GOLD COAST, AUSTRALIA: AirAsia X Bhd is focused on increasing its flight frequencies as demand recovers and it returns to profitability, following the lifting of Covid-19 travel restrictions worldwide.
According to CEO Benyamin Ismail, the medium-haul, low-cost airline has resumed most of its flights, but is still not operating at pre-Covid frequency.
“As we get more things back into service, over time, every quarter, you’ll see the fleet increase from us. Currently, we are operating with nine fleets, but we plan to increase this to 17 by February next year. I think we’ll hit 15 fleets this December. That’s the number that we’re looking at,” he said at a press conference on the relaunch of its Kuala Lumpur-Gold Coast route on Saturday.
The carrier has already restarted flights to Japan, Korea, India, and Taiwan, with plans to add more frequencies to these routes as the year progresses.
AirAsia X resumed its services to Gold Coast after a pandemic-induced hiatus of over two years. The airline’s relaunch of its first-ever route back in 2007 has made it the only carrier flying direct between Malaysia and Queensland.
Benyamin said, “This KL-Gold Coast route isn’t new; it was our first-ever route. Besides, Australia is our biggest market for now, we fly to Perth five times per week, Melbourne seven times per week, and Gold Coast now three times per week. Hopefully, as we get more fleets and if the market is good, we’ll try to go up to seven flights here each week.”
He stated that the relaunch of the KL-Gold Coast route is aimed at addressing the Queensland market, which the airline is set to benefit from the fact that all of its competitors have pulled out of this route. “We are now the only Southeast Asian carrier flying on this route,” he said.
Furthermore, with China reopening, the airline is hopeful of being the beneficiary of more Chinese tourists starting to travel again.
The airline is optimistic that this year will be a good one for it, especially with the decrease in oil prices and the recovery of the ringgit which may result in lower prices for passengers. “Currently, demand exceeds supply, so we can price higher,” he said.
Present at the press conference on Saturday were Stirling Hinchliffe, Queensland Minister for Tourism, Innovation and Sport, Amelia Evans, Queensland Airports Ltd CEO, Karen Bolinger, Destination Gold Coast interim CEO, and Datuk Fam Lee Ee, AirAsia X director.
Hinchliffe said AirAsia X is predicted to generate US$45.6 million (RM203 million_ for the Gold Coast’s visitor economy.
“We’re backing AirAsia X because of the airline’s commitment to increasing its Gold Coast flight schedule to five days a week by the end of the year. AirAsia X is a terrific investment in the Gold Coast’s visitor economy and the 450 good Queensland jobs these services will support,” he added.
Benyamin said: “The resumption of this route will not only attract a significant number of visitors from Malaysia and other Asian countries but also strengthen the ties between Malaysia and Australia. We look forward to working closely with all of our key airport and tourism stakeholders, especially Queensland Airports and Destination Gold Coast to make the Gold Coast a preferred tourism destination of choice for the many millions of leisure seekers across Asia.”
The return of AirAsia X to Gold Coast will provide three return flights each week, bringing 58,000 additional seats into the region each year.
Source: The Sun Daily
A word from our sponsor:
Need Help With Your Personal Finance / Money Issue or need a coach to help you structure or just want to learn the financial skill to self manage your financial matters and retirement. iLearnFromCloud.com
Need to solve a problem quickly, now you can solve it by learning the art of problem solving Art Of Problem Solving
Feeling hungry. Latest food news from Best Restaurant To Eat Malaysian Food and Travel Blog
Memory loss. Need to organize better. Solve problem fast with Free Mind Mapping Software Mind Mapping 101
Need A Customized System Development for your business or Going Paperless XPERT TECHNOLOGIES - Empowering The Paperless Economy
No comments:
Post a Comment