AIRASIA X BEGINS DAILY DIRECT FLIGHT TO COCHIN THURSDAY

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 12 (Bernama) -- AirAsia X Thursday began daily direct
flights to Cochin, the commercial capital of Kerala, following successful
expansion to the South Indian city of Trichy last year, said Chief Executive
Officer Azran Osman-Rani.

He said the low cost long-haul airline affiliate of AirAsia will also start
flying to Trivandrum and Kolkata next week.

"We expect strong demand from customers, especially business travellers," he
told reporters on the sidelines of the Third Kuala Lumpur International Trade
Forum here Thursday, an event concurrently held with Malaysian International
Trade Exhibition (Intrade Malaysia).

He also confirmed AirAsia X's inaugural flight to Abu Dhabi was on Nov 23.

Azran said AirAsia X's business operations were on track despite the
current global economic downturn, which has affected many airlines' profit
margin.

"We hope to register good financial performance this year and continue our
route expansion programme," he added.

The AirAsia Group achieved RM288 million (US$85.12 million) operating profit
in the first half of this year, accounting for five times higher than the same
period last year.

It also recorded 24 per cent passenger growth year-on-year.
-- BERNAMA