AirAsia is planning to increase the number of flights between Malaysia and China following a notable uptick in demand for travel between the two nations. The airline anticipates that forward sales will continue to accelerate in the upcoming months.
In July, the average load factor (number of passengers carried each aircraft) for flights operated by AirAsia Malaysia (AK) and AirAsia X Malaysia (D7) to/from China is roughly 80%. In the upcoming months, the load factors on a few of the busiest routes, including Kuala Lumpur-Shanghai, Kota Kinabalu-Guangzhou, Kuala Lumpur-Nanning, and Kota Kinabalu-Wuhan, reached up to 95%.
Between March and early July of this year, both airlines sold more than 320,000 seats between China and Malaysia, a 30% increase over the same period pre-Covid in 2019. A clear indication that Malaysia is one of China’s top tourist destinations is the fact that over 75% of the seats sold are to Chinese nationals.
AirAsia Malaysia (AK) will resume another service from Kota Kinabalu to Hangzhou beginning with three flights per week from September 2, 2023, based on the strong existing and anticipated demand. AirAsia X Malaysia (D7) will also increase service from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing (Daxing) from four to five flights per week starting on September 1 to seven flights per week starting on September 15 and from three to four flights per week beginning on September 30.
“We are an airline that optimises our operations based on consumer demand,” stated Riad Asmat, CEO of AirAsia Malaysia. We are therefore happy to see this increase in demand for travel between China and Malaysia. Flights from Kota Kinabalu to Hangzhou have resumed, which is completely in line with our goal of linking underserved cities to the rest of the globe. Based on demand, we also intend to start operating seven flights per week on this route beginning in October. In addition to increasing the number of high-value visitors arriving in Malaysia, the improved connectivity will be a vital factor in meeting the country’s domestic travel demand. In the future, we intend to increase connectivity and frequency between Malaysia and China from other hubs.
Benyamin Ismail, CEO of AirAsia X Malaysia, stated: “As long as China travel demand is strong across our network for medium-haul travel, we will also add more frequencies to our schedule to meet the growing demand, especially for some of our most well-liked Chinese destinations like Beijing (Daxing), Shanghai, and Hangzhou. The increased frequencies of our flights on the busiest routes will not only strengthen existing ties between the two nations and advance trade, tourism, and investment, but they will also maximise our efficiencies and boost AAX’s fleet utilisation. This means that in addition to paying less and waiting less, our customers will also have more time to explore and get the most out of their visits.
In addition to providing lower rates to all North Asian destinations, including Guilin, Guangzhou, Nanning, Shantou, Beijing, Shanghai, and more, AirAsia is also expanding its routes and the number of flights between Malaysia and China, with prices starting at RM319 all-in one-way. From RM339 all-in one-way, guests can also fly to other North Asian nations like Hong Kong, Macao, Taipei, Busan, Sapporo, and more. For travel between September 1, 2023, and March 31, 2024, these tickets are currently available for purchase on the airasia Superapp and website starting now through August 6, 2023.
Source- Travel daily