Route Expansions, New Planes for Thai Lion Air

Jakarta Globe, Farouk Arnaz, Mar 06, 2015

A Batik Air aircraft at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport’s Terminal 3
in Jakarta on April 25, 2013. (JG Photo/Safir Makki)

Bangkok. Thai Lion Air, the Thailand-based unit of Indonesia’s biggest low-cost carrier, Lion Air, is expanding its routes with an extra 11 new aircraft this year, its director said on Friday.

Capt. Darsito Hendroseputro, director of Thai Lion Air, announced Thai Lion had ordered new aircraft from the Boeing 737-900 extended range.

“With the arrival of 11 new aircraft, Thai Lion Air’s fleet will reach 20 units. There are currently 60 departures to eight destinations which accommodate 10,000 passengers every day to, and outside, Bangkok,” he said.

The aircraft are part of Lion’s purchase placed with the US-based aircraft manufacturer in 2008.

Lion Group’s owner and founder, Rusdi Kirana, placed a $14 billion order for 178 Boeing planes which will be gradually delivered until 2017.

This was followed by a record-setting Boeing order as Lion sealed a $22 billion deal for 230 aircraft to be delivered in stages from 2017 to 2025, as part of the company’s plan to expand in the Southeast Asia region.

Darsito said Thai Lion Air, which launched operations in late 2013, will expand both domestic and international routes.

“In 2015 we will expand our routes to China — Shijiazuang and Chongqing — and Singapore for the international routes,” said the former Indonesian Navy captain.

Domestic route expansions include flights to Chiang Rai, Ubon Ratchathani, Trang and Khon Kaen. Thai Lion Air served 1.8 million passengers in 2014, with local travelers making up more than 70 percent.

Darsito said Thai Lion Air’s passenger load factor with the current nine aircraft reached 82 percent and scored 92 percent on time performance.

The airline’s ambitious expansion plans have been dogged by criticism of punctuality and service to customers.

Its Indonesia parent company suffered severe delays during the Chinese New Year period, which lasted for three days and left thousands stranded in several airport across the country.

Investor Daily

Thailand's ruling junta approves China rail links worth $23bn

Transport project further consolidates China's power in the region and will be finished by by 2021

The Guardian, Kate Hodal, Friday 1 August 2014

Thai army chief General Prayuth Chan-ocha unveiled plans connecting the
 country's northern border with the south-east. Photograph: Athit
Perawongmetha/Reuters

Thailand's ruling junta has approved a $23 billion (£13.6bn) transport project that will see two high-speed railways link up directly with China by 2021, in a move seen as a further consolidation of Chinese power in the region.

The National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO), headed by Gen Prayuth Chan-ocha - who took control of Thailand in a bloodless military coup in May - unveiled plans this week connecting the northern border town of Nong Khai with Map Ta Phut, located south-east of Bangkok. Chaing Khong, just south of the Laos capital Vientiane, will also be connected to Ban Phachi, in the central Ayutthaya regions.

The railway lines will link up directly to Kunming, in China's southern Yunnan province, in what analysts have termed Chinese "high-speed railway diplomacy".

China is looking to build a 3,000km (1,860m) high-speed line from Kunming all the way down to Singapore, passing through Laos, Thailand and Malaysia — a project that would increase China's GDP and those of the involved nations by $375b, a former Chinese railway chairman told the China Daily.

According to China Railway Corp, it appears the Kunming-Singapore line will be constructed in four stages, from Kunming to Vientiane, Vientiane to Bangkok, Bangkok to Kuala Lumpur, and Kuala Lumpur to Singapore. Construction of the Thai lines is planned to begin next year as part of the new eight-year 741.4 billion baht ($23.3bn) infrastructure development project connecting Bangkok and other key cities with airports, seaports, border areas and cargo depots, the Bangkok Post reported, with some 106 new trains added to the existing fleet. Six dual-track railway lines will also be constructed under the same scheme.

The two routes comprise nearly 1,400km in total but unlike many other high-speed trains, which generally run at a speed of 200 km per hour, will only be able to run at 160 km per hour until further investment would allow a higher-speed system.

Map of the planned route

Chinese officials involved in the project have described the deal as a major scoop for the Chinese government, which had earlier struck a deal with former prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra — only to see the project initially rejected by the junta when it came to power.

