AirAsia XThe name sounds like something out of a TV series. And the development of this company in the real world is like a screenplay with all its twists and turns. The AirAsia Group's long-haul carrier announced on 15 June that it was relaunching its business. after being paralysed by the Covid-19 pandemic.
AirAsia X even came close to disappearing altogether. The carrier had to suspend all refunds to passengers while its debt was being restructured. Its Thai and Indonesian subsidiaries were less fortunate. The former was placed under Thai bankruptcy protection on 20 May, while the latter simply disappeared.
Finally, AirAsia X emerged from restructuring in Malaysia last March. And it's ready to take off again. AirAsia X CEO Benyamin Ismail said: "We are back, better and stronger than ever. During our enforced break, we have reviewed every aspect of our operations to deliver even more value and choice for travellers.
The carrier is therefore relaunching its flights from Kuala Lumpur to New Delhi, Sydney, Seoul-Incheon, Tokyo-Haneda, Sapporo-Chitose and Osaka-Kansai. The Osaka route has been extended to Honolulu. Flights will be operated again in A330-300 with two-class service (one of which is Premium, with sofa beds).
But the biggest surprise was the announcement thatAirAsia X in Europe. The airline has revealed that it will soon be landing at London Heathrow and Istanbul. In the Middle East, Dubai will also be on board, with a stopover between Kuala Lumpur and London due to the aircraft used, the Airbus A330-300.
Istanbul and London in sight
Europe and London are far from new. The airline had already flown to London Gatwick in 2011/2012 using an Airbus A340-300. At the same time, it also landed at Paris-Orly from Kuala Lumpur.. An experiment that was quickly abandoned for lack of profitability as oil prices soared in those years...
No details of a resumption date have yet been released. But the management of AirAsia X has confirmed that flights will take off in the next few months.
"Today's announcement of the resumption of four routes to Japan and Hawaii and the launch of flights to London, Istanbul and Dubai is just the beginning. Ne have many more destinations in the pipeline that we will be announcing soonto meet the high level of accumulated demand", added Benyamin Ismaïl.
"Return to Orly" could well be the next episode in the AirAsiaX saga...
