Thursday, November 27, 2008

Cheap flights London to the Gold Coast (Coolangatta)

GOLD Coasters will be able to fly from Coolangatta to London from March next year.

AirAsia X, which flies four times a week from the Gold Coast to Kuala Lumpur, last night announced flights from Malaysia to London. Tickets from the Coast to the UK will cost about $552 one way and go on sale from today.

From Brisbane to London on full-fare services, flights can cost up to $3500 return.

The move makes the Gold Coast Australia's budget-price gateway to the world, with other airlines already flying out of Coolangatta on routes that take passengers to Osaka in Japan, Fiji, the US and New Zealand.

AirAsia X general manager Australia Darren Wright said the Coolangatta-KL-London announcement had been in the pipeline for some time.

"It is part of our growth strategy and with AirAsia X in London we are a fully global airline," he said. "Now that we're in London, we have access to Europe. We have talked about expanding our services in Europe.

"Gold Coast Tourism, Tourism Queensland and Tourism Australia will all benefit from AirAsia X.

"People are now starting to understand that low-cost means from point to point, but getting off at Kuala Lumpur allows a nice side break on the way to London or Australia.

"This is our Christmas present to our customers."

The announcement comes a month before the airline's flights leaving the Coast are increased to a daily service.

Gold Coast Airport boss Paul Donovan said the announcement further cemented the airport's relationship with AirAsia X.

"People will be able to get on here and arrive in London. We are delighted about the new route," he said.

"With Jetstar, we have access to Japan, with Air Pacific we have a one-stop check-in to the US and Fiji, and now this."

Air New Zealand also flies from the Gold Coast to Christchurch, Auckland and Wellington.

AirAsia Group CEO Tony Fernandes said: "This new route will benefit everyone, enabling magnificent holidays in beautiful locations, encouraging economic and tourism activity, bringing in revenue and creating jobs."

Tickets from Malaysia to London will cost $261.

In conjunction with the launch of the London route, AirAsia X is offering fares from the Gold Coast to Kuala Lumpur from $291.

The new route will be serviced by an Airbus A340 aircraft with a 286-passenger capacity, including 30 premium XL seats.

As well as the Gold Coast, AirAsia X flies from Kuala Lumpur to Perth (six weekly return flights) and Melbourne (four weekly return flights), and Hangzhou in China.

AirAsia X chief executive officer Azran Osman-Rani said the London route was a significant achievement for the company.

"We are looking to expand from five flights per week to a daily service in the near future," he said.

Passengers could fly from Australia to Kuala Lumpur and then on to London from as little as $465, depending on departure point. The $465 applied to Perth.

"This is unheard of for one-way travel between Australia and London," he said.

"The establishment of this route is a significant achievement for us and is a reflection of our commitment to expanding international operations."

In just over a year, AirAsia X has flown more than 400,000 passengers.

It is supported by the wide route network of AirAsia, also based in Kuala Lumpur and services the Asian region.

AirAsia X shareholders include the Virgin group