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From "The Australian" newspaper.
Look at who owns this airline!
AIRASIAX founder Tony Fernandes says a strong response to its first long-haul service between Gold Coast and Kuala Lumpur has boosted confidence in ambitious expansion plans.
The long-haul start-up's inaugural flight was to arrive at Coolangatta early today. Mr Fernandes said yesterday the first flight's 96 per cent passenger load, and a 70 per cent seat factor on the return leg, augured well for the carrier's future. Mr Fernandes said forward bookings were looking good and the airline believed the Gold Coast could already support a daily flight if it had the planes. He said the response to the airline from destinations in Australia and overseas meant it would need not just the 15 Airbus A330s it had on firm order but the 10 options as well.
He also confirmed the airline is looking at ordering up to 50 Boeing 787s or Airbus A350s for fleet expansion after around 2012-2013. "Our business plan is made up for 25 aircraft," he said. "If you extrapolate five years out from now you are just about getting the first 350 or 787." The airline's first plane will initially fly four weekly services to the Gold Coast and five to China at prices it says will be about half of those on offer. The service is running about 60-40 in favour of travellers from Asia, although this reverses over Christmas, and it expects to deliver about 50,000 tourists a year to the Gold Coast.
It will look at a second Australian destination once it gets additional planes next year and Mr Fernandes said the favoured options remained Avalon or Newcastle, with Perth or Adelaide "outside chances".
"There are a lot of places to go in your country," he said. Mr Fernandes -- who is also the founder of Asia's biggest short-haul low-cost carrier, AirAsia -- owns 60 per cent of AirAsiaX but said he was about to close a deal for private equity funding which would value the airline at $US375 million ($411 million). Other partners in the airline include Richard Branson's Virgin Group and AirAsia. "We'll be one of the biggest start-ups ever in terms of cash," Mr Fernandes said. "With the cash we've already raised ourselves at AirAsia, we'll have about $US40million and by the time we close off our private equity (deal) we'll have something like $US120 million.
Look at who owns this airline!
AIRASIAX founder Tony Fernandes says a strong response to its first long-haul service between Gold Coast and Kuala Lumpur has boosted confidence in ambitious expansion plans.
The long-haul start-up's inaugural flight was to arrive at Coolangatta early today. Mr Fernandes said yesterday the first flight's 96 per cent passenger load, and a 70 per cent seat factor on the return leg, augured well for the carrier's future. Mr Fernandes said forward bookings were looking good and the airline believed the Gold Coast could already support a daily flight if it had the planes. He said the response to the airline from destinations in Australia and overseas meant it would need not just the 15 Airbus A330s it had on firm order but the 10 options as well.
He also confirmed the airline is looking at ordering up to 50 Boeing 787s or Airbus A350s for fleet expansion after around 2012-2013. "Our business plan is made up for 25 aircraft," he said. "If you extrapolate five years out from now you are just about getting the first 350 or 787." The airline's first plane will initially fly four weekly services to the Gold Coast and five to China at prices it says will be about half of those on offer. The service is running about 60-40 in favour of travellers from Asia, although this reverses over Christmas, and it expects to deliver about 50,000 tourists a year to the Gold Coast.
It will look at a second Australian destination once it gets additional planes next year and Mr Fernandes said the favoured options remained Avalon or Newcastle, with Perth or Adelaide "outside chances".
"There are a lot of places to go in your country," he said. Mr Fernandes -- who is also the founder of Asia's biggest short-haul low-cost carrier, AirAsia -- owns 60 per cent of AirAsiaX but said he was about to close a deal for private equity funding which would value the airline at $US375 million ($411 million). Other partners in the airline include Richard Branson's Virgin Group and AirAsia. "We'll be one of the biggest start-ups ever in terms of cash," Mr Fernandes said. "With the cash we've already raised ourselves at AirAsia, we'll have about $US40million and by the time we close off our private equity (deal) we'll have something like $US120 million.