27. Air Asia X: Melbourne to London

MELBOURNE, Aug 20 (Bernama) - Low-cost airline, AirAsia X, plans to fly Australians to London for A$500 (A$1=RM2.86).

The airline Wednesday announced its latest international route between Melbourne and Kuala Lumpur would begin on Nov 12, with one-way fare starting at A$199.

AirAsia X chief executive, Azran Osman-Rani, said the airline hoped to extend its service to Europe and the UK soon, reports the Herald Sun newspaper

"With the exception of peak periods, I think normally we would be looking at a A$299 fare from KL to London, so all-in (a return flight) of within A$1,000," Azran is quoted as saying.

"That would probably be in the first half of next year as soon as we get our UK service going," he said.

Azran said the cheap flights would also help encourage Europeans to visit Australia.

"When we start tapping into some of the growing markets, especially central and eastern Europe, there will be a lot of interest to come down here as well," he said.

He said the Melbourne-KL service would begin with four return flights a week but would increase to daily return flights during the peak season of mid-December through to mid-January.

Kathleen Tan, regional head of AirAsia X, said the Melbourne route was one of the most-requested Australian destinations by Malaysian travellers.

"Many Malaysians send their children to universities in Melbourne and with our low fares, families can now visit their children more often and turn their trip into a holiday," Tan told the newspaper.