The US Department of Transportation (DOT) has awarded Malaysia’s long-haul, low cost carrier AirAsia X a Foreign Air Carrier Permit as well as Route Exemption ahead of its planned launch of flights to the US from 1 November. AirAsia X is planning a four times weekly service between Kuala Lumpur and Honolulu via Osaka Kansai International Airport using A330-300 aircraft.

AirAsia X’s new service will benefit travellers in Malaysia and the United States, as well as the broader Southeast Asia region,” the airline said in its application filed with the US Department of Transportation in April. “AirAsia X’s proposed service would offer the only direct flights between Honolulu and Malaysia, and thus would serve to strengthen ties between the two countries.”

AirAsia X currently serves 19 destinations in Asia, Australia and the Middle East from Kuala Lumpur.