KUALA LUMPUR, April 19- Budget carriers AirAsia and Malindo Air have reported a rush in the booking of flight tickets during the period of the 13th General Election, the nomination for which is tomorrow and polling 15 days later on May 5.
AirAsia chief executive officer for Malaysian operations Aireen Omar said the response had been good since the airline launched its “Fly Home to Vote” campaign last week on its domestic and international routes.
“However, we are not able to disclose the total number of tickets booked because AirAsia is still receiving bookings from people who want to return to their constituencies to vote,” she said.
AirAsia had issued a statement on domestic flight offers, with a one-way starting fare of RM29 from Kuala Lumpur to destinations such as Johor Baharu, Penang, Alor Setar, Kuala Terengganu and Langkawi. The special fare was also valid for flights operating out of other AsiaAsia hubs in the country.
Malindo Air public relations and communications manager Suresh Vanan said 95 per cent of the airline’s tickets for tomorrow had been booked. The newly launched airline is now operating flights between Kuala Lumpur and Kuching and Kota Kinabalu. It proposes to fly to the rest of the country as well as China, India and Indonesia.
The airline, a joint venture between National Aerospace and Defence Industries Sdn Bhd (Nadi) and Indonesia’s PT Lion Group, has introduced special fares starting from RM78 for flights from Kuala Lumpur to Kuching and from RM108, from Kuala Lumpur to Kota Kinabalu. Suresh said tickets were still available for immediate travel, between now and July 31.
BERNAMA
