Air Asia will start operating its Macau-Johor Bahru direct flight on November 28, a new route that will make travelling more convenient to the family holiday destination in the southern part of Malaysia.
Johor Bahru is Malaysia’s second largest city and is the capital of the Johor state. It is where the Hello Kitty theme park and Legoland are located, and for holidaymakers looking for sun, sea and sand, the nearby islands such as Rawa Island are also an option. Besides, popular holiday destination Malacca is also close by.
Thanks to the direct flight, travelling to Johor Bahru only takes four hours, much more convenient than having to do a stopover in Kuala Lumpur, which takes four hours, and then having to wait at the airport for the one-hour flight to Johor Bahru.
As Senai International Airport in Johor Bahru is just a 30-minute bus ride away from the Singapore border, the low-cost carrier also runs a shuttle service between the two countries for travellers’ convenience.
Air Asia invited local and mainland Chinese media for a five-day trip to Johor Bahru this week – including The Macau Post Daily.
Air Asia CEO for Hong Kong and Macau Celia Lao told reporters at Macau International Airport on Tuesday that with all the development taking place in and around Macau and the surrounding infrastructure taking shape such as the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge, the company sees great business potential to open more direct routes between Macau and new destinations. While the Macau-Johor Bahru route will be launched on November 28 with daily flights, Air Asia will launch a Macau-Phuket route on January 8.
“There’s no direct flight from Hong Kong or Shenzhen to Johor Bahru yet,” Lao said, pointing out that the Macau-Johor Bahru route was expected to attract holidaymakers from around the entire region too, adding that Air Asia has chosen to open the route to Johor Bahru because it is a mature tourism city, a family holiday destination with theme parks, it has great shopping malls and it is just a two-hour drive to Rawa Island.
During this promotional period, a one-way flight ticket from Macau to Johor Bahru costs just about 258 patacas, not
including tax.
First in Malaysia
Just 16 km off the east coast of Peninsular Malaysia, the private Rawa Island was opened to the public in 1972, the first of Malaysia’s several hundreds of islands. The coral island is protected by the government and boasts a clean white sand beach, earning itself the title ‘little Maldives’, according to the tour guide.
The island is just 30 minutes on a speed boat away from Johor district Mersing, and to travel to Mersing from Johor city takes about two and a half hours.
At one of the island’s two hotels, Rawa Island Resort front desk supervisor Ken Voon told reporters on Wednesday that the three-day package (costing about 2,300 ringgit, or 4,600 patacas) is particularly popular amongst tourists, many of them local Malaysians and Singaporeans, as there are water activities such as snorkelling, as well as trekking for families with children to explore the island.
Voon said that the hotel accepts about 100 people a day and during peak season from March to October, they limit the number of guest no more than 250 people per day.
Air Asia plane at Macau International Airport on Tuesday.
A general view of Rawa Island on Wednesday.
