AirAsia X Adds Airbus A330 Routes To China’s Xi’an and Changsha

When China fully reopened to travel last year, much of the attention was on the major Chinese carriers to see how they would resume operations and where they would deploy the hundreds of aircraft that had spent so much time on the ground. While domestic travel in China is booming, there is still ground to make on international routes, although the AirAsia airlines are rapidly adding and resuming services to the Middle Kingdom.

The sixth AirAsia X destination in China

Today, the group’s medium and long-haul carrier AirAsia X is in the news as it announced the resumption of services between Kuala Lumpur and Changsha, the capital and largest city of Hunan Province, located around 550 miles west of Shanghai. Changsha is AirAsia X’s (AAX) sixth nonstop route to China and follows on from last week’s resumption of flights between Kuala Lumpur and Xi’an, the home of the famed Bingmayong (Terra Cotta Army).

Photo: axell.rf | Shutterstock

The service will commence on July 5, 2024, with an initial frequency of four weekly flights on Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday. AAX flight D7352 will depart Kuala Lumpur International (KUL) at 17:35, arrive at Changsha Huanghua International (CSX) at 22:30, and depart again at 23:45, landing in KUL at 04:20 the following day.

Highlighting the synergies within AirAsia, this service complements AirAsia Malaysia’s 12 routes within Greater China, including Guangzhou, Kunming, Nanning, Quanzhou, Shenzhen, Kaohsiung, Macao and Hong Kong.

Photo: Airbus

In pre-pandemic 2019, AAX carried more than 140,000 passengers to/from Changsha, and CEO Benyamin Ismail said the resumption would further strengthen the airline’s foothold in one of the world’s largest countries and its place as the largest low-cost foreign carrier in the region.

AAX is now back in Xi’an

Last week, AirAsia X resumed nonstop services between Kuala Lumpur and Xi’an, with the inaugural flight carrying a 100% full passenger load, setting a high bar for the future. AirAsia X is now the only airline providing direct connections between Kuala Lumpur and Xi’an, and it also flies to Beijing, Shanghai, Hangzhou, and Chengdu and has announced flights to Changsha in July.

Photo: Airbus

Ismail said that as Malaysia-China economic cooperation is growing significantly and continues to strengthen with visa-free initiatives, the route will enhance tourism and trade opportunities between both nations, adding:

“We eagerly anticipate further expansion of our footprint in China and look forward to supporting the government’s vision of welcoming between five to seven million tourists from the country this year, as well as bolstering tourism efforts for Visit Malaysia Year 2026.”

The maiden flight, D7346, was operated with a 2010 Airbus A330-300, registration 9M-XXF and MSN 1126. It departed Kuala Lumpur at 19:29 and, after a flight of 4:42 hours, landed at Xi’an Xianyang International Airport (XIY) at 00:11 on April 5.

The return service is flight D7347, which departed Xi’an at 01:55 on April 5 and was back on the ground in Kuala Lumpur at 06:55. The Airbus A330 then operated a return service to South Korea’s Seoul Incheon Airport (ICN) and, the next day, rotated between KUL and Bangkok Suvarnabhumi Airport (BKK), followed by a flight to Shanghai Pudong International (PVG).

Have you flown with AirAsia X between Malaysia and China? Let us know in the comments.