AirAsia X will fly to Europe soon

BANGKOK: AirAsia X will soon be flying to Europe using its Airbus A330 to tap into the growing demand to the region, after the launch of its Kuala Lumpur-Hawaii route on June 28.

AirAsia Bhd group chief executive officer (CEO) Tan Sri Tony Fernandes said the airline would fly into Europe soon but he did not disclose the exact route to that region.

“We were about to launch the Europe route when the Ukraine crisis happened,” he told reporters on the sidelines of the 17th WTTC Global Summit in Bangkok on Thursday.

While keeping his plans for Europe under wraps, he hinted that the destination could be London, Manchester or even Dublin.

Fernandes earlier attended the “Meet the Experts” session and was interviewed by the WTTC CEO and president, David Scowsill, on the “Responsible and Responsive Leadership” topic.

The two-day summit which ended on Thursday aimed to bring together the industry’s global leaders from private and public sectors to explore the theme “Transforming our World”, focusing on sustainability.

Fernandes was among key speakers, besides former British Prime Minister David Cameron, United Nations World Tourism Organisation secretary-general Taleb Rifai and Thailand’s Minister of Tourism and Sports Kobkarn Wattanavrangkul.  

The event was attended by 800 senior executives from the global travel and tourism industry including those from the public and private sectors, and also ministers from 13 nations. - Bernama