attitudetravel
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(Date Posted:10/22/2006 8:59 PM)
That's outstanding coverage, well done!
You're absolutely right - the Asia Low Cost Airlines section on attitude Travel is due for a comprehensive update.
Expect to see all the Asian country low cost airline guides sparkling and fully up to date with comprehensive route details for each airline before the end of October.
More details to follow shortly...
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Alan Lansdowne
Editor, attitudetravel.com
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Anonymous
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(Date Posted:10/22/2006 11:01 PM)
$%*'`[Konangrit]%*'`@Tiger Airways Fly between Singapore and Udon Thani from january 9. They are marketing Udon Thai(Thailand) as vientiene(Laos). It's not unusual for budget airlines to market airports far away from the destination as being the actual destination (Clarke Manila actually being 2 hours drive from Manila for example), however, this is the first I'm aware of that is actually in a different country than the destination. Anyway, it's relatively easy to get to Vientiene from here if you wish. Cheapest one ways currently available are under S$50 after Tax etc. That promotion running from 20 - 29 Oct 06. Fly between 9 Jan - 24 Mar 07.
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attitudetravel
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(Date Posted:10/23/2006 3:12 PM)
this is the first I'm aware of that is actually in a different country than the destination
Heh. In the past Sky Europe has advertised Bratislava in Slovakia as:
Vienna (Bratislava)
Certainly, Ryanair still lists the Slovakian capital on its booking form as:
Bratislava (Vienna)
No airline as yet has ever tried to market Malmo in southwestern Sweden as Copenhagen in Denmark... but I wouldn't put it beyond them.
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Alan Lansdowne
Editor, attitudetravel.com
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Anonymous
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(Date Posted:10/24/2006 2:48 AM)
$%*'`[Andres]%*'`@ Reply to : attitudetravel
this is the first I'm aware of that is actually in a different country than the destinationHeh. In the pastSky Europehas advertised Bratislava in Slovakia as:Vienna(Bratislava)Certainly,Ryanairstill liststhe Slovakian capitalon its booking form as:Bratislava (Vienna)No airline as yet has ever tried to marketMalmoin southwestern Sweden asCopenhagenin Denmark... but I wouldn't put it beyond them.
And there is also Air Asia doing this : They market (or used to) "Johor Bahru" as Singapore and before they started flyng to Brunei, they also marketed "Labuan" in Malaysia as Brunei. Even now when you look at the "Destination Guide" on their website thay talk abou "nearby Brunei".
And we have also the example of airports which serve 2 or 3 countries even with regular airlines : Maastrich / Aachen Airport (serving the Netherlands and Germany) or Basel/Mulhouse/Freibourg Airport (serving Switzerland, France and Germany).
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Anonymous
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(Date Posted:10/31/2006 6:32 AM)
$%*'`[konangrit]%*'`@Of course, now I think about it there are several more in Europe, such as Hahn for Luxembourg. Anyway, more Asia pacific routes:
Nok Air, the Bangkok based Thai domestic budget airline intends to become the first budget airline to fly between Thailand and India. It's inaugural International flight to Bangalore has been put back to January or February due to the airport authorities in Bangalore not being able to assign a flight slot time in time for their planned October start. Apparently they have entered into some kind of agreement with Deccan Air, the Indian domestic budget carrier,"This is not yet a code sharing agreement ? not yet. The Bangalore launch will be followed by a second service to the southern city of Hyderabad next year."-Nok CEO.
They also have plans to compete with ThaiAirAsia on the Bangkok - Macau route in 2007, I'm surprised that they chose Macau over Hong Kong, which they were originally considering. I guess the operating costs are significantly lower for Macau.
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attitudetravel
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(Date Posted:10/31/2006 12:44 PM)
Nok Air, the Bangkok based Thai domestic budget airline intends to become the first budget airline to fly between Thailand and India.
This is exciting news. At the beginning of 2006, low cost links between the Southeast Asia and the Indian subcontinent were still a fairly remote prospect. Now it looks like as many as four low fare airlines will actually start flying low fare routes across the Bay of Bengal during 2007: JetStar Asia (already started), Air Asia, Air India Express and Nok Air.
I'm surprised that they chose Macau over Hong Kong, which they were originally considering. I guess the operating costs are significantly lower for Macau.
Yep, that's pretty much on the nail. Macau is fast taking shape as Hong Kong's secondary airport - as well as serving Macau in its own right - much in the same way that Ryanair - for all practical purposes - uses Salzburg in Austria as a secondary airport for Munich in Germany or, as mentioned above, Malmo Sturup in Sweden as a secondary airport for Copenhagen in Denmark.
