Now fly Malaysia-Singapore @ Rs 120!

Malaysia's successful budget carrier AirAsia will soon start its flights to neighbouring Singapore with tickets as low as Rs 120 for a return trip.

The no frills airline has been given permission by the government to operate two daily flights each from Kuala Lumpur, Penang, Kota Kinabalu and Kuching to Singapore, local media said on Thursday.

The Cabinet agreed on Wednesday to open the routes to budget airlines between the two countries under a reciprocal arrangement, which would start in December or January once the logistics are sorted out.

The new routes will expand AirAsia's connectivity to more than 80 destinations across the continent, and provide additional connections for its sister airline AirAsia X, which is due to fly from Australia's Gold Coast on November 2, to Guangzhou, China at the end of the year, and to Melbourne and London next year.

Prices for the Singapore flights are expected to start at 9.90 ringgit (Rs 120)

for return trips. Currently, the lucrative Kuala Lumpur-Singapore route is exclusively served by national flag carriers-- Malaysia Airlines and Singapore Airlines, which together fly 20 times a day between the two cities. A ticket costs around 400 ringgit (Rs 4,800).

In line with the Asean Open Sky Policy, scheduled to take off on Jan 1, 2009, both Malaysia and Singapore have, since last year, been in talks to liberalise their air space to further boost travel and tourism between the two countries.

The Cabinet's move was in line with the country's ambitions in tourism and the low-cost travel sector, New Straits Times said quoting unnamed sources.

Airfare for Rs 599 and less!