Air Asia X adds Melbourne, confirms Stansted plans

Malaysia’s budget long-haul carrier Air Asia X is to start flights to Melbourne, which will connect with a UK service due to begin next year.

The Kuala Lumpur-Melbourne service will commence on November 12, using the first of the airline’s new Airbus A330s. Parent company Air Asia has 25 A330s on order with which to expand its long-haul offshoot.
 
Melbourne is Air Asia X’s fourth destination. It also flies to Perth, Australia’s Gold Coast airport and Hangzhou, which it labels as Shanghai.
 
The Melbourne flights will initially operate four times a week, but this will rise to daily over the Christmas peak from December 18 to January 16.
 
The four destinations will be connected to the UK from next spring, when six flights a week from Stansted to Kuala Lumpur are due to start. Air Asia X has sourced a four-engine Airbus A340 for this service, which, unlike the twinjet A330 can do the London-Kuala Lumpur journey non-stop.
 
Fares on the UK route will start at £350 return. Air Asia X will offer a two-class cabin with power points in all seats and wi-fi access. Economy seats will be in black leather with seat back video screens. There will be a business-style cabin of 58 seats, but passengers will have to pay for food in both classes.
 
In economy, seat pitch will be around 31 inches, the same as British Airways, but smaller than the 34 inches offered by Malaysia Airlines, the only carrier currently flying between London and the Malaysian capital.
 
Air Asia is one of the Asia Pacific region’s biggest budget carriers. It operates from a dedicated no-frills terminal at Kuala Lumpur airport, where it offers more than 40 destinations.
 
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