AirAsia Secures Two World Travel Awards

18th Oct 2016

Saturday was a good day for AirAsia as the Malaysian low-cost carrier won two World Travel Awards (Asia and Australasia) in Da Nang, Vietnam.

The carrier won its fourth consecutive “Asia’s Leading Low-Cost Airline” as well as its first “Asia’s Leading In-Flight Service” awards.

In a statement about this, AirAsia Group Chief Executive Officer Tony Fernandes said:

We have only just started. We have many more innovative ideas that we’re working on right now to make our in-flight service even better.

Fernandes also said that AirAsia’s success shows that its service is best in both full-service and low-cost.

World Travel Award winners are selected based on service quality, product innovation, staff relations, contribution to the local community, corporate social responsibility, customer satisfaction and overall business performance among other things.

Langkawi to Become 6^th AirAsia’s International Hub in Malaysia

Meanwhile, AirAsia is poised to make Langkawi its 6^th International hub in Malaysia after Kuala Lumpur, Sabah, Sarawak, Johor and Penang.

AirAsia Chief Executive Officer Aireen Omar said:

We are looking to introduce more flights to and from Langkawi by next year and market the airport our new international hub for AirAsia. Right now, we are relying on our aircraft from Kuala Lumpur to build the connectivity to Langkawi, but by next year, we hope to have a couple of aircraft based there. Usually, when we build a hub, it will make economic sense to put a minimum of two aircraft there.

When it comes to Penang International Airport, Omar said PIA always reaches its full capacity during the festive seasons. About this Omar said:

Our parking bays and terminal are very congested during festive seasons and I have suggested to the authorities to expand the current airport or build another dedicated low-cost terminal to cater to the demand of the tourism industry.

She continued:

PIA offers high potential for us but unfortunately there are infrastructure constraints. Ideally, we would like to see a dedicated low-cost terminal in Penang where we can easily build on that connectivity to link without our current destinations.

According to Omar, AirAsia Group is aiming to increase its fleet to 500 aircraft (from the current 205) by 2028 in order to better cater to the growth in the low-cost travel market.