Tag: Air Asia

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2012 is Totally Japan's Year...for Aviation

Where: Japan
January 3, 2012 at 11:26 AM | by | Comments (0)

2011 wasn't a banner year for Japan, not to mention for any industry in the country. We saw the ripple effects of natural disasters throughout the aviation world with the Japanese earthquake and resulting tsunami topping the list. What can be more indicative of Japanese pride, but to quickly rebuild stronger and better? Fortunately for us, airlines are towards the top of the progress.

· Peachy Keen
Last year we talked about the introduction of ANA's budget carrier based out of Osaka, Peach. With only 3 destinations, the airline will draw business passengers, eventually moving into the leisure market. Flights are taking off in March and tickets are already to purchase.

Happy Peach Fares have no baggage allowance or advanced seat selection but are quite affordable at around $175 return to Sapporo. If you need the sweet little perks, cough up about $75 more. Happy Peach Plus fares allow you to pick where you park yourself on the plane and some space in the belly for your luggage. With a bright purple livery and cabin, Peach is on our short list!

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Airlines and Travel Brands to Follow Right Now on Instagram

December 27, 2011 at 1:09 PM | by | Comments (0)

And just like that, social photo sharing app Instagram is super hot. Sure it's only just celebrated its one-year anniversary as an iPhone app, but recent contests and exposure given to it by brands and influential figures in social media have pushed it over the edge. Heck, we jumped in head first! And we're freaking loving it. (Follow us by searching "jaunted" & "hotelchatter" in the app).

It's not just people posting images of their kids eating birthday cake or close-ups of kitty paws, either; Instagram seems to be spreading most rapidly among those interested in design, architecture, analogue photography, nature and—of course—the rest of the world. This is where travel images enter the game, and the airlines are paying attention.

We ran a fine-toothed comb through Instagram to find the airlines you need to follow now, and who else to watch:

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Your Flight Attendants from Around Asia...as Manga Characters

September 7, 2011 at 2:30 PM | by | Comments (0)

Just as the internet is always in need of more cute cat photos, similarly adorable drawn manga characters are just as well received online. Thus we feel crazy compelled to share a sweet little discovery the other day, while strolling though the Night Market of Hua Hin, Thailand.

We spotted, bought and devoured a Thai magazine named Take Off, which has such glossy centerfolds such as the Pokemon-painted ANA plane as well as in-depth reporting on other fledgling Southeast Asia airlines. It also has cute features like a whole page devoted to manga-like sketches of airline uniforms...

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Delayed Again! Will Richard Branson Ever Dress in Flight Attendant Drag?

April 25, 2011 at 3:02 PM | by | Comments (0)

If you didn’t book your tickets last week for Richard Branson’s in-flight drag performance, you might have a little more time to do so, as it looks like the charity flight will be delayed once again.

Originally things were scheduled for April 1 and then May 1, but now things are being pushed back until July 4. The problem this time is that there are just too many people flying in and out of London to celebrate the Royal Wedding—that’s this Friday in case you didn’t hear. So the flight should leave from London on July 4 on its way to Kuala Lumpur.

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Tickets Now On Sale for Sir Richard Branson's In-Flight Drag Performance

April 18, 2011 at 9:39 AM | by | Comments (0)

There’s less than a month to go until Richard Branson finally walks down the aisle—of an airplane—dressed head to toe as a flight attendant. We’re just wondering if he’s going to sport those snazzy new heels that are on their way to his ladies at Virgin Atlantic.

What happened was he lost a bet with Air Asia's CEO Tony Fernandes regarding whose F1 racing team would have a better 2010 season. Team Lotus did a little better, so now Richard Branson gets to dress in drag and serve drinks on an Air Asia X flight from Kuala Lumpur to London. We like that the man is true to his word and recognizes that a bet is a bet, but more so that he has a great sense of humor.

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Richard Branson Moves April Fool's Day to May 1, When He'll Dress in Flight Attendant Drag

March 29, 2011 at 9:32 AM | by | Comments (0)

Do you enjoy seeing billionaires publicly embarrassed? Then have we got a date for you to mark on your calendar. May 1 is the reschedule date for the Air Asia X flight from Kuala Lumpur to London on which Sir Richard Branson will dress in drag and serve as a flight attendant. Of course this is due to him losing a bet with Air Asia's CEO Tony Fernandes over whose F1 racing team would have a better 2010 season. Fernandes' Lotus won the bet and now, instead of Tony as a Virgin Atlantic trolley dolly, Branson will don an Air Asia skirt suit (hopefully specially made).

