Jaunted

On flying a Raiders-liveried plane to Oakland and what that means for the future:
We asked Tony specifically why did Air Asia decorate one of their A340s and fly it from Kuala Lumpur to Oakland and show it off on American soil without any announced plans for this route to become permanent. Tony replied that of course it's all about visibility. For example, they sponsor the Manchester United soccer team, but they don't fly to Manchester; they fly to London.

Fernandes also stressed that Air Asia has a history of sponsoring sports teams as a way to show interest in the market. To get right down to it, he admitted that Air Asia is looking to fly to Los Angeles and New York as soon as they get the permission. Judging from their tenacity with the Raiders plane, we're predicting early 2010.

On possible Air Asia routes from the United States:
Tony maintains that NYC and LA are their prime targets, with direct service from LA to Kuala Lumpur being the easiest to begin. Since Air Asia flies to Bali from Kuala Lumpur, we wondered if a direct LA to Bali route could be in the future; Tony shot down the idea, stressing that Kuala Lumpur is really where it's all at and that once you reach KL, Southeast Asia will open up to you via current Air Asia connections.

On possible pricing for a United States to Kuala Lumpur direct flight:
For those not super familiar with Air Asia, we'll tell you that they are a low-cost carrier, or LCC. In fact, they are the low-cost carrier of Southeast Asia, and has even expanded to flights to London and Abu Dhabi. As an LCC, you can expect lower ticket prices but less frills than your typical legacy airline.

Tony is determined to remain an affordable airline, and he postulated that a round-trip flight on Air Asia between LA and Kuala Lumpur would cost about $500, and tack on another $60 or so to continue on to Bangkok, for example. Considering that we pat ourselves on the back when we score anything to Asia for $800-900, a future with Air Asia US routes might have us flat out hyperventilating in ecstasy.

On Air Asia's commitment to no fuel surcharges
On all of their current routes, even to London, Air Asia does not levy fuel surcharges onto passenger tickets. When we asked if this policy would stretch to US shores, Tony assured us that yes, Air Asia wouldn't add fuel surcharges or try to trick passengers with excess fees.

On the current state of routes by other airlines between the USA and Southeast Asia
Air Asia's future US routes (upon approval, of course) will fill a void, Tony believes. There are plenty direct flights now to big Asian cities like Tokyo, but US airlines are "too fixated with the domestic market," leaving "Southeast Asia too poorly served." Air Asia will not be stealing passengers away from other airlines, simply because there are no other airlines looking to do the routes they desire.

So will Kuala Lumpur become the hot destination of 2010? If Tony Fernandes and Air Asia have their way, it will be.

A side note: Last night, after our interview with Tony, we had a very vivid dream during sleep that featured us planning a trip to see the Petronas Towers in KL. And we're inclined to refer to the old Disney quote in response to this: "If you can dream it, you can do it." Kuala Lumpur, here we come?

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[Photo: The Raiders Air Asia plane lands; courtesy of Air Asia]