AirAsia Increases Frequency to Hangzhou (Shanghai)

Direct daily flights to gateway of Shanghai to commence on 28 March 2010

To cater to the increasing demands and encouraging load factor from its guests, AirAsia’s long haul, low fare affiliate, AirAsia X will be increasing its frequency to Hangzhou, the gateway of Shanghai with direct daily flights commencing 28th March 2010.

With nine destinations in China under its belt including Chengdu, Tianjin (Beijing), Hangzhou (Shanghai), Shenzhen, Guangzhou, Haikou, Guilin, Hong Kong and Macau, AirAsia group has unrivalled its route network to China. AirAsia has a combined total of 198 flights weekly to China flying from various destinations in Asean including Bangkok, Phuket, Kota Kinabalu, Penang and Kuala Lumpur, a testament that the World’s Best Low-Cost Airline committed in developing the underserved markets.

Attractive all-in-fares are offered from as low as RM929* (CNY568*) one-way and exclusively available online via AirAsia’s website at www.airasia.com or mobile.airasia.com. Booking period is from 9th to 21stFebruary 2010, for travel period between 28th March – 30th October 2010.

Kathleen Tan, Regional Head of Commercial, AirAsia says: “The response has been extremely good as we are running past 70% load factor for the Hangzhou – Kuala Lumpur routes. This demand has enabled us to ramp-up our frequency. The increased frequency is testament to the AirAsia’s commitment of making travel accessible and affordable to all. It will also provide both business and leisure travelers with more flexibility and greater choice to connect onto AirAsia and AirAsia X’s extensive route network across ASEAN countries and beyond. We have always positioned Hangzhou as our Eastern gateway into the Yangtze Delta region as it takes only 75 minutes from Hangzhou to Shanghai by bullet train and the inbound travellers from China can also take advantage of Kuala Lumpur’s status as a gateway to Asia, Australia, Europe and beyond,”

“Hangzhou, also known as the ‘Oriental City of Leisure’ is famed for its natural scenery. The West Lake, being one of Hangzhou’s most famous attractions, has been immortalized by countless poets and artists. The city ranks as one of China’s most popular tourist attractions, with natural attractions such as the Longjing (Dragon Well) Tea Fields, Guo’s Village, Leifong and Six Harmonies Pagoda. Hangzhou is also one of the seven ancient capitals of China.” concluded Kathleen

The Kuala Lumpur - Hangzhou route is serviced by Airbus A330-300, which holds 383 economy seats including 28 Premium seats which have an impressive 60-inch seat pitch. For more details on flight times and bookings, please visit www.airasia.com

Kuala Lumpur – Hangzhou
Flights From Departure/ Arrival Flight No. Frequency
Kuala Lumpur - Hangzhou 8:10 / 13:10 D7 2602 Monday, Wednesday, Thursday & Friday
Kuala Lumpur - Hangzhou 17:20 / 22:20 D7 2604 Tuesday, Saturday & Sunday

Hangzhou – Kuala Lumpur
Hangzhou to Kuala Lumpur 14:10 / 19:10 D7 2603 Monday, Wednesday, Thursday & Friday
Hangzhou to Kuala Lumpur 23:20 / 04:20 D7 2605 Tuesday, Saturday & Sunday

For more information, kindly contact: Mazlan Rasheed, mazlanrasheed@airasia.com

Airasia, Vietjet Air form New LCC in Vietnam

AirAsia is proud to announce its acquisition of a 30% equity stake in Vietjet Aviation Joint Stock Company (Vietjet Air) to establish a Vietnam-based joint venture low-cost airline which will carry the name Vietjet AirAsia.

The Ministry of Transportation of Vietnam approved the share acquisition on February 9 (Tuesday).

Vietjet AirAsia will be operating both domestic and international flights. It is currently finalizing details regarding routes, frequencies and launch of flights.

The formation of Vietjet AirAsia makes Vietnam AirAsia’s fourth country base, following Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia.

AirAsia, Asia’s leading and largest low-cost airline, joined the venture to expand its reach in Vietnam and open the country as another gateway in the ASEAN region. The joint venture strengthens AirAsia’s position as THE ASEAN airline, expanding operations in the region, increasing intra-regional connectivity, and championing the ASEAN region as a tourism hub.

“The birth of Vietjet AirAsia contributes to the diversification of the aviation market in Vietnam, providing more options to meet the air travel needs of people in Vietnam and in the region,” Vietjet said.

Vietjet AirAsia will be tapping the expertise of both AirAsia and Vietjet Air for the successful operation and marketing of low-cost flights.

“The joint venture is a well-balanced combination of the management system, technical expertise, long-term experience in the airline industry, crew and international brand of AirAsia, and the financial strength, as well as Vietnamese market insights of VietJet Air,” Vietjet Air added.

AirAsia has informed Bursa Malaysia of its latest initiative.

About VietJet Air
Licensed in the air transport sector in December 2007 with the initial capital of 600 billion dong, VietJet Air is the first and only aviation joint stock company in Vietnam permitted to operate both domestically and internationally. The founding shareholders of VietJet Air are the Sovico Holdings, HD Bank and experienced, dedicated experts in the civil aviation industry in Vietnam. VietJet Air is committed to giving customers the opportunity to experience high-quality, professional and safe air service, and respect, friendliness reflecting the cultural characteristics of Vietnamese people. The airline observes the operating principles for environmental protection and social responsibility to the community.

About AirAsia and AirAsia X
AirAsia is the leading and largest low-cost carrier in Asia. It is proud to be a truly Asean (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) airline with established operations based in Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand. It services an extensive network of destinations stretching across the ASEAN region (Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Vietnam, Singapore, Brunei, Philippines), mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau, India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Australia. Through its low-cost long-haul affiliate AirAsia X, it is able to reach more destinations in China, Taiwan, Australia and the UK. Both AirAsia and AirAsia X have carried more than 85 million guests to date and have approximately 90 aircraft. AirAsia was named the 2009 World’s Best Low Cost Airline in the annual World Airline Survey by Skytrax, and AirAsia and AirAsia X were named joint winners of the Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation (CAPA) Airline of the Year Award for 2009.

For more information, contact AirAsia Communications:
Desiree Bandal; Email : desireeb@airasia.com

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