Regional and long-haul low-cost carrier AirAsia X has won approval to open up a Kuala Lumpur-Seoul route. The airline had been battling for almost a year to with the right to fly between the Malaysian and Korean capitals.
Although there are no firm dates for when the route will commence, it is understood that it could be as early as October this year. AirAsia X has rights to fly seven times a week to Seoul.
Announcing the airline’s win, AirAsia X chief executive officer Azran Osman-Rani told reporters that: “We are not sure yet when we will fly to Seoul as there are so many details to be worked out.”
However, he also said the airline was still seeking to open up further routes, particularly Sydney, Tokyo and Jeddah.
“We will keep pushing for Sydney rights because there is a demand out there. It is sad that many Malaysians are still flying to Sydney via Singapore.”
The Kuala Lumpur-Seoul route is currently split between Malaysia Airlines and Korean Air with 12 weekly flights each. AirAsia X’s new flights will raise that number to 31 flights each week. There are 31 flights weekly flights from Singapore to Seoul and 58 between Seoul and Bangkok.
Kenny Coyle
