Kuala Lumpur based AirAsia X has revealed that it will add a new non-stop daily service from Kuala Lumpur to the Paris’s secondary airport of Paris Orly. The new route will commence February 14th and is slated to be operated four-times weekly with A340-300 equipment.
Paris will become the second European destination offered by AirAsia X, following its existing service daily operation into London Stansted. Paris is a logical step as it offers instant recognition to the Asian market, and like London are markets that are large in volume and easy to sell to Asians. An additional advantage is the channel tunnel link between London and Paris which will allow Asian tourists to book an open jaw itinerary.
Between July 2009 and July 2010, over 4 million O+D passengers flew between France and Asia with Air France currently capturing 24% of this market. Both London and Paris have strong colonial and cultural links to many of the Asian connections served by AirAsia , making the routes attractive to both the VFR and European originating tourists. This helps provide some balance to the route, not being too dependent upon one source market for traffic.
There is existing scheduled service between Paris Charles de Gaulle and Kuala Lumpur which is currently operated on a daily rotation by Malaysia Airlines with B777 equipment. The route has seen over 79,000 O+D passengers fly the route between July 2009 and July 2010. Malaysia Airlines has a 56% share of this traffic.
Whilst Paris represents a major opportunity for AirAsia X it will also provide a challenge to the airline as AirAsia X will find itself as the only major Asian operator serving the secondary airport of Paris Orly. Encouraging Parisian passengers to get on the right metro line to Orly instead of CDG where there is a plethora of carriers offering scheduled services will be a challenge. The Asian market, will have few reservations about using Paris’ secondary airports, which has quick and reliable access to the Gare Du Nord. Paris Orly is actually closer to the sights and tourism offering of Paris than Charles de Gaulle.
In terms of revenue, the operating costs of the A340 and the long stage length will mean that operating costs on the sector will be high. Paris is not cheap, whichever airport you fly into and AirAsia X will need to stimulate the market with low pricing in order to secure that there is balance on the route from Europe and Asia.
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