The West Australian’ website this afternoon managed to fit the news around the AirAsia adverts, just about. Every advertising space on the front page – no less than six of various sizes – was occupied by AirAsia. They could have done with the pretence and directed users to AirAsia’s site, with a column of headlines running along one side. On the other hand, anything that distracts from the car-crash that is Troy Buswell can’t be all bad.
Click image for the full-size catastrophe.
Posted in Misc
Tagged air asia, air asia x, airasia, airasia x, media, newspaper, perth, troy buswell, wa, west australian
According to TravelWeekly AirAsia’s next Australian destination will be Perth, with weekly flights commencing November 2 and daily flights from March 2009. Intial fares from $99.
Overnight Airaisa have confirmed our earlier post regarding a free flights promotion running until the 16th of May. Flights from $137 each way Gold Coast – Kuala Lumpur including taxes and charges for travel 10th of June 2008 – 30 April 2009. Interestingly, this overlaps with the expected launch of AirAsia flights to London in March 2009 and if there are startup bargains to be had it could turn out to be an EXTREMELY cheap period to travel to Europe.
Posted in Deals
Tagged airasia, airasia x, airfares, airlines, australia, brisbane, gold coast, holiday, kl, kuala lumpur, queensland, travel, vacation
Both The New Straits Times and AirTravelTips are running a story about AirAsia offering “free” seats between 14th and 16th of May on routes including Gold Coast – KL for travel between 12th January to 30th April 2009. Presumably taxes and surcharges are still applicable. No word on how many tickets are being released.
I can’t find anything on AirAsia’s website or recieved any messages in my inbox, but it may well be worth keeping an eye on the site tomorrow (at least before it melts down) if you’re interested in a deal to Malaysia.
As ever, let us know in comments if you find a bargain!
Posted in Deals
Tagged airasia, airasia x, airfares, airlines, australia, gold coast, kl, kuala lumpur, queensland, travel, vacation
According to a report in Malaysian newspaper The Star AirAsia X will commence flights from Kuala Lumpur to London from March next year. According to the article AirAsia group chief executive officer Datuk Tony Fernandes ‘estimated that the average cost of a return fare to London would be about RM1,200 [around A$400] while the higher-class flatbed seats would cost about RM8,000 [around $2,5000] return’. Presuming these figures are accurate (which is a big presumption) a return fare from the Gold Coast to London would be in the ball park of A$1,100. Very tasty.
The flights are likely to operate out of Stanstead with AirAsia X starting with five flights a week using a
leased Airbus A340 (with Airbus A350 or Boeing 787 aircraft in the future) but “we will build it up to eventually two flights on a daily basis.”
On-board amenities sound better than one would expect “Our on-board entertainment system will be a state-of-the-art touch screen unit. You can watch movies, listen to music and even order your food from the unit.” Ordering food from the on-board entertainment system does, however, suggest that even what little cabin service one can otherwise expect from an LCC may be stripped away.
[Image credit Dimitry B]
Stupidly overlooked this AirAsia sale the other day because I assumed it was inter-Asia only (!). I’m especially annoyed because it looks to be an excellent deal, especially as fares include taxes, surcharges and fees. Don’t know if there are any seats left (presuming there were many to begin with…). Runs until 7 of May. Let us know in comments if you snag a deal!
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged airasia, airasia x, australia, deal, gold coast, kuala lumpur, malaysia, travel, vacation
Tucked away in the innards of the Qantas website are a couple of tools that are useful for everybody, no matter which airline you are flying, that I wasn’t aware of until recently.
The first is a form which will produce a customised report of the relevant visa and health requirements, not only for your destination but also for any countries through which you will be transiting. This is particularly useful for ascertaining what vaccinations are required, whether a visa is necessary to enter OR transit thorugh a particular country and whether you will need to provide proof of an onward travel or that you possess sufficient funds for your journey. This is particularly important because
not only may you be denied clearance though immigration at your destination if you cannot fulfill these requirements, but you may not even get off the ground. You may be denied boarding by the airline if you cannot convince them that you will be able to fulfill these conditions. Indeed, airlines are often stricter than overseas customs officials because should you be denied entry the airline will be required to deport you back to the flight’s country of origin at their own cost, often with a fine thrown in for good measure.
The country information search can also provide details about visa and health requirements along with passport requirements (e.g. whether a passport must be valid only for the lenght of stay or longer), airport taxes which may not be included in the ticket price, customs regulations and currency restrictions.
Both very useful tools.
Got any other great travel hints or tips? Please leave a comment!
[Image from Paul Davidson on Flickr]
Minyanville’s Five Things You Need To Know on the future of air travel.
All I would add would be an oxygen re-use fee.
Pacific Airlines, Vietnam’s second-largest carrier will be renamed Jetstar Pacific as part of a joint venture with the QANTAS subsidiary that will also lead to a fleet of 30 leased Airbus A320 aircraft being based in the country by 2014.
A woman has died in Brisbane this morning after falling from a stationary plane at Brisbane International Airport.
‘It feels as if someone has taken a huge sack of invaluable works of art and dumped them into the building, letting them fall as they may’. Can anybody match the Italians for their cheerful indifference to gorgeous ancient works of art? If in Rome check out ‘a treasure trove of breathtaking paintings, frescos, mosaics and sculptures from the heyday of Roman Empire — most borrowed from museums in Naples and Pompeii” currently being exhibited within spitting distance of Termini.
Jet Airways has delayed the planned launch of a Bombay – Shanghai – San Francisco service until June ‘to finalize the regulatory process’. Meanwhile AirAsia XXX is wearing a look of studied indifference to the collapse of Oasis – declaring it remains confident it will start flights to London – just not this year.
The chatter leaking out from under the Australian Government’s cone of silence insist that the “security incident” which delayed a plane in Melbourne for half an hour on Saturday night was a ‘misunderstanding‘ which is NOT bureaucrat speak for ‘stuff up’. But we’ve already said too much.
Does anything say ‘peaceful’, ‘tranquil’ and no longer the source of extreme tension between two quarrelling nuclear armed nations like golf courses? Kashmir can’t think of anything so it’s going with parks for ‘flog and chase’.
AirAsia will impose a comparatively reasonable charge of between RM3 and RM5 for checked luggage (around Aus$1 to Aus$1.50) depending on whether credit for the baggage was purchased over the internet in advance or the fee was levied at check-in. This is, of course, only one of a growing multiplicity of fees the budget-conscious traveller needs to be aware of when travelling on low cost carriers – either in order to factor into the total cost or to avoid. Presumably, this also means that carry on limits will be enforced even more strictly on AirAsia in the future.
There is no mention of AirAsia X, although presumably this or a similar policy will apply.
The extra charge will apply to flights booked after the 21st of April.
UPDATE
The link which I omitted.
Oz Traveller 