AirAsia Opens Direct Flights to Lombok

Tri Listiyarini

Southeast Asia’s largest budget carrier, AirAsia, is set to open a new route linking Kuala Lumpur to Mataram in Lombok, the airline said on Thursday.

Jasmine Lee, AirAsia’s commercial director, said in a statement that Lombok would be the 15th Indonesian destination served by flights from Kuala Lumpur.

“This new route opens access [to Lombok] for people in Malaysia and throughout the world, allowing them to visit one of the most beautiful Indonesian tourism destinations,” she said. “Lombok is a hidden gem.”

The Kuala Lumpur-Mataram route will run three times weekly, on Wednesday, Friday and Sunday.

Lombok, along with the rest of West Nusa Tenggara province, is a main source of migrant workers for Malaysia.

To mark the launch of the new route, AirAsia is offering rates of Rp 299,000 ($30) for one-way flights from Lombok to Kuala Lumpur for orders placed from Aug. 16-26 and for travel times between Oct. 12, 2012, and May 22, 2013.

AirAsia serves 150 routes in Asia, Australia and Europe, and currently has a fleet of 106 aircraft.