AirAsia X will relaunch three weekly flights between Kuala Lumpur and Busan, South Korea from April 2023, becoming the first airline from Malaysia to restore the direct route. AAX has also signed a MoU with the Busan Tourism Organization to support mutual tourism.
On Friday (November 18, 2022), AirAsia X (AAX) announced the relaunch of direct flights between Kuala Lumpur and Busan, South Korea from April 2023, becoming the only Malaysian carrier to restore nonstop service on the route. AAX also signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Busan Tourism Organization (BTO) to develop joint marketing campaigns, leverage travel agent support, strengthen connectivity, and to mutually foster economic activity through tourism. The MoU was executed at a signing ceremony at the Pavilion Hotel Kuala Lumpur by AirAsia X CEO Benyamin Ismail and BTO President Jung-Sil Lee.
In Friday’s announcement, Air Asia X’s CEO, Benyamin Ismail, said,
“We are excited to be the first airline from Malaysia to return to Busan. South Korea is an incredibly important market and we have seen tremendous growth from our existing route to Seoul with around 80% average load factor. Starting with three weekly services and based on strong forecast demand, we expect the flight frequency to Busan to return to daily services by year-end. We believe the relaunch of the Busan route will provide a significant boost to strengthen business and tourism ties between Malaysia and South Korea, and we wish to thank the governments and relevant authorities for their tremendous support.
“In 2019, we flew about 200,000 guests to/from Busan. As we look to further increase the connectivity to South Korea, we trust that our direct flights to Busan will provide a welcome boost for tourism and the economy in both countries. The new route also reflects our commitment to continuously offer our guests great value mid-range air travel and we look forward to seeing a surge in tourist arrivals into/from Busan in the near future.”
The Busan Tourism Organization’s President, Jung-Sil Lee, added,
“We are pleased to collaborate with AAX to strengthen the tourism opportunities for Busan, a city with a unique heritage, natural attractions, and leading infrastructure. The last two and half years had a big impact on our tourism industry but we managed to surpass these challenges and could not be more pleased that AAX will be part of this effort. The relaunch of AAX direct flights to Busan will mark a major milestone in the resumption of services to the city. We believe travellers will appreciate the direct and affordable connection, making Busan a top holiday destination once again.”
Founded in 2001 by Tony Fernandes and Kamarudin Meranun, when they bought an ailing airline, AirAsia is the aviation arm of Capital A. Starting with two aircraft and 200 employees, AirAsia is now the fourth largest airline in Asia with over 200 aircraft and 21,000 team members across Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, the Philippines and more. The airline has carried over 600 million guests to over 160 destinations across their expansive network. AirAsia has been credited for democratizing air travel in the region with their famous tagline ‘Now Everyone can Fly.’
Source: AirAsia