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Saa sker det nok mange har ventet laenge paa
I foerste omgang er der tale om en lavpris rute mellem Kuala Lumpur og London, med videre forbindelser til andre byer i Europa.
AirAsia der er en af partnerne i dette, har haft enorm succes siden de startede for 6 aar siden. Saa mon ikke vi snart ser lavpris flyruter fra Bangkok til Europa/Kastrup.

Malaysia to launch low-cost flights to London

Date : 31 Dec 2006 2048 hrs (GMT + 8hrs)

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia's budget airline operators plan to launch cheap flights on lucrative routes to London, an industry source has reported.

"The government and the carriers concerned are expected to make an official announcement soon after the New Year," the source familiar with the ambitious programme told AFP.

The New Straits Times newspaper said that profit-making budget carrier AirAsia and Fly Asian Xpress (FAX) will form an alliance to start the service as early as July next year.

FAX, which is closely linked to AirAsia with common shareholders, operates rural air services in Sabah and Sarawak on Borneo island.

Both AirAsia and FAX officials declined to comment when contacted.

Tony Fernandes, AirAsia's chief executive officer, had earlier said that there was huge potential for a budget long-haul air service.

"It is just a matter of time before someone comes up with a good model for a low-cost carrier and I hope the innovation would come from Malaysia," he was quoted as saying by the newspaper Saturday.

The industry source said that local low-cost carriers were expected to form "strategic alliances" with European budget carriers, including Britain's easyJet, to provide European flight connections.

The newspaper said that local airline officials were looking to lease or buy Boeing 777s or Airbus 330s for the Kuala Lumpur to London route, but did not elaborate.

National carrier Malaysia Airlines currently operates 18 times weekly to London and charges up to 5,000 ringgit (1,420 dollars) for economy class and 18,000 ringgit for business class.

AirAsia was launched as a budget carrier in December 2001 with just two aircraft.

It now offers more than 100 domestic and international flights to Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, Singapore, Cambodia, Vietnam and the Philippines.

- AFP/so

Kilde:
[url]www.channelnewsasia.com/cna/cgi-bin/search/search_7days.pl?status=&search=flight&id=250012[/url]

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AirAsia shares surge on speculation of new long-haul venture.
Posted: 03 January 2007 1827 hrs

KUALA LUMPUR: Shares in budget carrier AirAsia surged more than seven percent on Wednesday due to speculation that it is poised to announce the launch of long-haul routes in an alliance with European low-cost carriers.

AirAsia said it would hold a press conference on Friday along with Malaysia's transport and tourism ministers, to unveil "a revolutionary service that will change the face of aviation travel forever".

The airline's stock closed up 0.11 ringgit or 7.28 percent at 1.62 ringgit (0.46 dollars).

The Star newspaper reported this week that AirAsia is planning to team up with Richard Branson's Virgin Group and EasyJet to launch "the world's first low-cost global network".

The Star citing unidentified industry sources as saying the new joint venture would first fly between Kuala Lumpur and Manchester in Britain and Amritsar in India.

There are future plans for flights to Hangzhou near Shanghai, China and Tianjin near Beijing, it said.

AirAsia's chief executive officer Tony Fernandes has previously said that there was huge potential for a budget long-haul air service.

"It is just a matter of time before someone comes up with a good model for a low-cost carrier and I hope the innovation would come from Malaysia," he said late last month.

However, financial analysts questioned whether the low-cost long-haul service would be viable.

"There will always be demand for cheap flights, short- or long-haul. The issue is whether revenue will be sufficient to offset the costs of running the flights," CIMB Research said in a note.

"We prefer AirAsia to remain focused on its short-haul routes," it added, noting however that an alliance with Virgin Atlantic and EasyJet could produce an innovative new model. - AFP/so


[url]www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/afp_asiapacific_business/view/250445/1/.html[/url]

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1,420 dollars lyder da ikke billigt.
Eller er det de nuværendee priser ?

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Det er de nuværende priser, som Malaysia Airlines tager idag

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Saa kom det endelig paa skrift at prisen bliver godt det halve

AirAsia to buy additional 100 A320s to expand regional services.
Posted: 04 January 2007 1324 hrs

An AirAsia plane prepares for take-off

KUALA LUMPUR : Malaysian budget carrier AirAsia will double its A320 fleet size to 200 jets amid growing passenger demand and route expansion in Southeast Asia, an industry source has said.

