AirAsia launches first Bangkok Sales office

Official opening of Air Asia Bangkok Sales Office

Low cost carrier, AirAsia officially opened the doors of its first Bangkok Sales office on Wednesday.
Located on Khao San Road, the new sales office is aimed at meeting the demands of guests who prefer face-to-face, one-stop service with flexibility in payment methods both in cash and by credit card.
Tassapon Bijleveld, Chief Executive Officer of Thai AirAsia said, “This expansion portrays our confidence in Thailand’s tourism and strong commitment to the Thai market. “We expect to increase the level of our guests’ satisfaction coherently by constantly providing the best products and services. “The opening of this new convenient customer touch point will supplement AirAsia’s highly popular online service at www.airasia.com.
“With our low fares offering, we will continue to expand our service coverage into major cities across Thailand, especially tourist spots as we foresee the upcoming strong demand from these areas.”
At the opening ceremony of the new sales office, AirAsia also held a small handover ceremony of thirty full decorated Padthai carts to street vendors in Banglumpoo area. The ceremony was attended by a number of senior officials from Tourism Authority of Thailand and Khao San Business Association as well as representatives from Phranakorn District Office. This latest initiative is AirAsia’s second sales outlet following the success of its first sales office on Chiang Mai’s Thaphae Road that was opened in June last year. AirAsia sales office at Khao San opens daily from 1100 hrs to 2200 hrs.

AirAsia to fly to Taipei five times a week

PETALING JAYA: AirAsia will fly direct to Taipei five times a week from July 1.

The new route will be operated by its low-cost long-haul-carrier affiliate AirAsia X.

“Attractive fares are being offered from as low as RM101 one-way, which are exclusively available through the website at www.airasia.com.

“Booking period is from today till May 3 for travel between July 1 and Jan 31 next year,” it said in a statement yesterday.

AirAsia regional commercial head Kathleen Tan said Taipei was the company’s final piece in its network strategy for the region and that it was “extremely excited about the potential of the new route”.

“We are confident that our ultra-low fares will entice the Taiwanese public and Malaysians who reside, work and study in the island republic to fly home and connect with their families,” she said.

“Most importantly, we believe our low fares will help to stimulate and trigger new travel demand, and help boost tourism on both ends.”

In an AirAsia briefing in Taipei, Malaysian Friendship and Trade Centre for Taiwan president Datuk Abdullah Mohd Salleh said Taiwanese visitors would feel at home in Malaysia due to the presence of the Chinese community in the country.

“Likewise, our tourists will feel very much at home in Taipei. For Muslims, finding halal restaurants in Taipei won’t be a very big problem,” he said, adding that there were some 4,000 Malaysian students in Taiwan.

AirAsia to go big in India

But it needs to solve issues with MAS over flights to four cities

PETALING JAYA: The AirAsia group plans to venture into India in a big way but it has to first address some issues with Malaysia Airlines (MAS) over flights to four major cities there, said AirAsia group chief executive officer Datuk Seri Tony Fernandes.

The four cities are Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad and Bangalore, currently serviced by MAS.

“Our growth momentum should not be stopped,” Fernandes told StarBiz. “Ideally, we would like to fly to as many cities as we can, pending us getting the rights. But not the four (cities) because there are some issues with MAS. The four (cities) may be possible next year.”

Datuk Seri Tony Fernandes

The issues concern royalties and free and discounted tickets, which are arrangements MAS has with Air India for the four cities.

However, AirAsia can wait till Jan 1 to fly into the four cities if it does not want to share costs as the MAS/Air India agreement lapses by Dec 31, 2009.

But there is nothing to stop AirAsia plying other routes into the Indian subcontinent this year as long as it gets the rights to do so.

The rights may be pending, with Fernandes saying, “We have been warmly welcomed by the Indian government as they see us bringing tourism and economic benefits.

“We have always said that we will first focus on Malaysia, then South-East Asia and China. Our expansion into India will be this year and the next and India is going to be a very big growth story for us.”

