Published on: Thursday, June 14, 2007 |
MUMBAI: Malaysia's home-grown budget carrier AirAsia Bhd plans to launch its first flight to India towards end of 2008 and its first destination is likely to be Amritsar in Punjab. "I am really limited by the planes and the earliest we can look at is the third quarter of 2008.
"I like Amritsar, many Sikhs have written to me but I need to know more about India. I only know about their music and cricket," AirAsia chief executive officer Datuk Tony Fernandes told reporters after speaking at the one-day Low Cost Airline Symposium in Mumbai here Wednesday.
AirAisa X, the long haul budget carrier of AirAsia, is being prepared to do longer destinations and the huge Indian aviation market, growing at 38 percent annually, appears to be on the company's route.
Earlier in the day, he told Bernama, India with many attractive destinations and well spread out geographically was ideal for budget carriers like AirAsia to venture into.
"India is very sexy, there are more than 100 destinations. We can look at least 30 points. It is a phenomenal market," he noted.
Other major cities like Calcutta, Goa and Kochin - all major tourist attractions in India - are also viable destinations, added Fernandes.
He also said Indian tourists arriving in Malaysia could connect to 75 other destinations that AirAisa is flying to currently.
Fernandes said there was no problem for AirAsia to fly to India under the bilateral agreement between India and Malaysia but their aircraft would not be able to fly within India until the Indian government grants approval.
India's passenger volume growth is robust and over the last 12 months, airlines carried 35 million domestic passengers and 25.7 million international passengers.
Fernandes is scheduled to meet Indian Aviation Minister Praful Patel later this afternoon and according to some industry sources landing rights for his aircraft would top the agenda when he meets the minister.
He also ruled out forming any alliance with Indian budget carriers to enter the India market.
Meanwhile, AirAsia is spreading its wings to Shenzhen, China, Via Bangkok and Kuala Lumpur. The airline is set to commence both of its inaugural daily flights on 15 July.
With an extensive route network covering most of the Asean cities, AirAsia is now expanding its network into China, and Shenzhen is an ideal choice as the airline's gateway to the mainland. Currently, the airline is serving seven (7) daily flights to Macau (from Kuala Lumpur, Kota Kinabalu and Bangkok) and one (1) daily flight to Xiamen (from Bangkok).
Shenzhen which is located in the southern part of Guangdong province, is the fastest growing city in China for the past thirty years. It is infamous for its coastal views, theme parks, historical attractions, and world-class golf courses as well as a well-known shopper's paradise destination. Boasting an endless list of attractions, Thais and Malaysians ranked 5th and 6th in terms of the top visitor arrivals in year 2006.
Guests can enjoy promotional launch fares starting from RMB138/RM68.88 from Kuala Lumpur and RMB88/BHT388 from Bangkok. All fares quoted are excluding airport taxes, surcharges and fees, and are applicable for travel one way only.
