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Thai AirAsia X to be Launched Soon
20th Jul 2013
AirAsia's Thai subsidiary is mulling to launch a separate brand that would complement its domestic operations in Thailand and a host of destinations to neighboring regions.
The new brand will be operated by Thai AirAsia but will only serve medium- to long-haul routes whose travel time do not exceed 8 hours from its Bangkok hub.
According to its CEO, Tassapon Bijleveld, its application for both Air Operating License (AOL) and Air Operator Certificate (AOC) from Department of Civil Aviation is already underway and it hopes to get them in three months' time.
The CEO disclosed that it could start its long-haul service as early as the first quarter of 2014 if their applications are approved.
He further said that Thailand's booming travel industry can support another low-cost airline that operates long-haul service.
Rumors have it that the Thai AirAsia X brand will have an initial fleet of two A330-300 aircraft, both configured to accommodate 12 premium flatbed seats in its first-class cabin and 365 seats in its economy class.
The budget airline is aiming at travelers who patronize full-service airlines with direct flights between Bangkok and cities in Japan and South Korea, two of the major sources of tourists to Thailand.
This will certainly result to price war among airlines, both budget and full-service carriers flying the same routes to Thailand. It will surely give travelers, especially on leisure travel, more choices and high chances of getting cheaper tickets to their favorite destination.
The parent company launched AirAsia X in 2007 for its long-haul operations out of Malaysia. Its first long-haul service was a flight from Kuala Lumpur to Gold Coast in Australia. It added a few more routes to China, Japan, the Middle East, Europe and India.
In 2012, the airline decided to discontinue its long-haul services to Europe, the Middle East and India leaving only Australia and East Asian countries in its long-haul network.
Thai AirAsia initially applied for a permit to fly to long-haul destinations such as Moscow, Seoul and Japan as Thai AirAsia X. It also plans to launch flights from Bangkok to Australia if it embraces similar strategy as what its long-haul cousin Malaysian-based AirAsia X is doing.
Except for Moscow, which is more than nine hours flight from Bangkok, South Korean and Japanese destinations offer more incentives as they are less than six hours away from the Thai capital. Australia's East Coat cities could also be a good addition to its long-haul network.
The new brand of Thai AirAsia will offer far cheaper tickets, especially to tourists on leisure travel coming from these long-haul destinations.
AirAsia X currently flies to several South Asian, East Asian and Australian cities such as Beijing, Chengdu, Shanghai, Tokyo, Osaka, Seoul, Gold Coast, Melbourne, Sydney, Perth, Kathmandu, Jeddah and Taipei.
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