AirAsia X takes Delivery of New Airbus A330

AirAsia X, the low-cost, long-haul affiliate of AirAsia, has taken delivery of its first brand-new Airbus A330 aircraft. The delivery is the first from an order AirAsia X placed for 25 Airbus A330 aircraft earlier this year, and comes just weeks after AirAsia switched its entire Malaysian operations to an all Airbus A320 fleet.

AirAsia in Thailand and Indonesia are also gradually phasing out their existing Boeing 737s to be replaced with Airbus A320s. AirAsia became the largest airline customer in the world of the Airbus A320, after placing an firm order for a total of 175 aircraft plus an option for 50 more, in December 2007.

Since launching in November 2007 AirAsia X has operated its low-cost, long-haul services to Hangzhou, China and Gold Coast, Australia with one leased A330. The airline has since recorded sales of over 350,000 seats almost a year into operations. AirAsia X launched flights between Kuala Lumpur to Perth on 2 November 2008 and will being Kuala Lumpur - Melbourne services on 12 November 2008.

About 20% of AirAsia X’s inbound guests to Malaysia stay in Kuala Lumpur while the rest travel to other AirAsia destinations, both in Malaysia and the region. AirAsia operates over 100 routes covering more than 60 destinations in South East Asia and China. It will start flying to Tiruchirapalli, India from 1 December 2008.

The Airbus A330, which is powered by Rolls-Royce Trent 700 engines, boasts enhanced flexibility and comfort for passengers. The cabin has 383 seats, with optional premium XL seats for extra leg room, as well as the latest in-flight entertainment systems.

With a true wide-body fuselage allowing very high comfort standards, the A330-300 is able to accommodate seat and class configurations to suit the diverse customer requirements. It has a range of up to 5,650 nm / 10,500 km with a full passenger load. The spaciousness of the A330 main deck is echoed in the lower deck since the large underfloor cargo capability allows airlines to carry more revenue-generating cargo consolidated on pallets and containers loaded side-by-side, something which is not possible in competing aircraft.

Azran Osman-Rani, AirAsia X Chief Executive Officer, said, “For the flying passenger, AirAsia X offers a new experience – passengers need only pay for what they want or use, and yet will be able to travel comfortably in line with the requirements of long-haul travel. Amenities such as baggage and meals are available at competitive rates. In addition, AirAsia X will introduce various other new features to its passengers – new fixed back shell seats designed to minimize the discomfort of passengers sitting behind reclining seats, new Inflight Entertainment Systems to enhance the onboard service flow through various interactive features (meal ordering, in-seat chat function), power points in all seats and even eventually WiFi access – all combined with our trademark in-flight cabin service from our cabin crew, vast array of food selections, largest number of destinations, highest flight frequencies and unmatched On Time Guarantee which will allow us to offer real 5-star flying experience and challenge the services offered by even the very best of premium airlines.”

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