[BAG]

The new Kuala Lumpur–Taipei route with 5 direct flights weekly operated by AirAsia’s low-cost long-haul affiliate AirAsia X, received a remarkable response from travelers when it opened for sale on 24 April 2009. All promotional seats offered for RM101 (NT$888) per way were snapped up within 12 hours after the sales announcement, with an estimated 80,000 guests flying the route until the year’s end. This represents an average load factor of over 80% on the 383-seater Airbus A330.

AirAsia’s first flight from Kuala Lumpur to Taipei departed at 10.00 am this morning, carrying 338 guests, including President of the Malaysian Friendship and Trade Centre in Taipei, Datuk Abdullah Mohd Salleh and AirAsia X CEO Azran Osman-Rani. The flight had an 88% load.

Tony Fernandes remarked, “I am ecstatic to see that Kuala Lumpur-Taipei started off with a huge success. This important piece of the jigsaw puzzle covering our route network is the result of everyone’s hard work at AirAsia. Taiwan’s population who are highly Internet-savvy relate well to AirAsia’s concept of online low fares.”

“As a low cost airline, AirAsia is committed to offer low fares and quality value-added services to our guests. AirAsia is the first airline in the world to abolish fuel surcharges and with the recent abolition of our “Admin Fee”, our low fares will continue to help stimulate and induce new travel demand, and subsequently help boost tourism industries of both countries.”

“Taipei has great history, culture and is famed as a food paradise. The city embraces modernity while retaining its traditions and old world charm which I anticipate would be highly popular for both business and leisure travelers. We expect to see excellent traffic from Asia, Europe and Australia feeding into our flights connecting to Taipei via our hub in Kuala Lumpur. And similarly, we look forward to welcoming passengers from Taiwan into Malaysia connecting them to destinations on our extensive route network across Asean (Association of South East Asian Nations) countries, as well as to Australia, China, India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and Europe,” Fernandes added.

Low-cost long-haul carrier AirAsia X compliments AirAsia’s short- and medium-haul services around the region. While AirAsia operates from 3 major hubs – Kuala Lumpur, Bangkok and Jakarta – to over 60 destinations around the region, AirAsia X currently flies from Kuala Lumpur to Australia (Melbourne, Perth and Gold Coast), China (Hangzhou and Tianjin), and Europe (London).

AirAsia has grown from a fleet of 2 aircraft to 80 currently, and has carried more than 70 million guests throughout its 7 years of operation as a low cost carrier. Meanwhile affiliate AirAsia X recently breached the 1-million guest mark only after less than 2 years of operation.