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AirAsia to offer direct Bali – Yogyakarta flights

By Budget Airline News

AirAsia has announced it will offer direct flights from Bali (Denpasar) to Yogyakarta starting June 8, 2012. The airline will offer one round-trip flight each day.

Flight QZ8440 from Denpasar to Yogyakarta will depart at 06:00am, and flight QZ8441 from Yogyakarta to Denpasar will depart at 06:35am. The flight time is approximately 1 hour and 10 minutes.

In a statement, the Air Asia Indonesia president director Mr. Dharmadi said:“With this new route, tourists who aim to go to Bali from Yogyakarta won’t have to transit through Jakarta anymore.”

Tickets are now available through the AirAsia website and start from IDR149,000 (USD $16) for a one-way ticket.

Airphil Express expands its fleet for new routes

By Budget Airline News

Airphil Express, the low-cost wing of Philippine Airlines, has expanded its fleet to 20 aircraft with the addition of a new Airbus A320. The new aircraft has arrived shortly before the budget airline’s launch of new international routes in the coming months.

A statement released by Philippine Airlines said: ““The new acquisition is part of the company’s ongoing expansion this year and is seen to help enhance servicing of the budget airline’s continuously expanding routes. The budget airline is also aiming to increase its fleet size further to be able to ensure convenient flights daily to more local destinations throughout the country.”

Airphil Express is the fastest-growing airline in the Philippines. It currently flies 32 domestic routes and is adding international service from Manila to Hong Kong in May and to Kuala Lumpur in June 2012.

Scoot to offer daily Singapore – Bangkok service

By Budget Airline News

Scoot, the new low-cost wing of Singapore Airlines, has announced it will offer flights between Singapore and Bangkok. The new route will begin on July 5, 2012, with a daily round-trip flight.

Bangkok is the fourth destination for up-coming budget airline Scoot. It has already announced it will fly to Sydney, Australia’s Gold Coast, and Tianjin.

Tickets for all four destinations are available on the official website www.flyscoot.com. One-way fares from Singapore to Bangkok start from $44 SGD including taxes and fees.

THAI Smile launches official website, online bookings

By Budget Airline News

THAI Smile, the up-coming budget airline, has launched its official website. Online bookings also also available for its first route from Bangkok to Macau.

Thai Smile’s inaugural flight is set for July 7, 2012. Thai Smile will serve as the low-cost wing of Thai Airways and take over their domestic routes from Bangkok to Chiang Mai, Krabi, Surat Thani, and Phuket starting in August 2012.

Visit the Thai Smile website at www.thaismileair.com for more information or to make an online booking.

Jetstar Japan to launch July 3, 2012

By Budget Airline News

Jetstar Japan has announced it will take to the skies earlier than expected. The new budget airline will launch on July 3, 2012, with services to five major Japanese cities.

Jetstar Japan will be based at Narita International Airport near Tokyo. The airline’s initial destinations will be Tokyo, Osaka, Sapporo, Fukuoka, and Okinawa. Fares and schedules will be announced soon.

Jetstar Japan CEO Miyuki Suzuki said the carrier was preparing for strong customer demand: “In a country that’s never had a true low fares domestic network, the ability to travel for an average of 50 per cent less will open up new places and opportunities.”

Ryanair cuts 8 routes from Edinburgh

By Budget Airline News

Budget airline Ryanair will be cancelling 8 routes from Edinburgh, citing high operating costs. The terminated routes are Edinburgh to Bratislava, Bremen, Frankfurt, Fuerteventura, Gothenburg, Kaunas, Lodz and Poznan.

These routes will be cancelled with effect from October 2012. The summer schedule for these routes is not affected.

Ryanair released the following statement:

“Ryanair regrets BAA Edinburgh Airport’s rejection of our proposals for a competitive cost base which would allow Ryanair to further grow our traffic and routes for winter 2012 and beyond. Sadly, BAA Edinburgh seems to prefer higher costs, even if it means fewer passengers and jobs at Edinburgh.

“While Ryanair remains committed to Edinburgh Airport (with 1.3m passengers and 17 routes this winter, we remain one of the largest airlines operating to/from Edinburgh), the BAA Edinburgh monopoly cannot continue to ignore the competitive marketplace, where airports all over the UK and Europe have been reducing costs and lowering charges in return for traffic growth. We hope there is a way to reverse these cuts to ensure further Ryanair growth at Edinburgh.”

Airphil Express to fly to Malaysia

By Budget Airline News

Airphil Express, the low-cost wing of Philippine Airlines, has announced it will begin direct flights to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, in June 2012.

The new route will launch on June 21, 2012, with three flights per week on Tuesday, Thursday, and Sunday. This is the airline’s third international route after Singapore and Hong Kong.

Tickets can be purchased at http://www.airphilexpress.com/.

Indonesia’s Mandala Airlines resumes operations

By Budget Airline News

Mandala Airlines, a budget airline based in Indonesia, resumed operations on April 5, 2012. The airline had been grounded since early 2011 due to large debts. Mandala Airlines is now 33% owned by Tiger Airways.

The airline re-launched with a flight from the capital city of Jakarta to Medan. Mandala also announced two new international routes, Medan to Singapore and Jakarta to Kuala Lumpur.

The Mandala Airlines fleet currently consists of two A320 aircraft, but plans to rapidly expand its fleet through partnerships with investor Tiger Airways.

Scoot’s newest destination is Tianjin, China

By Budget Airline News

Scoot, the new low-cost wing of Singapore airlines, has revealed its third destination – Tianjin, China. Fights from Singapore to Tianjin will begin sometime in August 2012.

Scoot will be the first airline to offer direct service between Singapore and Tianjin and will offer 4 flights per week.

At the announcement, CEO Campbell Wilson said: “Scoot will also connect Tianjin through one of the world’s biggest air hubs, Singapore, offering connections to over 100 cities. We can’t wait to give people in Singapore more opportunity to Scoot away for Tianjin’s famed goubuli baozi and its many other attractions.”

Tiger Airways to fly to Colombo, Sri Lanka

By Budget Airline News

On May 31, 2012, Tiger Airways will launch its inaugural flight from Singapore to Colombo, Sri Lanka. The Singapore-based budget airline will initially offer three flights per week on this new route.

Flights operate every Tuesday, Thursday, and Sunday. The outbound flight departs Singapore at 20:35, arriving in Colombo at 22:05. The return flights departs Colombo at 23:05, arriving in Singapore at 05:35 the following day.

Tickets are available at www.tigerairways.com with one-way fares starting from SGD138.