Now the military government has approved the project, "there will be huge room for cooperation [between China and Thailand]," Yang Yong of the China Railway Corp told China Daily, adding that Chinese engineers had been involved in feasibility research for the high-speed lines, and Chinese companies were directly helping to modernise Thailand's railway system.

The effect of high-speed rail is likely to change South-east Asia and the way it does business for good, says Geoff Wade of the College of Asia and the Pacific at the Australian National University.

"When the people of the mainland countries soon find, through the convenience of [high-speed railways], that Kunming is their 'closest neighbour' but a few hours away, the Yunnan capital will gradually emerge as the hub of the Greater Mekong Region and will eventually become, in effect, the capital of mainland Southeast Asia," Wade wrote on the Australian Strategic Policy Institute Blog.

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Chinese travelers cancel Malaysia Airlines tickets after MH17 tragedy

Want China Times, Staff Reporter 2014-07-19

A bouquet of flowers placed at an empty Malaysia Airlines counter at
 Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam, together with a picture of one of the people
aboard the flight. (File photo/CNS)

Many Chinese travelers have canceled their flights with Malaysia Airlines or asked to switch to another airline after flight MH17 was shot down over eastern Ukraine on Thursday, the second tragedy to befall the airline in four months, after the disappearance of flight MH370 in March, reports Yicai, the website of Shanghai's China Business News.

Chinese nationals accounted for around two thirds of the 239 people on board flight MH370, which went missing en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing on March 8 and which has still not been located despite extensive searching. Though there is no evidence to suggest that Malaysia Airlines was at fault for the loss of either flight, the second disaster in a short space of time may prove fatal for its reputation, at least where Chinese travelers are concerned.

Since the disappearance of MH370, in which the response from both the airline and the Malaysian government was widely criticized in China, the number of Chinese tourists visiting Malaysia has declined by 40%. Chinese travel agencies had planned to promote tours to Malaysia for the summer peak season but China Environment International Travel Service says after the crash of MH17 on Thursday that its customers who bought Malaysia Airlines tickets have all asked to cancel their reservations or demanded that they travel to Malaysia by another airline.

Malaysia's loss could be Thailand's gain despite the political unrest in the country, as Bangkok will waive visa fees for Chinese nationals from Aug. 1 to Oct. 31 this year in a bid to bring tourists back.

Flight MH17 took off from Amsterdam bound for Kuala Lumpur on Thursday but crashed close to Ukraine's border with Russia, killing all 298 people on board. Pro-Russian separatists have denied they launched the missile that brought down the plane, as reported by major Western news outlets. International monitors have reached the crash site to investigate, according to CNN and BBC.

CORRECTS CITY - Two women pray with others during a prayer session organized

 by former schoolmates of a cabin crew member of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17, which

 was shot down in Ukraine, at a mosque in Putrajaya, Malaysia Saturday, July 19, 
2014. Malaysia's transport minister said the country is "deeply concerned" that the
site in Ukraine where the Malaysia Airlines jetliner was shot down with 298 people
onboard "has not been properly secured." (AP Photo/Satish Cheney)

Related Article:

Malaysia Airlines staff try to cope with disasters

MH370 have been shot down by US-Thai exercise: Cawthorne

Want China Times, Staff Reporter 2014-05-19

The cover of Nigel Cawthorne's new book.
(Internet Photo)

Malaysia Airlines flight 370, which despite a months long international effort still remains missing, may have been shot down accidentally during joint United States-Thai military exercises in the South China Sea, Nigel Cawthorne posits in the first book out on the aircraft disappeared on March 8.

"The drill was to involve mock warfare on land, water and air, and would have included live-fire exercises," said Cawthorne about the joint exercise in the book. It is not out of the realm of possibility that the MH370, which took off for Beijing, could have been shot down by a joint US-Thai joint strike fighter team. Despite the fact that aircraft, vessels and satellites from 26 nations were dispatched to participate in rescue operations, they were looking at wrong direction for cover up according to Cawthorne.

"Say a participant accidentally shot down Flight MH370. Such things do happen. No one wants another Lockerbie, so those involved would have every reason to keep quiet about it," said Cawthorne in his work. Search operations in the South Indian Ocean have yet to turn up any black box. "Even if the plane's black box is eventually found, it may not be the original black box," said Cawthorne.