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Alan Lansdowne
Editor, attitudetravel.com
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Anonymous
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(Date Posted:11/01/2006 8:03 PM)
$%*'`[konangrit]%*'`@
Now it looks like as many as four low fare airlines will actually start flying low fare routes across the Bay of Bengal during 2007: JetStar Asia (already started), Air Asia, Air India Express and Nok Air.
You can add Tiger Airways to that list too:
Singapore Tiger Airways to fly to Sri Lanka
Nov 02, Colombo: Singapore's Tiger Airways has decided to fly to six overseas destinations including Sri Lanka's Colombo, an official for the Singapore's budget airline said.
"We have filed the necessary applications with the authorities in India and Sri Lanka and hope to progressively add the new points to our network from next year," chief executive of the Tiger Airways Tony Davis told media.
"We have had rights to Kolkata for some time but we wanted to go into India in a meaningful way with multiple destinations instead of launching an isolated point," he further said.
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Anonymous
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(Date Posted:11/01/2006 8:57 PM)
$%*'`[konangrit]%*'`@
Among the cities are exotic Goa on India's west coast, the commercial centre Kozhikode in the state of Kerala, Kolkata (Calcutta), Thiruvananthapuram, Kochi and Colombo in Sri Lanka.
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Konangrit
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(Date Posted:11/18/2006 11:07 PM)
JetStar are taking over more routes from Qantas between Australia and japan.
Cairns - Nagoya August 8 2007
Cairns - Osaka September 8 2007
They were on offer for A$299 but that promotion has now ended.
JetStar are cheaper than Qantas, but they are more expensive than any other budget airline in the region. Unfortunately no other budget carriers fly to Japan or Hawai from this part of the world, leaving more expensive traditional airlines as the only alternative.
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Konangrit
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(Date Posted:12/02/2006 8:04 AM)
Viva Macau are up and running,the first budget airline to fly to Male in the Maldives.
Routes:
Short-haul:
Macau - Phuket - Macau Four times a week on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays, and Sundays beginning December 16, from $41 after tax etc
Macau - Jakarta - Macau Three times a week on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays beginning December 21, 2006 from $41 after tax etc
Long-haul:
Macau - Male - Macau Twice a week on Thursdays and Sundays beginning December 21, 2006 from $155 after tax etc
True budget fares 
http://www.flyvivamacau.com/en/
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Konangrit
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(Date Posted:01/25/2007 9:35 PM)
Thai AirAsia are planning on expanding into China this year from their Bangkok hub, and adding Bali to their destinations too.
With higher seat capacity, Thai AirAsia plans to step up frequencies on its existing domestic and regional routes, including Rangoon, Phnom Penh and Macau.
It also plans to introduce a number of new routes to China, including Kunming, Chengdu, Chongqing and Shenzhen, as soon as in the third quarter of this year, according to Mr Tassapon. The company also wants to begin flight to Bali by October.
http://www.pcquote.com/stocks/newswire.php?storyid=1916138
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Konangrit
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(Date Posted:01/25/2007 9:50 PM)
Tiger Airways will start flying to Perth from it's bas in Singapore 4 times a week from March 23, with plans to increase the frequency to daily by the end of the year.
Flights are available for booking now.
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Konangrit
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(Date Posted:01/25/2007 10:03 PM)
Vietnam's Pacific Airlines will relaunch as a budget airline on Feb 13 (or Feb 15 according to an earlier report) when their online booking system will go online with fares as low as $1.20.
General Director Luong Hoai Nam said initially the low airfare will be applied on flights between Hanoi, Central Danang, and Ho Chi Minh City, as well as two international routes from Ho Chi Minh City to Taipei and Kaohsiung in Taiwan.
Planned future international destinations include Siam Reap (Cambodia), Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur, and Singapore.
Apparently Qantas are close to acquiring 30%, hopefully that won't result in similar prices to JetStar.
http://pacificairlines.com.vn/
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Konangrit
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(Date Posted:01/25/2007 10:29 PM)
Update on Sri Lanka's Holiday Air, or should that be AirAsia Lanka?
Sunday, December 31, 2006
HolidayAir to launch in March
By Duruthu Edirimuni
HolidayAir, the Lankan low cost airline which was waiting in the wings for more than a year, will finally take off in March next year.
"We are looking to launch on March 10 and will be occupying our operational offices at the Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) by February," Arjun Ruzaik, CEO, HolidayAir told The Sunday Times FT.
He said that there will be a consortium of both local and foreign investors coming on board of the airline with a US$ 20 million investment. "A consortium headed by Asia Capital will be investing locally, while there is a consortium of Malaysian investors and we have also tied up with a leading regional airline," Ruzaik added. He explained that the biggest challenge was to ensure that all the investors were happy with their investment given the present environment in the country. "From an investor's point of view, the environment was not conducive, but they were positive on the longer term," he said.
