AirAsia Philippines reinforces commitment to Malaysia as key Asean route

AirAsia Philippines CEO Ricky Isla hands a token of gratitude to His Excellency Ambassador Norman Muhamad. To the left of the ambassador is airasia Super App Philippines Managing Director Ray Berja.

Manila, Philippines, 03 June 2022 - AirAsia Philippines reiterates its solid synergy with the government of Malaysia in the recent visit of the Malaysian Ambassador to the Philippines, His Excellency Norman Muhamad, to Redpoint – headquarters of the world’s best low-cost airline in the country. 

The visit comes shortly after AirAsia Philippines’ resumption of flights to the capital city of Sabah – Kota Kinabalu on 27 May with 2x weekly flights. The airline is also set to resume its flights to the capital city of Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur, come Q3 of 2022. 

AirAsia Philippines Chief Executive Officer and President Ricky Isla shares:

“We survived the pandemic because of our strong partnership and collaboration with all of our stakeholders. We worked closely with external partners to effectively manage our financial and operational working relationship. And we collaborated with several key agencies and governments to make sure that we are poised for speedy recovery upon the rebound of travel. One of which is our own neighbor, the Malaysian Government. For this, we are extremely grateful.”

The event also highlighted the transformation of AirAsia to becoming a digital company through its integrated platform, airasia Super App. airasia Super App Philippines Managing Director Ray Berja shares, “We are no longer just an airline, we are now a Super App that caters to over 51 million users. We are transforming the way we travel. Gone are the days when we had to spend so much money and time on booking flights and hotels. With the support of the Embassy of Malaysia here in the Philippines, we are confident that we can achieve more and do better in our hopes to contribute to the recovery of the tourism industry– not just in our country, but in the entire ASEAN.”

The ambassador and his delegation were welcomed by Filipino Allstars in a luncheon featuring an array of Malaysian and Filipino food from Santan, the official inflight food brand of AirAsia. The menu included Nasi Lemak, Beef Caldereta, and Chicken Inasal. They were also entertained by AirAsia's internal brand ambassadors with a dance number and song performance from the Filipino musical Mula Sa Buwan. 

His Excellency Norman Bin Muhamad noted that he is glad to visit the HQ of AirAsia in the Philippines, sharing how proud he is to see the Malaysia-grown brand expand in Asean. “AirAsia is really the epitome of resilience and adaptability. You embody the old adage, ‘in any crisis, there is an opportunity’. AirAsia is visionary enough to transform itself to something new – and with that I’m really proud of AirAsia Philippines. AirAsia is no longer just a Malaysian company, but truly the airline of the Asean region,” shares the ambassador.

Aside from Kota Kinabalu, the World’s Best Low-Cost Airline will also begin to fly tourists and business travelers back to Hong-Kong (weekly) and Singapore (4x weekly) as well as Bangkok (2x weekly) and Bali (2x weekly) starting in June.