BANGKOK, 17 May 2018 – In just 16 years, AirAsia has flown 500 million passengers to over 130 destinations.
The 500 millionth passenger, 34-year old Dr Panut Oprasertsawat took AirAsia over the half a billion mark when he flew from Phuket to Bangkok Don Mueang on 18 March this year.
He was awarded 3 million AirAsia Big Points, plus free flights which should will keep him flying the airline for years to come.
Commenting on the milestone, AirAsia Group CEO Tony Fernandes said: “We started in 2001 with just two planes and 200 Allstars in Malaysia and carried 200,000 guests. Today, we have more than 200 planes, over 20,000 Allstars of 50 different nationalities and half a billion guests, 60% of which were first time flyers.”
AirAsia is a leader in air connectivity within ASEAN often pioneering new direct routes which were previously served by one or even two-stop services.
The airline was the first to build daily direct services between east and peninsular Malaysia. The airline was also the first to introduce international flights to Bandung, Indonesia, which has now grown to be a key international hub.
Most recently, the UK-based air travel intelligence company OAG reported that the Singapore-Kuala Lumpur route was the busiest international route, with AirAsia now holding the largest share of capacity.
