The inaugural AirAsia flight AK 1310 carrying 160 passengers from Kuala Lumpur on Monday, 6 February 2012, landed smoothly on the tarmac of the Ahmad Yani Airport in Semarang, Central Java. Marking the start of direct flight services between Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, to Semarang, capital of Central Java, AirAsia is the first airline to fly this route.

Dharmadi, President Director of Low-cost Carrier AirAsia Indonesia accompanied by the Commercial Director of AirAsia, Jasmine Lee, explained that Semarang is the 14^th city in Indonesia served by AirAsia from Kuala Lumpur. Next to  Semarang, AirAsia has direct flights from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, to Jakarta, Surabaya, Medan, Yogyakarta, Bandung, Bali, Solo, Balikpapan, Palembang, Banda Aceh, Pekan Baru, Padang, and Makassar.

Both Dharmadi and Jasmine are confident that the Kuala Lumpur-Semarang sector has huge potentials to grow as markets,vice versa both from Kuala Lumpur and from Semarang.

AirAsia targets tourists especially from China, South Korea, and Japan who want to travel to Semarang as gateway to the Borobudur temple and other Central Java attractions. “We are confident that Semarang can grow into a significant destination. This morning flying with the inaugural flight there were passengers from Guangzhou who travelled to Semarang” added Dharmadi, as reported by Kompas.com.

In response to the start of direct international flights to Semarang, the provincial government of Central Java and the Semarang city authorities have strengthened their commitments to provide improved public facilities at the Ahmad Yani Airport as well as at tourist attractions across Central Java. “The presence of AirAsia in Semarang is a valuable asset. Before this, when we wished to fly to Kuala Lumpur we needed to fly to Jakarta first, but now we can fly directly from Semarang” commented the Mayor of Semarang Sumarmo HS, who also attended the arrival of the inaugural flight.

In Semarang,  Dharmadi and Jasmine officially opened the AirAsia Travel and Service Center (ATSC) at Simpanglima, Semarang. ATSC is a one stop service for flight bookings, Hotel reservations, Tour packages, and other AirAsia products, which is run by AirAsia partner PT Nusantara Tour and Travel Semarang.

Source: regional.kompas.com , travel.kompas.com

Photo Courtesy:kompas.com