AirAsia To Resume Flights To Istanbul Next Year

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 17 (Bernama) -- AirAsia Bhd will resume flights to Istanbul, Turkey, from Kuala Lumpur next year via its long-haul arm, AirAsia X Bhd. "We will be flying to Istanbul in 2017. That is one of the highlights," said AirAsia Group Chief Executive Officer Dr Tony Fernandes in his Facebook post Thursday. The airline Thursday unveiled its first A320Neo that it ordered at the recent Farnborough International AirShow. In July, AirAsia signed a firm order with Airbus for the purchase of 100 A321neo aircraft, bringing the total order for the A320 family to 575 aircraft. Fernandes said AirAsia X would also revive its London route in 2018. "We are not going to Heathrow Airport. We are flying to Gatwick at the end of 2018," said Fernandes. The airline had suspended all flights to Europe, including London and Paris, in March 2012, due to high operating costs. The Kuala Lumpur and London route was launched by AirAsia X in March 2009. -- BERNAMA