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AIR Asia X will increase its Kuala Lumpur-Gold Coast service from five to seven flights a week from November, opening up an extra 40,000 seats to the city.
CEO Azran Osman-Rani says the group has invested heavily in the city and has been rewarded with increasing passenger numbers. The low coast airline has flown into the Gold Coast since 2007, its first Australian destination.
“Passenger movements between the Gold Coast and Kuala Lumpur have been consistently strong with an increase on average passenger load year on year for the past three years. This has given us confidence to increase capacity to seven flights a week,” he says.
It is another boost for the surging Gold Coast Airport, which welcomed 91,880 international passengers last year, a 31.2 per cent increase on the previous year, largely pushed by the introduction of Scoot services into the city.
The Queensland Government wants to double annual overnight visitor expenditure in the state from $15 billion to $30 billion by 2020 and has established an $8 million Attracting Aviation Investment Fund to help secure new aviation business into Queensland.
Air Asia X operates out of its Kuala Lumpur hub and connects to a range of Asian and Middle East.
Minister for Tourism, Major Events, Small Business and the Commonwealth Games Jann Stuckey says the decision is a show of confidence in Queensland’s tourism industry.
“AirAsia X and AirAsia Group operate an expansive network with connections to more than 100 destinations across the Asia Pacific, India, Nepal and the Middle East,” she says.
“The State Government, through Tourism and Events Queensland (TEQ), will work in partnership with Gold Coast Tourism, Gold Coast Airport and Tourism Australia to develop marketing activities to support these new daily flights.
Gold Coast Tourism CEO Martin Winter says the new daily service will open up travel opportunities and deliver a boost to Gold Coast tourism and the local economy.
AirAsia X will increase its current five to seven flights weekly beginning November 24, 2013.
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