Bangkok--1 Oct--AirAsia
AirAsia, the World’s Best Low-Cost Airline for 4 consecutive years (2009-2012) by Skytrax, begins its first day (1 October) of service at Don Mueang International Airport today with a grand event and Thailand’s longest fashion catwalk at its passenger terminal in a declaration of the airport’s readiness and the airline’s aspiration to grow and redefine Don Mueang. Mr. Tassapon Bijleveld, CEO of Thai AirAsia, revealed that on the night of 30 September, AirAsia efficiently transferred its fleet of Airbus A320s from service at Suvarnabhumi International Airport to their new home at Don Mueang International Airport. Twenty-two planes were ferried from Suvarnabhumi to Don Mueang Airport in 8 hours, starting from 20.00hrs-04.00hrs, without causing any delays or flight disruptions to the scheduled flights.
All other equipment, including baggage carts, conveyor belts and passenger steps, among other items were transferred within 24 hours. He called the event a milestone in AirAsia’s history while assuring the airline’s readiness to continue operating all of its routes from Don Mueang Airport as well as underlining the convenience the revamped terminal will provide through its low congestion and proximity to central Bangkok.
“Don Mueang International Airport is fully ready to accommodate our services and help us achieve the goals we have set for ourselves. This is a perfect place for a low-cost airline to operate for many reasons. Less congestion and shorter taxi time will result in less fuel consumption and less delays. For our passengers, they will be able to enjoy Don Mueang’s close proximity to the city and less time for the entire travel process. At Don Mueang, it only takes 30 minutes from check-in to the boarding gate and passengers will benefit from this hassle-free experience”, said the CEO.
“We’d like to thank the Airports of Thailand (AOT) for their support in ensuring that the move was successful. Passengers who need any special assistance may contact our call center, which will be open 24 hours at +662-515-9999. We’ve also increased our ground staff to ensure that everything runs smoothly”, added Mr. Tassapon.
“Apart from transferring all of our flights to the airport today, we also organized an array of colorful activities, including Thailand’s longest fashion catwalk from Don Mueang International Airport to Phuket International Airport. We thank our loyal customers and welcome new passengers to experience AirAsia’s service at Don Mueang Airport”, said the CEO.
AirAsia has joined with Elite Model Look Thailand 2012 to present its 25 finalists in a phenomenon fashion show that was both the “longest” and “highest” catwalk in Thailand which started in Don Mueang Airport, and continued on an actual AirAsia flight to Phuket Airport. The happening was another signifier of AirAsia’s eagerness to continually excite from its new base at Don Mueang. It joined an offering of the hottest year round promotions and the announcement of new and exotic destinations to redefine Don Mueang and stimulate its use for travel.
AirAsia (FD,AK,QZ) is now ready to provide service to over 160 flights per day from Don Mueang Airport along both domestic and international routes, connecting passengers to over 77 destinations across Thailand, Asia and Australia.
AirAsia is sure that Don Mueang will be able to foster its complete growth, which includes the growth of its fleet of Airbus A320s, the expansion of its flight network, and the expectation that it will serve 8 million passengers in 2012. Currently, Thai AirAsia has 25 aircraft in its fleet.
The first AirAsia flight to depart today was flight FD3677 Don Mueang-Denpasar (Bali), which took flight at 06.15 hrs. The day’s first arrival was flight FD3021 Phuket-Don Mueang, which touched down on the revamped airport’s runway at 08.15 hrs. All of AirAsia’s flight codes and schedules will remain unchanged by the move to Don Mueang. For more information and to catch up with the latest promotions visit www.AirAsia.com or call the AirAsia Call Center at +662-515-9999.