British billionaire Richard Branson of Virgin Group to buy 20% stake in Fly Asian Express (FAX) (AirAsia), teaming up with Asia’s aviation tycoon Tony Fernandes to run flights from Malaysia to China, Europe and Australia.
More info click to: Virgin’s Branson may buy into AirAsia (Yahoo! News)
Would the airlines name eventually be:
1. Virgin Asia
or
2. Asian Virgin
Anyway, both names will attract a certain types of traveler to use the service. 
+ 
In the near future you will be able to use AirAsia with their low cost tickets for those long-haul flight from Asia to US and Europe.
The Malaysian Government has given AirAsiaX rights to 36 destinations where more will be granted over time.
AirAsiaX is preparing to fly to Britain (probably Gatwick Airport) by July, follow by:
According to this “Asia’s discount airlines reach for the West” Malaysia’s AirAsiaX, for example, will launch low-cost flights to London – a global hub – and also to the cities of Birmingham and Manchester.
And AirAsia by all means is not the first that is doing this
Oasis, a start-up airline in Hong Kong, has begun daily flights to London for as low as $147 one way and plans this year to offer similar deals to Oakland, Calif. and Chicago. Jetstar Airways, a subsidiary of Australia’s Qantas Airways, sells bargain tickets on routes between Australia and Southeast Asia.
Does this means you will be trapped on your seat for long hours without food, water or entertainment? Not necessarily.
Oasis offers free meals and in-flight entertainment, while Jetstar, which flies between Sydney and Honolulu, has blankets, food, and movies for sale.
So how can they keep fares so low? The secret, says Steve Miller, CEO of Oasis, lies in the efficient use of aircraft and crews, flexible pricing, and an attractive business class.
Advertised one-way fares from Hong Kong to London start at $147, but most flyers pay more (HOW MUCH MORE?), and business-class seats start at $920.
Nice to see all the competition in this area, next time you plan to travel to London from HK for example, perhaps the price will be even cheaper.
Airline links:
Asia Airlines, Hong Kong Travel, Malaysia Travel, Travel News
Videos are the next big thing on Internet, specially with the spread of broadband connection and the recent buy out of YouTube by Google for $1.65 billion on October 9, 2006.
YouTube are full with popular tv series, short funny clips, music videos and generally whatever people put and uploaded there, but one area that can be greatly benefit from video is travel.
People always want to see first the places they are going to go, the destinations that they plan to visit and the hotels they are going to stay.
Enter Travelistic, dubbed itself as “Videos for Travelers”, Travelistic is basically YouTube but for Travel Videos only.
There you can upload your videos, gives comment, rating etc.
You can embedd the videos to your blog or your website ala YouTube.
Other than user uploads travel videos they are also hosts professional content and tourist board videos.
So the next time you travel somewhere, create a video of the place (the new digital camera now all came with video recording function), upload it to Travelistic and put it on your blog so you don’t have to carry the bandwidth. 
Here are direct links to some travel videos about Thailand, Singapore, Cambodia, Malaysia, Hong Kong and China
Here are two embedded videos:
Bus & Taxi in Bangkok, Thailand
Cambodia Travel, China Travel, Hong Kong Travel, Malaysia Travel, New Travel Website, Online Travel, Singapore Travel, Thailand Travel, Travel GuidesThere are four low-cost that has many flights all over Asia (Pan-Asian carriers) but mostly in South East Asia, there are:
Besides the above, other low-cost budget cheap airlines in Asia, country-wise are:
» Low cost airlines in Hong Kong
» Low cost airlines in Indonesia
» Low cost airlines in Thailand
» Low cost airlines in Japan
» Low cost airlines in Macau
» Low cost airlines in Philippines
Info source is from Wikipedia: List of low-cost airlines
More info:
A good travel guide can help you in deciding about the travel lodge plans for your trip. If you are considering air travel, then you can search on the various cheap airlines. A thorough and effective search lets you make airline reservations that will help you in planning out everything on time. Depending upon the destination you select, you will need to survey the best budget hotels available. Your plans might as well include a travel bag that should be handy with the urgent travel necessities.
Asia Airlines, Hong Kong Travel, Indonesia Travel, Japan Travel, Macau Travel, Malaysia Travel, Philippines Travel, Singapore Travel
Special program in March from airasia depart from/to Bangkok Airport. These prices are exclusive tax and fuel surcharge.
Booking Period: 8 Mar 2006 - 23 Mar 2006
Travel Period: 1 Apr 2006 - 28 Oct 2006
International low fares
- Singapore from THB699 / SGD 28.88
- Penang from THB699 / RM 69.99
- Hanoi from THB999 / US$ 25
Domestic low fares:
- Surat Thani from THB 499 (US$ 13)
- Krabi from THB 499 (US$ 13)
Visit airasia for online booking!
Asia Airlines, Malaysia Travel, Singapore Travel, Thailand Travel, Travel Promotions, Vietnam TravelNew York Times Editors’ picks for the most intriguing places in the world to go in 2006 is listed here: The Destinations of 2006
From the list, destinations in Asia:
travel, world, china, himalaya, india, malaysia, kuala lumpur
China Travel, Events & Festivals, India Travel, Malaysia Travel, Nepal Travel, Travel NewsChiang Mai marks the 4th major Thai city served by AirAsia, since the airline launched routes to Bangkok, Phuket, and Hat Yai, from KL International Airport.
Fares for flights to Chiang Mai and Kuala Lumpur are from RM 99.99 / THB 999 one way.
Visit AirAsia website for more information.
Visit this page for more information about Chiang Mai and Kuala Lumpur [from Wikipedia]
News from: AirAsia launches flights between Kuala Lumpur and Chiang Mai
airasia, kuala lumpur, chiang mai, thailand, malaysia
Asia Airlines, Malaysia Travel, Thailand Travel