Three indivdual shareholders from AirAsia and Fly Asian Xpress (FAX) will form an alliance to start the long-haul service to London and China as early as July using three aircraft - a combination of Airbus A330s and Boeing 777-300s.

An announcement to double AirAsia's fleet would be made in the weeks ahead while on Friday AirAsia and FAX would hold a press conference at 0230 GMT regarding its long-haul ambitions, the source said.

"Certaintly, there is a need for another 100 A320 aircraft. AirAsia will be putting in its orders to meet growing demand.

"It is estimated to cost billions of dollars. Deliveries may start in 2012 or earlier once the original 100 aircraft are delivered," the source, familiar with the plans, told AFP on condition of anonymity.

AirAsia now has a fleet of 50 aircraft - 15 A320s and 35 Boeing 737-300s and has opted for Airbus in order to reduce costs with a fleet of just one single type of jet.

It currently has orders for 100 A320s.

AirAsia boss Tony Fernandes has a 50 percent stake in FAX which operates rural air services in Sabah and Sarawak on Borneo island.

The other two shareholders in FAX are AirAsia deputy chief executive Kamarudin Meranum, who owns 30 percent, and Raja Mohamad Azmi with 20 percent.

The industry source said the long-haul service will be provided by a new carrier initially owned by Fernandes, Kamarudin and Azmi, adding that it had secured initial routes to London and China.

Tony Fernandes, AirAsia's chief executive officer, earlier said that there was huge potential for a budget long-haul air service.

"It is just a matter of time before someone comes up with a good model for a low-cost carrier and I hope the innovation would come from Malaysia," he was quoted as saying by the newspaper Saturday.

The industry source said talks with other players to participate in the budget long-haul service have been on-going.

"The point is we have been always talking," he said.

The Star newspaper reported this week that AirAsia is planning to team up with Richard Branson's Virgin Group and EasyJet to launch "the world's first low-cost global network".

A source familiar with the discussions told the Star that fares on the long-haul network for destinations in China could be as low as 100 ringgit (28 dollars).

Fares to Britain will be between 300 ringgit and 2,500 ringgit, about half the price of the normal ticket on a regular airline.

National carrier Malaysia Airlines currently operates 18 times weekly to London and charges up to 5,000 ringgit (1,420 dollars) for economy class and 18,000 ringgit for business class.

AirAsia was launched as a budget carrier in December 2001 with just two aircraft.

It now offers more than 100 domestic and international flights to Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, Singapore, Cambodia, Vietnam and the Philippines. - AFP/ch

[url]www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/afp_asiapacific_business/view/250592/1/.html[/url]

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Flyv til Kina for 150 kr.
Af Povl Dengsøe

Onsdag den 3. januar 2007, 11:12
Richard Bransons planer om et verdensomspændende samarbejde om lavprisflyvning kan resultere i billetter mellem Europa og Kina ned til omkring 150 kr.

En flyrejse mellem Europa og Kina for 150 kr. lyder som utopi eller rent underskud. Men det kan ikke desto mindre ifølge Dagens Industri i Sverige blive resultatet af flykongen Richard Bransons planer om at indlede samarbejde om verdensomspændende flyvning til lavpris.

Det mest sandsynlige er dog, at prisene generelt bliver noget højere og lægger sig i omegnen af det halve af de nuværende priser på at flyve til Asien, skriver avisens hjemmeside.

Ifølge asiatisk presse er Richard Branson og hans flyselskab Virgin langt fremme i forhandlinger om at indlede et gigantisk samarbejde med det britiske lavprisselskab Easy Jet og malaysiske Air Asia. Samarbejdet skal dreje sig om billige flygninger mellem Europa og Asien - og primært Kina.

Der er ikke sat navne på destinationer, men Manchester har såvel som Luton tæt på London været nævnt som mulige afgangssteder. I Asien forventes det, at Air Asias hjemmebane i Malaysias hovedstad Kuala Lumpur bliver det asiatiske knudepunkt.

En aftale som skitseret bliver det første verdensomspændende samarbejde mellem lavprisselskaber, og ifølge Reuters forventes aftalen at blive præsenteret på fredag.



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Sakkset fra berlingske.dk

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[url]www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/afp_asiapacific_business/view/250767/1/.html[/url]

AirAsia X launched as new long-haul budget carrier
Posted: 05 January 2007 1136 hrs

KUALA LUMPUR - Southeast Asia's first low-cost long-haul airline, called AirAsia X, was launched on Friday.

