AIRASIA TO LAUNCH ROUTE TO NORTHERN CHINA

KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 13 (Bernama) -- AirAsia will launch a new route from Kuala
Lumpur to Tianjin beginning April 2.

Tianjin is located in northern China and 120km from Beijing.It is connected
to the Chinese capital via a 30-minute high-speed Beijing-Tianjin Intercity Rail
service.

In a statement Friday, AirAsia said that the new service would be operated
by AirAsia X, the low cost long-haul airline, affiliated to it.

"This route is part of AirAsia's strategic expansion plan in China and East
Asia, in response to strong demands from Malaysia and the greater Asean
population, as well as China," said AirAsia X chief executive officer, Azran
Osman-Rani.

He said that apart from benefiting tourism, the new route would further
enhance business and economic ties between the region and China.

AirAsia's China network currently includes Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Hangzhou,
Guilin, Haikou, Macau and Hong Kong.

Bookings for the new route open from now until Feb 22 for travel between
April 2,2009 and Jan 31, 2010.
-- BERNAMA