Philipines Low-Cost Carrier APX Starts Flight to Kuala Lumpur

KUALA LUMPUR, June 21 (Bernama) -- Philippine's low-cost airline, AirPhilExpress (APX), is offering an introductory one-way fare of RM49 (US$15.44) in conjunction with the start of its Kuala Lumpur-Manila flight on Thursday. In a statement, the Philippines Embassy here said the fare included a 10-kg check-in allowance and excluded travel tax and other charges. "The sale is ongoing until July 15, and travel period is from June 21 to Sept 30," it said. APX will fly the KL-Manila route every Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday, from the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 3 to the KL Low-Cost Carrier Terminal and back, it said. Philippine's Ambassador to Malaysia, J. Eduardo Malaya, said the entry of the latest airline would further boost tourism between the two countries. On June 9, AirAsia Philippines launched its inaugural flight from the Diosdado Macapagal International Airport in Clark Airport, Pampanga to the LCCT. "The entry of these two airlines creates more opportunities for Filipinos and Malaysians to visit each other’s country and discover the beauty and richness of the tourism destinations, cuisine, culture, shopping and the innate hospitality of our two peoples," he said. Philippines' tourism destinations include the beaches of Boracay, Palawan and the Caramoan peninsula in the Bicol region, indigenous people’s culture of Sagada, the Chocolate Hills in Bohol and shopping in Manila. APX is the new low-cost carrier of the Lucio Tan Group of Companies, which also operates Philippine Airlines. Besides the latest two airlines, AirAsia, Cebu Pacific Air and Malaysia Airlines are also plying the Malaysia-Philipiine route. Some 80,000 Malaysian tourists visited the Philippines in 2010, while 486,790 Filipino tourists visited Malaysia during the same period. -- BERNAMA