AirAsia launches inaugural Kaohsiung–Kuala Lumpur flight; half-price deals for Malaysia travel

▲ AirAsia launches its inaugural Kaohsiung–Kuala Lumpur route today. (Photo / Provided by AirAsia)

Reported by Chen Rui-zhong / Compiled by staff

AirAsia officially launched its direct Kaohsiung–Kuala Lumpur route today (July 16), becoming Taiwan’s only airline offering nonstop flights from Kaohsiung to Kuala Lumpur. The inaugural A320 flight arrived in Kaohsiung from Kuala Lumpur at 13:00 today and departed from Kaohsiung Airport at 13:30 with over 100 passengers on board, with a total of more than 300 passengers from both cities witnessing the new route’s inauguration.

AirAsia stated that in the past, southern Taiwan travelers heading to Malaysia mostly had to transfer flights or travel north to catch a flight. With the launch of this AirAsia route, the flight time has been reduced from 6 to 10 hours down to just 4.5 hours. Compared to the previous average fare of NT$8,500, AirAsia is now offering round-trip fares including taxes and fees for NT$4,200. To celebrate the new route’s launch, AirAsia also gave shopping bags to passengers on the inaugural flight today.

According to statistics from Tourism Malaysia, over 27.4 million tourists visited Malaysia in 2014, marking a 6.7% increase compared to 2013, with Taiwanese visitors exceeding 70,000. AirAsia stated that the Kaohsiung–Kuala Lumpur route will operate every Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday, making it convenient for southern Taiwan travelers to visit Malaysia and connect to various Southeast Asian cities.