Other Asian, Australian and South Pacific Frequent Flyer Programs - AirAsia at OAK Airport?

Well, not exactly an AirAsia plane but their billboard on a building.

On my way to the Oakland International Airport, i saw a billboard advertising AirAsia on a building near the airport. I went to look at their website and it seems they don't serve the U.S.

I wonder if they are considering flying to the U.S. or just trying to attract new U.S. based passengers when flying within Asia.

Just like the time i was in Argentina and saw an advertising on a wall at the EZE airport and it had a picture of a Southwest airplane on their advertising, without the word "Southwest" on the picture of the plane.

Hard to say. Air Asia is a low cost carrier based out of KUL in Malaysia with subsidiaries hubbing out of BKK and I think CGK. So it's all Asian short hauls. On the other hand there's a long distance subsidiary called Air Asia X that does the KUL-London route (don't know if it's LHR or not). So maybe it's trying to get people flying to Asia to fly them? Or maybe Air Asia X will make it to OAK? I wouldn't put it past their CEO, Tony Fernandes. He's got big dreams, talks big, but has made stuff happen.

One of their A340s is in an Oakland Raider livery, so it makes you wonder...

One of their A330s is in an Oakland Raider livery, so it makes you wonder...

"Azran says AirAsia X would serve the US west coast from Kuala Lumpur via Taipei, Seoul or Honolulu. US east coast destinations would be served via Stansted.

He says the carrier can launch service to the US east coast with its two existing A340s by extending its Kuala Lumpur-Stansted route across the Atlantic"

see: http://www.malaysianwings.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=13263



the CEO of Air Asia X announced that the airline is planning to fly to the USA from Kuala Lumpur and/or London, possibly by the end of this year. Air Asia X launched its first long-haul low cost service to London from Kuala Lumpur earlier this month. More than 50,000 tickets were snapped up with prices as low as GBP 199 for the route. Los Angeles and New York are two destinations the airline is looking into. One interesting detail: the CEO said that they were considering extending their Kuala Lumpur – London service across the North Atlantic to New York.

see: http://velvetescape.com/blog/2009/03/air-asia-x-next-stop-usa/

But they really have to imporve the Long Haul Product: At minimum - increase the seat pitch to 31" from 28". It is just too tight for Americans. They dont fit.

My colleagues in Malaysia told me last week that Air Asia (or Air Asia X or whatever) will be starting up service to Oakland. (They also claimed it would be a non-stop, but I find that one very hard to believe.)

I went looking to news on this, but the only thing I found after searching for about 15 seconds was a news article in USA Today saying that Air Asia was looking into starting service to the USA via Los Angeles and possibly also New York. I will try again to find it and post the link.

And the USA Today link is here (http://www.usatoday.com/travel/flights/item.aspx?type=blog&ak=65050745.blog).

"AirAsia says it is planning to add service from Malaysia to both New York JFK and Los Angeles. The cities would be the first two U.S. destinations for the Malaysia-based low-cost carrier. Speaking on behalf of AirAsia, spokeswoman Sarah Stabile tells Today in the Sky that the airline does not have a firm start date for service, but hopes to begin the routes in 2010. She adds that AirAsia expects to start with five flights per week before eventually expanding to daily service.

The service would be operated by AirAsia’s long-haul unit AirAsiaX, which is still deciding what aircraft it would use for the routes. That decision will factor into whether AirAsiaX offers nonstop or one-stop service between Kuala Lumpur and the USA. Aviation Daily quotes Senthil Balan – the carrier's head of network management – as saying: "We have two options – fly direct to Los Angeles and New York or via Taipei and the Middle East or Scandanavia, respectively."AirAsiaX operates a fleet of Airbus A330 jets, but Aviation Daily says the carrier is also considering A340-300s for the U.S. routes."

I could not find a date, but the comments left by readers were dated April 6, 2009.

I'd be surprised if the A340-300's had the legs for a non-stop between KUL and USA unless operating with severe load restrictions.

Having lived in the Bay Area before moving to Kuala Lumpur, imagine my surprise when flying to Thailand recently spotting an AirAsia plane emblazened with the Oakland Raiders paint job. http://imgs.sfgate.com/c/pictures/2009/09/14/bu-bottomline15__0500596222.jpgStrange bedfellows indeed (http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/09/15/BU3T19LUJC.DTL) but this is similar to CEO Tony Fernandes sponsorship with Manchester United prior to AirAsia starting KUL-STN service. News of AirAsia serving US west coast has been in the local press here in Malaysia with LA always mentioned as the leading candidate (and not necessarily LAX BTW; think Jet Blue) but Oakland is also in the mix

Jaunted.com (http://www.jaunted.com/story/2009/9/20/22329/4537/travel/Talking+With+Air+Asia%27s+CEO+Tony+Fernandes+About +US+Plans)

Businessweek (http://blogs.businessweek.com/mt/mt-tb.cgi/14788.1233913619)

And, couldn't agree more about improving the product -- seats are horrible, food is a joke *they couldn't pay me to eat it* Also, their Customer Service is beyond horrible. I have had to call their London based service to get someone who is helpful b/c trying to purchase on-line is often a waste of time. That said, the ticket prices will always attract customers. If AirAsia can really offer LA/NYC-KUL RT for <USD500, they will undoubtedly have customers flying to the US, I'm just not sure how many will originate from the US. However, all speculation until an application is submitted.

AirAsia X in talks over KL-Oakland service

"LONG-HAUL low-cost carrier (LCC) AirAsia X is in talks with the Americans to launch a Kuala Lumpur-Oakland service, possibly via Taipei or Incheon in Seoul, according to a Standard & Poor's report.

Aviation analyst Shukor Yusof wrote in his note to investors that the Oakland International Airport had confirmed that it was in talks with AirAsia X.............."

http://www.btimes.com.my/Current_News/BTIMES/articles/paas-2/Article/