AirAsia kicks off Macau-Johor Bahru flight, pledges investment in Macau

CEO of AirAsia Hong Kong and Macau Celia Lao

AirAsia intends to add five or six new routes to Macau every year, fulfilling a pledge made earlier by the founder of the company, Tony Fernandes, who noted that the SAR is its number one priority in North Asia.

The low cost airliner’s investment in Macau is expected to encourage travelers from Macau’s neighboring regions to fly outbound from Macau International Airport. 

Following its recent Macau-Jakarta route launch, the airline yesterday launched its new route to Malaysian city of Johor Bahru, the airline’s seventh international destination from Macau.

The Macau-Johor Bahru route will operate daily with one flight per day both to and from Macau. Johor Bahru is the Malaysian city which borders Singapore.

The CEO of AirAsia Hong Kong and Macau, Celia Lao, hinted that the airline is expecting more routes to link Macau to other regions but declined to reveal which regions.

“We [expect] some of the new routes [to come] for 2018 but [it] is not confirmed yet,” Lao told the press.

AirAsia is also set to launch its Macau-Phuket route on January 8, with flight tickets already available for booking.

She implied that travelers from the city’s neighboring regions are also one of its target markets.

“Travelers from the Pearl River Delta Region, especially Zhuhai, Zhongshan and Jiangmen, can also leverage on this new route to travel to Malaysia,” she said.

“Johor Bahru is a tourist destination already but a lot of people from Macau and southern China don’t know [about it],” Lao added, pledging to promote the route to locals.

Last year, the airline has flown more than 230,000 customers between Malaysia and Macau, and thus Lao is confident that it could further promote tourism in both places.

Meanwhile, the director of the Macau Government Tourism Office (MGTO) Helena de Senna Fernandes expressed that the increase of flights to Macau will help boost the city’s tourism arrivals, also adding that Malaysia remains one of the region’s most significant markets.

Senna Fernandes believes that the route will allow residents and those living in the neighboring regions to make use of the flight to travel around Malaysia.

“Having more flights from Malaysia will definitely open up new avenues because we’re talking about another area, Johor Bahru. So eventually we hope there will be other places in Malaysia connected to Macau as well. We’ll do it step by step, hopefully,” said Senna Fernandes.

Commenting on the new routes in 2018, she said, “I have heard some plans but [am] not sure whether these are very concrete.”

Questioned whether the bureau is eyeing new routes for  Macau in a bid to further increase tourism arrivals, the MGTO director explained that preferences go to the regional markets.

“Although we would definitely want to have a long haul flight to Macau, when it comes to commercial operations, we have to be able to take it step by step,” she added.

According to Senna Fernandes, in order to attract airlines and visitors to long haul flights, they also have to try to make Macau more of a hub and a base to fly outward from.

“There is still a lot of homework for us to do. We have to be very practical about that.”

Meanwhile Senna Fernandes hinted that the bureau will continue to promote the region in Indonesia, adding that it was pleased to see AirAsia’s Macau-Jakarta route introduced as Indonesia has a large population.

According to her, the market has potential in terms of incentive groups going outward, thus adding that it would be vital for Macau to attract incentive and meeting groups from Indonesia.

MGTO optimistic on December tourist arrivals

With the year almost coming to an end, Fernandes seemed confident on next month’s tourist arrivals, because the city is set to present several festivals during the festive season. With upcoming events including the Macao Light Festival, the International Film Festival & Awards and the Macao International Parade, the MGTO director says the bureau is also optimistic for December’s figures. “December is looking good for us. Up to October, the numbers that we have are very optimistic [positive]: around 4 percent better than last year,” she said.