Friday 29 Mar 2024
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KUALA LUMPUR (June 24): AirAsia Group Bhd registered its highest post-hibernation sale day yesterday, with 41,000 seats sold across the group in a single day, signifying a strong rebound in demand for air travel, said the budget airline.

The group’s load factor averaged around 50% with AirAsia Malaysia hitting 70%, its highest load factor post-hibernation yesterday, AirAsia said in a statement today.

“AirAsia’s website is experiencing traffic growth of 170%. Some of the most popular routes booked include Kota Kinabalu and Kuching to Kuala Lumpur for Malaysia, Bangkok to Chiang Mai and Hat Yai for Thailand, Manila to Puerto Princesa and Davao for the Philippines, Delhi to Srinagar and Bengaluru to Hyderabad for India and Jakarta to Denpasar and Medan for Indonesia,” it said.

AirAsia chief executive officer Tan Sri Tony Fernandes said the group’s recent innovative product for Malaysia, AirAsia Unlimited Pass, which is a product specifically designed to promote the government’s effort to stimulate and encourage domestic travel, sold out quickly.

Encouraged by the positive development, Fernandes said the group foresees the trend to continue in the coming weeks.

“We will be rolling this out in other markets soon. We continue to play our part to revive the domestic tourism industry by partnering directly with local hotels to offer hassle-free, best price guaranteed deals with bigger savings on SNAP, our flight + hotel combo booking platform.

“Currently, we are offering 20% off all seats, for all flights in Malaysia. AirAsia is all about value, choice and innovation and this is just the beginning of our recovery efforts and we look forward to introducing more exciting products, promotions and collaborations in the near future,” he said.

According to Fernandes, AirAsia will increase its flight frequencies to around 50% of the group’s pre-Covid-19 operations and resume all domestic routes in the coming weeks and months to cater to the increasing demand.

Currently, AirAsia is operating 152 daily flights across the region, said Fernandes.

“We look forward to the reopening of international borders in recognition of the fact that air transport provides the connectivity that is essential for the resumption of economic activities and the global recovery efforts,” he added.

AirAsia shares slipped one sen to close at 88 sen today, giving it a market capitalization of RM2.92 billion, after 20.29 million shares were traded. The stock, which sank to a low of 52 sen on March 19, has rebounded 69% since.

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