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New LCCT departure hall opens

The Star Wednesday March 18, 2009

SEPANG: The new international departure hall at the Low-Cost Carrier Terminal opens today with the first flight to Guangzhou, China leaving at 5.50am.

The new hall can accommodate 3,200 passengers compared to 600 at the old one.

Malaysia Airports Holdings Berhad senior general manager (operation services) Datuk Azmi Murad said the number of international travellers was growing rapidly with the introduction of AirAsia’s new long-haul destinations, including to London, Perth, Gold Coast and Melbourne.

“The number of domestic passengers for 2008 were 5,050,693 while international passengers were 5,087,859,” he told reporters when giving a media tour at the hall here yesterday.

Better facilities: Azmi taking the media on a tour of the new international departure hall at the LCCT in Sepang.

However, he said, international passengers were expected to grow and make up 60% of the total in the next two years.

Azmi said the expansion project, which cost about RM124mil, would increase terminal maximum capacity by 50% from the current 10 million passengers per annum (ppa) to 15 million by 2011.

“In order to cope with the growth, immigration counters, including the auto gate lanes, will also be increased to 45 from 18,” he said.

He said there was also an increase of 10 boarding gates for international departure compared to eight.

“Other new facilities include 12 shower rooms, five baby changing rooms, one smoking room and four lifts and escalators,” he said.

He said passengers could also expect faster baggage delivery with the expansion of two carousels to six.

On parking facilities, he said, there was an additional of 1,500 parking bays. “The number of retail outlets has been increased to 28 from the present seven with an additional six food and beverages outlets,” he said.

On the old departure hall, Azmi said it would be closed from today for renovation.

On what would happen to the LCCT when the new LCCT at the KL International Airport is completed in 2011, Azmi said: “It can be converted into a cargo terminal but we will decide later.”

Prince Andrew greets inaugural flight from Kuala Lumpur to Stansted

LONDON: AirAsia X’s inaugural flight from Kuala Lumpur touched down at Stansted Airport at 2.36pm on Wednesday, marking Asean’s first low-cost carrier connecting Asia and Europe.

The Airbus A340 aircraft carrying 286 passengers made the historic landing 24 minutes ahead of schedule.

The passengers on board flight D7 2006 broke into applause as the pilot, Captain Adrian Jenkins, guided the plane to a soft landing after the 13-hour flight.

As the aircraft was being taxied to stand A12, the Duke of York Prince Andrew spoke briefly to the pilot via radio from the airport’s departure lounge.

When the engines were turned off, the captain and his crew proudly displayed the Malaysian flags and Union Jack from the port and starboard windows.

Happy landing: Prince Andrew greeting cabin crew members followed by Fernandes at London's Stansted airport yesterday.

Later, Prince Andrew, accompanied by AirAsia Bhd Group CEO Datuk Seri Tony Fernandes, British Airports Authority (BAA) Stansted managing director Stewart Wingate and BAA Stansted commercial & development director Nick Barton, to tour the aircraft.

Among the VIPs were Asean secretary-general Dr Surin Pitsuwan, British High Commissioner to Malaysia Boyd McClearly, AirAsia X chairman Datuk Seri Kalimullah Hassan and its CEO Azran Osman-Rani.

Also present was AirAsia deputy Group CEO Datuk Kamarudin Meranun.

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Fernandes said the airline was at the beginning of realising its ambition of creating a daily shuttle between Europe and Asia. He also said there were 33 Malaysians and 90 Britons among the 240 passengers returning to Kuala Lumpur later that day.

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The remaining passengers were from countries such as Estonia, Sweden, Austria, Slovakia, Australia and Holland.

Meanwhile, in Sepang, DHARMENDER SINGH reported that former Manchester United player David May and former Liverpool player Phil Babb, were among passengers on board the first AirAsia flight from London to Kuala Lumpur that arrived here yesterday afternoon.

“It is a 13-hour flight from London but I have no complaints over the level of comfort or the service. It was all great,” Babb said when met at the Low Cost Carrier Terminal (LCCT) here yesterday.

Babb and May are here to appear as special guests at the Stadium Viewing Party to be held at the Sunway Lagoon Amphitheatre tomorrow.

Tourism Malaysia International Marketing Division deputy director Maizan Ahmad and AirAsia officials were on hand to give them a warm welcome.

