AI to face tough times from low-cost AirAsia

Flying to Malaysia will turn cheaper with low-cost carrier AirAsia on Tuesday announcing the launch of direct flights to link six new destinations in India during the first quarter of 2010.
While consumers will gain, ailing national carrier Air India is headed for more turbulent weather as it will have to face fierce competition on these routes. Air India operates both full service and no-frills services with Air India Express to Malaysia and will now come under pressure to cut fares.
According to an AirAsia statement, the new services will link Chennai, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Mumbai and New Delhi to Kuala Lumpur as well as Penang to Chennai. Bookings for low introductory fares have already been thrown open for these flights, which will be introduced in a staggered manner starting from April 28.
AirAsia currently operates 148 weekly flights to India from Malaysia. "The new flights have been prompted by AirAsia's huge success in recording an average of 80 per cent load factor on its four existing routes of Tiruchirapplalli, Kolkata, Kochi and Thiruvananthapuram," AirAsia Group chief executive officer (CEO) Tony Fernandes said.
"These new services will not only complement AirAsia's aggressive growth in India, but is also feeding more traffic into the country," he added.
The Chennai-Bangalore-Hyderabad sector will be serviced by AirAsia's A320 aircraft while Mumbai and Delhi will be served by its long-haul affiliate, AirAsia X, which has a new Airbus A330 fleet.
27/01/10 India Today

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Categories: Foreign Jan 2010, NACIL Jan 2010