Given the issues with MAS, Fernandes said AirAsia would ply the Kochi, Coimbatore, Trivandrum and even Colombo and Maldives routes this year.

“Our experience with the first flight to Tiruchirappalli City since December has been very good and our focus will be more of the South Indian points,” he added.

As for AirAsia X, the long-haul budget airline is still toying with the idea to ply the Bangkok-Amritsar route this year.

Dehli and Mumbai will be part of AirAsia X’s route expansion plan while Hyderabad and Bangalore will be plied by AirAsia next year, according to Fernandes.

AirAsia X to Increase KL - London Flights to Daily

21 April 2009

Commencing 1 July 2009, AirAsia X will increase the frequency of its flights between London, Stansted and Kuala Lumpur to a daily service.

Since its inaugural flight in March, the low-cost long haul airline has operated five times a week between Stansted and Kuala Lumpur, but strong passenger demand has led to the introduction of a daily service less than four months after its maiden flight.

To mark the occasion, AirAsia X is offering one way fares from as low as RM499 (£149) exclusively through online booking from 21st -23rd April 2009 at airasia.com for the travel period beginning 3rd July 2009- 31 January 2010.

AirAsia X CEO Azran Osman-Rani said, “Our aim has always been to open up travel for all. The popularity of the London-KL route is further testament to the pent-up demand for long-haul travel, provided the fares are low and the quality is high. That is the combination that we at AirAsia X are offering our guests. AirAsia X is providing fares people have never seen before for these routes, and making travel more affordable and accessible. From KL people are choosing from over 122 AirAsia routes. We are also offering an affordable and alternative version of the ‘Kangaroo Route’ – all the way from London via KL to Melbourne, Perth and the Gold Coast in Australia.”

“We knew this service would be popular but to increase the frequency so soon is beyond our expectations. The best part is that these super low fares are even applicable during the peak July – August summer season. Business travellers, students and families are all taking advantage of our low fares even in these challenging economic times” Azran added.

The route is serviced by an Airbus A340-300, which has 286 seats including 30 XL seats.

More Indian Cities For AirAsia In 2009

BANGKOK-- Low-cost carrier AirAsia is making huge expansion in Asia this year, flying to at least six more cities in India, Colombo in Sri Lanka and Taipei from either Kuala Lumpur or Bangkok.

According to industry sources, the airline is expected to start the Kuala Lumpur-Taipei route in June and Kuala Lumpur-Colombo sector in August.

"More destinations will be added, both in India and China, once new planes arrive. There will be new destinations from both Kuala Lumpur and Bangkok," the sources said.

Thai AirAsia Chief Executive Officer Tassapon Bijleveld confirmed recently that Thailand's popular resort island Phuket would become the airline's second hub in the Kingdom after Bangkok.

He, however, declined to disclose the planned routes although it is believed that Hong Kong would be the first destination.

From September onwards, AirAsia, voted the best low-cost carrier by London-based consultancy group, Skytrax, is expected to fly to Chennai and Hyderabad from Bangkok once Thai AirAsia receives more new Airbus from its European maker.

The sources said AirAsia's long-haul airline, AirAsia X, is likely to fly to several more routes from Kuala Lumpur to India, namely its capital New Delhi, business hub Mumbai, IT City Bangalore, Amritsar in Punjab and Kochi, the second biggest city in Kerala.

The airline, which had advertised for station managers in the seven Indian cities, currently flies from Kuala Lumpur to Tamil Nadu's Tiruchirappalli City since last December.

Last week, AirAsia X launched the Kuala Lumpur to Tianjin flight and is planning to fly to Chengdu and Xian soon. Other cities in China served by AirAsia include Macau, Hong Kong, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Hangzhou, Guilin and Haikou.

AirAsia, which started with only two planes eight years ago, currently has over 75 planes and flies to 65 destinations.

Premium travellers keep trading down

20 April 2009

Business and premium-class passengers continue to trade down to cheaper seats at the back of the aircraft as they tighten their purse strings during the recession.

More business people are becoming more budget conscious, says Mr Osman-Rani.

