Air Asia, the Malaysian low cost carrier, will have its inaugural flight between Taipei and Kuala Lumpur on July 1 and this means that it will be possible to fly to the Malaysian capital with a one-way air ticket costing only NT$888, announced Kathleen Tan, the commercial regional head of the airline, yesterday.

A round-trip ticket, including taxes and surcharges, will come up to about NT$3,000.

Tan is inviting travelers to visit website AirAsia.com to get information about the cheap fares to different destinations.

“The young airline has been in operation for only seven years,” said Dato’ Abdullah Mohd Salleh, president of the Malaysian Friendship & Trade Center in Taipei. “But it already has such a comprehensive route network in the Asian region, having carried about 70 million passengers to their destinations so far.”

The de facto Malaysian ambassador remarked that the people behind Air Asia are not from the airline business but from the music industry. Yet the airline’s success has been “phenomenal.”

The airline, he also pointed out, began operating with just two planes. But its relatively new fleet now includes 80 Airbus passenger planes.

Tan said that Air Asia decided to launch the new route this summer despite the global economic downturn because of an awareness of the Taiwan market of young travelers. These flyers can do without the frills of the more expensive flights on full service carriers.

Ticket booking can best be done online. Free luggage allowance does not come with the air ticket. The luggage charge is NT$210 for 15 kilos. Everyone is encouraged to travel light, said Tan.

Passengers can likewise order Hainan chicken rice online for NT$150. Other food options for online ordering are hot dog, spaghetti and instant noodles, said Tan.

The announcement about the launching of the Taipei-Kuala Lumpur route by the Malaysian budget airline this summer is welcome news to En Muhamad Nasir Pahmi, director of Tourism Malaysia in Taiwan. Air Asia will give Taiwanese travelers who are considering a trip to Malaysia an additional option. It will be a boost to the promotion of Malaysian tourism in Taiwan.

Source: eTaiwan News