While Cawthorne's claim seems to be controversial and suspicious and he has been criticized by the families of the passengers aboard the missing aircraft, he said that a man from New Zealand working on a oil rig in the Gulf of Thailand near the South China Sea personally witnessed the explosion of the MH370. Cawthorne said that the South Indian Ocean is not the right direction to conduct search and rescue operations for the plane.

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Top manager of India's Tata motors Karl Slym dies in Thailand

Deutsche Welle, 27 January 2014

The managing director of India's biggest carmaker, Tata Motors, has died in Bangkok where he was attending a meeting. Thai police say they believe that Karl Slym committed suicide when he fell from a high-rise hotel.

Karl Slym, a 51-year-old British citizen, died on Sunday after falling the 22nd floor of Shangri-La hotel, where he had been staying with his wife.

Slym had been in Thailand to attend a board meeting of Tata's Thai affiliate, the company has confirmed.

"Tata Motors deeply regrets to announce the untimely and tragic demise of its Managing Director, Karl Slym, in Bangkok earlier today," said a statement on Sunday.

"Karl Slym was in Bangkok to attend a meeting of the Board of Directors of Tata Motors Thailand Ltd."

Note found, say police

Police said investigators had found a note left in the room, which was being analysed to confirm whether it was written by Slym. The note apparently referred to domestic problems.

"Initially, we can only assume that he committed suicide," said police lieutenant Somyot Bunnakaew.

"We didn't find any sign of a struggle. We found a window open. The window was very small so it was not possible that he would have slipped. He would have had to climb through the window to fall out because he was a big man. From my initial investigation, we believe he jumped," Bunnakaew said.

Indian press reports on Sunday speculated, however, that Slym might have lost his balance and plunged to his death.

Slym hired to revive Tata

Slym was hired in 2012 to revive Tata's flagging sales and market share in India, the world's sixth-largest automotive market by unit sales, and led its operations in international markets like South Korea, Thailand and South Africa.

His death sent stocks falling on Monday by more than six per cent, closing at 347.80 rupees on the Bombay Stock Exchange.

"His death comes at a time when the company seems to be close to turning the corner," Anil Sharma, an analyst with researchers IHS Automotive, told the Reuters news agency.

"It comes before his efforts bear fruit. We should be able to see the results in a year or two," said Sharma.

Provided leadership

On his personal Twitter profile, Slym described himself as a "Britisher who just can't stay away from India!! Crazy for most sports and loves to know whats going on everywhere!! And hearing from everyone!!"

Tata Chairman Cyprus P. Mistry said Slym was providing leadership in the company during a difficult market period, describing him as "a valued colleague who was providing strong leadership at a challenging time for the Indian auto industry."

"In this hour of grief, our thoughts are with Karl's wife and family," Mistry said.

jr/ipj (Reuters, AP, AFP)

Search for bodies after deadly Laos plane crash

Google – AFP, Kelly MacNamara (AFP), 17 October 2013

This picture taken on February 25, 2011 shows a Lao Airline ATR-72 500

aircraft on the tarmac of Luang Prabang's airport, northern Laos (AFP/File)

Pakse — Rescuers searched for bodies on Thursday after a Lao Airlines plane believed to be carrying 49 people, around half of them foreigners, plunged into the Mekong River during stormy weather.

Seven French citizens, six Australians and five Thais were among those thought to have been killed when the turboprop ATR-72 came down on Wednesday near Pakse airport in Champasak province.

Debris was seen floating in the river at the scene of the disaster, while suitcases were wedged in mud on the riverbank, according to an AFP reporter.

Around a dozen rescuers were using a crane perched on a floating platform in the middle of the Mekong to try to winch the submerged aircraft from the river, which was swollen by a recent tropical storm.

Divers from a Thai rescue team were on the scene to assist in the operation.

Map locating Pakse in Laos, near to

 where a jetliner crashed killing all

44 people on board (Graphics)

State-owned Lao Airlines said more than half of the 44 passengers and five crew onboard were foreign nationals.

Rescue teams have recovered six bodies so far but no survivors, said an airline official in Pakse.

"We can't find most bodies or the plane yet because the aircraft has sunk," he told AFP.

Citizens from up to 11 countries were reported to have been on the flight from the capital Vientiane.

Some of those killed were taken to a mortuary at a Chinese temple in Pakse, which is a hub for tourists travelling to more remote areas in southern Laos.

Three bodies draped in blue plastic sheets were seen in the building, which was guarded by some 10 policemen, some armed, who turned away onlookers.