The latest figures from the International Air Transport Association (IATA) show that premium-ticket passengers in February declined at a far greater rate than the number of economy travellers.

Premium traffic volume was down 21.1% in February, following a 16.7% fall in January, resulting in an average 19.1% contraction for the first two months of this year.

The decline was more muted for economy passengers as numbers fell 8.3% in February, after a 4.7% drop in January.

Patee Sarasin, chief executive of the budget carrier Nok Airlines, agreed with the IATA economists' analysis on the trend of trading down, adding that low-cost carriers were reaping the benefits of greater cost consciousness.

"We are seeing more business people, who used to fly full-service airlines, trading down in today's (economic) climate and becoming more budget conscious," added Azran Osman-Rani, chief executive of AirAsia X, the long-haul sister airline of AirAsia, Southeast Asia's largest low-cost carrier.

A business class seat costs three or four times more than economy class on a full-service airline, which is in turn about 30% more expensive than a seat on a low-cost carrier.

Taking into account the impact of the extra day in February last year, the latest statistics show travel demand is still declining across all segments.

Total passenger numbers were down 9.6% in February, probably around 6% after adjusting for the leap year, compared to the 10.1% decline in international RPKs (revenue passenger kilometres) reported earlier.

Average travel distances are now getting shorter as long-haul international markets suffer the most, a result of the collapse in world trade and investment flows, the Geneva-based airline group reported.

Asia had been the weakest large market and in February premium travel across the Pacific recorded the biggest drop with a 27.3% decline.

There was also a particularly large deterioration in both premium and economy travel across the North Atlantic; premium travel fell 22.5% in February following a 14.5% fall in January.

However, the first tentative sign of a floor in major markets is in premium travel from Europe to the Far East, where the decline slowed from 21.2% in January to 19.6% in February, and even more after accounting for the leap year.

Airlines also saw revenues from premium travel, which make up the bulk of profits for most network airlines, fall even further than passenger numbers because since November, premium fares have been cut at an accelerating rate.

IATA estimated that premium revenues declined by around 30% in February, a sharp contrast to February of last year when revenues were being boosted by double-digit fare increases to recover surging fuel costs.

This reversal will put significant pressure on the first quarter financial performance of airlines.

IATA's latest revised outlook is for the global air transport industry to lose US$4.7 billion this year, significantly worse than its December forecast of a $2.5-billion loss.

AirAsia bucks the trend

19 April 2009

FROM this recession, we learn that bad economic news is only bad for some but good news for others.

Contrary to the norm of organisations suspending operations or trimming costs, AirAsia seems to be progressing at full tilt here.

It is expanding and adding new routes – such as the latest Kuala Lumpur-Tianjin route – to keep up with demand.

AirAsia Bhd’s long-haul sister airline, AirAsia X, took off to Tianjin on April 2.

“This is a welcome move for us,’’ said a Malaysian who only wished to be known as Chin.

He said he could not afford to use the other airlines so he tried out AirAsia, paying only 1,800 yuan (RM955) for one-way airfare.

Chin, who has been working in Tianjin since 2008, took the flight home several days after AirAsia’s maiden flight to Tianjin.

“The flight was okay but delayed by an hour – 30 minutes late due to traffic control in Beijing and another 30 minutes due to the late arrival of the morning flight.

“Tony (AirAsia group chief executive officer Datuk Seri Tony Fernandes) was on the same flight too, greeting each and every passenger on board. He’s a true professional,’’ he added.

Chin, who had been working in Beijing before his transfer to Tianjin, also gave the pilot the thumbs-up for making a smooth landing.

Plaudits also came from a group of Malay­sian students who are studying Chinese Medicine at the university in Tianjin as the new route means a cheaper alternative.

It is a more approachable no-frills airline for them and it only costs about 2,,200 yuan (RM1,170) for a round trip.

“I can now afford to fly home more often,’’ said student Benny Tang, adding that he would take AirAsia again to go home to take part in a play next month.

