AirAsia X says “Kia Ora” NZ as it resumes operations from Kuala Lumpur and Sydney to Auckland
New low fare services from Kuala Lumpur to Auckland via Sydney take flight today
Fares between Auckland and Sydney on sale from NZD169 on economy and from AUD/NZD599 on Premium Flatbed
Fares between Auckland and Kuala Lumpur now on sale now from NZD429/RM1,799 on economy and NZD2,299/RM6,999 on Premium Flatbed
AUCKLAND/SYDNEY, 3 November 2022 - AirAsia X (AAX) today celebrated its resumption of services from Kuala Lumpur to Auckland, via Sydney, as amongst the first key destinations the leading medium haul low cost carrier will return to post pandemic due to popular demand.
The inaugural flight from Kuala Lumpur to Sydney arrived at 10:35 and departed Sydney to Auckland at 12:10 local time touching down in Auckland at 17:20 delivering a welcome boost to New Zealand, Australian and Malaysian tourism.
The return to Auckland today, marks another strong revival of air travel from Malaysia to Asia Pacific and AirAsia X welcomes the new services to Auckland as demand continues to increase post pandemic.
Benyamin Ismail, CEO of AAX said: “AirAsia X is returning to our most popular destinations first. Asians love Asia Pacific and Kiwis and Aussies love Asia for leisure, tourism, studying and visiting friends and family. We are thrilled to return services From Kuala Lumpur to Sydney and Auckland as two of our first destinations to return to the first post pandemic where we are seeing strong demand for two way travel.
“The trans tasman route between Sydney and Auckland is always incredibly popular and we are pleased to be back driving healthy competition in the market on this route. Today’s sale shows we will stand by our word to deliver greater value and choice, with fares on sale from under AUD/NZ180 for economy or under AUD/NZD700 on a Premium Flatbed. Importantly, we will continue to deliver the best value fares to and from Australia and NZ with perhaps the lowest cost base in the industry, which means we can pass this onto our guests in the form of the lowest fares on a consistent basis.”
“As the most populous cities in Australia and New Zealand we have already increased our Kuala Lumpur and trans tasman services to become daily by January 2023 to meet the surge in forward bookings, providing over 5,000 additional visitor seats through Auckland Airport weekly and over 10,000 visitor seats through Sydney Airport each week.
“We thank our tourism and airport partners for helping make these new services a reality. AirAia is also thrilled to ensure our Kiwi and Australian friends can now access not only Malaysia at great value fares, but also everyone’s favourite destinations throughout Asia from our main hub in Kuala Lumpur including Japan, South Korea, India, Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam, The Philippines and many more, on our spacious and comfortable widebody A330 aircraft.”
Geoff Culbert, CEO of Sydney Airport said: “The resumption of AirAsia X services to Kuala Lumpur via Sydney is terrific news - it adds daily connectivity between Australia and Malaysia, secures a new destination to AirAsia X’s network from Sydney and also adds much needed capacity back on the Trans-Tasman route.”
Scott Tasker, Auckland Airport General Manager Customer and Aeronautical Commercial said: “Sydney is Auckland Airport’s busiest international route, so having AirAsia X operate the trans-Tasman gives travellers additional choice with competitive fares. Plus, it’s an excellent way for Kiwis to fly to the vibrant city that is Kuala Lumpur or explore further into Asia on AirAsia’s extensive network.
“Auckland Airport also looks forward to welcoming visitors from across Asia and Australia as we connect them with the unique travel experiences on offer right here in New Zealand.”
In celebration of the new services today, AAX is also offering great value all-in* one-way fares from Auckland to Kuala Lumpur starting from NZD429/RM1,799 for economy and NZD2,299/RM6,999 for a Premium Flatbed for travel period between 1 January and 28 October 2023. Fares from Sydney to Kuala Lumpur are on sale from AUD359 all-in one way for economy and from AUD2,099 for a Premium Flatbed.
As the airline returns to Melbourne, Auckland and Perth this week, AAX is also painting the three key cities red in Australia and in Auckland with prominent street advertising this month and two major consumer promotions in Sydney (Martin Place, Sydney CBD, 15 November) as well as Melbourne (Queensbridge Square, Melbourne CBD on 7 November) from 11am-2pm with exciting activities and flight giveaways, Malaysian food trucks, music and more.
Flight Schedule between Auckland and Kuala Lumpur (via Sydney)
*All-in fares inclusive of airport taxes, fuel surcharges and any other applicable charges. Terms and conditions apply.