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Tun Dr. Mahathir flies on AirAsia X
KUALA LUMPUR, 9 JULY 2011 – Y.A.Bhg Tun Dr. Mahathir bin Mohamad, the former prime minister of Malaysia, flew on AirAsia X’s flight to London today.
The former premier flew on AirAsia X flight D7 2006, which departed Kuala Lumpur for London at 9:10 am (local Malaysia time) and will be touching down in Stansted, UK later at 3:55 pm (local UK time) today.
Tun Dr. Mahathir was accompanied on the flight by his wife, Tun Siti Hasmah Mohamad Ali and Deputy Group CEO of AirAsia and co-founder of AirAsia X, Dato’ Kamarudin Meranun. This is the first time for the airline to receive the honor of having Tun Dr. Mahathir as a guest onboard and also the first for Tun Dr. Mahathir to experience AirAsia X’s Premium fly flatbed on the Airbus A340 aircraft
Tun Dr. Mahathir, widely regarded as the father of modern Malaysia, has been instrumental in the success of Malaysia as a travel and tourism hub. AirAsia was given the right by Tun Dr. Mahathir to start operating low-cost flights in 2001. Since then, AirAsia has grown from a fledgling Malaysian low-cost airline into the world’s best low-cost airline today. Low-cost long-haul affiliate AirAsia X, launched in 2007, has recently reached its mark of having flown over 5 million guests in a short span of less than 4 years. Together, AirAsia and AirAsia X have flown more than 120 million guests to date.
The former premier has also visited AirAsia’s offices and the AirAsia Academy, where he experienced a simulated flight at the state-of-the-art training center in March this year.
Photo caption from left to right: Deputy Group CEO of AirAsia and co-founder of AirAsia X, Dato’ Kamarudin Meranun, Y.A.Bhg Tun Dr. Mahathir bin Mohamad and his wife, Tun Siti Hasmah Mohamad Ali on AirAsia X’s premium seats.
