Air Asia X brings more tourists and cheap fares

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Inaugural Air Asia X flight from Kuala Lumpur arrived in Auckland on March 23.

Inaugural Air Asia X flight from Kuala Lumpur arrived in Auckland on March 23.

The launch of the daily Air Asia X service from Auckland to Kuala Lumpur via the Gold Coast will boost travel options for Kiwis heading to Asia - and the New Zealand tourism dollar, industry pundits say.

Auckland Airport's general manager, aeronautical commercial Norris Carter said the service would also bring fares to the Gold Coast down.

Air Asia previously flew to Christchurch but terminated that service after the 2011 earthquakes. 

Carter said New Zealand was delighted to have the award-winning budget carrier back.

READ MORE: * AirAsia confirms Auckland to Gold Coast route* Kiwis snapping up return Air New Zealand flights to the US for under $800* Qantas responds to Singapore Airlines' Wellington route with sharp pricing

"Malaysia, India and Indonesia are AirAsia X's key markets.

Over the last three years the numbers of annual international arrivals from these three tourism markets have increased by 10%, 21% and 11% respectively.

We expect this new AirAsia X service between Kuala Lumpur and Auckland will further grow visitor numbers, especially for free independent travellers."

The service would provide an additional 275,000 seats between Kuala Lumpur and Auckland each year which would boost the New Zealand economy by $176 million Carter said. 

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Arriving in Auckland on the inaugural Air Asia X flight from KL to Auckland on March 23, chief executive Benyamin Ismail said the company was very happy to be back in New Zealand.

"I am proud to say that the flight into Auckland today operated at over 95 per cent flight load and we are confident that we will continue to see strong loads moving forward."

Promotional fares were on offer at airasia.com for the launch of the service including $119.00 one-way from Auckland to Gold Coast and $329.00 one-way from Auckland to Kuala Lumpur on economy seats until April 3, 2016 for a specified travel period. 

A "Fly-Thru" option would enable passengers to "connect seamlessly" from Auckland to other cities within the Air Asia Group's network.

 - Stuff


Source: Air Asia X brings more tourists and cheap fares

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