CEO: AirAsia X made right move in stopping KL-Tianjin route

BEIJING: All signs are showing that AirAsia X has made the right decision to end its Kuala Lumpur-Tianjin route and fly direct to Beijing.


AirAsia X CEO Azran Osman Rani said more than 80% of the seats for the airline’s new four-times weekly KL-Beijing flight for the next three months had been sold since the launch of the route last Friday. In comparison, the KL-Tianjin flight garnered 60% to 70% in sales in the first three months of its introduction in 2009. “Beijing, with its population of 20 million, is a very important metropolitan city, and I think there will be a lot more demand for foreign travel from here. “The potential of growth is certainly there and we are going to extend the KL-Beijing route to daily service starting from Aug 6,” he said at an event here to mark the inaugural flight.

The flight achieved an occupancy rate of 90% with 299 inbound and 333 outbound passengers from the Beijing Capital International Airport (BCIA), which was the highest among all the airline’s inaugural flights. BCIA Co Ltd deputy general manager Zhang Wei said the inaugural KL-Beijing flight had not only given passengers more travel choices but also brought the low-cost airline model to the airport.

On another matter, Azran said the move by AirAsia Group CEO Tan Sri Tony Fernandes to head the airline’s regional operations in Jakarta would help solidify the low-cost carrier’s position as an Asean airline in its future dealings with China. “The political and economic relations between Asean and China have grown stronger. AirAsia X is proud to be part of this and provide more air links between Asean and China, which are two very huge markets with a 600 million and 1.3 billion population, respectively,” he said.
-thestar online.