• 

  AirAsia

  IATA/ICAO Code:

  AK/AXM

  Airline Type:

  Low-Cost Carrier

  Year Founded:

  1993

  CEO:

  Tony Fernandes

  Country:

  Malaysia

  Hub(s):

  Kuala Lumpur International Airport

  Region:

  Asia

With demand for air travel back, AirAsia is looking to increase operations at its Penang hub in Malaysia. The low-cost airline is increasingly taking initiatives to revive tourism in the country, from resolving legal disputes with airports to signing new deals with tourism companies. With passengers traveling in significant numbers again, AirAsia's Penang hub could also see an increase in flights.

Stabilizing operations in Penang

AirAsia is looking to gradually increase operations at its Penang hub in an attempt to re-establish pre-COVID schedule by 2023. AirAsia Malaysia chief executive officer Riad Asmat gave an update recently, speaking about the carrier's current capacity from Penang and the way forward, saying,

“When compared with pre-COVID levels, our operations in Penang right now are at about 60 per cent in terms of scheduled flights and we aim to increase it to 80 per cent by year-end. A third aircraft will enable us to achieve that target sooner.”

Asmat is hopeful that in the first quarter of next year, things will likely stabilize even more considering ASEAN is more open now and not that strict when it comes to COVID-19 protocols. He expects operations in Penang to stabilize and return to the pre-pandemic level in the first quarter of 2023.

Boosting Penang tourism

Last week, AirAsia signed a contract of collaboration with Penang Global Tourism (PGT) to work together to bring tourism back to the state. The deal is expected to boost tourist numbers by offering better flight connectivity and attractive prices.

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Asmat said that as the largest carrier in Penang with a market share of 50% as a group, this befitted their expansion plans of opening up and developing new markets to and from the state.

So far, since the gradual resumption of its services to/from Penang, the airline has flown over 584,000 passengers into the state, including more than 87,000 international arrivals, since the border reopened in April this year.

The CEO commented,

"I would like to applaud AirAsia for continuously strengthening its connectivity to and from Penang with 184 weekly flights as a group. This has resulted in about 31% of overall passengers arriving into the state from January and July this year … I am also pleased to announce that the total passenger arrival into Penang has increased 287% from January to June."

Reviving air travel in Malaysia

Indeed, the carrier seems to be doing everything in its capacity to bring back travelers to Malaysia. Recently, AirAsia and Malaysia airports mutually agreed to end their legal disputes to strengthen the country's travel industry.

One of the lawsuits was filed by the airport group for outstanding Passenger Service Charge payments amounting to MYR41.55 million ringgit (USD9.1 million) against AirAsia and AirAsia X.

Tourism Malaysia is also encouraging various programs and events such as the 'World Top Gourmet Awards 2022' and other similar initiatives to bring back tourist revenue and strengthen the economy.

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