AirAsia announces launch of direct flights to Guilin

The airline is set to commence its inaugural flight with four direct weekly flights between Kuala Lumpur’s Low Cost Carrier Terminal and Liangjiang Airport in Guilin, from 3 Sept-08. AirAsia will become the first and only airline from Malaysia to offer direct service between the two cities.

Dato’ Sri Tony Fernandes, CEO AirAsia, said: “As a key tourist destination in China, Guilin is a valuable addition to AirAsia’s growing route network in Southern China. Considering the region’s popularity as a holiday destination, we are confident that there will be plenty of demand for the Guilin route.”

The launch of the new Guilin route marks the airline’s seventh destination to China, a route network which has carried over 2.2 million passengers to date. AirAsia’s commitment to developing routes throughout the region is testament to its goal to make air travel accessible, affordable and a reality for all travellers across Asia.

He added, “We will be working closely with The Guilin Tourism Board and Liangjiang Airport to support their plans to further develop tourism in the city, with a particular focus on utilizing our international route network through AirAsia X to connect traffic from Australia. We encourage traffic both ways and believe Malaysia has a lot to offer to guests traveling from Guilin. The vast attractions we have would indeed lure traffic from Southern China to Malaysia.”

AirAsia's main aim is to establish Kuala Lumpur as a main gateway to other Asia destinations. Guests arriving at the LCCT could connect with flights to other destinations in Asia due to AirAsia's big Asian network. In addition to Guilin, AirAsia serves a combined total of 149 flights weekly to China - Shenzhen, Macau, Hong Kong, Haikou, Guangzhou and Hangzhou.

(c) Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation. Date posted: 24-Jul-08

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