Low cost carrier AirAsia took off on its first Macau-Johor Bahru flight yesterday, marking the company’s seventh international destination from Macau, reaching a total of 76 flights departing from Macau International Airport every week, CEO of Air Asia Hong Kong and Macau Celia Lao Sio Wun said yesterday.
Lao was at the local airport to attend the ceremony for the official launch of the company’s second Malaysia-Macau route, with the capital Kuala Lumpur having been the first in 2004, and now Johor Bahru, Malaysia’s second biggest city.
According to Lao, AirAsia flew more than 230,000 passengers between Macau and Malaysia last year, and with the new route, she said the airline would further promote tourism in both destinations.
Lao pointed out that besides opening up a new holiday destination for Macau residents, Johor Bahru was also an ideal place for business and investment because of its ongoing development such as the Iskandar Malaysia project.
Grace Teh, head of chancery of the Consulate General of Malaysia in Hong Kong and Macau, who also attended the ceremony, said in her speech that the Iskandar project, according to experts, would transform Johor Bahru into Malaysia’s largest financial centre.
Teh said the new route “will definitely facilitate trade and business exchanges between the two cities, while at the same time stimulating tourism growth for both destinations,” adding she was confident that both Malaysia and Macau would be able to reap the benefits of closer links for both destinations.
Macau International Airport Company Marketing Department Director Eric Fong Hio Kin said in his speech that Southeast Asia remained an important market for Macau, with the airport logging a year-on-year growth of 9 percent from the region in the first three quarters of the year.
He said the new route between Macau and Johor Bahru was set to be another popular destination for travellers from Macau and the Pearl River Delta region.
To mark the inauguration of the new route with daily flights, AirAsia is offering a special promotion with a one-way base fare starting from just 88 patacas and a one-way all inclusive fare from 228 patacas. The promotion runs until Sunday.
CEO of Air Asia Hong Kong and Macau Celia Lao Sio Wun (second from right) and Macau International Airport Company Marketing Department Director Eric Fong Hio Kin (second from left), flanked by AirAsia flight attendants, pose for a photo during yesterday’s launch ceremony of the low-cost carrier’s Macau-Johor Bahru route at the local airport. Photo: Monica Leong
