AirAsia Philippines has launched its first services to Indonesia as part of its South-east Asian network expansion plans, eager to tap outbound demand from Jakarta’s millennial entrepreneurs.
The carrier on January 9 commenced daily flights between Manila and Jakarta, serviced by an 180-seater Airbus 320, while its Manila-Bali flights are scheduled to launch on January 19.
With the Jakarta route, the airline will build demand by targeting Jakarta’s entrepreneurs, millennials and digital nomads, according to Jansen Aldrich T Ngo, marketing commercial of AirAsia Philippines.
As part of a promotional activity to kick off its maiden flight to Jakarta, the airline carried young entrepreneurs, startup communities and Philippine CEOs. Jansen added that more start-up events will be held in Manila to bring more CEOs from Jakarta to the Philippine capital.
However, Pauline Suharno, managing director of Elok Tour, urged stronger promotion of Philippine destinations to generate the anticipated demand on the new flights.
Beyond its inaugural flights to Indonesia, AirAsia Philippines is eager to expand to more South-east Asian cities, according to Dexter Comendador, CEO, AirAsia Philippines. He said: “After introducing Manila-Ho Chi Minh City (our first flights to Vietnam, and the two Indonesian services), we plan to launch a new route to Thailand this year and continue expanding to more South-east Asian cities.”
