AirAsia confirms Abu Dhabi will be the location of AirAsia X’s 'virtual' hub

AirAsia CEO, Tony Fernandes, confirmed Abu Dhabi will be the location of AirAsia X's 'virtual' hub (Khaleej Times, 05-Aug-09). The carrier plans to utilise the hub to operate to European and Northern African destinations, with Frankfurt, Cairo and Nairobi identified as potential destinations. The carrier plans to launch Kuala Lumpur-Abu Dhabi service in Oct-2009. Mr Fernandes added he believes the Gulf region has enough untapped demand for the launch of a new LCC to operate shorter routes in and around the Middle East.

AirAsia: "We're now looking at flying to Abu Dhabi. That will be our first point in the Middle East. If things work out well, hopefully we could start flying there toward the latter half of next year...You just can't get to East Africa from Asia [at the moment]…Given the right partners, yes, we would [launch a new LCC]. It would be great to have a low-cost carrier out of Abu Dhabi. I think there's room, definitely," Tony Fernandes, CEO. Source: Khaleej Times, 05-Aug-09.