You'd think this whole stunt would be best suited to April 1—April Fool's Day—but it's already been delayed. The original drag day was planned for February 21, but had to be postponed due to Branson breaking his leg (after another skier ran into him) on the slopes in Switzerland.

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Because of a Bet, Richard Branson Could Become an Air Asia Stewardess

October 13, 2010 at 8:44 AM | by | Comments (0)


This Photoshop comes courtesy of Lotus Racing (Fernandes' team)

Okay, are you sitting down? Listen to this crazy news: Richard Branson made a bet with Air Asia CEO Tony Fernandes that could have one of them cross-dressing in a flight attendant uniform, to work for a day onboard the winner's airline. OMG. It all focuses around this Formula One racing season and the fact that Virgin sponsors a racing team as does Air Asia, so the CEOs are pitted against each other.

ESPN explains how all this funny business got started:

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When an Airplane Gets the Race Car Treatment

Where: Malaysia
September 27, 2010 at 4:49 PM | by | Comment (1)

No, that's not a plane honoring the Green Bay Packers. In fact, it's so far from it. In fact, this Airbus A320 belongs to AirAsia, and the new green and gold livery—the classic British racing colors of Lotus—was unveiled a few days ago as AirAsia's CEO Tony Fernandes announced their F1 team, Team Lotus, for 2011.

Just like one of the racecars, the airplane is branded with the racing team sponsors, including CNN, Tune Hotels (a subsidiary of AirAsia) and Bridgestone tires. We doubt it'll intimidate the other airplanes out on the tarmac, but it sure does look sporty.

[Photo: BangaloreAviation]

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Air Asia Becomes First Low-Cost Carrier To Debut Lie-Flat Seats

February 22, 2010 at 1:40 PM | by | Comments (60)

We knew this day would come. As low-cost carriers embark on ever-longer flights and continue to compete with legacy carriers, they're starting to look into offering up a few perks atypical of LCCs, like say lie-flat first class seats. But Air Asia X has gone further than just thinking about it; they've just installed 12 such spots on A330s and 18 on the A340s, scheduled to fly their long-haul route between London and Kuala Lumpur beginning in June 2010. 28 premium economy seats had to be axed out to make room for these pretty babies, but it'll be well worth it once passengers realize that these lie-flat seats aren't astronomically priced like typical first class.

It's still LCC Air Asia X after all, so don't expect five-star dining and VIP treatment and champagne. They don't even seat-back TVs, preferring instead to explore portable entertainment device options which haven't yet been decided upon. And if you've got a lie-flat seat for that whole flight, who wants to watch TV anyway? Go on and sleep!

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Air Asia Is Very Good At Being Young, Hip, Relevant

December 11, 2009 at 4:49 PM | by | Comments (0)

From putting up a million free tickets to giving lifetime travel to babies born on their planes, Air Asia has developed a reputation for quirky and consistent customer service. Their 8th anniversary sale, which continues through Sunday, has also been getting some pretty good attention. Now the Malaysian LCC's reputation has been confirmed in the form of a Brand Of The Year award from Media Agency awards in Singapore. It turns out that branding matters!

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Boeing Thinks That In 20 Years, 41% Of Travel Will Be All About Asia

December 2, 2009 at 5:04 PM | by | Comments (0)

Boeing's forecasters have squinted into the future of airlines and come to basically the same conclusion that Disney came to when they made recent theme park decisions: the world's economic future lies in East and Southeast Asia, where the recession has been relatively mild and the population continues to skyrocket.

Not only does the airplane company expect Southeast Asia to account for tons of new demand, but they insist the region will account for a greater proportion of global demand. If you woke up today wondering what the future of aviation looks like, here it is:

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Air Asia Just Put A Million Free Tickets Up For Grabs

November 11, 2009 at 3:34 PM | by | Comments (0)

Remember when Ryanair threw a hissy fit about bad coverage and "retaliated" by giving away over a million free seats? This new deal from low-cost carrier AsiaAir has going is just like that, rounded down a few thousand seats. Except this the deal opens up a huge vacation window next summer. And it covers over 70 destinations in China, India, Taiwan, Indonesia and Thailand. And you don't have to fly on Ryanair. All things that we are very, very in favor of, but let's hear what they have to say:

AirAsia’s regional commercial head Kathleen Tan said when the economy was tough, people looked for traveling options that offered them better value for money. 'With no fuel surcharge and administration fee, this deal offers fantastic value to our guests'...she said to complement the free flights, AirAsia’s one-stop travel portal was also offering deals and packages including “free rooms” in more than 180 Asia-Pacific hotels online.

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