"They are foreigners from the crash," staff at the centre told AFP, adding that their nationalities were unknown.

Lao Airlines said the aircraft hit "extreme" bad weather while witnesses described seeing the aircraft buffeted by strong winds.

"The plane was about to land but appeared to be hit by a strong wind, causing its head to ascend and pushing it away from the airport area and out of reach of the air traffic control radar," state-run Laos news agency KPL quoted a witness as saying.

France said it was rushing embassy officials to the site of the crash in Pakse.

French President Francois Hollande learned of the disaster "with profound emotion and great sadness" and offered "sincere condolences" and full support to the victims' families, his office said in a statement.

According to a passenger list published by Thai media, people from the United States, Vietnam, Canada and Malaysia were on the flight.

'Devastating time'

Australia said six of its nationals were feared dead, including a family of four.

'Absolute horror'

The family of two Australian men missing, father and son Gordon and Michael Creighton, issued a statement requesting privacy "at this devastating time".

"We have lost a father, a husband, a son, a brother, a fiancé and a best mate in one tragic circumstance and are trying to come to terms with our loss," they said.

Thailand said five of its nationals had died.

Three South Koreans were also among the victims, according to the Transport Ministry in Seoul.

Taiwan said one of its citizens was killed while Beijing's official Xinhua news agency said one Chinese was on board. It said an earlier figure of two had included the Taiwanese victim.

The QV301 flight set off from Vientiane on time at 2.45pm (0745 GMT) and was supposed to arrive in Pakse just over an hour later.

French-Italian aircraft manufacturer ATR said the twin-engine turboprop aircraft was new and had been delivered in March.

The director general of the country's Department of Civil Aviation, Yakua Lopangkao, told the Vientiane Times newspaper that the accident may have occurred due to bad weather triggered by tropical storm Nari.

Founded in 1976, Lao Airlines serves domestic airports and destinations in China, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam.

Impoverished Laos, a one-party communist state, has had 29 fatal air accidents since the 1950s, according to the Aviation Safety Network, whose data showed that the country's safety record had improved dramatically in the last decade.

The last fatal air accident was in October 2000 when eight people died after a plane operated by the airline -- then called Lao Aviation -- crashed in remote mountains in the northeast of the country.

Ford Bullish on Indonesia’s Car Market

Jakarta Globe, Muhamad Al Azhari,  January 06, 2012

Senior executives at Ford Motor Company have said
 Indonesia could host a production facility for the US
automaker in the near future as the country shows
potential  to overtake Thailand as the biggest car market
in Southeast Asia. (AFP Photo/File) 

     

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Belligerent companies like RIM BlackBerry can take a leaf from Ford Motor and General Motors press releases and/or their corporate/commercial commitment.

Previous1Next

New Delhi. Senior executives at Ford Motor Company have said Indonesia could host a production facility for the US automaker in the near future as the country shows potential to overtake Thailand as the biggest car market in Southeast Asia.

Thailand is currently Ford’s primary production hub in Southeast Asia, producing 425,000 units annually that serve demand in the region.

“We think Indonesia will be the largest market in Asean. I cannot say exactly when. Thailand is a larger market today, but we believe Indonesia will pass Thailand eventually,” Joe Hinrichs, Ford’s president of the Asia Pacific and Africa, said at a dinner with journalists in New Delhi on Wednesday.

“We believed Indonesia’s growth potential is significant, and I am so excited about Ford’s presence there.”

The reporter was in New Delhi at the invitation of Ford, which paid for the trip.

Thailand was the largest car market in Southeast Asia in 2010, with 857,00 units sold, while Indonesia came second with 764,000 units sold.

Bullish Indonesian automotive executives in December estimated that the nation was on track to sell about 870,000 units in 2011.

Sudirman Maman Rusdi, the chairman of Association of Indonesian Automotive Industries (Gaikindo), has projected that Indonesia could sell 1 million units by 2013.

Analysts say consumer-related sectors, including automotive, will see stronger demand as rising per capita incomes and a low-interest environment spur consumption.

Alan Mulally, president and chief executive of Ford, echoed Hinrichs. “Over time, we’ll have our operation there, too, because the market is great,” he said.

He also did not mention a specific timeframe for the siting of an Indonesian production facility.

