Air Asia hopes to beat rivals with regional travel pass

Budget carrier AirAsia is to launch a regional air pass next year to boost tourism in Southeast Asia and increase revenue, taking competition in the low-cost air travel sector to a more intense level.

Chief Executive Tony Fernandes said the AirAsia Asean Pass would allow travellers to fly to 10 different destinations in Southeast Asia in one month for 499 ringgit (HK$1,147), excluding airport taxes.

He said it would be the "catalyst" for increased air travel within Southeast Asia and also lure foreign tourists.

The pass would be sold from January 15 with further details announced at the time, officials said.

AirAsia, which has dominated cheap travel in the region for years, faces rising competition from the proliferation of discount airlines in Asia, the world's biggest and fastest growing air-travel market.

Air travel in Asia is expected to grow 6.7 per cent annually in the next 20 years, from 780 million passengers in 2010 to some 2.2 billion by 2030.

Budget aviation now has a quarter of the air-travel market in Asia, and is growing.