AirAsia expands in China

Low-cost carrier AirAsia said Wednesday it plans to add a second daily flight between Malaysia and Shenzhen in southern China starting next month as part of its regional network expansion.

In a statement, AirAsia said its daily Kuala Lumpur-Shenzhen flight has received an overwhelming response since it was launched in mid-July, with passenger loads of over 90 percent.

To cope with increasing demand, it said it will add the second daily flight on the route from Oct. 2 in time for China's Golden Week holidays.

AirAsia said it will also launch a new daily service from Malaysia's Kota Kinabalu on Borneo island to Shenzhen.

"AirAsia is now fast expanding its network into China, and Shenzhen is an ideal choice as the airline's gateway to the mainland,'' the carrier said.

AirAsia's sister airline, Thai AirAsia, is already flying daily from Bangkok to Shenzhen.

With the added flights from Malaysia, AirAsia said it will be serving four daily flights into Shenzhen.

AirAsia, Asia's largest budget airline by fleet size, has said it expects to carry 11 million passengers for the year ending June 2008, up from 8.7 million in 2007 fiscal year.

Source : STAR
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