Could You Endure 24 Hours On A Low-Cost Narrowbody Jet From London to Asia?

Passengers traveling from Europe to Asia could soon have a new, low-cost option to choose from, but at what cost? While the fares will be cheap, passengers will have to endure back-breaking conditions on cramped single-aisle planes that don’t even offer a non-stop routing.

Is this a price you would be willing to pay?

It’s a gamble that Tony Fernadez, the charismatic founder of Kuala Lumpur-based AirAsia, is about to take with the creation of a new base, not in Asia, but in Bahrain, of all places.

Bahrain will be the home of AirAsia’s first base outside of Asia, with its long-haul arm AirAsia X, using the small Persian Gulf country as a “key strategic hub” to expand across the Middle East, Europe, and Australia.

AirAsia X currently operates a fleet of widebody Airbus A330 aircraft, but the budget carrier has an order for 20 single-aisle Airbus A321XLR aircraft, which are set to be deployed from its new Bahrain hub.

The new hub will allow AirAsia to resume flights to London in June after a gap of 14 years when the carrier suspended flights due to high fuel prices and passenger taxes.

This time, however, AirAsia won’t be serving London with nonstop flights to Asia. Instead, passengers will connect via its new hub in Bahrain.

Fernandez acknowledges that London is a “very emotional destination for many people in Southeast Asia,” but that doesn’t necessarily mean that’s where AirAsia is focusing all of its attention.

Instead, Fernandez says the airline will use its new fleet of Airbus A321XLRs to serve destinations that don’t otherwise have connectivity with Asia. As well as new flights to Europe, AirAsia plans to use the planes to expand its operations in Africa.

“This is a defining step in the next phase of AAX’s [AirAsiaX] growth,” Fernandez said on Wednesday. “Bahrain as our strategic aviation hub allows us to connect Asia with the Middle East and Europe more effectively while creating a scalable platform for future growth.”

Not that AirAsia wants to compete against Middle Eastern aviation powerhouses like Emirates or Qatar Airways. Fernandez says the airline will target a different type of traveller out of destinations not currently served by these airlines.

Capable of flying 4,700 nautical miles or 11 hours non-stop, the A321XLR (standing for eXtra Long Range) is already in use with several major international carriers, including American Airlines and Spanish flag carrier Iberia.

Airbus created the aircraft in response to demand from airlines that wanted a longer-range aircraft that could serve underserved markets that can’t sustain the capacity of a widebody aircraft, which is known in the aviation industry as long and thin routes.

While the likes of American Airlines are equipping their A321XLRs with lie-flat Business Class seats and more spacious Premium Economy seats, AirAsia is expected to offer a barebones, high-capacity configuration in an all-Economy layout.

Matt’s take – Cheaper flights but at what cost?

For all of the technological advances in modern-day aviation, the A321XLR feels like a big step back for the airline industry. AirAsia’s new long-haul strategy is a real echo of the past, when even the best airliners couldn’t fly from Europe to Southeast Asia non-stop, and instead, passengers had to endure marathon multi-sector journeys.

At least, back then, the stopovers in Middle Eastern countries like Bahrain and Kuwait had a sense of glamor to them. Not so now. The success of this strategy will all come down to cost… how much passengers are willing to sacrifice time and comfort for a cheaper ticket.