Size Matters Airasia Launches 5 Million Free Seats To Boost Asean Tourism

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Minister of Tourism, Arts & Culture officiates AirAsia’s first FREE* SEATS of 2023Fly with the biggest airline with the widest network and lowest fares with FREE* SEATS to Kuching, Kota Kinabalu, Bali, Krabi, Phu Quoc Macao, Guangzhou, Shenzhen


As AirAsia pledges its commitment to boost the tourism industry across Asean, the airline together with the Minister of Tourism, Arts & Culture, YB Dato’ Sri Tiong King Sing today launched a massive 5 million FREE SEATS* campaign to exciting domestic and international destinations.

Guests can fly to Penang, Langkawi, Kuching, Sibu, Kota Kinabalu and more from RM23* and to international destinations including Bali, Krabi, Jakarta, Macao, Shenzhen, Guangzhou, Phu Quoc, Ho Chi Minh City, Singapore and more from RM60*. For those seeking to adventure out further, AirAsia X offers flights to Gold Coast, Busan, Taipei, Tokyo and more with all-in low fares from RM329* one way on Economy. Flights are available for booking starting today until 19 February 2023 with the travel period between 1 March 2023 and 10 December 2023.

Leveraging its strength as the biggest airline with the widest network and the lowest fares, the campaign will also serve to support the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture (MOTAC) in its mission to strengthen Malaysia as a multi-faceted and multi-destination attraction.

YB Dato’ Sri Tiong King Sing, Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture Malaysia said: “The tourism sector is a major economic driver for Malaysia, accounting for almost 15% of our gross domestic product (GDP) and air connectivity is the backbone of our tourism sector. As we target to receive 15.6 million tourist arrivals with RM47.6 billion in tourism receipts for 2023, we would like to commend AirAsia for taking the initiative to outline its plan to revitalise the tourism industry and play an integral part to achieve this outcome.



“AirAsia has done a fantastic job connecting the dots within Malaysia to Asean and beyond and has been instrumental in facilitating both national and international connectivity all these years, besides being a major player in supporting the country’s tourism industry. We hope to continue working with all stakeholders, especially the airline sector to not only boost tourism but provide connectivity, employment and ongoing spillover effects along the supply chain.”

Having pioneered low cost travel in Asia, AirAsia has carried close to 800 million guests in the past two decades. Pre-pandemic in 2019 alone, the airline carried over 25 million guests to Malaysia, and more than 40 million guests to the Asean region as well as 17 million guests to North Asia.

As the largest low cost carrier and the fourth largest carrier (including full service carriers) in Asia, AirAsia continues to expand its network and grow its market leadership. Completing the final piece of the puzzle, AirAsia Malaysia (AK) will restart its service to four destinations in China namely Macao, Shenzhen, Guangzhou and Kunming. The airline is also set to welcome the first flight from Guangzhou on Saturday with a strong load factor of 96%.

Tony Fernandes, CEO of Capital A said: “As they say, size matters! When it comes to airlines, bigger is always better so we can leverage economies of scale and pass on to our guests in the form of lower fares and delivering more value and choice. AirAsia has been a major contributor to Malaysia and Asean’s GDP. AirAsia alone contributes to more than 2% of Malaysia’s GDP. You may think that 2% is a small number but for a big country like Malaysia with GDP worth more than RM1.5 trillion, that 2% is a sizable contribution.

“Not only that, we generate significant multipliers beyond the aviation and tourism industry, and as a result, AirAsia contributes to more than 300,000 jobs in Malaysia. And the same trend is seen in all the Asean markets we have a presence in. Now that we’re back almost in full swing, we will continue to play our parts in driving tourism, trade and investment in Malaysia and across Asean. We plan to fly over 69 million guests annually which will provide a much welcomed boost to the Malaysia tourism industry.

“Our commitment to excellence never stops. Our on time performance (OTP) has been steadily improving, and it is now averaging around 80%. We are confident about our OTP and at the same time we want our guests to have a peace of mind when they travel with us, which is why we are launching an industry-first Flight Delay Insurance underwritten by Tune Protect. All these, together with our recently launched AI-powered concierge, Ask Bo, widest network and lowest fares, this year will be our big year and we will only get better from here!”



The Flight Delay Insurance* offers a one-off payment of RM200 if the flight is delayed for a minimum of two (2) hours from the originally scheduled departure time or any new departure time. It is now available for FREE to all guests who book their flights from 10 to 19 February 2023 for the travel period between 1 March 2023 and 10 December 2023. The insurance will be available for purchase starting 20 February 2023 from RM10 (one way) or RM14 (return) on the airasia Super App and the website. AirAsia has also partnered with BigPay exclusively to provide automatic claims credited to the BigPay user's account within three (3) working days.
For a seamless and enhanced experience, download the airasia Super App from the Apple App Store, Google Play Store, or Huawei AppGallery.

*The FREE SEATS exclude airport tax, MAVCOM fee, fuel surcharge and other applicable fees. Terms and Conditions apply.
**The claim is applicable for guests who received a delay notification from AirAsia within 24 hours before their scheduled time of departure as stated in their itinerary or any new departure time. BigPay users will receive their claims in their BigPay account within three (3) working days based on their mobile phone number. Non-BigPay users will need to submit their claims to Tune Protect accordingly by clicking this link. For the full T&Cs please refer here.

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