AirAsia X flying to home of the Pandas soon

PETALING JAYA, MALAYSIA - AirAsia is introducing a new route connecting Kuala Lumpur to Chengdu from Oct 20.

To be operated by AirAsia X, the four direct weekly flights come at all-in-fares as low as RM129 (S$52.9) one-way.

Reservations can be done online via AirAsia's website at www.airasia.com or mobile.airasia.com.

The booking period is from Aug 26 to Aug 30 2009, for the travel period between Oct 20, 2009 and July 31, 2010.

AirAsia's Regional Head of Commercial Kathleen Tan said: "Our China network has remained incomplete without a presence capable of unlocking the potential of travel to the western territories of China.

"With Chengdu now added on to our network, AirAsia can now boast that we have mainland China covered with 160 weekly flights." She added that at present, there is no direct air connectivity between Kuala Lumpur and Chengdu, home to China's living natural heritage, the Pandas.

AirAsia X CEO, Azran Osman-Rani said that despite the gloomy global economy, China remained an important trading and economic partner for Malaysia and the Asean region.

"The launch of this new route is expected to enhance the exchange of trade and tourism, and to strengthen the economic development of Kuala Lumpur and Chengdu.

"AirAsia X's low fares and innovative services will also stimulate more travels both in-bound and outbound from these two destinations as the Chinese public can take advantage of Kuala Lumpur's status as a gateway to Asia, Australia and Europe," he said.