KUALA LUMPUR: AirAsia’s recent five million free seat promotion has seen 500,000 seats sold in just 48 hours, marking its record-breaking sale with the highest number of seats sold daily since the onset of COVID-19.

In a statement today, Capital A Bhd, the low-cost airline operator, said value seekers have been snapping up free seats by the minute to their favourite short-haul destinations with the likes of Langkawi, Penang and Kota Kinabalu in Malaysia.

It said among the most popular overseas choices included Phuket, Krabi and Chiang Mai in Thailand, Bali in Indonesia and Cebu in the Philippines.

Chief executive officer Tan Sri Tony Fernandes said the record-breaking sale, achieved via traditional media, surpassed the airline’s pre-COVID daily sales record of 230,000 in January 2020.

Group chief commercial officer Karen Chan said the strong demand reflected a positive outlook for the company going forward.

"We’re thrilled to see such strong demand for travel post-COVID and we’re confident this is only the start.

"We’re in the business of making dreams come true and it is worth every effort when we see our planes filled with wanderlust and excited passengers once again,” she added. - Bernama