Ford introduced a new compact sport utility vehicle, called the Ford EcoSport, at the Auto Expo 2012 in New Delhi. The company did not indicate when the product would enter the Southeast Asian market, but it said it would be the third out of eight products the company aims to introduce by mid-decade.

Ford does not manufacture in Indonesia. Rival carmaker General Motors announced last year that it would invest $150 million to reactivate its assembly plant in Bekasi.

Although a small player in the Indonesian car market compared with Japanese giants such as Toyota and Mitsubishi, Ford has seen strong growth in its car sales. In the first 10 months of 2011, it sold 13,819 units, a 152 percent rise from the same period in the previous year.

Thai Army: Mystery bang mid-air explosion

Bangkok Post, 22/12/2011

Metal debris were scattered over an area in Si Sa Ket on Dec 22, 2011

 following a mysterious loud bangs. The army reckons the loud bangs 

were from an unidentified mid-air explosion. (POST PHOTO)

The mysterious loud bangs heard near the Thai-Cambodian border in Si Sa Ket this morning were from an unidentified mid-air explosion, 2nd Army chief Lt Gen Thawatchai Samutsakhon on Thursday.

He said there three or four reports of loud bangs about 11am.

They occurred about 10,000 feet above tambon Sao Thongchai in Kantharalak district.

Metal debris was later found scattered over the area. No one was injured, Lt Gen Thawatchai said.

Two or three similar incidents had previously been reported in this area but the cause remained unknown. He did not believe the explosions indicated an attack by Cambodian troops.

The reports triggered panic in the communities in this border tambon as the villagers assumed it was another shelling by Cambodian artillery.

Shortly after the explosions were heard, a piece of metal about 1 metre long and half a metre wide was found in a field at Phumsarol Witthaya School, said Chokchai Saikaeo, president of tambon Sao Thongchai administration organisation.

The same school was hit by artillery fire during the fighting between Thai and Cambodian forces earlier this year.

Mr Chokchai also said several more bits of similarly burned yellowish metal were later found in nearby spots in the tambon.

Troops who went to investigate the reports said the metal debris could be from a satellite, reports said, but  there was no confirmation.

According to Space.com, Russia's troubled, toxic fuel-loaded Phobos-Grunt spacecraft, which is stuck in low-Earth orbit due to an engine failure rather than on its way to Mars, appears to be doomed, with small pieces of the wayward probe already falling to Earth. There was no confirmation that the incident in Si Sa Ket was linked to this.

The satellite was expected to fall back to Earth in January.

Metal debris were scattered over an area in Si Sa Ket on Dec 22, 2011

 following a mysterious loud bangs. The army reckons the loud bangs 

were from an unidentified mid-air explosion. (POST PHOTO)

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Indonesia Overtakes Thailand in Car Sales

Jakarta Globe, Alvin Darlanika Soedarjo, July 29, 2010

Car salesin Indonesia are now the highest in Southeast Asia. (Antara Photo)

Jakarta.Indonesia has hit the fast lane in terms of auto sales and has overtakenSoutheast Asian pace-setter Thailand for the first time, according to a Nikkeisurvey from the first six months of the year.

Officialsand auto executives attending the 18th Indonesia International Motor Show inJakarta told AFP the outlook for sales in the archipelago of 240 million peoplehad never been brighter.

“Sincelate 2009 and early 2010, all auto brands and producers have been trying toincrease production capacity in Indonesia” to meet demand, industry ministryofficial Budi Darmadi said.

“Comparedto other countries in the region, we have the fastest growth of car sales.”

Salespeaked in Indonesia at 600,000 units in 2008 but slumped 20 percent last yeardue to the global financial turmoil. This year’s figures are expected to top700,000 for the first time, ahead of Thailand.

TheIndonesian Automotive Industry Association (Gaikindo) said auto sales inIndonesia jumped 76 percent to 370,206 vehicles in the first half of 2010,driven by strong demand for minivans with engine outputs of 1.5 liters.

Sales inThailand rose 54 percent to 356,692 units during the same period, according tothe Nikkei survey released Wednesday.

Some1.18 million new vehicles were sold in Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, thePhilippines, Vietnam and Singapore during the period, it said.

This wasan increase of 41 percent and put the industry on track to surpass the 2008sales record of 2.09 million units for the six key Southeast Asian markets.

The newswill be music to the ears of Toyota executives — Japanese cars account forabout 80 percent of sales in these countries.

