The Fact Maker

AirAsia brings “cinematic in-flight” experience to cinema-goers in line with growing connectivity from India to over 130 destinations

●      AirAsia presently operates 22 direct routes from India to Malaysia and Thailand, with four more to commence soon

●      The airline is bringing an innovative “cinematic in-flight” experience to 130 cinemas across 12 cities in India where movie-goers have the exciting chance to win flights to any of its 130 destinations

Bangalore: AirAsia, the World’s Best Low Cost Airline for the 15th consecutive year, invites travellers from India to discover the hidden gems of Asia and Australia and beyond through its robust network that will soon connect 16 cities in India to over 130 destinations across its network via Malaysia and Thailand.

In line with its expansion, AirAsia will bring an innovative “cinematic in-flight” experience for movie-goers to selected cinemas across the country to showcase its diverse and unique destinations as part of the movie-goers experience.

The collaboration will enhance AirAsia’s outreach via more than 130 cinemas across 12 cities over the next six months. As part of this initiative, movie-goers will stand the chance to win AirAsia flights to anywhere across its network. During this period, AirAsia will also be collaborating with more than 130 local travel content creators to showcase its destinations to Asia, Australia and beyond, spanning bustling cities, serene beaches, historic landmarks, and vibrant local cultures.

Supporting post-pandemic travel recovery, AirAsia has actively expanded routes for India in 2024, providing direct connectivity to two of its major Asian hubs, Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia and Bangkok in Thailand as a gateway to over 130 destinations across the world. It serves an extensive network of cities including Bangalore, Ahmedabad, Visakhapatnam and Trivandrum, as well as Chennai, Tiruchirapalli and Hyderabad among others. Additionally, AirAsia will launch new flights from Guwahati, Kozhikode, and Lucknow to Kuala Lumpur, and Tiruchirapalli to Bangkok in the coming weeks.

Beyond India, AirAsia recently opened new routes to Almaty in Central Asia in March and Nairobi in Africa just last week, connecting travellers affordably from across the Asian region to vibrant new destinations via a short stopover in Kuala Lumpur. The airline also recently won the prestigious World’s Best Low Cost Airline and Best Low Cost Airline in Asia awards at the Skytrax World Airline Awards 2024, further cementing its position on delivering service excellence with affordable prices.

AirAsia’s Chief Commercial Officer Paul Carroll, said, “AirAsia is grateful for the support of our guests in India, which has made us the largest foreign airline by network in the country. Since early 2024, we have expanded our network in India with 10 additional routes, bringing the total to 26 routes from India to Malaysia and Thailand. Operating over 20 daily flights across 16 cities, AirAsia counts as one of the top airlines with the highest number of weekly flights to and from India. Our ongoing network and fleet growth post-pandemic will benefit our guests through great value fares, choice, and connectivity leveraging one of the largest low-cost networks reaching over 130 destinations across Asia, Australia and beyond. ”

“Our efforts in India reflect AirAsia’s long-term vision of recognising the country as a key growth market and advancing its aviation ecosystem. Through our global network, we will continue to support India’s tourism industry by promoting its travel gems to the world, leveraging the government’s free visa initiatives.

“Today, we are excited to unveil an innovative partnership with Qube Cinemas, a leader in digital cinema technology to elevate AirAsia’s brand presence in the market. Soon, the immersive AirAsia ‘cinematic in-flight’ experience will be in 130 cinemas across India for 6 months and we’re really looking forward to connecting more meaningfully with movie-goers who are also travel lovers here through this initiative.”

Qube Cinema Chief Business Officer, Juhi Ravindranath added: “In India, cinema is one of the best avenues for any brand to reach mass audiences and create a deep impact. The medium influences many aspects of our people’s lives including fashion, lifestyle, and pop culture. The AirAsia team saw merit in the power of this medium and enthusiastically collaborated with us to create this cinematic in-flight experience. We are certain that this will appeal to movie buffs of all age groups and build the momentum for the brand. The entire team at Qube Cinema feels thrilled to enable this campaign across its network screens and can’t wait to see the delight among audiences.”

AirAsia’s journey began in Malaysia in late 2001 with a tiny fleet of two aircraft and a small team. As a pioneer in low-cost flying, AirAsia enabled many travellers across the region to take their very first flight and commenced its first India-Malaysia route from Tiruchirapalli to Kuala Lumpur in 2008. From 2023, AirAsia has linked more than 3.5 million guests from India to the rest of Asia and Australia.

The airline has always strived to uphold its core focus of delivering value with uncompromised safety, service, and innovation-driven customer experience, complemented by its ecosystem that includes engineering services, in-flight meals, and ground operations, among others.