Benyamin speaks to reporters at Gimhae International Airport in Busan. — Photo by Nur Shazreena Ali
BUSAN (Feb 3): AirAsia X Bhd (AAX) is confident that the resumption of its direct Kuala Lumpur-Busan flight will stimulate and boost Malaysia’s tourism growth.
Chief executive officer Benyamin Ismail said the airline is targeting to achieve 150,000 travellers this year following the full reopening of international borders.
He said Busan has played a critical role in stimulating market demand, especially in the North Asian region, since the inception of the route in 2013.
“We are excited to restart this historically very popular route and proud to be the only airline in Malaysia operating direct flights from Kuala Lumpur to Busan, a city of many tourism drawcards.
“Busan plays a vital role in stimulating new demand and strengthening AAX’s market leadership in North Asia through providing best value fares and driving greater competition in the market,” he told a press conference in conjunction with AirAsia X’s inaugural flight to Busan at Gimhae International Airport today.
Benyamin said the expansion would attract more tourists travelling between Busan and Kuala Lumpur given its affordability and frequency.
“Since the global border reopening, AirAsia X has been aggressive in our network expansion particularly to underserved markets such as Busan and high traffic routes such as Seoul as part of our turnaround initiatives to stimulate demand.
“We are very proud with the progress that we have made up until today as we return to the skies stronger than ever,” he said, adding the airline will be operating the route three times a week with the 377-seat A330 passenger jet.
“From today, air travel between Busan and Kuala Lumpur is now more convenient and affordable, providing a welcome boost for tourism and the local economies,” he added.
AK5233 flight took off from Kuala Lumpur International Airport 2 (KLIA2) at 2am and landed at Gimhae International Airport in Busan at 9am.
Busan is the second AirAsia X route in South Korea after the airline launched flights to Seoul in April last year.