AirAsia X expands with second international route: Kuala Lumpur-Hangzhou
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AirAsia X launched its inaugural Kuala Lumpur-Hangzhou service from the Low-Cost Carrier Terminal (LCCT), Kuala Lumpur International Airport, on 04-Feb-08. Following its much-anticipated announcement of this second international destination on 15-Jan-08 with promotional RM99 fares (USD30), 10,000 seats have been booked for Feb-08 and Mar-08, ahead of the inaugural service.
This initial success of the five times weekly Hangzhou route follows back to the AirAsia X’s first international destination to the Gold Coast, Australia, where 60,000 seats have been sold and flights have frequently operated at a near-full capacity in the past couple of months since the first service on 02-Nov-08. A survey of AirAsia X passengers by Gold Coast Airport indicates that 45% are destined for the Gold Coast, 35% for Brisbane, and the remaining passengers use Gold Coast Airport as a transit to final destinations in New South Wales, Melbourne, Adelaide, and New Zealand.
The use of secondary airports provided AirAsia X with the impetus to select Hangzhou Airport, where it can serve not only the 6 million residents of Hangzhou and 80 million in its Zhejiang province, but also serve as a secondary airport to key cities such as Shanghai, Suzhou, Nanjing and Wuhan, each with convenient ground transportation links from Hangzhou.
“We’re extremely pleased with the reception we’ve received since announcing that AirAsia X would become the first airline to service Hangzhou from Kuala Lumpur,” Azran said. Hangzhou marks the starting point of our extended network of cities in Mainland China. As our first northern China destination, this route compliments existing AirAsia routes in Southern China.”
“The launch of this second route in three months, alongside our super low fares, is testament to AirAsia X’s goal to make international travel accessible for all travellers,” Mr Osman-Rani said. “It is an important addition to our expanding network and opens up yet another option for passengers who are increasingly using Kuala Lumpur as a connecting gateway or jumping-off point for Asia.”
(c) Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation Premium. Date posted: 05-Feb-08.
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AirAsia X expands with second international route: Kuala Lumpur-Hangzhou 