The additional route is also good news for Chinese tourists. As highlighted by Malaysian Ambassador to China Datuk Syed Norul­zaman Syed Kamaruzaman during AirAsia X’s inaugural flight press conference, Malaysia and China have shown close cooperation in the field of tourism.

Last year, he said, Malaysia welcomed close to 950,000 arrivals from China, an increase of over 20% compared with 789,568 visitors in 2007.

“China is, in fact, the leading tourist market outside the Asean countries for Malaysia, and ranks number five in the top 10 tourist generating markets,’’ he added.

Xing Baohua is among the tourists who are impressed with the fare structure.

“I have gone online to check on the airfare for a one-way trip which can go as low as 428 yuan (RM227),’’ said the 35-year-old avid traveller who has been working in Tianjin for many years.

She said she loves Malaysia and its beautiful sights, adding that the new KL-Tianjin route would help put more Malaysian destinations on her must-visit list.

“Everyone can fly!” she said in Chinese, repeating the airline’s slogan and waving the AirAsia pamphlet.

Fernandes told the media in Tianjin that AirAsia’s journey in China began in 2004 with only two aircraft and over 200 staff.

He said the airline believed that Tianjin – its first northern China destination – had the same potential as its southern China destinations.

Fernandes recalled that AirAsia began with a flight a day to Macau but now flies 12 times a day.

“In 2004, AirAsia had only 4,000 passengers for the Macau route. Last year we carried 1.8 million passengers for eight destinations.

“In spite of the global financial downturn, we are going against the trend,’’ he said.

A travel agent from Inner Mongolia who was also present expressed great interest in expanding its cooperation with the budget carrier.

“AirAsia’s presence in northern China actually brings more opportunities for us, especially during such times of economic uncertainty,’’ said the agent, who wished to be known as Meng.

“So far, I have not sold more than five or six air tickets to Kuala Lumpur. The Kuala Lumpur-Tianjin route has good potential as many from Inner Mongolia love travelling,” he said.

Meng said times might be hard but there were always opportunities, adding that some businesses or companies like budget airlines could even be immune to economic downturns.

AirAsia X currently flies five times a week to Tianjin from the Low Cost Carrier Terminal (LCCT) using its new Airbus A330 with 383 seats in a two-class configuration.

Colours Of Malaysia In Guilin

18 April 2009

Malaysia's Consul General in Kunming, Roseli Abdul (left) explains to Guilin Foreign Affairs Deputy Director Ning Song (middle) how the roti canai is made in during the launching of the three-day 'Colours of Malaysia' promotion in Guilin. Also present is Suhaimi Shaharuddin, Tourism Malaysia Director in Guangzhou (right). Pic: Tham Choy Lin



GUILIN -- The people of this city, well- known for its scenic attractions, had a glimpse of another paradise when Tourism Malaysia rolled into town for the first time with a food and cultural festival on a two-leg promotion with low-cost carrier AirAsia in the southern Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region.

Curious locals quickly warmed up to the "teh tarik" and used chopsticks to chomp down dozens of "roti canai" and plates of piping hot "mee goreng" even before the show officially began.

Malaysia's consul general in Kunming, Roseli Abdul, jointly launched the three-day "Colours of Malaysia" promotion at the main town square on Friday evening with Guilin foreign affairs deputy director Ning Song and tourism deputy director Chen Yun Chun.

"We hope that with more promotions like this, tourists from Guilin will visit Malaysia. In addition, as a food and a shopping haven, Malaysia is an exciting and safe holiday destination and one Chinese yuan is now 53 Malaysian sen compared to 44 sen a year ago," Roseli said.

Also present at the launch was Suhaimi Shaharuddin, Tourism Malaysia's director in Guangzhou, who covers the southern China region and biggest market for Malaysia here.

"Guangxi is a new market for us after AirAsia began flying to Guilin last September. We had a similar promotion in the capital, Nanning, last week before coming here and the response in both places has been very good," Suhaimi said.

The potential market is underlined by AirAsia increasing its four weekly flights to a daily frequency to Guilin from next month. The budget carrier currently charges 359 yuan one-way for the four-hour journey to Kuala Lumpur.

