Air Asia X Launches Low-Cost, Long-Haul Service

March 13, 2009 at 9:59 AM | by juliab | 0 Comments

Our London correspondent Julia Buckley is riding on the inaugural Air Asia X flight as we speak. We'll have that flight review for you later but check-out all that happened at the launch party below. Enjoy.

Air Asia X had the weather on their side yesterday when the first-ever no-frills long-haul flight touched down at Stansted. Amazingly there was no rain, but rather sun, a clear sky, and even a prince (only Andrew, unfortunately) to welcome the inaugural flight from Kuala Lumpur to London.

The flight was even 25 minutes early, so everyone was in celebratory form for the launch party at Altitude 360, on the 29th floor of the Millbank Tower, which looks down the Thames past the Houses of Parliament, London Eye and over to St Pauls and the Gherkin. The views were incredible � although most people were tucking into the free-flowing drinks rather than looking outside. Those who did, though, were rewarded by strobe lights swirling the red Air Asia logo around on the building on the other side of the river.

The room was pretty packed with airline and airport employees, industry pros, and the great and good of Air Asia, including CEO Tony Fernandes and Steve Ridgway, CEO of Virgin Atlantic, which owns a 20 per cent stake in Air Asia (we�re not quite sure how that one works � one of the frilliest airlines teaming up with a no-frills one � but still).

After speeches by Ridgway, Fernandes told the crowd that he�d decided to start a budget airline between the two cities when his mum told him it was too expensive to come home from English boarding school in the holidays. Later his friends made speeches, including Freddie Laker Jr, who got awarded free flights for life as a reward for being the offspring of the original low cost founder Freddie Laker of Laker Airways. Current popstrels The Saturdays also played a set but the party really got started, though, close to the end, when Malaysian singer Noreen took to the stage in skintight red sequins, and belted out songs like You�re Just Too Good To Be True.

We headed home at half past midnight to pack for the inaugural return flight to KL today, but Fernandes apparently gathered a hard core group and led them to Bungalow 8.

Let�s hope they�re feeling just as bold in the months to come � it�s not a good time to be starting an airline. But then, as Fernandes said in his speech, �sod the credit crunch.� They better hope the rest of us feel the same way.

Related Stories:
· Air Asia [Official Site]

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