AirAsia to fly thrice weekly from Kuching to Kota Bharu

KUCHING: AirAsia Bhd (AirAsia) officially announced the introduction of direct flights from Kuching to Kota Bharu, Kelantan’s state capital.

The three times a week flights will commence on March 22 onwards, making it AirAsia’s eighth domestic route from Kuching and also giving the airline the distinction of the sole airline to connect Kuching directly to the East Coast of Peninsular.

In conjunction with this, AirAsia are giving away free seats which are available for booking online at www.airasia.com starting yesterday until Feb 2.

Guests will only need to pay for the applicable taxes and fees from RM29 one way. The travel period for these free seats will be from the commencement of the inaugural flight on March 22 until January 31 next year.

AirAsia’s head of commercial, Kenny Wong, said the flights will operate every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday, departing Kuching at 7am and arriving at Kota Bharu at 8.55am, while vice-versa flights from Kota Bharu will depart at 9.20am and arrive back in Kuching at 11.20am.

“AirAsia is committed towards connecting communities, especially bridging the gap between East Malaysia and Peninsular Malaysia.

“We recently launched the Kota Kinabalu–Kota Bharu direct flights last November, and the response has been overwhelming.

“This shows that there is a pent-up demand to connect both Sabah and Sarawak directly to the East Coast of the peninsula, and we are proud to announce this new route from Kuching directly to Kota Bharu, which we expect to receive the same overwhelming response,” he said

With Visit Malaysia Year 2014 (VMY2014) now going on, he also expressed optimism this new direct route will provide the best opportunity for international tourists from either end to further discover the various attractions that Malaysia has to offer.

“With just a short flight, they will be able to experience the diverse cultures, cuisines and warmth of Malaysians; and AirAsia is proud to be the sole airline to operate this route, further contributing towards the efforts of VMY2014,” added Wong.

AirAsia already connects Kuching to the north of Peninsular with direct flights to Penang, and to the south as well with direct flights to Johor Bahru.

The airline was also proud to state that it connects both East Malaysia and Peninsular with 427 flights weekly, and offers the best connectivity within East Malaysia as well.

Source: The Borneo Post | 21 January 2014