The low-cost carrier said it was establishing Penang as its eighth hub after Kuala Lumpur, Johor Bahru, Kota Kinabalu, Bandung, Bali, Jakarta, Bangkok and a "virtual hub" in Singapore.

The Penang-Hong Kong route is AirAsia’s sixth international service from Penang after Singapore, Bangkok, Medan, Jakarta and Macau and the third international service from Hong Kong after Kuala Lumpur and Bangkok.

“Thus AirAsia’s new service from Penang to Hong Kong is certainly timely and will be well received by many as it has great advantage by the virtue of its extensive route network and low-fares to the masses without compromising on safety and quality,” it said.

The booking period for the new sector to Hong Kong and the second frequency to Singapore opens for sale from July 7 to 12 for the travel period from July 31 to April 30, 2010.

AirAsia will be offering an all-in-fare from RM99 to Hong Kong and RM51 to Singapore to mark the launch of these sectors. These offers are made exclusively online via www.airasia.com or mobile.airasia.com.

It also said its holiday division GoHoliday was offering guests free rooms when guest book at its partner hotels in Hong Kong such as Chartherhouse Causeway Bay, Empire Hong Kong Wan Chai, Empire Hong Kong Causeway Bay or Empire Kowloon Tsim Sha Tsui.

This promotion which is valid via goholiday.airasia.com and are available on first come, first served basis and are subject to availability.

AirAsia’s regional head of commercial Kathleen Tan said at a time when some airlines were cutting routes and downsizing capacity, AirAsia was breaking the trend with its aggressive expansion plans and also increasing frequencies where there was proven demand.

She added there was certainly demand for the Penang-Hong Kong and Penang-Singapore routes.