SINGAPORE, 10 January 2008 – Twice the number, twice the fun and after more than 35 years, the Kuala Lumpur – Singapore route is finally liberated! Asia’s leading and largest low-cost carrier, AirAsia bridges the gap between the two cities and is set to commence its inaugural flights to Singapore from Kuala Lumpur with two daily flights beginning Friday, 1 February 2008.
As the champion of low fares and true to AirAsia style, the airline will offer unbelievably low fares starting from RM29.99* or SGD$13.99* for one way travel to Singapore from the Kuala Lumpur hub. And to celebrate the liberalisation to fly this route, AirAsia will be giving away 30,000 free seats to its guests! Guests can book online at
www.airasia.com as the free seats will be made available from Thursday, 10 January 2008 at 12.00 p.m. to Sunday, 13 January 2008 for travel period from 1 February 2008 to 25 October 2008.
*All fares quoted are excluding airport taxes, surcharges and fees, and are applicable for one way travel only.
At a press conference in Singapore to announce the inaugural flight, Dato’ Tony Fernandes, Group Chief Executive Officer of AirAsia Berhad said, “It is indeed a major milestone in the aviation industry for both countries and we are very thrilled to fly to Singapore from our Kuala Lumpur hub as it completes the missing link. We have invested a considerable amount of time and effort to overcome the challenges in making this possible, and this success further demonstrates our commitment to making air-travel convenient and affordable. Now, more than ever, everyone can fly – for business or pleasure, to visit friends and relatives.”
Travellers can now enjoy AirAsia’s revolutionary low fare to the once high-cost Kuala Lumpur – Singapore route and this will further strengthen Kuala Lumpur’s position as the low-cost hub in Southeast Asia.
“With more than 86 regional connections we currently serve and the ability to attract long-haul passengers from Singapore to our long-haul low-lost carrier, AirAsia X, we are confident that this route will be a definite hit with our guests,” added Dato’ Tony.
The Kuala Lumpur – Singapore route is expected to provide AirAsia X greater access to a whole new market of cost-conscious travellers from across the region as more people are expected to make use of the cheap flights between Changi and Kuala Lumpur to connect to the international destinations serviced by AirAsia X.
“This will have the effect of accelerating the growth of Kuala Lumpur as the region's low-cost hub, deemed to be one of the most lucrative in the region owing mostly to the very high frequency of business travellers. Therefore, we strongly hope to be granted an increase in our flight frequency in the near future and perhaps launch other destinations flying to Singapore such as from Penang, Kota Kinabalu or even Jakarta to cater to the huge demand,” said Dato’ Tony.
The Singapore-Kuala Lumpur route has been monopolised by two major carriers all this while. Talks regarding the liberalisation of the air route started as early as 2001, with the issue gaining headway during the discussion of the open-sky agreement at last year’s ASEAN summit when the landing rights were eventually granted to AirAsia. After more than six years, this victory to ply the Singapore route marks AirAsia’s first presence from the LCCT hub in Kuala Lumpur into the Republic. Albeit, Thai AirAsia has been flying to Singapore four times daily from Bangkok and once daily from Phuket.
To date, AirAsia has carried over 40 million passengers, and has grown from a two-aircraft fleet to 65 today and now, has the most extensive low-cost network in the region with over 86 routes – all within a short span of six years in operation. It has earned several accolades and awards that include being the official low-cost carrier for Manchester United Football Club, “Airline of the Year 2007” from the Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation (CAPA), as well as the World Airline Award for “Best Low Cost Airline in Asia” in 2007.
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