The first AirAsia X flight from Kuala Lumpur to the Gold Coast in more than two years departed from Kuala Lumpur International Airport at 11:43pm local time on 31 March as flight D7200, and landed at Gold Coast International Airport at 9:34am local time on 1 April, using an Airbus A330-300.

Low-cost AirAsia X is the only carrier flying direct from Queensland to Malaysia, with the Gold Coast now its fourth Australian destination.

The larger AirAsia X group includes AirAsia X and Indonesia AirAsia X, all of which operate a fleet of A330s. It also includes shorter haul carriers such as AirAsia, AirAsia India, Philippines AirAsia, Indonesia AirAsia, and Thai AirAsia.

“These direct services from Kuala Lumpur have been secured by the Palaszczuk Government’s $200 million aviation war chest in partnership with Gold Coast Airport,” said Queensland Tourism Minister Stirling Hinchliffe.

“We’re backing AirAsia X because of the airline’s commitment to increasing its Gold Coast flight schedule to five days a week by the end of the year. AirAsia X is a terrific investment in the Gold Coast’s visitor economy and the 450 good Queensland jobs these services will support.”

AirAsia X is planning three return flights between the Gold Coast and Kuala Lumpur per week, bringing 58,000 additional seats to the Gold Coast every year. According to AirAsia X CEO Benyamin Ismail, the route provides convenient and affordable air travel between the two destinations.

“The resumption of this route today will not only attract a significant number of visitors from Malaysia and other Asian countries but also strengthen the ties between Malaysia and Australia,” he said.

“We look forward to working closely with all of our key airport and tourism stakeholders, especially Queensland Airports and Destination Gold Coast to make the Gold Coast a preferred tourism destination of choice for the many millions of leisure seekers across Asia.”

In addition, AirAsia’s Indonesian associate Indonesia AirAsia will commence four flights per week on Airbus A320 aircraft between Perth and Jakarta from 2 June, becoming the only airline to offer a direct connection between the two cities.

According to Indonesia AirAsia CEO Veranita Yosephine, the route will deliver more than 1,400 seats per week, with services to ramp up depending on demand.

“We foresee this new Jakarta – Perth route will be very popular for leisure travelers wanting to see more of Indonesia and for the more than 270 million Indonesians (more than ten million residents in Jakarta alone) wanting to visit Perth and West Australia for business, leisure, studying and visiting friends and family,” she said.

“With the great support of Tourism West Australia and Perth Airport, we are confident these new services connecting the Indonesian capital with Western Australia’s will be in strong demand.”