SUBANG, July 23 — Low-cost carrier AirAsia announced today it is planning to introduce a new service called AirAsia Plus, charging a premium for flights departing from Subang’s Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah Airport.

Tan Sri Tony Fernandes, the chief executive officer of Capital A Berhad, candidly announced the decision — claiming that travellers prefer to depart from Subang as it is nearer to Kuala Lumpur than the Kuala Lumpur International Airport’s (KLIA) Terminal 2.

"This is a city airport and people will want extra and there will be more business passengers because it’s easier to come here.

"So AirAsia Plus will be a different product from [KLIA Terminal 2] and in due course we will announce whether it will come with a meal, whether it comes with extra luggage all kinds of new innovations will be brought in here.”

Fernandes said if this plan works, it may also introduce AirAsia Plus for other routes and airports.

"This is a business city airport now and people are probably prepared to pay a little bit more because time value is there, so Bo Lingam will announce that in the near future,” he said during the launch of the new flights from Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah Airport, referring to AirAsia Aviation Group chief executive Tharumalingam Kanagalingam.

At today's event, Fernandes announced AirAsia's return to Subang’s Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah Airport where they began their business 23 years ago.

There will be 14 weekly flights with the first scheduled for August 30, 2024.

Datuk Fareh Mazputra, the managing director for Air Asia Malaysia, said the reason for returning to Subang was driven by opportunity.

He said the close vicinity to the nation's capital would increase AirAsia's domestic flights from 920 to 948 per week using 40 routes.

"We hope with this expansion we can continue to grow in the region and beyond adding new flights from Subang with international flights on the horizon as well," he said.

AirAsia had operated from the then Subang Airport between its inception in 2001 and 2006 — using it as its main hub and base of operations.