Gatwick Airport has welcomed the arrival of guests from the capital city of Malaysia for the first time as AirAsia X touched down on its new London home, having switched from Stansted Airport. 

AirAsia X will be flying five times a week to Kuala Lumpur, moving to six flights a week by mid-December.

Long-haul routes to South-East Asia have been underserved by Gatwick but, as of today, that pent up demand from passengers can finally be met. Gatwick’s passengers can not only fly direct to Kuala Lumpur – one of the most visited cities in the world – but can also tap into AirAsia’s extensive route network throughout South East Asia to popular destinations as Thailand and Indonesia.

Guy Stephenson, Gatwick Airport’s Commercial Director said: “South-East Asia is an important destination for UK business and leisure travellers and so we are excited that AirAsia X has chosen to operate the popular London-KL route from Gatwick and enable us to meet growing passenger demand for travel to this region.

“Gatwick offers an attractive proposition to airlines and their customers. We are within an hours drive for around 15 million people and we have fast and excellent rail connections to central London. The combination of these factors mean that AirAsia X are in a better position to increase traffic between the UK and Malaysia now that they have moved their London ‘home’ from Stansted to Gatwick. ”

AirAsia Head of Commercial, Darren Wright said: “Our aim has always been to open up travel for all. The popularity of the London-KL route is further testament to the pent-up demand for long-haul travel, provided the fares are low and the quality is high. That is the combination that we at AirAsia X are offering our guests.

“GatwickAirport was chosen as it demonstrated the passion to work with us in realising our objectives to grow passenger traffic between our hubs in London and Asia Pacific. With our new home base in Gatwick, guests will be able to further benefit from the airport’s regional access and market connectivity potential with faster and cheaper rail connectivity to the city as compared to Stansted. AirAsia X sees strong potential for the airport as we believe our entry will address the fact that direct services to Asia have been significantly underserved from Gatwick,” concluded Darren.

The Gatwick-Kuala Lumpur route will be serviced by AirAsia X’s Airbus A340-300, which has 327 seats including 18 Premium Fly Flat bed seats. AirAsia X’s Premium Fly Flat beds are standard business class specifications of 20” width, 60” pitch and stretches out to 77” in full recline position. The seats 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 will get to enjoy the following premium complimentary product and services: Pick A Seat, Priority Check-in, Priority Boarding, Priority Baggage, Baggage Allowance, Combo Meal, Pillow and Blanket.

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