AirAsia's Fernandes on long-haul, low-cost

The long-haul, low-cost segment of the airline industry is going through a period of turbulence, but AirAsia Group CE Tony Fernandes remains confident in the business model's viability. Speaking with FlightGlobal in New York on 4 March, Fernandes said the trick to a sustainable long-haul, low-cost operation was the combination of using the right equipment, squeezing ancillary revenues from customers, and reducing costs via investment in technology. "We were the pioneers in it, but because the kit wasn't there, we became a medium-haul [carrier] – six or seven hours," says Fernandes, noting that profitable low-cost long-haul operations are more practical with the A330neos and 787s. Cirium's Fleets Analyzer shows that long-haul operator AirAsia X has 47 A330neos on order over the next decade and will take its first in October this year. The Malaysia-based carrier plans to operate the A330neo on its first route to the US West Coast. It started serving its first US destination in 2017, operating from Kuala Lumpur to Hawaii via Osaka. Fernandes confirms that the carrier is waiting to obtain fifth-freedom rights to operate to the West Coast and is aiming to operate A330neos to Californian cities Los Angeles and San Francisco by 2020. Fernandes also reconfirmed that Thai Air Asia continues to work on approvals for routes to Scandinavia and eastern Europe. He specified Vienna, Prague and Budapest as targeted European destinations. Interview has more details.<br/>