AirAsia to launch 6 routes in India

Kolkata, Jan 27 : AirAsia, a Low-Cost Airline, is launch direct flights to 6 new routes in India in the first quarter of 2010.

The new services to key metro cities include Chennai, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Mumbai and New Delhi from Kuala Lumpur and from Penang to Chennai.

Dato' Sri Tony Fernandes, Group CEO of AirAsia Berhad said: "AirAsia has well-arrived in the Indian market to change the very definition of low-cost airlines as the India market is booming. We are proud to position Kuala Lumpur as the gateway to India and at the same time it is India's gateway to ASEAN.

"This is also a timely effort in response to our Prime's Minister's call on strengthening Malaysia - India bilateral relations. AirAsia will support this by liberalizing the air travel with our undisputed low-fares, opening-up the India market to the world and support businesses and more."

The Chennai, Bangalore and Hyderabad sectors will be serviced by AirAsia's A320 aircrafts, Mumbai and Delhi will be served by its long-haul affiliate, AirAsia X via its new Airbus A330 fleet.

AirAsia Regional Head of Commercial, Kathleen Tan said, "India has always been on our network radar and thrilled to create history in the aviation industry today. We are confident that AirAsia's direct connection serving Chennai, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Mumbai and Delhi will be able to stimulate new travel demands and further tap markets, especially that of young working adults and families, to travel to Malaysia and thereafter use Kuala Lumpur as a gateway to over 130 routes in Asia, that includes regional ASEAN cities or long-haul sectors serviced by AirAsia X."

"This translates into a low-cost yet efficient travel experience for guests who benefit from using the LCC Terminal in Kuala Lumpur to connect to destinations as diverse as Australia (Gold Coast, Perth, Melbourne), China (Hangzhou, Tianjin, Chengdu), Taipei, London and Abu Dhabi," added Tan.

AirAsia is the only airline which connects to the most points in India from Malaysia with a total of 148 flights weekly. This new development is subsequent to AirAsia's huge success of Tiruchirapplalli (Trichy) followed-by Kolkata, Kochi and Thiruvananthapuram (Trivandrum) recording an average of 80pc load factor on all our four existing routes. Thus, these new services will not only complement AirAsia's aggressive growth in India, but is also feeding more traffic into the country.

To mark the opening for sale of these new routes, AirAsia is offering an all-in low fare from as low as RM 199 for the booking period from 27 - 31 January 2010.