Suhaimi said Guangxi tourists were new to Malaysia and their popular destinations were Kuala Lumpur, Melaka, Genting Highlands and Pangkor island.

"Most of them are families and we will also work on getting them to Sabah and Sarawak. They can travel to Shenzhen first and take AirAsia from there to the two states," he added. Tourism Malaysia is currently working with two travel agents in Guilin.

Coincidentally, the Sheraton Guilin Hotel is hosting "A Taste of Malaysia" dinner buffet with chefs flown in from Malaysia.

China is Malaysia's biggest market outside Southeast Asia. Last year, the tourist numbers rose to 949,000 while arrivals in the first two months of this year totalled 174,500.

AirAsia Adds Two New Sabah-Singapore Routes

17 April 2009

KOTA KINABALU-- AirAsia will add two new routes between Sabah and Singapore starting June, said Transport Minister Datuk Seri Ong Tee Keat.

"The new routes are Tawau-Singapore and Sandakan-Singapore. With the two additional routes, three Sabah cities are now connected with Singapore," he told reporters after holding a dialogue with Chinese community leaders at Sekolah Menengah Kian Kok near here, Friday night.

AirAsia currently flies between Kota Kinabalu and Singapore.

Ong said the landing rights were approved following a negotiation in Singapore on Tuesday.

"The frequencies of the flights is up to the airline. A Singapore airline has also been given the rights to ply the routes and its frequency will match that of AirAsia," he said

He said the new routes would help boost the state economic activities especially the tourism industry.

Firefly, Airasia Likely To Get New Routes

17 April 2009

KUALA LUMPUR -- The decision by Malaysia and Singapore to further liberalise air travel between them is expected to benefit low-cost carriers -- Firefly and AirAsia -- when the new traffic rights take effect in June, sources said.

Under the new agreement, which was announced by the Singapore Transport Ministry on Wednesday, carriers from both countries would operate between Singapore and six new destinations in Malaysia and vice versa.

The destinations are Ipoh, Kuala Terengganu, Kuantan, Malacca, Sandakan, and Tawau apart from allowing more flights to Penang, Langkawi, Kuching and Kota Kinabalu.

So far, the Malaysian government has not decided which airline would get to fly the new destinations.

Aviation observers said the existing two low-cost carriers -- Firefly and AirAsia -- were likely be given the routes.

"Firefly is likely to be given permission to fly the Singapore-Ipoh, Singapore-Terengganu, Singapore-Malacca and Singapore-Kuantan and existing Singapore-Penang routes which are already served by other airlines," industry sources told Bernama.

He said Firefly, however, would probably not get the Singapore-Tawau and Singapore-Sandakan routes as its turbo-prop ATR-72 aircraft were not suitable for long-distance flights.

The source said AirAsia would also likely to pick up most of the six routes.

However, he said, it would be up to the Malaysian government to decide on the frequencies and the airline or airlines to fly or share the new routes.

Both airlines had applied to the Transport Ministry for permission to fly the new routes, he said.

Industry sources said Firefly officials recently met with the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore.

It is believed that Firefly planned to use Changi Budget terminal as its base if it were offered the routes.

Wednesday's decision by the two countries to lift air restrictions was expected to benefit travellers and further boost the economies of both countries which started after several rounds of liberalisation last year.

In February, Tiger Airways, Jetstar Asia and AirAsia were given the green light to operate a limited number of Singapore-Kuala Lumpur services.

All the restrictions on the route would be lifted in December.

In November last year, the two governments also opened up the Singapore- Sabah and Sarawak sector, allowing flights from Singapore to Kuching, Miri and Kota Kinabalu and vice-versa.

The liberalisation of Singapore-Malaysia air links is part of a wider initiative to free the Association of South-East Asian Nations skies.

Transport ministers of the 10-member grouping had agreed on a long-term road map that will see the creation of a Asean single aviation market by 2015.

When that happens, all carriers of member states will be able to criss-cross the region's skies without any restrictions.

