Move to axe London route set to hit over 14,000 students
Posted on January 14, 2012, Saturday
ROUTE CUT PROBLEMS: AirAsia X’s decision to axe its Kuala Lumpur-London route from March 30 is expected to affect over 14,000 Malaysian students pursuing their studies in the UK.
Since the route’s inception in March 2009, the budget long-haul airline had been the first choice to many of them to travel home from the UK because of its affordable fares and good services.
Chairman of the United Kingdom and Eire Council of Malaysian Students, Ahmad Syawal Hafriz Abdullah, said axing the routes would leave them with fewer choices, especially the ones that won’t hit their pockets.
“Many of us look forward to join our families and loved ones especially during the festive seasons,” he told Bernama.
A second-year student at the London School of Economics, said he hoped AirAsia X would lift the suspension and resume its flights to London soon.
Malaysian High Commissioner here, Datuk Zakaria Sulong, said Malaysian arrivals had increased following the introduction of AirAsia X to UK.
“These include Malaysian students in the UK who found going home during break affordable.
“There is no alternative low-cost carrier from Kuala Lumpur. The movements of the people between the two countries will be affected due to the closure,” he said.
Besides London, AirAsia X also announced it would suspend flights to Paris on March 31 and Mumbai and New Delhi on January 31.
There are other airlines they could use. MAS is still plying the London route. Life still went on before AA came into the aviation scene. What's the big deal?
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