Starting on Oct. 1, people booking AirAsia flights to Malaysia would not be required to pay booking fees, the Kuala Lumpur-based low-cost carrier announced yesterday.
The policy would apply to AirAsia passengers worldwide, AirAsia Taiwan representative Jessica Tseng (曾郁茹) said.
Currently, the booking fee for flights from Taiwan to Malaysia is NT$220 per person for a one-way ticket.
The company said in a statement that the fee is related to ongoing administrative, maintenance and developmental costs of its online systems to ensure a secure and safe booking environment, which it would fully absorb.
“AirAsia is synonymous with affordable air travel, and by doing this, we will stay true to our promise. Now everyone can fly. We feel this is especially relevant now with higher passenger service charges at klia2 [Kuala Lumpur International Airport 2]. We want to cut travel costs so our guests don’t suffer, and we believe every little helps,” AirAsia Group president for airlines Bo Lingam said.
The airline said it hopes the policy will also encourage more people to travel to and within Malaysia.
“We want to make it an incredible success. This will be great for the tourism industry as well as the Malaysian economy, and it’s one of the ways we want to give back to the country,” Lingam said.
The airline said that it would also remove the processing fees for Thailand, Indonesia and the Philippines by Dec. 31.
The current booking fee for flights to any of the three countries is NT$150 per person for a one-way ticket.
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