Low-cost giant AirAsia X is back with expanded services to London, Dubai and Istanbul this year with Perth and Melbourne, Australia to be announced shortly. The airline has also announced four new routes to Japan and Hawaii, which are on sale today. Datuk Kamarudin Meranun, executive chairman of Capital A, which backs AirAsiaX, and founder of AirAsia X said: “This is an incredibly exciting day as AAX returns to the skies refreshed and rejuvenated. “The resumption of four popular medium-haul routes and announcement of three new long haul services today is a significant milestone following the most challenging time in aviation history. “We are thrilled to return to London and to launch flights for the first time to Dubai and Istanbul. Read: Qatar Airways posts record profit See: Stunning video of Red Bull DC-6B Capital A president commercial Colin Currie added that the announcement marks a new era for the airline’s long-haul affiliate AirAsia X. “Maximum value, maximum experience and maximum destinations are what the relaunched AAX stands for. “Capital A will support AAX moving forward, as a conduit to leverage synergies within our broad ecosystem of travel and lifestyle products. We will use our full resources including the airasia Super App, our cargo business Teleport, fintech arm BigPay and all of the other airlines in the AirAsia Aviation Group to take AAX to new heights.” AirAsia X chief executive Benyamin Ismail said that the airline is “back, better and stronger than ever. We have spent the downtime in flying reviewing every aspect of the operation to deliver even greater value and choice for medium and long-haul travel. “Now that international borders are reopening across the world, we are able to resume operations to our most popular destinations including Australia, Japan, Hawaii, India, and South Korea first. “I am confident all of our resumed or new services will prove to be very popular and that we will return to pre-Covid capacity on some of our core routes within the next 12 months. A resumption of Perth and Melbourne services to Kuala Lumpur is expected shortly