Airline sources say that Air Asia, headed by aviation whiz kid, Tony Fernandez of Malaysia has acquired 49 percent of the company but Ruzaik refused to comment on this new stakeholder. He said that Paul Ratnayake, senior partner of the law firm, Paul Ratnayake Associates will be Chairman of the company. He said HolidayAir will have only one A320 aircraft, but within two years, when the complete roll out happens, the company will have eight aircraft. "Presently we will be flying only four routes (Cochin, Calicut, Trichy and Trivandrum in India), but in 24 months, we will be flying 16 to 20 routes including the Far East, Middle East and Near East, Malaysia, Thailand and Singapore, and the Maldives," Ruzaik explained.
He said that passengers can expect a 20 to 60 percent cost saving on any given day, when compared to other carriers like SriLankan.
HolidayAir, together with Deccan Air and Expo Air were granted approval to fly to four destinations in India late last year by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), but the latter two dropped out of the race after a much publicised battle.
Ruzaik added that he doesn't see any major issue with new state-subsidised airline, Mihin Air, which is due to start soon, saying that competition is healthy.
http://www.sundaytimes.lk/061231/FinancialTimes/ft302.html
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Konangrit
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(Date Posted:01/25/2007 10:40 PM)
Looks like AirAsia Lanka will have some competition from a new government owned budget airline "Mihin Air". Planned to be launched in the first quarter of '07, initial destinations include Trichi, Thrivendram, Kalikat, Coimbatur, the Maldives, Doha, and Dubai.
Green light for Mihin Air despite storm
Friday, 19 January 2007 - 7:21 AM SL Time
The Government has decided to go ahead with plans to launch the controversial budget airline `Mihin Air` utilizing State funds, Media Minister Anura Priyadharshana Yapa said yesterday.
He said the Civil Aviation Authority had now been approached to obtain the air license.
`The Government has taken a policy decision to start the airline. It will be a fully owned Government company. The initial capital will be from Government funds,` the minister told the news conference to brief journalists on weekly Cabinet decisions.
Ports and Aviation Minister Mangala Samaraweera had earlier sought Cabinet approval for the airline which will initially fly to selected West Asian and Indian destinations.
`We published notices in the print media on plans to launch the airline but as there were no objections to it we have decided to go ahead as scheduled,` Minister Yapa said.
`Mihin Air is budget airways which will minimize the cost spent on air travel up to 50 per cent in the future,` he said.
Parliament debated the controversial issue recently on an adjournment motion proposed by UNP MP Ravi Karunanayake.
While presenting the motion, Mr. Karunanayake had alleged the Board of Directors for the airline comprised Presidential Advisor Sachin Vaas Gunawardane, Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa, Finance Secretary P.B. Jayasundera and Air Vice Marshal Roshan Gunatilake.
The MP had said the country`s aviation industry was in the doldrums today due to competitiveness and unprofitability and instead of confirming the way forward for SriLankan airlines the Government had decided to launch Mihin Air.
Seconding the motion, JVP MP Anura Kumara Dissanayake had charged the Government was attempting to conceal some serious matters pertaining to the air service, according to information available with him.
However Minister Yapa insisted yesterday the airline would be launched by following the normal procedures despite the controversy surrounding it.
http://www.lankanewspapers.com/news/2007/1/11515.html
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onebir
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(Date Posted:01/25/2007 10:50 PM)
It (AirAsia) also plans to introduce a number of new routes to China, including Kunming, Chengdu, Chongqing and Shenzhen, as soon as in the third quarter of this year, according to Mr Tassapon.
It already flies
- BKK & KL-Macau (for HK, Guangzhou & Shenzhen)
-BKK-Xiamen (closish to Fuzhou).
And AirAsia X is supposed to fly KL-Hangzhou (for Shanghai)
KL-Tianjin (for Beijing)
They only need to add a few cities and KL to any major city in Eastern China will be doable within 24 hours -and probably <USD150 including train fare
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生活真的太复杂了!
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Konangrit
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(Date Posted:01/25/2007 11:11 PM)
More on Thai AirAsia's expansion plans:
Chief Executive Officer Tassapon Bijleveld said the three-year-old airline, which flew three million passengers in 2006, will focus on opening three to four routes in middle and small size cities in China this year before going into the untapped markets in India.
He said among the cities in China being considered are Kunming, Guangzhou and Shenzhen while in India, it hopes to fly to Chennai, Bangalore, Calcutta, Bodhgaya which is the spiritual home of Buddhists and several cities along the Indian border with Bangladesh and Myanmar.
On destinations in the South East Asia, Tassapon said they would fly to Manila at the end of this year while other routes in the pipeline are Bali, Jakarta and Vientiane, as well as adding more frequencies to Yangon.