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AirAsia X celebrates inaugural flight to London

There were celebrations yesterday morning as AirAsia launched its first flight on its Kuala Lumpur – London route.

The AirAsia terminal was alive with a send-off celebration before Chairman of long-haul affiliate, AirAsia X, Dato’ Sert Kalimullah Masheerul Hassan and CEO Azran Osman-Rani boarded the Airbus A340-300.

His Excellency (HE) Dr Surin Pitsuwan, Secretary General of the Association of South East Asian Nations (Asean) and HE Boyd McCleary, British High Commissioner to Malaysia were also on the plane.

The AirAsia X long-haul flight took off at 9:00 am with 286 guests onboard.

Travellers had scrambled for tickets on the inaugural flight last November when AirAsia released promotional seats for RM499/GBP99 each way.

AirAsia said it had received “overwhelming response” from Australian and European travellers due to the route’s affordable connectivity from London to Perth, Melbourne and the Gold Coast.

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Kertih Airport Reopens To Commercial Flights

KERTIH: After nearly 20 years, Kertih Airport that has been serving oil company workers at oilrigs has reopened to commercial flights.

Menteri Besar Datuk Ahmad Said said the airport used to serve commercial flights by Pelangi Air in the 1980s but were stopped when the airline ceased operation.

"The reopening of Kertih airport means that Terengganu now has two airports to boost the tourism sector, the backbone of the state's economy, particularly in the south from Dungun until Kemaman.

"As such, passengers going to Kemaman and Dungun need not alight at Kuantan and Kuala Terengganu as they will land at Kertih thus saving time and cost," he said after receiving 72 passengers on board the first Firefly flight from Subang Airport.

Also present are the State Exco member for Tourism, Culture, Arts and Heritage Datuk Za'abar Mohd Adib and Firefly managing director Eddy Leong.

Ahmad was confident that the service would not face passenger shortage what with the more than 20,000 oil workers at Kertih who commute regularly between Kuala Lumpur and Kemaman.

He said the state government has allocated RM77 million to build more infrastructure aimed at attracting more tourists to Terengganu.

It has set a target of four million tourist arrivals this year compared to 3.5 million last year.

Budget carrier Firefly offers two daily flights from Mondays to Thursdays with option for more depending on demand. (Bernama)

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AirAsia Offers 500,000 Free Tickets

BANGKOK: AirAsia is offering 500,000 free seats to dozens of its destinations in Southeast Asia, China and Australia. The latest promotion gives away free seats to holiday destinations Bali, Bangkok, the Gold Coast, Haikou, Hangzhou, Ho Chi Minh City, Hong Kong, Jakarta, Kota Kinabalu, Langkawi, Kuala Lumpur, Kuching, Melbourne, Perth, Phuket, Shenzhen, Siem Reap, Singapore, Yogyakarta and many more other destinations.

Guests can grab the free tickets by logging onto www.airasia.com or via mobile phone at mobile.airasia.com. The free seats are available for bookings made from Feb 10-15 for travel from Oct 12 this year till Jan 31 next year. Kathleen Tan, Commercial Regional Head, AirAsia said that during a time when most people are cutting down on traveling and holidays, the Kuala Lumpur-based airline was coming up with an irresistible alternative that reinforces its commitment to promote tourism in the region.

"Our 500,000 regional free seats campaign is an important impetus to boost tourist numbers and spread the economic benefits brought on by tourism. We continue our role as the chief campaigner for tourism in this part of the world," she said in a statement today. "This should speed up development of tourism and transportation infrastructure here," Tan said. AirAsia, which operates over 108 routes to cities in all 10 Asean countries, China, India and Australia, has played a leading role in the growth of tourism in the region, having carried over 55 million passengers over six years. According to the airline, its no fuel surcharge policy makes the free seats even more attractive to guests who only need to pay for airport tax and administration fee. Guests may also buy complete holiday packages at goholiday.airasia.com, where they may choose their holiday lodgings from over 50,000 hotels. (Bernama)

I received an email from Air Asia this morning about the free seats this morning and promptly book two seats to Chieng Mai, Thailand at a total cost of RM350 for two persons, inclusive of extra insurance, airport tax and other miscellaneous charges. It's really almost free. The most expensive part of the flight is the Airport Tax at Chieng Mai which cost us RM150

Syabas Air Asia for giving us so many free holidays and a chance to see the world cheaply.

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