Are fuel efficient planes Air Asia's secret weapon?

Filed in archive Air Travel on September 17, 2008

© Marufish

Air Asia is adamant that it's well placed not just to survive but to prosper in the the current difficult environment for airlines. Their secret weapon is said to be a large order for new energy efficient planes. Evidently some low cost airlines are using planes which are up to twenty years old and are real gas guzzlers. I'm not sure exactly how more efficient the new planes are especially when you factor in the purchase price. I'm not convinced that any airline is immune to financial difficulties given the difficult trading conditions.

Air Asia started off as a regional low cost ariline but has now offers international flights. They recently started flying from Kuala Lumpur to Perth in Australia and will fly to Melbourne from next month. It's rumoured that flights to London and Manchester will start early next year. I saw flights on their site starting from $5 in their Year End specials.

Have you used Air Asia, how would you rate them?