SEPANG: AirAsia X Bhd will start selling tickets for its service to Hawaii as early as next month with the first flight targeted for June, said chief executive officer (CEO) Benyamin Ismail.
The flight will be from Osaka, Japan, to Hawaii, which would take about eight hours.
Passengers from Kuala Lumpur, Asean or other countries would have to transit in Osaka before reaching Hawaii.
The flight from KL-Osaka-Hawaii would take about 14 hours, excluding the transit at the Osaka airport. AirAsia X will be using Airbus A330-300s to operate the long-haul flights.
In a recent interview, Benyamin said AirAsia X is the first Asia-based low-cost long-haul airline to fly to Hawaii after receiving the green light from the US Federal Aviation Authority (FAA).
“We’re pretty much on target. We are finalising a few things and are planning to fly there (Hawaii) by end-June, during summer, the peak time for United States travel,” he added.
Benyamin said the airline would transit in Osaka instead of a direct KL-Hawaii flight because there was more demand in the Japanese market to travel to the US compared with Malaysia and Asean.
“Hawaii is the number one destination for the Japanese. There are many flights from there (Japan). Yields are very high and we are going to rely on that,” said Benyamin.
AirAsia X plans to capture 80-90 per cent of travellers from Japan to Hawaii and 10-15 per cent of travellers from KL, Asean and other countries.
The airline received the FAA’s approval in December last year to operate scheduled passenger flights to any destination in the US. It is also considering to introduce new destinations in the US besides Hawaii.
Benyamin said is the right time for AirAsia X to spread its wings to the US despite the current travel woes to the US due to new travel restrictions by President Donald Trump.
“It’s good for the AirAsia brand. It’s good for us (AirAsia X),” said Benyamin, adding that the next immediate destination for AirAsia X would be London and Paris.
However, the two key destinations would only be introduced after the airline receives its first A330 neo (new engine option) next year.
AirAsia X had suspended its flights to London and Paris in 2012 due to high fuel prices and weak demand. Instead, the airline introduced more flights to Asean, Australia and North Asia over the years.
In terms of its financial position, Benyamin said he is confident that AirAsia X would post its first ever profitability for last year after going through restructuring measures, which include deferring some new airplanes and axing unprofitable routes.
The airline does not plan to add new capacity this year. Instead, it will focus on strengthening its position in new markets and maximise utilisation of all aircraft.
“Last year a lot of the yield exceeded our expectations. We didn’t dump our fares. We just maintained our prices and wanted to be a price leader rather than a price follower,” said Benyamin.