AirAsia to open ticket office in Patong

COMING SOON: The AirAisa office, now under construction on the beach road in Patong, is scheduled to open at the end of this month.

16 April 2009

PHUKET CITY: As part of its plan to develop Phuket as a second aviation hub for Thailand, Thai AirAsia hopes to establish direct air links with major cities in the region and will set up a sales office on the beach road in Patong, the company’s chief executive officer (CEO) told the Gazette.

Thai AirAsia CEO Tassapol Bijleveld says that the carrier wants to help decentralize air links so that more passengers in the region can get to destinations in Thailand without having to transit through Bangkok.

AirAsia currently operates eight flights daily between Phuket and Bangkok.

Phuket will be the first of a number of new aviation hubs the carrier hopes to establish in Southeast Asia. The Phuket hub will eventually make it possible for people to fly directly from the island to regional destinations such as Hong Kong, Macao, Singapore, Jakarta and Ho Chi Minh City.

People in Indonesia wanting to visit Phuket currently have to get two connecting flights – to Singapore and Bangkok – before reaching the island. A scheduled service from Jakarta to Phuket would reduce travel time to about one hour, he added.

However, it was still too early to announce which other airports in Thailand and around the region were likely to be upgraded to aviation hub status, Mr Tassapon said.

More specific details about the carrier’s regional expansion plans will be released later this year, he added.

Servicing the Phuket hub will be some of AirAsia’s current fleet of six Airbus A320s. Thai AirAsia currently operates nine Boeing 737-300 aircraft and six Airbus A320s, which are among 40 brand new A320s ordered to gradually replace the 737-300s and expand the fleet.

The first of these A320s was delivered in October 2007, while the remainder will be handed over by 2012.

Mr Tassapon told the Gazette before the recent turmoil in Bangkok that he “definitely” expects tourism to Phuket to not only recover, but to expand.

However, AirAsia has no immediate plans to use Phuket as a hub for long-haul international flights such as its popular Kuala Lampur-London route, he said.

A source at Thai AirAsia said the carrier was not badly affected by the recent riots in Bangkok because most passengers had booked and paid for their flights long before the protests turned violent.

AirAsia’s new ticket office in Patong is slated to be open by the end of the month.

AirAsia X Yet To See 50 Percent Landing Rebate

16 April 2009

KUALA LUMPUR-- AirAsia X is still waiting for implementation of the 50 percent rebate on landing charges as announced in the second economic stimulus package, chief executive officer Azran Osman-Rani said today.

AirAsia X, an associate of AirAsia Bhd with shareholders such as the Virgin group and AirAsia, is a low-cost long-haul airline launched in January 2007.

"We are hopeful and waiting for any kind of notification," Azran said when asked if the airline was already benefiting from the rebate.

Any cost reduction will ultimately benefit the customers and more people will be encouraged to travel, he told Bernama here today.

Under the RM60 billion second stimulus package announced by the government last month, the rebate will be given for two years, effective April 1, 2009, to all airlines operating from Malaysia.

The move is mainly to attract more tourists, particularly from abroad, as part of the concerted efforts to encourage more airlines to operate from Malaysia.

Tune Hotels comes to Penang

16 April 2009

GEORGE TOWN: AirAsia affiliate Tune Hotels.com has launched its fifth and biggest Tune Hotel in Penang.

The new budget hotel consists of 258 rooms, bringing the total guest capacity of Tune Hotels in the country to 58,310 per month, according to Tune Hotels.com chairman Datuk Seri Kalimullah Hassan.

He said the company had spent RM30mil to refurbish the hotel, located at Jalan Burma, Penang and was looking to build at least two more hotels in the state.

“Two years ago, we bought about 30,000 sq ft in Batu Feringghi near Bayview Beach Resort and we are thinking about what to do there.

From left: Tune Hotels.com founder and director Datuk Seri Tony Fernandes, Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng, Tune Hotels chairman Datuk Seri Kalimullah Hassan and state Tourism, Culture, Arts and Heritage Committee chairman Danny Law launching the new Tune Hotel in Jalan Burma, Penang.

