AirAsia has hit the half billion passengers mark and celebrated the event with passenger Dr Panut Oprasertsawat. The doctor was named ‘the one!’ when his flight from Phuket landed in Bangkok Don Mueang on 18th March 2018.
AirAsia’s ‘500 millionth’ accepted 3 million AirAsia BIG Points, THB50,000 worth of Vidi vouchers and free AirAsia flights for life from AirAsia Group CEO Tony Fernandes at the celebration. Thai TV superstar Pope Thanawat also joined in the party.
The Group CEO used a musical reference when he described the achievement as sixteen years of ‘blood, sweat and tears’.
….. We started in 2001 with just 2 planes and 200 Allstars in Malaysia and carried 200,000 guests. Today, we have more than 200 planes, over 20,000 Allstars of 50 different nationalities and half a billion guests, 60% of which were first time flyers. Tony Fernandes
Where do the half billion come from?
He added that, according to 2018 population statistics, a half billion passengers is about
- 7 times the population of Thailand
- 16 times the population of Malaysia and
- about 80 percent of the entire Asean population of 640 million
Missed out on your chance to be the lucky one? Never mind. AirAsia will bring its #halfabillion celebration to selected destinations across the region, on the ground and in the air, so you may still have a pleasant surprise. For starters, look out for the latest free seats sale, on now.
Interested in knowing who’s part of the blood, sweat and tears? It’s the staff – the Allstars like
- Kugan Tangiisuran, who started as a dispatch boy, now sitting in the flight deck as a co-pilot
- Logan Velaitham, who was a cabin crew and now leads AirAsia Singapore as a CEO and
- Captain Norasikin Che Onn, the first commercial female pilot in Malaysia,
AirAsia flies to over 130 destinations, many of which are unique destinations only served by the AirAsia Group. Many of these routes are within and across ASEAN, the group of South East Asian Nations. UK-based air travel intelligence company OAG reported recently that Singapore-Kuala Lumpur is the busiest international route. AirAsia now holds the largest share of capacity on this route. The Group affiliates use the new Terminal 4 in Singapore’s Changi Airport.
This Post Has 0 Comments