The post-Covid reopening of China’s borders has opened the doors for a huge demand for seats in and out of the country, whether for business, resumption of studies or just for revenge travel. AirAsia’s China network is also growing quickly in response to this demand.
AirAsia’s China network – new services
This round of additions to the network for AirAsia Malaysia’s (AK) sees the resumption of direct flights from Kuala Lumpur to Shantou starting 16th June and the addition of a new direct flight from Kota Kinabalu to Beijing (Daxing) on 1st July.
The Kuala Lumpur to Shantou service will start with two weekly flights in June, increasing to four weekly flights in July. AK services take off from Kota Kinabalu to Beijing (Daxing) for the first time with seven weekly flights.
These new connections allow AirAsia to strengthen its position as the largest foreign low-cost carrier in China with a 45% market share. AirAsia Malaysia has recently resumed flights to/from Shenzhen, Guangzhou, Nanning, Wuhan, Kunming, Macao and Hong Kong.
The rapid short-haul expansion is part of the airline’s strategy to align its international network, complementing the medium-haul connectivity to Shanghai, Hangzhou, and Beijing (Daxing) served by AirAsia X Malaysia (D7).
Shantou city on the eastern coast of Guangdong, China, about mid-way between Hong Kong and Xiamen. It’s one of AirAsia’s most popular destinations, with about 340,000 passengers carried between Kuala Lumpur and the coastal city until the end of 2019.
…. China has always been one of our most important key markets. The two routes will contribute about 10% additional capacity to our China network, and we remain committed to expanding the connectivity to Malaysia further, which is a popular destination for Chinese tourists.AirAsia Malaysia CEO Riad Asmat
The network expansion should be excellent news for Malaysian tourism, an important asset for the nation’s economy. Riad Asmat hopes that this will contribute to the Ministry of Tourism Arts and Culture’s target of 16.1 million international tourist arrivals in 2023.
Promotional fares on sale
To celebrate the route resumption and new route, AirAsia is offering promotional all-in, one-way fares starting from
- RM369 from Kuala Lumpur to Shantou
- RM459 from Kota Kinabalu to Beijing (Daxing)
Promotional fares are available for booking until 16th April 2023, for travel between 17th April and 28th October 2023, on airasia Super App and airasia.com. All-in fares are inclusive of airport taxes, MAVCOM fee, fuel surcharges, and any other applicable charges. Terms and conditions apply.
The AirAsia Group currently flies to 35 routes in China with a total of 287 weekly flights from Malaysia, Thailand, and the Philippines (in May). Plans are in place to increase the number of weekly flights to 317 with the addition of Kuala Lumpur to Shantou, Kota Kinabalu to Beijing (Daxing), Bangkok (Don Mueang) to Xi’an and Cebu to Shenzhen between June and July.
AirAsia Malaysia (AK) currently flies 11 routes to China.
- From Kuala Lumpur you can fly to
- Guangzhou
- Kunming
- Shenzhen
- Nanning
- Macao
- Hong Kong
- From Kota Kinabalu to:
- Guangzhou
- Shenzhen
- Wuhan
- Hong Kong
- From Johor Bahru to Guangzhou
- AirAsia X Malaysia (D7) flies three routes from Kuala Lumpur to
- Shanghai
- Hangzhou
- Beijing (Daxing)
AirAsia Thailand (FD) currently flies 16 routes from
- Bangkok (Don Mueang) to
- Chongqing
- Chengdu
- Changsha
- Hangzhou
- Guangzhou
- Kunming
- Shenzhen
- Wuhan
- Nanjing
- Macao
- Hong Kong
- Chiang Mai to:
- Beijing (Daxing)
- Changsha
- Hangzhou
- Hong Kong
- Phuket to Hong Kong
- AirAsia X Thailand (XJ) flies one route from Bangkok (Suvarnabhumi) to Shanghai.
- AirAsia Philippines (Z2) flies four routes from Manila to
- Guangzhou
- Shenzhen
- Macao
- Hong Kong
Flight Schedule Kuala Lumpur (KUL)-Shantou (SWA)
| Route | Flight No | Departure | Arrival | Days of Service | Start date |
| Kuala Lumpur – Shantou | AK140 | 10:55 (10.55am) | 15:10 (3.10pm) | Monday, Friday | 16th June – 27th Oct 2023 |
| Shantou – Kuala Lumpur | AK141 | 15:55(3.55pm) | 20:10(8.10pm) | ||
| Kuala Lumpur – Shantou | AK140 | 10:55 (10.55am) | 15:10 (3.10pm) | Wednesday, Sunday | 2nd July – 25th Oct 2023 |
| Shantou – Kuala Lumpur | AK141 | 15:55(3.55pm) | 20:10(8.10pm) |
Flight Schedule Kota Kinabalu (BKI) – Beijing (Daxing) (PKX)
| Route | Flight No | Departure | Arrival | Days of Service | Start date |
| Kota Kinabalu – Beijing (Daxing) | AK1560 | 18:00 (6pm) | 23:15 (11.15pm) | Daily | 1st July-28th Oct 2023 |
| Beijing (Daxing)- Shantou – Kota Kinabalu | AK1561 | 00:15 (12.15am) | 05:45 (5.45am) | Daily | 2nd July-29th Oct 2023 |
*All times are local. There is no time difference between Malaysia and China.
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