AirAsia Plans To Boost Singapore Travel Capacity

SEPANG, Aug 22 (Bernama) -- AirAsia plans to further increase its air travel capacity to Singapore, according to AirAsia Malaysia managing director, Datuk Captain Fareh Mazputra Fairuz.

He said the Kuala Lumpur-Singapore route, the world’s busiest, is crucial for boosting tourism. This partnership offers a prime opportunity to leverage AirAsia's extensive flight network to strengthen ties between the neighbouring countries.

Currently, AirAsia operates 286 flights weekly in and out of Singapore from Malaysia alone.

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“We want to expand the routes in and out of Singapore. At the moment, we are serving 10 destinations, but we aim to improve this through better collaboration with the Singapore Tourism Board (STB) and Changi Airport Group,” he told the media after the launch of the 'Love, Singapore’ aircraft livery today.

In collaboration with the STB, Gardens by the Bay, and Mandai Wildlife Group, AirAsia unveiled the ‘Love, Singapore’ aircraft livery as part of a joint campaign to promote inbound travel to Singapore from Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia, capitalising on the year-end travel peak in the region.

This Airbus A320 aircraft livery features a special design showcasing Singapore’s iconic attractions, including Gardens by the Bay and Mandai Wildlife Group’s wildlife parks, such as Singapore Zoo and Bird Paradise, alongside Merli, Singapore’s energetic and outgoing brand character inspired by the Merlion.

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Fareh Mazputra added that the Airbus A320 will be in service by the end of this month, targeting ASEAN countries so that travellers can appreciate the visibility of this project.

Also present were STB executive director of Southeast Asia Terrence Voon, Mandai Wildlife Group chief sales and marketing officer Jean Choi and Gardens by the Bay senior director, business development and sustainability office Addison Goh.

Voon expressed STB’s delight in partnering with AirAsia and its tourism stakeholders to bring Singapore’s offerings to life in the region’s skies.

“Our exciting lineup of events and experiences will give travellers plenty of reasons to visit or revisit Singapore this year. We encourage them to take advantage of the great deals that will launch with the ‘Love, Singapore’ aircraft livery to book their next holiday to Singapore,” he said.

Singapore welcomed 682,110 visitors from Malaysia between January and July this year.

Malaysia ranks fourth after China, which recorded 1.86 million visitors during the same period, followed by Indonesia (1.51 million) and India (718,660).

“Malaysia is Singapore’s major regional market, with visitor numbers and tourism revenue consistently exceeding pre-COVID-19 levels.

“Singapore’s tourism has continued to rebound in 2024. In the first seven months of this year, we saw 9.8 million visitors to Singapore, representing about 88 per cent of pre-COVID-19 levels,” Voon added.

-- BERNAMA