Multipurposemodels like Toyota’s Avanza — a four-door family hatchback — make up 30 percentof total sales in Indonesia, Nikkei said.

“Indonesiamay hit its first million annual car sales in the next two years,” industryanalyst Suhari Sargo said.

Sargosaid more and more Indonesians would trade in their motorcycles for cars aswealth was more evenly distributed outside the economic centre of Java island.

“Butbefore it can achieve more well-balanced wealth distribution, the governmentmust improve infrastructure such as roads,” he said.

GunadiSindhuwinata, the chief of prominent distributor Indomobil, said most vehicleswere purchased through credit so low interest rates were crucial.

“Consideringthe country’s population of 240 million, sales of 700,000 units a year doesn’tmean much,” Sindhuwinata said.

Indonesiaweathered the global liquidity crunch and is forecasting growth of around 5.7percent this year, among the fastest in the G20 group of rich and developingcountries.

Itspotential has caught the eye of Japanese carmaker Nissan, which plans to invest20 million dollars in its Indonesian assembly plant to double productioncapacity to 100,000 cars from 50,000.

“Todaywe have about five percent market share. This is far below our potential,”chief executive Carlos Ghosn said while visiting Jakarta in June.

Mercedes-Benzbooked remarkable growth although competition in the luxury segment was tough,Mercedes-Benz Indonesia chief executive Rudi Borgenheimer said.

“Oursales have increased about 46 percent to June this year compared to the sameperiod last year. I’m very proud,” he said. “Per capita income has risen. Morepeople can afford cars now compared to when I came to this country four yearsago.”

Risingcar sales may be good news for some, but residents of the traffic-chokedIndonesian capital could be forgiven for hoping the additional vehicles end upon other cities’ roads.

AgenceFrance-Presse

AirAsia to add new routes to Singapore network

Peanuts Online, Wednesday, 1 April 2009

Banking on the success of its 4 new routes between Indonesia and Singapore, AirAsia is now looking at adding more routes to the island-city in 2009, said its Group CEO Tony Fernandes.

Inaugural flights between Singapore and Indonesian cities of Jakarta, Bandung, Yogyakarta and Bali took off on 24-Mar-09, recording forward bookings of 80,000 so far. AirAsia is the only airline flying the Singapore-Bandung route and is the first low-fare airline to service the Singapore-Yogyakarta sector.

AirAsia’s first route between Indonesia and Singapore was from Pekanbaru, which commenced in August last year.

Apart from Indonesia, AirAsia currently flies between Singapore and the Malaysian cities of Kuala Lumpur (7 daily flights), Kuching (1) and Kota Kinabalu (1), as well as Bangkok (4) and Phuket (1) in Thailand. These bring AirAsia’s total number of weekly flights to and from Singapore to 140.

Fernandes said, “Singapore is very special to AirAsia and we consider it a virtual hub. AirAsia’s latest Indonesia-Singapore link forms the final piece of our network jigsaw puzzle as it resembles the importance of the AirAsia network, making it the most powerful in Asia. Currently, we have a combined total of 10 routes connecting Singapore and we are looking at introducing at least 3 more new routes this year. Based on our projections, we will carry a total of 2 million guests to and from Singapore in 2009.”

AirAsia is considering a number of cities to be linked to Singapore and among the destinations in the pipeline are Penang and Langkawi in Malaysia, as well as Medan and Surabaya in Indonesia. AirAsia will also increase the frequencies of some of the existing routes to Singapore this year.

Fernandes said, “Given the current economic climate, this positive link between these new services is indeed such an encouraging response. Greater connection to both countries would not only boost economic growth by providing better access to markets but also enhance links within travel, trade and tourism. It is also a perfect match as both hubs, Singapore and Indonesia are able to feed traffic to the cities, connect to other points serviced by AirAsia’s extensive routes and international destinations serviced by AirAsia’s long-haul affiliate, AirAsia X via the Kuala Lumpur hub. This initiative will also help the pace of integration between Indonesia and Singapore in particular, and bridge ASEAN closer by enabling intra-Asean travel with AirAsia’s connectivity and route network via our strategic hubs in Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand.”

Meanwhile, CEO of Indonesia AirAsia, Mr. Dharmadi commented: “These new routes signify our effort in realizing the open skies policy. Despite the economic uncertainties, Indonesia still recorded the largest number of tourist arrivals to Singapore among Asean countries. This good indication of strong growth will definitely instill integration between Indonesia and Singapore, and to enable intra-Asean travel with AirAsia’s connectivity and route network via our strategic hubs in Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand.”

