AirAsia celebrates Kolkata–Kuala Lumpur Inaugural Flight
Kolkata: AirAsia held an auspicious celebratory event in the city of Kolkata today, to commemorate its successful inaugural flight from Kolkata – Kuala Lumpur. Kolkata is one of the airline’s latest Indian destinations which opened for sale recently, alongside Kochi and Thiruvananthapuram (Trivandrum).
The occasion was honourably graced by the presence of the Honorary Consul for Malaysia in Kolkata H.E. Mr. Sanjay Budhia, Honorable Tourism Minister of West Bengal Shri Manabendra Mukherjee and AirAsia Regional Head of Commercial Kathleen Tan.
Following a successful launch of Trichy last year, AirAsia maintained its commitment to expand its Indian network by launching three new routes from Kuala Lumpur to Kolkata, Kochi and Trivandrum which opened for sale on 15 October 2009.
The airline is confident that the route will provide a positive boost for tourism activities and stimulate local economies of India and Malaysia. Furthermore, provide direct connection between West Bengal to Malaysia via Kuala Lumpur hub, which in itself is a gateway to many destinations across Asia, the UK and the Middle East.
Kathleen Tan, Regional Head of Commercial Airasia said, “With Kolkata added to our extensive network, AirAsia is unlocking the potential of international air travel from Kuala Lumpur to eastern India and its surrounding areas. We are thrilled to be serving Kolkata direct, a huge market that no other airline is serving direct.”
He says further, “With the commencement of the direct service to Kuala Lumpur, the people in West Bengal and India may now use Kolkata as a gateway to our extensive route network to ASEAN and beyond. With 28,000 seats sold to date for the new route, it is a significant achievement for this market. We are very committed to expand this market and provide excellent opportunity to the community to enjoy our unbelievable low fares and world class service.”
“We also look forward to add further capacity, options for better travel value and better comfort to travelers between India and Kuala Lumpur in the future. Our persistent focus is to make air travel convenient for our guests via simple and expedient services but at world class standards. Additionally, we always strive hard to continue expanding our presently extensive network, and there are plans to initiate services to other cities in India. Be on the lookout for more surprises from us,” Tan concludes.
For all flights to India, AirAsia utilizes a brand new modern fleet of comfortable and spacious Airbus A320 aircraft, fitted with leather seats and spacious cabin.
This will be complemented by a variety of palatable hot meals options onboard, convenient and renowned customer service, friendly cabin crew and more. AirAsia encourages guests to pre-book their meals, and check in baggage online for greater savings!
AirAsia is the first airline in the world to abolish fuel surcharges and administrative fees from all its international and domestic flights, to make travel more affordable and accessible for all.
For booking of flights, in place are convenient booking mechanisms through AirAsia’s website, www.airasia.com and mobile devices at mobile.airasia.com, presenting guests with utmost convenience, where a myriad of services are instantly available at their fingertips.
AirAsia through its one stop travel portal, GoHoliday, at goholiday.airasia.com is also offering some great online hotel deals and tour packages where guests may choose their holiday lodgings from over 50,000 hotels to suit their budget.
AirAsia is currently the largest low-cost carrier in Asia and services the most extensive route network in South East Asia with over 70 destinations across 20 countries and 9 major hubs in Malaysia (Kuala Lumpur, Penang, Kota Kinabalu), Thailand (Bangkok, Phuket) and Indonesia (Jakarta, Bali, Surabaya, Bandung). It has grown from a modest two aircraft to its current fleet of 85, servicing over 130 routes in just 7 years.
Kuala Lumpur is an exciting and bustling metropolitan city and the center and symbol of Malaysia’s rapid rise as an economic powerhouse. This includes amongst others the modern buildings of the Golden Triangle, massive shopping malls and rocket-like Petronas towers which rise above the city’s horizon.
Yet nestled amidst the high-rises, it still offers a glimpse of its colorful heritage and a taste of traditional, exotic Asia. With a blend of unique cultures, great variety of food and world-renowned attractions such as KLCC Twin Towers, Genting City of Entertainment often frequented by families, Sunway Lagoon water park, the Telaga Tujuh Waterfalls located in the Langkawi islands, Taman Negara National Park, a major wildlife reserve, both Malaysia and Kuala Lumpur are renowned as perfect year-round holiday and business destinations.
AirAsia launched its first route to Trichy, India which is situated in the South Indian state of Tamil Nadu on December 1 2008, and is the first airline in South East Asia to fly direct to the city.
The launch of the first frequency to the city recorded an overwhelming response with an average load factor of 85% which led the airline to increase its 2nd frequency to the city with AirAsia’s 2nd direct daily flight on 1 September, 2009. To date, AirAsia have carried over 120,000 guests to and from Trichy.
