AirAsia X, a leading long-haul, low-fare airline and affiliate of the AirAsia Group, has announced a new route to Jeddah from its Kuala Lumpur hub, starting February 16.

The flights will offer guests the opportunity to discover the major urban centre of western Saudi Arabia and its historical surroundings, a statement from AirAsia said.

AirAsia X plans to begin flights to King Abdul Aziz International Airport, Jeddah, from Kuala Lumpur with three flights weekly from February 16 to April 30, and increase its flight frequency to four times weekly from May 1, adjusting the frequency based on seasonality.

In conjunction with the Open for Sale announcement, AirAsia X is offering promotional fares from SR499 ($133.07) on economy, and from SR1,999 on Premium Flatbed from Kuala Lumpur to Jeddah one way, the statement said.  

Bookings are available online from January 18 to 20, for the travel period from February 16 to February 9, 2014.

Azran Osman-Rani, CEO of AirAsia X, said: “AirAsia X is delighted to announce the launch of Jeddah, which is the fourteenth destination in our network. With Jeddah being the gateway to holy cities of Madinah and Makkah, we are delighted that our services will provide more affordable travel for our Muslim guests in Malaysia and throughout the region to perform the holy pilgrimage of Hajj and Umrah.”

“Similarly, guests from Saudi Arabia will have the opportunity to travel across our extensive network in South East Asia and beyond,” he added. “We believe that AirAsia’s wide network and favourable fare structures make cultural, heritage, recreational and shopping destinations across Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand, Australia and other countries in the Asia Pacific Region more accessible to guests and thus will create new travel demand from Saudi Arabia.”

AirAsia X Fly-thru destinations on offer concurrent with the promotional campaign include destinations from Jeddah to Australia (Melbourne) from SR1,238, Indonesia (Jakarta, Medan, Surabaya, Bali) from SR712 and Singapore from SR620.

The Fly-thru service allows passengers to purchase two flight sectors and seamlessly transit via Kuala Lumpur for their next destination, the statement said.

AirAsia X was the first long-haul, low fare carrier to introduce Flatbed seats, which have standard business class specifications of 20” width, 60” pitch and stretch out to 77” in full recline position.

The Premium flatbeds feature universal power sockets, adjustable headrests and built-in personal utilities such as tray table, drink holder, reading light and privacy screen. Premium seat guests also enjoy premium complimentary products and services including pick a seat, priority check-in, priority boarding, priority baggage, 25kg baggage allowance, complimentary meal and pillow & duvet.

AirAsia X was named World’s Best Low Cost Airline in the annual World Airline Survey by Skytrax for four consecutive years in 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2012.

It was also awarded the Airbus Top Operational Excellence Award 2010-2011, for being the world's best Airbus A330-300 operator (small fleet category) excelling in operations, maintenance and safety systems. – TradeArabia News Service