AirAsia X has announced direct flights to Beijing, starting with a four-weekly service on June 22 that will eventually become daily from August 6 onwards.
The new route is to be serviced by a two-class Airbus A330-300 and it will depart Kuala Lumpur on Wednesday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday at 1845 to arrive in the Chinese capital at 0050. The return leg will take off on Mondays, Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays at 0205, touching down in Kuala Lumpur at 0830. The schedule will remain the same for the daily flight.
At the same time, the carrier has announced it will also withdraw flights to Tianjin from starting June 21. According to a spokesperson from the airline, the Tianjin route has actually been performing quite well, with the load factor exceeding 70 per cent in 2010 and 2011, and reaching 85 per cent in the first quarter of this year. But she adds that Tianjin has always been marketed to the carrier's passengers as a gateway to Beijing since the two cities are close to one another. The route was a temporary measure as they were seeking government approval to fly to the Chinese capital.
“All impacted passengers” will be given “the flexibility to transfer their flight bookings into Beijing,” said Azran Osman-Rani, chief executive of AirAsia X.
With the addition of Beijing and the removal of Tianjin from the carrier’s network, the number of Chinese destinations AirAsia X will remain as seven.
For more information, visit www.airasia.com
Alisha Haridasani