AirAsia to Get New No-Frills Terminal

The Jakarta Globe, March 14, 2009 

Kuala Lumpur. A new 2 billion ringgit ($540 million) low-cost air terminal to be built by 2011 will make Malaysia a major regional travel hub rivaling Singapore and Thailand, and be a boon for homegrown budget carrier AirAsia, the country’s airport operator promised on Friday. 

Malaysia Airports Holdings outlined details of the new budget terminal, saying it will be located only 1.5 kilometers west of the main Kuala Lumpur International Airport, compared with 20 kilometers away for the existing budget terminal. 

The new terminal will have an initial capacity to handle 30 million passengers a year, which can be expanded to 45 million people, as well as 70 aircraft parking bays and 6,000 car-parking spaces, Malaysia Airports managing director Bashir Ahmad said. 

The terminal will connect with existing airport infrastructure and the main terminal building at KLIA, he said. 

“The main beneficiary of this design is AirAsia. We are building this based on their requirements,” Bashir said. 

The new budget terminal will also “ensure competitive growth of KLIA to emerge as a significant hub in the region,” rivaling Singapore’s Changi Airport and Thailand’s Suvarnabhumi Airport, he said. 

AirAsia, the region’s largest no-frills airline by fleet size, has said a bigger terminal is crucial to its survival with passenger traffic slated to reach 30 million and its fleet to grow to 184 planes by 2013. 

It was concerned about its ability to continue growing because the existing terminal can accommodate only 15 million people annually and has insufficient aircraft parking bays. 

KLIA, with annual passenger throughput of about 17 million and a capacity of 25 million, is relatively small compared to regional rivals. Changi’s three main terminals and one budget terminal have a capacity of nearly 69 million passengers, though actual numbers are just over half that. Passenger numbers at Suvarnabhumi, which opened in late 2006, are approaching its 45 million capacity. 

The government last month rejected AirAsia’s plan to build a 1.6 billion ringgit budget terminal in southern Negeri Sembilan state amid concerns it may undermine KLIA. It subsequently said it has allocated 2 billion ringgit for a new low-cost terminal near the main airport as part of an economic stimulus package unveiled on Tuesday. 

AirAsia deputy chief executive Kamarudin Meranun welcomed the government’s move but called for charges to be kept low. 

“It is timely. We are fully committed to the government’s plan to make KLIA a regional hub but the new terminal must be competitive.”  

Associated Press

AirAsia Offers Free Seats For Four New Routes

KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 23 (Bernama) -- AirAsia is giving away free seats to mark the launch of four new routes -- Bali-Singapore, Bandung-Singapore, Jakarta-Singapore and Yogyakarta-Singapore. 

The booking is open for travel from Feb 24 till Feb 28 for travel between March 24 and Jan 31, 2010. Booking is also available online via the website www.airasia.com 

The four new routes further enhances AirAsia's present vast network, especially across the Asean region. 

With brand new routes being constantly introduced, countries across the region are efficiently connected with each other and the rest of the world through the budget carriers' hubs in Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand. 

Indonesia AirAsia chief executive officer Dharmadi said: "These new routes are a significant achievement for us as it signifies our drive and commitment in expanding our network, providing an extensive choice of destinations to our guests." 

"For a start, there will be one daily direct flight from Bali, Bandung and Yogyakarta to Singapore and two daily direct flights from Jakarta to Singapore. 

"With these new routes, more people in Indonesia will get to enjoy accessibility to Singapore. Through our extensive network, covering over 114 routes and 64 destinations, it opens the door to other destinations in the Asean region, Japan, China, Australia and Europe," he said. 

The new routes will be operated by AirAsia's Indonesian operations, currently the only airline flying the Bandung-Singapore route and the first low- fare airline to service the Yogyakarta-Singapore route. 

AirAsia Regional Head of Commercial Kathleen Tan said: "It is also convenient for Indonesians to visit Singapore, renowned as a shopping paradise, leisure centre and food haven. 

"The daily direct flights from out of four Indonesian cities will definitely enhance accessibility for the republic and continue to attract guests with our low fares and innovative services. 

"This enhanced passenger traffic will definitely boost tourism and stimulate local economies between Indonesia and Singapore," she added.