AirAsia to add flights to Indonesia

KUALA LUMPUR (JP): Malaysian airline AirAsia Sdn. Bhd. says it plans to add more flights to Indonesia, to destinations other than Jakarta.

General Manager Mohd. Nazri Mahajar said here over the weekend it would probably offer two more flights, to Bali and Medan, North Sumatra.

"We are optimistic that we will have the two additional flights to Indonesia by next year," Nazri said.

The airline, 85 percent owned by Malaysia's largest conglomerate Hicom Group and 15 percent by trading company Mofaz Group, has not decided where in Malaysia the new flights will fly from.

The airline, which began serving Indonesia last March, now serves the Kuala Lumpur-Penang (Malaysia)-Jakarta route three times a week, using two B737-300 aircraft each with a capacity of 130 seats, he said.

Nazri said the company expected its load factor to Indonesia to rise to 50 percent by the end of the year from 30 percent currently.

He said he was optimistic that the goal would be reached because the airline targeted passengers from northern Malaysia, unlike other airlines which fly from Kuala Lumpur.

He said AirAsia could compete with other airlines, such as the widely used Malaysian Airlines, because it was the first airline to go through Penang, on the north-western coast of the Malaysian peninsular.

"Right now there are already seven airlines serving Jakarta- Kuala Lumpur," he said.

Its flights go from Kuala Lumpur to Jakarta via Penang, and vice versa. Passengers going to Penang pay the same fare as those going to Kuala Lumpur, he said.

"The competitive price and wide passenger space also attract our passengers," he said.

Nazri, who worked in Malaysian Airlines (MAS) for 20 years, said AirAsia also planned to buy two more airlines before the end of the year.

"We plan to buy two wide-body planes, one of which would serve the pilgrim season to Jedah, Saudi Arabia next year," he said, adding that the other plane would probably fly to Shanghai, China.

AirAsia was established in 1993 but started operating in November last year.

It now serves four domestic routes to Penang, Kota Kinabalu, Lengkawi and Kuala Lumpur. Its overseas flights go to Taiwan, Indonesia and the Philippines.

Nazri said the airline expected to fly to all Malaysian states in five years. (das)