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Konangrit
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(Date Posted:01/26/2007 3:18 PM)
Cebu Pacific will start flying their new Manila - Jakarta route 3 times weekly from January the 31st. Prices start at P3,499 + tax etc, 64% lower than the lowest fares currently available apparently.
Their next destination is likely to be Taipei, which will open up an interesting new route as the only budget airline currently operating to Taiwan is Jetstar from Singapore.
Cebu Pacific are perfectly positioned to target the East Asian countries of South Korea and Japan, where no budget carriers currently fly to. Unfortunately they recently lost their entitlements for Nagoya to Philippine Airlines, as they were not able to use them. That's unfortunate, as it's not easy to get rights for Japan. They still have Seoul and Pusan on their route map, but those aren't available to book, I expect they are charter flights, but at least they probably own the rights to those routes, so hopefully will eventually start a scheduled service some time in the future. They have certainly expanded quickly over the last few months.
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onebir
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(Date Posted:01/26/2007 9:00 PM)
Their next destination is likely to be Taipei, which will open up an interesting new route as the only budget airline currently operating to Taiwan is Jetstar from Singapore.
I wonder if Cebu Pacific will fly HK-Taipei direct? They already fly HK-Manila for as little as USD40. Based on distance, HK-Taipei should be less than this.
Even if they only fly Manila-Tapei, together with a HK-Manila flight this should offer a cheap (but slow) way to get from mainland China to Taiwan.
Korean carriers could compete on cost and journey time on the Northern China - Taiwan Route, via their domestic hubs: all China - Taiwan flights go via HK at the moment, and the distance via Seoul would be about the same.
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生活真的太复杂了!
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Konangrit
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(Date Posted:01/26/2007 10:23 PM)
It would make sense for Cebu Pacific, but I think the chances of a foreign carrier being given the rights for such a lucrative route would be close to zero.
Taipei - Beijing via South Korea would make perfect sense, and via Kyushu, Japan could be a possibility too. The only plan for an international flight by a budget in Korea is not to China, or Taiwan, but to Kitakyushu in Kyushu, Japan by Hansung Airlines, I don't think that they are at an advanced stage.
The only Japanese budget airline planning international flights is StarFlyer, based in Kitakyushu, also in Kyushu. Their future plans include Shanghai, Beijing, and Seoul.
East Asia is a region I'd really like to visit, it's a shame that no budget flights connect East China,Japan,Korea, or Taiwan. Taipei,Tokyo,Seoul,Shanghai, and Beijing are all still on my to do list. Pyongyang too,but that's another story, certainly won't be budget.
I'll be flying with Cebu Pacific in just over a week, so will be able to report on what they're actually like. The fleet is supposed to be only 10 months old, so should be ok.
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attitudetravel
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(Date Posted:01/27/2007 12:44 AM)
The only Japanese budget airline planning international flights is StarFlyer,
Back in mid-September, there was a report in the Daily Yomiuri which stated that ANA intends to re-organise its current subsidiaries in order to create two new Japanese low cost carriers - one will operate domestic flights within Japan and the other will fly international routes.
Both of these new carriers were supposed to launch in the first half of 2007, but given there's been no news for months, it would appear that these projects might have been put on ice.
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Alan Lansdowne
Editor, attitudetravel.com
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Konangrit
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(Date Posted:01/27/2007 1:51 PM)
A domestic carrier starting International routes would seem to be the best hope for now. I read a little while back that foreign LCCs won't be able to gain a foothold until 2010 due to lack of capacity. That may have just been Tokyo, my memory is a little shaky but I think a new runway will come online then.
There is Jetstar who fly to Osaka and Nagoya from Melbourne or Sydney, not exactly cheap, but should be cheaper than Qantas, you can't book a one way out of Japan online with Jetstar, though.
Then there's Bangkok Airways, sometimes an option for short haul or last minute returns, but their flights to Japan aren't cheap, and forget about flying one way with them, it's more expensive than a return. They fly from Bangkok to Hiroshima and Fukuoka (although their booking engine seems a bit awkward with Fukuoka)if anyone's interested.
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Konangrit
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(Date Posted:02/21/2007 6:55 AM)
Reply to : onebir
I wonder if Cebu Pacific will fly HK-Taipei direct? They already fly HK-Manila for as little as USD40. Based on distance, HK-Taipei should be less than this.Even if they only fly Manila-Tapei, together with a HK-Manila flight this should offer a cheap (but slow) way to get from mainland China to Taiwan.
It seems like there will be an even quicker option than this, as they are planning to fly from Manila to Shanghai this year too!
"This year, we plan to expand our regional destinations to three more cities, Taipei, Macao and Shanghai," said Novillas
Link
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