Airasia X Announces Osaka As New Destination In Japan

AIRASIA X ANNOUNCES OSAKA AS NEW DESTINATION IN JAPAN
Promotional fares from as low as RM249* (all in) from Kuala Lumpur to Osaka

OSAKA, 10 August 2011- AirAsia X, the Malaysian-based long-haul, low-fare affiliate of AirAsia today announces its second destination in Japan after Tokyo. The latest international route from Kuala Lumpur to Osaka, Japan; will be the airline’s sixteenth destination to date. Currently AirAsia X flies to destinations in Australia, UK, France, Taiwan, Korea, China, Iran, New Zealand, India and to Tokyo in Japan.

AirAsia X will commence services and fly direct to Kansai International Airport, Osaka from 30 November, 2011 onwards with four non-stop weekly services between Kuala Lumpur and Osaka. Osaka, the commercial centre of Japan is also a gateway to the popular historical city of Kyoto and Kobe, which are accessible less than 30 minutes by train.

The Osaka service will be operated on the Airbus A330-300 aircraft with a configuration of 12 premium fly flatbeds and 365 economy seats.

To mark the opening for sale of the new route, AirAsia X is offering an unbelievable promotional all in fare from as low as RM249* one way on economy and an all in one way fare from as low as RM1569* on its Premium fly flat beds from Kuala Lumpur to Osaka for the booking period from 11 to 14 August 2011 for the travel period from 30 November 2011 to 20 June, 2012.

AirAsia Malaysia co-brand card, AirAsia-Citibank credit card members are also in for a treat as AirAsia X is offering promotional all in fare from as low as RM199* one way on economy for their preferred members from Kuala Lumpur to Osaka. Bookings for AirAsia-Citibank credit card members are available online for 11 August, 2011 (ONE day only) for travel from 30 November 2011 to 20 June 2012.

Also available are our Fly Thru services and promotional fares from Thailand (Bangkok and Phuket), Indonesia (Jakarta, Medan, Bali, Surabaya), Singapore, Australia (Perth), New Zealand (Christchurch) and Europe (Paris) to Osaka. For Fly Thru promotional fare details, kindly log on to www.airasia.com.

Promotional seats are limited and available on first-come, first-served basis and made exclusively available online via www.airasia.com and mobile.airasia.com.

Azran Osman-Rani, Chief Executive Officer, AirAsia X, said “The Osaka service marks AirAsia X’s second foray into the Japanese market. In less than one year since the commencement of the airline’s inaugural flight to Tokyo in December 2010, we are pleased to be adding one of Japan’s commercial and economic hub into our growing international network. The four times weekly flight is expected to help meet demand from business and leisure travelers between, South East Asia and Japan.”

“We estimate that more than 60 per cent of AirAsia X passengers to and from Osaka will be first time visitors, which will contribute significantly to tourism growth, allowing AirAsia X the opportunity to open up new market segments from Osaka. With more than a three million population, Osaka comprises the largest segment of the Keihanshin area, which also includes Kyoto, and Kobe, Nara and is Japan’s second most populous area with more than 18 million residents. Osaka will be a strong feeder market via Kansai International Airport as a regional hub, offering our guests convenient flight connections to other cities in Japan and internationally as well as same day ground connections to several major cities in Japan. The airport would be a strong feeder for our guests to connect onwards either domestically or internationally from Osaka. Likewise, guests from Japan and surrounding regions would be able to fly into Kuala Lumpur hub and connect onwards to AirAsia’s extensive network of over 160 routes in South East Asia and beyond. This translates into a low-cost yet efficient travel experience for guests who benefit from using the LCC Terminal in Kuala Lumpur to connect to destinations as diverse as Australia (Gold Coast, Perth, Melbourne), China (Hangzhou, Tianjin, Chengdu), Taipei, New Zealand (Christchurch) and Europe,” concluded Azran. ”

Guests flying on this new route will have the chance to experience the new comfortable ‘Premium fly flat bed seats’ on the brand new A330 aircraft. The flatbed seats are standard business class specifications of 20” width, 60” pitch and stretches out to 77” in full recline position. The seats feature universal power sockets, adjustable headrests and built-in personal utilities such as tray table, drink holder, reading light and privacy screen. This new improvement offers unmatched comfort to the guests and position AirAsia as the market leader, further bolstering the brand as the epitome of innovation and excellence.

About AirAsia and AirAsia X
AirAsia, the leading and largest low-cost carrier in Asia, services the most extensive network with over 160 routes covering destinations in Asia, Australia and Europe. Within 9 years of operations, AirAsia has carried over 120 million guests and grown its fleet from just two aircraft to 104. The airline today is proud to be a truly Asean (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) airline with established operations based in Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand, servicing a network stretching across all Asean countries, China, India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Australia. This is further complemented by AirAsia X, its low-fare long-haul affiliate carrier that currently flies to destinations in India, China, Australia, Taiwan¸Iran, Korea, UK, Japan, France and New Zealand. AirAsia is the regional carrier with the largest destination network and highest flight frequencies. AirAsia was named the 2011 World’s Best Low Cost Airline in the annual World Airline Survey by Skytrax for three consecutive years.