Thursday, August 16, 2007

AirAsia X joins queue for Gold Coast flights

BRISBANE travellers could soon be flocking to the Gold Coast to board cheap flights, with AirAsia X the latest low-cost carrier to plan flights from Coolangatta.

The move follows news last month that Singapore-based Tiger Airways will fly from the Gold Coast to Melbourne from December.

AirAsia X boss Tony Fernandes, pictured, said that the Gold Coast would be the first Australian destination for the Malaysian airline and he hoped to start flights later this year.

But Gold Coast Airport officials were tight-lipped about AirAsia X yesterday. Queensland Tourism Minister Margaret Keech lobbied AirAsia X to make the Gold Coast its first Australian destination during a tourism trade mission last month.

It estimated that three services a week from Kuala Lumpur to the Coast would create about $48.5 million a year in direct visitor expenditure.

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