AirAsia confirms scrapping klia2 fee, launches slew of promos

AirAsia will cease charging the RM3 klia2 fee for all flights departing from Kuala Lumpur International Airport 2 beginning today, following its announcement last week that it will stop charging and collecting the fee in a bid to keep fares low. The fee was introduced in May 2014 to cover the additional cost created by klia2 due to the use of mandatory facilities imposed by Malaysia Airports Holdings (MAHB), such as aerobridges and SITA check-in and boarding systems. "We have said from the very beginning that klia2 is not fit for low-cost carrier operations, and we will be going directly to Malaysia Airports for all the extra costs they’re costing us," AirAsia Malaysia CEO Riad Asmat said. (Read also: Malaysia Airports defends itself against klia2 fee charge) Meanwhile, the airline is ushering in the new year with 1.9 million promotional seats, comprising flights from Kuala Lumpur to Johor, Kuantan and Labuan, Kota Kinabalu to Bintulu and Sibu, as well as Kuala Lumpur to Padang and Ho Chi Minh, among others. Meanwhile, AirAsia X members also get to enjoy the promotional fares on flights from Kuala Lumpur to Tianjin, Melbourne, Jeju, Amritsar, Bali, Jaipur, Taipei and Osaka. The airfares range from RM19 to RM599. A+M has reached out to AirAsia for additional information on its marketing strategies for the fares. According to the airline's deputy group CEO, Bo Lingam, AirAsia is excited to kick off 2019 with a bang, and hope its guests are excited by the promotional fares. "No one knows what the year may hold, but we hope to at least give you peace of mind knowing you’ve secured the best possible deal for your future holiday," Bo added. Besides dishing out promotional seats, AirAsia is also looking to make waves in the digital space. Recently, group CEO Tony Fernandes said 2019 will be the year that people take notice of its airline's digital strength, adding that this year's focus is to ensure the Indonesia and Philippines markets are more profitable. Other markets mentioned included India, Thailand, Vietnam and Japan where there are “major populations and growing economies.” The airline would be focusing on building its offering in these countries and will not be opening up any more new airlines for the next three years. Meanwhile, the airline also transferred its non-digital businesses to Redbeat Ventures. its wholly owned subsidiary. These entities principally involved in the provision of digital-related services including AirAsia BIG Loyalty, BigPay, travel360, ROKKI, Ourshop, RedCargo Logistics, RedBox Logistics, Vidi and RedTix.