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udget airline AirAsia has just opened its newest international routes connecting Thailand's Phuket with two major Indonesian cities, Medan and Jakarta, whilst looking also at air links to Brunei and Manila

AirAsia is the first airline providing direct flights from Indonesia to the famous beach city. The route is being operated by Thai AirAsia.

"The flights to Phuket are currently available once a day using the sophisticated Airbus A320, both from Medan and from Jakarta," Thai AirAsia CEO Tassapon Bijleveld said Tuesday in Jakarta.

Phuket is the ninth foreign city to be connected to Indonesia by the AirAsia group - including Indonesia AirAsia - after Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Penang, Kuching, Kota Kinabalu, Ho Chi Minh City, Perth, and Bangkok.

Bijleveld said he was optimistic the Phuket route would attract customers. "Our current flights to Bangkok, from Denpasar and from Jakarta, are very lucrative," he said.

Bijleveld said the routes were part of a plan to expand Asian business.

Thai Ambassador to Indonesia Akrasid Amatayakul said he welcomed the Phuket routes as improving business links with Indonesia.

Capt. Dharmadi, CEO of PT Indonesia AirAsia, shared Amatayakul's opinion, saying the routes would benefit Thailand and Indonesia.

"We know that Phuket is full of foreign tourists. By opening these routes, such tourists, in addition to Thai people themselves, can be attracted to come to Indonesia."

For online buyers, AirAsia sells the Medan-Phuket ticket at Rp 99,000 (US$10) and Jakarta-Phuket at Rp 199,000, at the cheapest.

Dharmadi said that the routes opening to Phuket were part of AirAsia's plan to expand business in Southeast Asia. "Our mission is to be the biggest international airline player in ASEAN," he said.

To achieve the target, AirAsia is now eyeing Manila and Bandar Seri Begawan as its next destinations, Dharmadi said.

AirAsia flies international routes currently from five Indonesian cities, Jakarta, Denpasar, Medan, Bandung and Yogyakarta.

"We are targeting to open new international routes from Makasar shortly," he said.

"As much as 75 percent of our flights are connected with foreign cities, the rest are domestics. Until today, our load factor stays at 75 percent on average," he said.

Dharmadi said that Indonesia AirAsia currently operated 10 Airbus A320s and four Boeing 737-300s. "Next year, we will replace the four old 737s with four new A320s."