AirAsia Flying Daily To Laos, Singapore

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (AHN) - Malaysian budget airline AirAsia will start thrice weekly flights to Vientiane, Laos in December, and twice daily service to Singapore by year's end. Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi confirmed that his cabinet approved AirAsia's application to fly to Singapore and the application of the island state's budget airline Tiger Airways to serve Kuala Lumpur.

Malaysian Transport Minister Chan Kong Choy said the two budget airlines may each have two daily flights to the capitals of Malaysia and Singapore. A New Straits Times report said the service will start either in December or January.

The entry of AirAsia and Tiger Airways in the Kuala Lumpur-Singapore route will break the 35-year monopolies on the lucrative leg by the national carriers of Malaysia and Singapore.

With four airlines serving the route, the cost for the one-hour flight between the two countries is also expected to fall significantly. Singapore Airlines charges $298, which includes taxes, for a round-trip ticket on the route. AirAsia plans to sell one-way tickets on the same route for $60.

With the additional two destinations, AirAsia will be serving all 10 countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).