The aviation landscape is littered with the jetsam of failed attempts to launch low-fare, long-haul scheduled air services, but the industry’s track record has not deterred AirAsia X from entering the fray.

Ventures such as Freddie Laker’s Skytrain in the 1970s and the US carrier Peoplexpress in the 1980s to the recent start-ups Oasis Hong Kong and Zoom Airlines, have all collapsed.