“We are also looking around the George Town city area because we feel Penang can support at least three Tune Hotels,” Kalimullah said during the launching ceremony on Monday.

He added that work had started on hotels in Miri, Johor, Langkawi while two of its hotels in Bali were set to welcome their first guests by the year-end.

“We have received very good response for the hotels so far. The Kuala Lumpur and Sepang hotels are recording 100% and over 90% room occupancy while the Kuching and Kota Kinabalu sites are at about 70%.

“Penang has also recorded close to 100% occupancy since operations began on April 1,” Kalimullah said.

He added that work was in progress to add 65 rooms to the Kuala Lumpur Tune Hotel and the company hoped to have 13 hotels up and running by the first half of 2010.

“We are also looking into business with China and India and if that works out, it will be a quantum leap for us as it will involve 30 to 40 hotels.

“We are being very aggressive but the question is how to tie up with these countries and raise the capital in the current economic situation.

“So now, we are putting in our own money plus raising private equity and with that, we plan to acquire more property,” Kalimullah said.

Air Asia’s Fly and win competition

16 April 2009

The airline’s first RM10,000 prize for its Fly and Win campaign goes to KL-based insurance claims manager Alan Ho. Alan, who won the prize after booking seats for himself and two other colleagues for flights to Kuching, Miri and Kuala Lumpur, says he was pleasantly surprised when he won the jackpot.

KL-based insurance claims manager Alan Ho explained “I couldn’t believe my luck! My friends called me to say that I won RM10,000. I went back to the office, and they showed me the ad in a Chinese newspaper announcing my win. I can’t read Chinese except for my name, which I saw printed with my IC number, and then I knew that I had indeed won. I feel privileged as I have never won a prize in a contest involving luck before,”who turns 40 this year.

The contest, Fly and Win, is AirAsia’s way of thanking its guests for voting it the World’s Best Low Cost Airline in the latest Skytrax survey, which polled more than 16.2 million travelers.

The contest is valid for all AirAsia guests residing in Malaysia and Singapore who book seats at www.airasia.com or mobile.airasia.com between 6 and 26 April 2009 for travel between 5-May-09 and 31-Jul-10 . They stand a chance to win a RM10,000 or S$5,000 cash prize during weekly draws on 13, 20 and 27- Apr.

The bookings must be for travel originating from any destination in Malaysia or Singapore and payments must be made in Malaysian ringgit or Singapore dollars.

Alan is a frequent flyer on AirAsia and confesses to having been a fan of the airline for years. He frequents Bangkok and Phuket as holiday hotspots, and he goes there primarily to enjoy the food. He has also been on AirAsia flights to Bali, Macau and wherever else AirAsia brings him closer to dive spots. He pinpoints KL-Tawau as a particularly helpful route as it offers the most convenient way for him to visit the world-famous dive spots of Sipadan. AirAsia offers direct flights from KL to Tawau, the jump-off point for the dive spots.

AirAsia offers free tickets to watch U2 concert in London

15 April 2009

KUALA LUMPUR — AirAsia is offering two return tickets to London with a three-day and two-night stay and two concert passes for the U2 concert in London on August 14, courtesy of Universal Music.

The low-cost carrier said the contest was part of AirAsia's initiative in conjunction with the launch of its major regional brand campaign aptly themed ‘Have You Flown AirAsia Lately?’.

The campaign kicks off today.

To participate in the contest, guests will have to solve a few riddles posted every two days on AirAsia's Facebook page beginning today, it said in a statement.

Participants are encouraged to discuss with each other on the wall and only submit their answers after compiling them for all the seven riddles and completing the slogan “I fly with the world’s best low-cost airline because...” to the email address, londoncalling@airasia.com , by May 10, it said.This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

The most ceative slogan with all correct answers will be selected as the winner and he or she will also be announced on the same Facebook page on May 15, it said.

The campaign will also feature a brand new AirAsia TV commercial directed by Yasmin Ahmad, it added.