By SHARIDAN M.ALI
SEPANG: AirAsia Bhd plans to offer a second daily flight from Kuala Lumpur to Shenzhen in China in the last quarter, given the good response to the route.
Group chief executive officer Datuk Tony Fernandes said AirAsia had applied to the China Aviation Authority for a second landing slot and was waiting for the approval.
“We should know the outcome by September and will provide a second daily flight to Shenzhen soon after,” he told a press conference after the official launch of the Kuala Lumpur-Shenzhen flight yesterday.
The flight to Shenzhen, which is AirAsia’s first foray into mainland China, started June 14 and has received good demand.
Fernandes said more than 5,000 seats were filled in the first week after the service started, and that the route had been recording a load factor of close to 90% to date, the highest among its newly-launched routes.
“To date, we have sold more than 30,000 seats for Shenzhen. It presents a tremendous potential for us to tap the vast China market,” he said, adding that plans were under way for AirAsia to secure a second frequency to cater to the high demand for this route.
Yesterday, AirAsia’s brand new airbus A320 departed for Shenzhen at 4.25pm on a full load.
Transport Minister Datuk Seri Chan Kong Choy, who officiated at the launch, said the Kuala Lumpur- Shenzhen direct flight would further enhance investment and trade between Malaysia and southern China.
“I was informed that AirAsia is also going to increase its four daily flights to Macau to five times a day.
“This is another clear indication of the strong demand for travel to and from southern China,” he said.
On AirAsia’s request for access to fly to Singapore, Chan said that he was aware of the matter but it would take some time as it involved bilateral consensus of Malaysia and Singapore as well as other stakeholders.
“There has been a strong demand with AirAsia and Singapore asking for limited access to operate the specific route.
“However, although the open air policy will be implemented on Jan 1, 2009, we are prepared to discuss limited flights before the deadline,” he said.
Meanwhile, Fernandes told reporters that AirAsia was only asking for two daily flights to Singapore.