An airbus 320 airplane of Air Asia was landed in the Changshui International Airport of Kunming yesterday (November 15), which marked the official open of the direct air route connecting Kunming and Bangkok of Air Asia.

Air Asia entered Kunming in December, 2012. The newly-launched air route is the second international air route opened by the company in Kunming.

The new route runs one daily flight which takes off in Bangkok at 9:00 and lands in Kunming at 12:30. Its back stroke departs at 13:20 from Kunming and arrives Bangkok at 14:50.

The inaugural flight of the new air route has an average load factor of 72%, with 100 inbound passengers and 164 outbound tourists respectively, according to Tassapon Bijleveld, the Chief Executive Officer of Air Asia in the markets of Thailand and China. Up to now, flights of this route have sold 25478 tickets, and are still on the rise.

The company is to open more direct flights connecting Kunming, Lijiang, Xishuangbanna and other cities in Yunnan, with Indian and other southeast countries.

Moreover, Air Asia launches some discounted one-way tickets in price of 488 yuan from November 18 to 24.

Click here to view Chinese report.

(Editors: Tracy, Ryan Li)