Stansted airport gets bargain flights to Asia

[November 26th 2008]

Stansted airport has been chosen as a European gateway by low cost airline AirAsiaX as it announces flights to Kuala Lumpur from just £99.

“This announcement is not only exciting news for Stansted but a significant milestone for low-cost, long haul air travel around the world,” comments BAA Stansted commercial and development director, Nick Barton.

“AirAsia X recognises the growth potential at Stansted and we're delighted to have been selected as the UK gateway from which they will launch this first low-cost, non-stop flight, between London and Kuala Lumpur that offers exciting onward connections across Asia and to Australia,” continues Barton.

The five times a week service from Stansted to KL will start in March 2009 and tickets have now gone on sale priced from £99 in economy and £549 in premium XL seats. Flights will be on an Airbus A340 with a total of 286 seats.

“The London route is a significant achievement for us, allowing those who have always wanted to travel between Europe and ASEAN to achieve their dream, at an affordable price. We are looking to expand from five flights per week to a daily service in the near future,” says AirAsia X chief executive officer, Azran Osman-Rani.

“We have always been enthusiastic to venture into Europe since we launched. The establishment of this route is a significant achievement for us and is a reflection of our commitment to expanding international operations. Like Kuala Lumpur’s Low Cost Carrier Terminal (LCCT) - the gateway of ASEAN - London’s Stansted has true potential to be the gateway of Europe. Our renowned low-fare offerings will stimulate more demand from the European community to discover ASEAN and vice versa”, concludes Azran.

AirAsia X is the low cost, long haul affiliate of AirAsia and shareholders include the Virgin group. AirAsia X covers destinations more than four hours flight time from Kuala Lumpur, complementing the existing AirAsia network of over 100 destinations throughout ASEAN, China and India.

So far AirAsia X has operated flights from KL to the Gold Coast, Perth and Melbourne in Australia and Hangzhou in China.

Commenting on the new flights from Stansted, AirAsia group CEO, Tony Fernandes, says: “As time passes, there will be more promotions and the fare could well fall further – we always look to make the fare as low as possible”.

Written by: Nick Purdom