AirAsia pledges $220,000 to earthquake heritage restoration

AirAsia pledges $220,000 to earthquake heritage restoration

CHRISTCHURCH, 2 April 2011: AirAsia X, the Malaysia-based long-haul, low-fare affiliate of AirAsia, celebrated its first flight into Christchurch at a ceremony at Westfield Riccarton Mall in the city today.

Following the arrival of its inaugural A330 flight into Christchurch last night, the airline announced at the ceremony it will donate a percentage of each ticket purchased by every passenger travelling to and from New Zealand to help fund the restoration of some of Christchurch’s most iconic buildings.

“We’ve set a target of raising $220,000 (500,000 Malaysian ringgit) and expect to reach the target within 12 months,” says AirAsia X CEO Azran Osman-Rani.

“We appreciate all the support we are getting from our guests and hope this financial gesture will assist in some way to restore Christchurch’s heritage icons.”

Famous for being the world’s fastest growing low-cost airline, the AirAsia Group continues to buck global airline trends, reporting strong financial results.

Late last year the airline announced it was adding Christchurch to its 150-destination network, a move that AirAsia and Tourism New Zealand estimate will introduce 70,000 new visitors to New Zealand in the first year of operation, the same number as those expected for the Rugby World Cup.

Azran said, “As well as offering New Zealanders low fares to Kuala Lumpur and beyond, the airline’s shareholders and management were united in their desire to contribute in some way to Christchurch’s recovery initiatives

“It made sense to contribute to preserving some of the things that almost every traveler to the South Island takes a photo of. The images presented by the Arts Centre, the Cathedral and other beautiful historic buildings are central to the city’s tourism brand, and when fully restored will become an enduring reminder of the community’s remarkable resilience.”

Severely damaged by the 22 February earthquake, Christchurch’s Anglican Cathedral alone is estimated to cost tens of millions to strengthen and reconstruct.
Christchurch Mayor, Mr. Bob Parker said, “we’re very pleased to have AirAsia begin flights to Christchurch and we’re delighted that they have made this financial commitment to assist with earthquake heritage restoration. We very much look forward to working closely alongside the airline as tourism partner and as a newly-arrived member of the Christchurch community.”
Says Azran: “We believe every traveler arriving in Christchurch will be proud to have helped in some small way in Christchurch’s recovery and, in turn, this is linked to our commitment to the city.

“Contributing to putting up some bricks and mortar is something tactile and real. All AirAsia visitors will know they have left behind something that is special and long-lasting.”

Special first flight fares and 15% off for 24 hours

To mark the arrival of its first flight this weekend, AirAsia X is offering Economy promotional fares from Christchurch to Kuala Lumpur from as low as NZD279* one-way and Premium Class Flatbed fares from as low as NZ$799 one-way. Fares are on sale from 1 April to midnight 5 April, 2011 for travel from 11 November 2011 to 29 February 2012.

“Fly Thru” connecting low fares are also available for New Zealanders wanting to fly to popular AirAsia X destinations such as India (Delhi, Mumbai), China (Chengdu), Paris (Orly), London (Stansted), and Taiwan (Taipei), from as low as NZ$429* for the same booking and travel period.

As another celebration deal the airline also announced at today’s ceremony that it would be offering 15% off on all seats for departures from Christchurch to Malaysia (Kuala Lumpur), India (Delhi, Mumbai), China (Chengdu), Taiwan (Taipei), Paris (Orly), and London (Stansted). The 24-hour sale will be held on Tuesday 5 April (begins midnight 4 April) for travel from 1 August 2011 to 29 February 2012. Promotional seats are limited and available on first-come, first-served basis and made exclusively available online via www.airasia.com.

Guests flying on the just-launched Christchurch-Kuala Lumpur route will enjoy new A330-300 aircraft that feature comfortable ‘FlatBed seats’ in Premium Class. The Flatbed seats have standard business class specifications of 20” width, 60” pitch and stretch out to 77” in the full recline position. The seats feature universal power sockets, adjustable headrests and built-in personal utilities such as tray table, drink holder, reading light and privacy screen. This recent addition offers guests extra choice and further positions AirAsia X as the innovative market leader in long-haul, low-cost travel.

*Promo Fares include airport taxes.
Flights and fares are subject to availability and are for one way travel only.

Flight Schedule from Kuala Lumpur to Christchurch

3 April to 24 September, 2011
Flights From Departure/ Arrival Flight No. Frequency
Kuala Lumpur to Christchurch 08:40/22:55 D7 2754 Friday, Sunday
Christchurch to Kuala Lumpur 01:10/07:25 D7 2755 Monday, Saturday
Kuala Lumpur to Christchurch 23:40/13:55 (+1) D7 2756 Monday, Wednesday
Christchurch to Kuala Lumpur 15:10/22:25 D7 2757 Tuesday, Thursday

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About AirAsia and AirAsia X

AirAsia, the leading and largest low-cost carrier in Asia, services the most extensive network with over 150 routes covering destinations in Asia, Australia and Europe.

In 8 plus years of operations, AirAsia has carried more than 100 million guests and grown its fleet from just two aircraft to 102. The airline today is proud to be a truly ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) airline with established operations based in Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand, servicing a network stretching across all ASEAN countries, China, India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Australia. This is further complemented by AirAsia X, its low-cost long-haul affiliate carrier that currently flies to destinations in China, Australia, Taiwan, India, Iran, Japan, Korea, New Zealand, France and the UK.

AirAsia was named World’s Best Low Cost Airline in the annual World Airline Survey by Skytrax for two consecutive years, in 2009 and 2010

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