FUKUOKA, 19 August 2025: AirAsia Malaysia (AK) has introduced daily flights from Kota Kinabalu to Fukuoka with a stop in Taipei, under fifth freedom traffic rights that allow the airline to sell tickets on the Taipei-Fukuoka sector.
The maiden flight took off from Kota Kinabalu, the state capital of Sabah, last Friday, 15 August, using an A320neo aircraft with 186 seats.
AirAsia Malaysia CEO Dato’ Captain Fareh Mazputra said: “We are pleased to launch our first-ever fifth-freedom route from Taipei to Fukuoka, highlighting an important milestone for AirAsia as we expand our footprint into Japan.
This route reflects our continued commitment to growing Kota Kinabalu as a strategic hub in East Malaysia…We are confident that this new connectivity will stimulate tourism and business opportunities between Kota Kinabalu, Taipei and Fukuoka, while offering our guests more value and convenience at affordable fares.”
AirAsia Malaysia (AK) will operate daily flights on this new fifth-freedom route using the Airbus A320 family narrow-body aircraft (including A320neo) with a maximum of 186 seats.
The airline has introduced special promotional fares bookable from 16 to 18 August for a Fukuoka trip, with all-inclusive one-way fares starting from MYR679. Additionally, flights from Taipei to Fukuoka sold during the three days for as low as TWD2,990 (USD100) all-in one way. The travel period is valid until midnight on 15 December 2025.
Return flights from Fukuoka to Kota Kinabalu started at JPY23,990, and fares for the Fukuoka to Taipei sector started at JPY15,900*, all-in one way.
Flight schedule
AK510 departs Kota Kinabalu (BKI) at 0740 and arrives in Taipei (TPE) at 1055 (daily).
AK510 departs Taipei (TPE) at 1155 and arrives in Fukuoka (FUK) at 1515.
AK511 departs Fukuoka (FUK) at 1700 and arrives in Taipei (TPE) at 1835 (daily).
AK511 departs Taipei (TPE) at 1920 and arrives in Kota Kinabalu (BKI) at 2250.
While there is no direct competition on the BKI-TPE route for AirAsia (flight time three hours and 30 minutes), there is plenty on the busy TPE-FUK sector with four Taiwanese airlines fighting for passenger loyalty. They are Star Alliance member, EVA Air with twice-daily flights, China Airlines with 19 weekly flights, Tigerair Taiwan with nine weekly flights, and Starlux Airlines with daily services.
The average round-trip fare on the TPE-FUK route is USD320 for the two-hour and 35-minute flight. AirAsia is likely to average a round-trip fare of USD190 on the BKI-TPE route over the remainder of the year.
