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Winner of the CAPA ‘Airline of the Year 2007’ award, AirAsia commemorated yesterday (20 November 2007) the official launch of the Kuching – Macau route at the Kuching International Airport graced by the attendance of Y.A.B. Pehin Sri Tan Sri Haji Abdul Taib B. Mahmud, Chief Minister of Sarawak, YB Dato Sri Wong Soon Koh, Minister for Finance (II) & Minister for Urban Development and Tourism. They were joined by YBhg. Dato’ Seri Kalimullah Hassan, Chairman of AirAsia X, YBhg Dato’ Tony Fernandes, Group CEO of AirAsia Bhd and YBhg. Dato Kamarudin Meranun, Deputy Group CEO of AirAsia Bhd.
AirAsia will serve the international route to Macau from the Kuching hub with three flights weekly on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. It will be the carrier fifth hub flying directly to Macau. Currently the Kuching hub serves seven routes to Penang, Kuala Lumpur, Johor Bahru, Kota Kinabalu, Miri, Bintulu and Sibu.
According to the carrier, the inclusion of its international network to Macau will not only allow greater connectivity between the fourth largest city in Malaysia and the gateway to Hong Kong including Southern China, but also to other extensive network which AirAsia operates from.
The addition of the international route from Kuching is not only in accordance with AirAsia’s future route expansion plans to bring greater traffic load to both states but also prepares the East Malaysia hub for global low cost travel. The new international route will bring positive impact to tourism and travel related industries and further contribute to the economy of Sarawak. Most importantly, the people of Sarawak will continue to enjoy and have more access to international travel from Kuching now.
Dato’ Tony Fernandes, Group CEO of AirAsia Bhd said “We have established Kuching as our hub in East Malaysia in July 2006. The development of this hub has strategically positioned Kuching, Sarawak at the forefront to stimulate and encourage more travel between the Peninsular and East Malaysia. Besides, the establishment of this hub will enhance Malaysia’s connectivity to the international market. The Macau route is an important gateway to China and with the launch of this international route from Kuching will inevitably bring more people from the mainland China to the fourth largest urban state in Malaysia. The Macau route is also highly popular among tourists thus it is highly anticipated that the flight from the Kuching International Airport will replicate the success as well,”
“There is a huge demand from our passengers in Kuching to Macau and vice versa. It is noteworthy to highlight that our inaugural flight recorded one hundred percent load. This is also evident as we have already recorded an average of over than 83 % load from both ways to date. The international connectivity is also in response to the call made by the State Government which requested for enhanced connectivity from the East Malaysia hub” concluded Dato’ Tony.
Vicky is the co-founder of TravelDailyNews Media Network where she is the Editor-in Chief. She is also responsible for the daily operation and the financial policy. She holds a Bachelor's degree in Tourism Business Administration from the Technical University of Athens and a Master in Business Administration (MBA) from the University of Wales. She has many years of both academic and industrial experience within the travel industry. She has written/edited numerous articles in various tourism magazines.
