AirAsia’s new “fly thru” service to offer passengers convenient connections
Times are changing in the airline business and as usual, it is the budget airlines that are shaking things up.
Times are changing in the airline business and as usual, it is the budget airlines that are shaking things up.
AirAsia has introduced a “fly-thru” service designed to allow customers to seamlessly connect on multiple flight legs, on certain flights.
Customers arriving into AirAsia’s dedicated low-cost terminal in Kuala Lumpur can now connect onto an onward AirAsia flight via the airline’s transfer hall, without needing to pass through immigration, collect bags, re-check-in between flights or have a transit visa. Bags will also be automatically checked through to the final destination.
The service is available on selected short-haul AirAsia and long-haul AirAsia X services and the connection time is between 90 minutes and six hours long.
It marks a change in approach for budget airlines, some of which are departing the traditional “low-cost” model by giving customers the option to transfer onto their own aircraft. Spain’s budget airline, Vueling is another example, which last year began facilitating connections for passengers through its home base at Barcelona El Prat Airport.
Historically, budget carriers have based their successful businesses around keeping their operations as simple as possible – by not offering transfer products at hubs and instead flying passengers from A to B or “point to point”.
AirAsia’s new “fly-thru service will not only offer customers more convenience but should reduce the number of passengers self-connecting onto other budget airlines – with the added incentive of a free move to AirAsia’s next available flight if the first flight is delayed.
For more information on AirAsia’s latest service, visit: www.airasia.com/gb/en/tf_faq.page
