HONG KONG – AirAsia is extending its footprint from Hong Kong to Sabah (Kota Kinabalu) with direct daily flights, further expanding its international connectivity to East Malaysia. The new route will commence services on June 1. “With the presence of growing Chinese ethnic population in Sabah (Kota Kinabalu) who are willing to spend more on leisure and a growing interest in East Malaysia to explore metropolitan cities like Hong Kong, we believe that this is a strategic move to create interest and stimulate tourism demand for both cities. Kota Kinabalu famed for its natural wonders and its scenic beauty is equally captivating to Hongkies. This would also further boost intra domestic travel to Miri, Tawau, Sandakan, Penang, Kuching, Johor, and Kuala Lumpur from the hub. In fact, we have studied the growing travel interests from both ends and it’s a perfect fit with AirAsia as the integral connecting bridge,” Kathleen Tan, regional head of commercial, AirAsia group, said. “With Sabah (Kota Kinabalu) as one of AirAsia’s nine major hubs, this move will allow guests from Hong Kong and its surrounding region to use Sabah (Kota Kinabalu) as a gateway to our vast route network in South East Asia and beyond. It is very much observed that the traveling trend for the population today has changed. They no longer travel to only one destination during long holidays but also travel hop to other destinations where there is connectivity. Thus, AirAsia would be the right choice as guests may opt to travel to more than one destination across our network to over 132 routes and 70 hot destinations at truly low fares,” she added. AirAsia will operate 180-passenger capacity Airbus A320 aircraft on the new route.