AirAsia adds Hyderabad to its India list

Malaysian low-cost carrier AirAsia will launch a new flight connecting Hyderabad to Kuala Lumpur on July 20, marking its eighth destination in the country since its India services began in December 2008.

Jasmine Lee Sze Inn, head (Commercial), AirAsia, told reporters here on Thursday that a promotional fare of Rs 3,453 was available for a limited number of seats booked between July 5 and 8 for travel during July 20 to August 31. The fare for all other seats to Kuala Lumpur would be Rs 4,000.

She said passengers can expect 30-40 per cent savings on fares compared with other flights, adding that the airline had entered into direct debit arrangements with 35 banks to make up for low credit-card penetration in India.

The airline sees big potential in the Indian market, she said citing 6,00,000 Indian tourist arrivals in Malaysia in 2009. “We are also promoting India heavily in Australia and China,” she said.

Hyderabad was a challenging market unlike Chennai and Kochi which have family ties to people in Southeast Asia, she said. “We expect to tap business travellers, tourists, young couples and students.”

On the sustainability of low-cost airlines, she said there was a huge untapped potential in Asia. “Sixty per cent of our passengers are first-time fliers. When AirAsia launched operations in 2001, only 6 per cent of Malaysians had ever taken a flight. By 2009, it was 65 per cent of the population,” she said.

Like European low-cost carriers Easyjet and RyanAir, it was also trying to raise its income from ancillaries like in-flight food to 10 per cent of its total revenues.

AirAsia currently operates flights from Tiruchi, Chennai, Thiruvananthapuram, Kochi, Bangalore, Mumbai and Kolkata. It plans to launch services from Bangkok to New Delhi and Kolkata.

It has a fleet of 92 Airbus aircraft, with A 320 for short-haul flights and A 330/340 for long-haul flights.