LONDON – Air Asia X adds three new important routes to the 2 island nations of Australia & New Zealand. These two countries will play a major role in the growth of the airline, as these two are strong destinations for the airline to venture in.

With a huge market potential and revenue to be made, the airline is delighted to resume flights to these two countries where flights to Oceania had been virtually impossible due to the border closures and strict Covid measures, which these two countries are both synonymous with. 

AirAsia Aviation Group made an announcement on 18 July, that its long-haul low-cost unit Air Asia X were launching routes to Melbourne and Perth in Australia, and as well as Auckland in New Zealand. The airline noted that it will fly to Melbourne’s main airport of Tullamarine.

These flights will begin from the 1st of November onwards. These routes are considered to be the ‘key’ routes of Air Asia X, as they are very lucrative for both Malaysians, Kiwis and Aussies alike. 

The Perth, Melbourne and Auckland flights will complement Air Asia X’s route to wider Asia, including 13 sets of routes that are slated to operate this year. These destinations include Sydney, New Delhi, Seoul, Tokyo, Sapporo, Osaka and Honolulu as well as London, Dubai and Istanbul. Most of which one can see are scattered in East Asia. 

Air Asia X will start its flights to Melbourne, Perth and Auckland, which is flown via Sydney airport, thrice weekly from November. Should the demand be sufficient, the airline will increase this frequency to daily services at least by the first quarter of next year according to the forecast made by the Malaysian carrier. 

The airline is a low-cost carrier, and will surely offer great fares from its operating hub in Kuala Lumpur airport to all three new destinations are now for booking.

The airline’s Super Application and its website show flight to Perth will begin at RM499 (AUD209), Melbourne from RM699 (AUD359) and Auckland with a starting price of RM1,999 (NZD499) for one-way economy class.

For flatbed seats, guests may experience the service from RM1,990 (AUD1,099) to Perth, RM2,999 (AUD1,990) to Melbourne Tullamarine and a whopping R5,999 (NZD 1,999) all the way to New Zealand’s largest city, all in one-way. 

Leaders of airports, along with the CEO of Air Asia X, have given their opinions: 

CEO of Air Asia X Benyamin Ismail said: “We are thrilled to recommence our services to Australia and New Zealand as a core part of our expansion strategy with our famous great value fares for medium to long-haul travel.”

“We are also pleased to announce our return to Melbourne Airport (Tullamarine) which offers more flexibility and connectivity for our guests travelling to and from the state of Victoria.”

“In 2019, we flew over a million guests to both countries, which shows that Australia and New Zealand are important markets for us and we connected the same number of Australians and New Zealanders to Malaysia and across ASEAN.”

“After a two-year hiatus, we are back stronger than ever and proud to renew our commitment to making medium to long-haul air travel affordable once again for everyone in this region as well as across Asean. As the world reopens and travels restrictions ease, we are confident these new services will prove popular.”

“Our Premium Flatbeds remain the best low-cost seats in the sky, which we know are always in high demand for our Australian and Kiwi guests from down under. Importantly with over a dozen routes in our network this year, our valued guests with outstanding credit will be able to use their travel vouchers to book future travel to many exciting destinations with us.”

“We will bring back everyone’s favourite destinations and even more in the near future and look forward to welcoming guests back on board with our great value fares and industry-leading hospitality.”

Melbourne Airport Chief of Aviation Jim Parashos stated with excitement:  “The return of AirAsia X to Melbourne Airport underscores the airport’s convenience and competitiveness. AirAsia X flew out of Melbourne Airport for a decade, and we know our customers will be thrilled to have them back here.”

“With a significant network beyond Kuala Lumpur, AirAsia X provides a one-stop service into much of India and South-East Asia, which is particularly valuable for international students or Victorians looking to visit friends and family overseas.”

“AirAsia X’s decision to return to Melbourne Airport highlights the value travellers and airlines place on convenience as well as price.”

Perth Airport Chief Executive Officer Kevin Brown said: “The recovery of Western Australia’s aviation sector has been given another boost with the return of AirAsia X. We’ve been working hard with our airline partners to rebuild international connections and AirAsia X services to Kuala Lumpur provide another link to Malaysia and onwards.”

Auckland Airport General Manager Customer and Aeronautical Commercial Scott Tasker said: “We can’t wait to see AirAsia X touching down again at Auckland Airport in November.”

“The new service will not only provide more choices for trans-Tasman travellers looking for competitive fares on the popular route between Sydney and Auckland but is a great option for those wanting to connect through to AirAsia’s extensive Asian network.”

“With the widebody A330 flying the Auckland-Sydney-Kuala Lumpur route, it also adds substantial cargo capacity, which is great news for freight operators and exporters looking for options through to Sydney and beyond into Asia.”

Slowly, Air Asia X is expanding its network after the borders of Australia and New Zealand gradually opens. This is a huge step after 2 years of idleness. 

Why is the Australian and the New Zealand Market so important one may ask? Flying to destinations in Australia and New Zealand is considered lucrative as passengers from these destinations have high disposable income and a large propensity to travel abroad.

This surely strengthens Air Asia X’s route network, whereby forming a hub at Kuala Lumpur’s KLIA 2 Terminal gives chances for Aussies and Kiwis to travel to South East Asia Europe and East Asia. After the resumption of these flights, the airline is poised to record a stronger cash flow, and will gradually witness normalcy in its operations. 

Moreover, in a macro sense, the resumption of cheap low-cost long-haul flights will enable the tourism sector in Malaysia to recover as many Australians and New Zealanders visit the southeast country per year. Malaysians also travel en masse to Australia as there are many Malaysian diaspora and communities living in Sydney and Melbourne.