarno-Hatta International Airport, Jakarta...

  • VietJet AirAsia
  • Tune Ventures
    Tune Ventures
    Tune Ventures Sdn. Bhd is a private investment company based in Malaysia. It is 40% owned by Datuk Seri Tony Fernandes, 30% by Kamarudin Meranun, 25% by Dennis Melka and 5% by Tune Strategic Investments Limited. Many companies have majority shares by Tune Ventures, which most of them uses the Tune...

  • Transport in Malaysia
    Transport in Malaysia
    Transport in Malaysia started to develop during British colonial rule, and the country's transport network is now diverse and developed. Malaysia's road network is extensive, covering 63,445 km, including 1,630 km of expressways. The main highway of the country extends over 800 km,...


External links

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