On July 16, an official launch of Kuala Lumpur - Shenzhen was held at the Low Cost Carrier (LCC) Terminal Airport in honor of the maiden AirAsia flight departing from Kuala Lumpur to the southern part of Guangdong province in China.

Present at the momentous ceremony were YB Dato' Sri Chan Kong Choy, Minister of Transport Malaysia, YBhg Dato' Mirza Mohd. Taiyab, Director General of Malaysian Tourism Promotion Board, Counselor Gu Jing Qi, Charge de Affaires, China Embassy, Dato' Pahamin Ab. Rajab, Chairman of AirAsia Berhad and Dato' Tony Fernandes, Group Chief Executive Officer of AirAsia Berhad. AirAsia flight AK88 departed for Shenzhen at 4.25 p.m. with 100% load factor on board of the brand new Airbus A320.

The event also saw YB Dato' Sri Chan Kong Choy, Minister of Transport Malaysia officiated and subsequently checked-in using AirAsia's new self check-in kiosk. The new self check-in kiosk is an innovative service that simplifies travel, enables a hassle free check-in for guests within a touch of the screen.

Shenzhen which is AirAsia's first foray entry to mainland China is also the gateway to Southern China. With an approximate 15 million population, Shenzhen bears the reputation of being the shopping heaven in Southern China. It is also famous for its coastal views, theme parks, historical attractions and world-class golf courses.

Dato' Tony Fernandes, Group Chief Executive Officer of AirAsia Berhad said "We have continued to create history by introducing flights to untapped markets as we have always believe in developing new routes and markets. AirAsia's move to fly to Shenzhen has indeed facilitated more travelers from the Pearl Delta region to tap into AirAsia's extensive Southeast Asia network and vice-versa. As the first special economic zone in China, Shenzhen has risen to become one of the economic powerhouses of China as well as one of the largest manufacturing base in the world."

"When we secured this route, we were confident of the robust demand that our low fare will infuse the demand for travel in Shenzhen, but the high load within a short period of time has indeed exceeded our expectations. There are growing trends among the middle-class Chinese with insoluble desire to travel the world. Our low fare has enabled them not only to travel to Kuala Lumpur but also to other parts of the Southeast Asia region. More than 5,000 seats were snapped-up in first week it opened for sale on June 14, 2007. In July, the route recorded close 90% load and with such strong testimony, the Kuala Lumpur - Shenzhen sector is most likely to be the highest load for a newly launched route," he added.

"To date, we have sold more than thirty thousand seats for Shenzhen and we are even convinced that our first foray entry to China presents tremendous potential for us to tap into this exciting vast market. With so much growth coming from the Pearl Delta region, plans are underway for us to secure a second frequency to cater for the high demand of this route. The travelers from mainland China love Malaysia's sandy white beaches, delectable cuisines and our unique cultural heritage. Conversely, there are quite a number of Malaysian tourists who travels to Shenzhen as well. We truly hope that our amazing low fares will persist to grant more freedom and dreams to fly and stimulate the travel for both routes further. This is a clear indication that our low fares have stimulated a strong demand to travel to serve a huge untapped market in the Southern region of China." concluded Dato' Tony Fernandes.