TAWAU, 5 December 2018 - AirAsia today celebrated its maiden flight from Kuching to Tawau, becoming the only airline to connect the capital of Sarawak to the third-largest city in Sabah.

The four times weekly direct flight departed Kuching International Airport at 10.50am with Sarawak Tourism Arts, Culture, Youth and Sports Minister YB Datuk Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah, AirAsia Director of Government Relations Zamani Rafique and other officials on board.

The aircraft was greeted with a water cannon salute upon landing in Tawau Airport at 12.45pm and was received by Sabah Deputy Chief Minister cum Minister of Tourism, Culture and Environment YB Datuk Christina Liew.

AirAsia Malaysia CEO Riad Asmat said, “We are pleased to officiate our new service from Kuching to Tawau today as part of our continuing commitment to enhance air connectivity in East Malaysia. Year to date, we’ve flown 3.8 million guests in and out of Kuching and 1.1 million guests in and out of Tawau, up 19% and 30% respectively from last year, and we can expect this number to further increase with this new route.

“We wish to thank the Minister of Transport for approving this route and our twice daily Kota Kinabalu-Sibu and Kota Kinabalu-Bintulu Rural Air Services (RAS) routes which are open for sale today for travel from 1 January 2019. We foresee these new routes contributing to tourist arrivals in East Malaysia. We also wish to extend our gratitude to both Sabah and Sarawak state governments and tourism boards for supporting us, and we look forward to working together with them to develop all these destinations into high-value tourism hotspots.”

Sabah Deputy Chief Minister cum Minister of Tourism, Culture and Environment YB Datuk Christina Liew said, “The AirAsia Kuching-Tawau inaugural flight augurs well for the Ministry's current efforts to promote East Coast tourism, in particular Sandakan and Tawau. We are in the process of tapping Tawau's potential as yet another premier holiday destination for domestic and foreign tourists alike through the 30 tour packages launched earlier this year.”

To celebrate the inaugural flight, AirAsia is offering celebratory fares from as low as RM49* for either way from Kuching or Tawau. The promotional fare is available for booking on airasia.com and the AirAsia mobile app from now until 15 December 2018 for immediate travel through to 16 December 2019.

AirAsia is also offering FREE SEATS** for Kota Kinabalu-Sibu and Kota-Kinabalu-Bintulu. The promotion is available for booking on airasia.com and the AirAsia mobile app from now until 16 December 2018 for travel period between 1 January 2019 and 4 February 2020.

AirAsia Malaysia (carrier code AK) now flies to 12 destinations from Kuching - Kuala Lumpur, Kota Kinabalu, Kota Bharu, Johor Bahru, Bintulu, Penang, Sibu, Tawau, Miri, Shenzhen, Pontianak and Singapore. The airline also flies from Tawau to Kuala Lumpur, Kota Kinabalu, Johor Bahru and Kuching.

Flight Schedule for Kota Kinabalu, Sabah (BKI) to Bintulu, Sarawak (BTU)

Flight Schedule for Kota Kinabalu, Sabah (BKI) to Sibu, Sarawak (SBW)

*Promotional all-in-fares quoted are for one-way travel only inclusive of taxes and fees. Fare shown are for BIG members only.  Terms and conditions apply.

**FREE SEATS are for BIG Members only to enjoy zero base fare. Seats are limited and may not be available on all flights, all destinations, public holidays, school breaks and weekends. Free Seats exclude airport fees and other fees. Other terms and conditions of carriage apply.