AirAsia joins budget airline boom in Korea

While low-cost carriers are gearing up to provide affordable air travel for budget-savvy tourists, AirAsia seeks to lead the way by opening up a new route via Seoul.

AirAsia, Asia’s largest low-fare airline, announced at a press conference on Monday its newest international route starting Nov. 1, which will connect Kuala Lumpur and Seoul.

To mark the launch of its latest route, the Malaysian company introduced a promotional round-trip fare of 120,000 won ($102.30) including all taxes and fees, for the travel period from Nov. 1 to Aug. 11, 2011, for those who book tickets on its website between Aug. 4 and Aug. 8. 

After the promotional period, travelers will be able to purchase tickets for 25 to 30 percent lower than traditional airlines charge, depending on their purchase date, for the daily operation.

It took more than a year for the airline to earn an approval from the government, noted Azran Osman-Rani, CEO of AirAsia X, AirAsia’s long-haul affiliate.

“Seoul has been our priority market for the long-haul destination since 2007,” he said. “Malaysians have gone crazy about the Korean Wave. We couldn’t wait to launch this route for so long.” 

According to an online survey conducted by AirAsia on social networking websites such as Facebook and Twitter, more than 2 million customers picked Seoul as the No. 1 destination they wish the airline to fly to.　

Seoul is the eleventh destination for the Malaysian company followed by cities in Australia, India, Taiwan, China and the U.K.