AirAsia’s first Middle East route to take to the skies in November

AirAsia will make its first foray into the Middle East in November with the launch of five weekly services between Abu Dhabi and Kuala Lumpur.

The new Kuala Lumpur – Abu Dhabi route, serviced by AirAsia’s low-fare long-haul affiliate, AirAsia X, will take to the skies for the first time on 23 November just in time for the peak Haj and Eid-dul Adha travel season.

AirAsia celebrated its entry into the Middle East with an auspicious ceremony at the Shagri-La Qaryat Al Beri in Abu Dhabi today.

This event was graced by over 200 guests including:? Mr. Ahmed Al Haddabi, Senior Vice President, Airport Operations of ADAC, Ambassador of Malaysia in UAE; H.E. Dato Yahaya Abdul Jabar and Director General of Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority (ADTA); H.E. Mubarak Hamad Al Muheiri, and AirAsia X CEO Azran Osman-Rani.

AirAsia X CEO Azran Osman-Rani said, “We are ecstatic with our first long haul route into the Middle East from Kuala Lumpur.

“This clearly indicates that our expansion plans are on track which represents our determination in providing truly low fares on our low-cost, long-haul services across the globe.

“We believe our low fares will help to stimulate and trigger new travel demand, and will help to boost tourism potential on both ends.

“This is part of our overall strategy in expanding into the Middle East. We see an untapped market which has strong economic potential for the route.

“Abu Dhabi is the largest city in UAE, with a population of 2 million – in which more than 80% of the populations are frequent traveling expatriates.

“Hence, we foresee an increasing trend of UAE travelers flying to Malaysia for holidays; tapping into a very lucrative market.

“There will also be potential demand from Malaysian and ASEAN travelers who dream to experience the wonders of the Middle East for the first time, as it is now so affordable to do so.”

“Abu Dhabi was chosen as our first Middle Eastern destination due to its appeal as a major majestic holiday destination with various fascinating places to offer visitors, ranging from tranquil beaches, majestic mosques with towering minarets, 200 desert islands and nature reserve and world class infrastructure.

“Furthermore, the city also serves as a gateway to popular cities like Dubai which is just an hour away and bus services will be provided by Abu Dhabi airport to the city.

“Abu Dhabi is also an excellent gateway with many connecting flights to popular Middle East countries such as Saudi Arabia (Jeddah and Medina), Egypt, Turkey, Jordan, Iran, Bahrain, Qatar, and many more.

“We will work towards making Abu Dhabi as our major ‘brand’ destination, like our trademark ‘Kangaroo routes’ that we have in place for Australia,” concludes Azran.

The new route will be serviced by the Airbus A340 aircraft with a 286 passenger capacity including 30 premium seats.

To celebrate the launch of this new route, AirAsia X is offering an attractive promotional all-in, low fare of AED99 (RM99)* one-way which is exclusively available online via AirAsia’s website at www.airasia.com, and via mobile at mobile.airasia.com.

The booking period for this promotion is from 20 August to 26 August 2009, for travel from 23 November 2009 to 31 July 2010.



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