Huge news from the JetBlue of Malaysia, AirAsia: The low-cost airline, which flies across the continent from its base in Kuala Lumpur, may soon fly to multiple U.S. destinations — including Las Vegas and Los Angeles. This is huge.
Earlier this year, the airline announced plans to fly from K.L. to Honolulu — which had the benefit of being only halfway across the Pacific. Now, it seems, the airline is interested in the potentially bigger opportunities of flying to the U.S. mainland — first, but not only, the West Coast: “New York is not the immediate future, but the West Coast is not far off,” CEO Tony Fernandez told the New York Post.
Flights to Honolulu via Osaka, Japan, launched at $99, and new routes to the West Coast might not start any higher than that. The biggest boon for passengers might be the knock-on effects. Transatlantic fares have fallen precipitously in the post-Norwegian/WOW world, either from the low-cost carriers themselves or — our pick — the major carriers striving to price-match, with European flights on Delta and American from the East Coast routinely coming in at under $400 round-trip. If AirAsia’s advance means we can fly Cathay Pacific to Hong Kong for $250, we’ll take it.
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