The low-cost airline had not flown from Subang Airport since 1998, making its return a significant event in local aviation.
AirAsia has reintroduced its 14 times weekly flights from Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah Airport (Subang Airport) to Sabah and Sarawak in East Malaysia. The flights commenced on August 30, 2024, and are operated by the narrow-body Airbus A320.
As longtime residents of Greater Kuala Lumpur know, this marks a significant return for AirAsia to Subang Airport, where the airline first began its operations 24 years ago. In a statement, Capital A Chief Executive Officer Tan Sri Tony Fernandes described the move as a crucial step in modernising the airport and transforming it into a thriving city terminal, with a focus on business travellers.
“Reintroducing narrow-body aircraft operations here is a step towards modernising this historic airport into a vibrant city terminal that will serve as a centre for business travellers,” Fernandes said at the launch of the inaugural flights to East Malaysia.
He also anticipates that AirAsia’s return to Subang Airport will greatly improve connectivity within Malaysia and across the region. When asked about the company’s target for domestic passenger volume at the airport, Fernandes responded, “We will grow as fast as we can — this is going to be a popular airport.”
Currently, AirAsia stands as Malaysia’s largest airline by capacity and operates the most extensive domestic network, covering 40 routes across the country. By the end of December 2024, AirAsia is expected to operate 1,860 return weekly domestic flights.
In 2023, the airline carried over 14 million passengers across its domestic network, which included 918 weekly flights.
Alongside AirAsia, two other airlines, Firefly (the low-cost arm of Malaysia Aviation Group) and Indonesian airline TransNusa, began their jet operations from Subang Airport on August 29. Additionally, Singapore Airlines’ low-cost carrier, Scoot, began daily flights between Singapore and Subang using the Airbus A320 from September 1.
Since 1998, Subang Airport has primarily handled propeller-driven aircraft, such as turboprops, business jets, helicopters, light aircraft, and military planes. However, this limitation is set to change as Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd rolls out its Subang Airport Regeneration Plan (SARP), a RM1.3 billion initiative launched in April 2021. The plan aims to transform the airport into a modern city hub capable of serving approximately five million passengers annually.
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