Summary
- AirAsia X commemorates its sixteenth anniversary with a reproduction of its first flight from Kuala Lumpur to the Gold Coast, Australia.
- The airline is bouncing back from the challenges of the pandemic and increasing flights to popular destinations in Australia and Latest Zealand.
- With 17 Airbus A330-300s in its fleet, AirAsia X is planning to introduce flights to latest destinations based on consumer demand and attractive prices.
After surviving some dark times through the depths of the COVID-19 pandemic that grounded its operations, AirAsia X is roaring back to life and this week celebrated the sixteenth anniversary of its first flight on November 2, 2007. Fittingly, an AirAsia X Airbus A330 replicated that first flight by operating between Kuala Lumpur and the Gold Coast, Australia’s hottest tourism destination.
Replica of the primary AirAsia X service
On Wednesday, AirAsia X flight D7200 departed Kuala Lumpur International (KUL) at 23:38 and arrived yesterday at Queensland’s Gold Coast Airport (OOL) at 9:05. The flight landed 16 years to the day of the primary AirAsia X flight, which also happened to be between KUL and the Gold Coast Airport.
Photo: Airbus
AAX CEO Benyamin Ismail said the airline is thrilled to achieve this incredible milestone, particularly after two of essentially the most difficult years through the pandemic.
“Now we’re well and truly back and stronger than ever, returning to our hottest destinations first. Australia and Latest Zealand are core destinations in our network, which combined with the AirAsia Group now exceeds over 130 destinations across Asia and Asia-Pacific.
“We’re pleased with ongoing demand for our services to and from Australia/NZ and are already increasing the variety of flights from Sydney, Melbourne and Perth to cater for significant demand ahead of the height upcoming travel season.”
Latest destinations are being considered
As more aircraft return to service AAX can also be looking forward to introducing more flights to existing destinations and to latest ones it has not flown to based on consumer demand. In restarting after the pandemic with limited available aircraft, AAX has followed a successful strategy by starting with known popular destinations to kickstart the airline.
Photo: alphonsusjimos/Shutterstock
AAX resumed direct services from Kuala Lumpur to Sydney in September last 12 months and is now flying the route every day, with as much as eleven weekly flights during peak periods. The low-cost carrier also operates every day between Sydney and Auckland (Latest Zealand) and between KUL and Melbourne and Perth.
For Australians and Kiwis, AAX is a gorgeous option each price-wise and for its seamless connections throughout the AirAsia network, including India, Thailand, Vietnam, Japan, China, South Korea and the Philippines.
To rejoice its sixteenth Anniversary, AAX has special one-way fares from Australia and Latest Zealand to Kuala Lumpur from under AU$500 ($330). These specials are only available until November 5, 2023, and canopy an prolonged travel period from October 30, 2023, until September 30, 2024.
Have you ever flown on an AirAsia X A330? Allow us to find out about it within the comments.