Indian Travelers to Malaysia via AirAsia Soars

Friday, 27th September 2013 at 11:38am

The popularity of Malaysia to Indian travelers continues to grow if inbound traffic of AirAsia flights from the subcontinent is any indication.

The inbound traffic this year alone has already reached 54% over the same period in 2012. The growing traffic of Indian travelers to the Southeast Asian country via AirAsia is not only due to Malaysia's increasing appeal to tourists on the country's natural and man-made attractions but also of the affordable flights offered by budget carriers.

According to Sydney-based Center for Aviation (CAPA), the low-cost carrier has carried around 272,627 passengers on its India-Malaysia route in 2012. Its outbound flights to other Southeast Asian countries also increased 10 times over this year.

AirAsia's Indian service competes head-to-head with Malaysian Airlines, Thai Airways, Tigerair, and two India-based airlines, Air India and Jet Airways.

The Indian market traveling to Malaysia however shrunk from 622,656 down to 495,701 ending August this year over the same period in 2012.

The budget airline was able to sustain its market share due largely to India's close proximity to Malaysia both culturally and geographically. Its market is mostly from southern Indian cities who are traveling on holidays and business with onward trips to neighboring Southeast Asian destinations.

AirAsia Bhd. recently struck a joint venture early this year with India's Tata group to set up a local subsidiary of its highly successful AirAsia brand. AirAsia India, will soon take its wings and is now preparing for its inaugural service before the year ends.

Meanwhile AirAsia is offering Indian travelers all-inclusive ticket promo to various destinations across its mainland Southeast Asian network.

A one-way all-in ticket from either Chennai or Kolkata to Kuala Lumpur, for instance, costs only Rs5,000 while the Chennai to Bangkok all-in fare is only Rs3,820. Those who are traveling from Kochi or Trichy to the Malaysian capital the low-cost carrier offers an irresistibly low Rs.4,000 while its one-way all-in fare from Bangalore to Kuala Lumpur is as low as Rs6,000. A one-way trip to Bangkok from Kolkata mean while costs only Rs3,320. All the above trips are valid for travel from January to August 2014.

AirAsia flies to Kuala Lumpur with a combined total of 43 flights a week from five southern Indian cities of Chennai, Bangalore, Kolkata, Kochi and Trichy. The airline has a monopoly of sort in these routes as no other airlines serve them.

Its Thai subsidiary, on the other hand, serves Kolkata and Chennai from its Bangkok hub, 12 flights per week between them.

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