Malaysian leaders say the new local carrier is expected to turn the country into a global budget aviation hub.

Imagine a return flight from Kuala Lumpur to London at just US$140 - inclusive of all taxes, insurance and surcharges.

Malaysia's newly-launched long haul budget carrier - AirAsia X - is set to kick off its first low-cost flights to China and Europe this July.

Speaking to Channel NewsAsia, AirAsia CEO Tony Fernandes, who has a 50 percent share in the new carrier, said AirAsia X's business model will revolutionise the region's aviation industry.

He said: "There'll be a lot of fares at 500 ringgit to the UK return, if that's not revolutionary I don't know what is. It will be cheaper to fly to London than to Singapore."

By keeping costs low at 1.9 US cents per passenger kilometre, Mr Fernandes is confident the no-frills operation will be profitable.

Passengers will have assigned seats for the flights and in-flight entertainment, food and beverages are add-ons that can be purchased beforehand.

In July, three Airbus 330s or Boeing 777s - each with a maximum capacity of 400 - will commence daily flights from the Malaysian capital to Tianjin or Hangzhou in China.

AirAsia projects that it will need another 100 aircraft over the next 5 years to meet rising demand.

It expects passenger load to hit 18 million this year.

By offering airfare as low as 3 US dollars one-way during the promotional period for long haul flights, Mr Fernandes believes that air tickets to London that go on sale end of this February will be snapped up in no time.

Also AirAsia X' operations will complement the existing business of AirAsia by feeding passengers into each other's operation as well as improving connectivity.

AirAsia X will focus on markets such as China, India and Australia.

Its traffic rights will be limited to places not already operated by flag carrier Malaysian Airlines

Chan Kong Choy, Transport Minister, said: "We want two national champions for both domestic and international flights. The basic principle is we want both airlines to play their role to enhance tourism and aviation industries in this country "

The Minister also revealed that talks will commence in the first quarter of this year to free up the lucrative KL-Singapore air route currently flown exclusively by Malaysian Airlines and Singapore Airlines.

Once the route is liberalised, AirAsia expects a round trip ticket to fall from more than 270 US dollars currently to below 27 US dollars. - CNA/ch

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Kampagnepriser til Fjernøsten & Australien. Priser fra 4.935 kr. t/r
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Priserne til højre gælder for afrejser foretaget i perioden fra 10. april til 13. juni samt 6. august til 30. september 2007. Billetter kan bestilles allerede fra idag. Bemærk der kan også afrejses fra Århus, Ålborg, Billund, Karup, Rønne og Sønderborg mod tillæg fra 600 kr. t/r. Børn under 16 år får 75% børnerabat ifølge med en voksen (dog ikke ved rejser til Beijing, Shanghai og Australien). Efter betaling kan billetter ikke ændres eller refunderes.


Bestil flybillet her | Bestil hotel her | Bestil billeje her
Pris fra København til f.eks. :


Bangkok Fra 4.935 kr. t/r

Phuket Fra 5.065 kr. t/r

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Malaysia Airlines not fazed by long-haul AirAsia X: report.
Posted: 06 January 2007 1238 hrs

KUALA LUMPUR : Malaysia Airlines said it is unfazed by the launch of new long-haul budget carrier AirAsia X, which will operate cheap flights to Britain and other European and Asian destinations, reports said Saturday.

The national carrier, which November returned to profitability after five consecutive quarters of losses, said there was room for both a full-service airline and a long-haul budget carrier in Malaysia, the New Straits Times reported.

"The models cater to, and serve, different market segments and routes. Passengers will always choose based on their specific needs," the carrier said in a statement to the newspaper.

"We wish AirAsia X the best in this highly competitive marketplace," it added.

Malaysia Airlines currently operates a direct Kuala Lumpur to London route, and also has flights to key European destinations of Frankfurt, Paris and Rome.

AirAsia X will take off in July with flights to Britain for as little as 9.99 ringgit (2.84 dollars), with other European destinations, China and India to follow.

Newspaper reports have said that the new venture in Britain will likely to operate out of either Manchester in northern England or Luton, just outside London.

The new airline will be operated by Malaysian carrier Fly Asian Express (FAX), which is founded by Tony Fernandes, the chief executive of leading low-cost carrier, AirAsia.

Malaysia's transport minister Chan Kong Choy has played down fears of a damaging impact on Malaysia Airlines, saying "in principle we want two champions". - AFP /dt

[url]www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/afp_asiapacific_business/view/250951/1/.html[/url]