Queens Park Rangers Heads to Asia for Pre-Season Tour

 SEPANG, 22 JUNE 2012 – Rangers fans will be thrilled to hear that Queens Park Rangers (QPR) will be making their way to the region with their official Pre-Season Asia Tour. During the tour, the team will be in three cities – Kota Kinabalu, Sabah; Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia and Surabaya, Indonesia.

 

The Barclay’s Premier League (BPL) team will face the Sabah Allstars team in Kota Kinabalu on July 17 followed by a match against the Kelantan team in Kuala Lumpur on July 20. In Surabaya, the match will see The Hoops go against Persebaya Surabaya team on 23 July.

 

AirAsia Group Commercial Head Kathleen Tan said, “We have fostered a fantastic partnership with QPR and is proud to renew our sponsorship as QPR official shirt sponsor. We are excited and thrilled to have QPR tour our major hub cities in Malaysia and Indonesia. AirAsia has been actively involved in sports sponsorship & sports marketing, however our keen interest in sports is not just about the value and branding opportunities that it gives us, but also our belief that we need to invest in the region’s youth to develop their interest and skills in international sports.”

 

“As the people’s airline, AirAsia does not only enable everyone to fly, but also to experience international sports at the local front. And with our extensive route network across Asean especially, we hope to share the joy and excitement of football to our guests from every corner of this region.”

 

QPR chief executive officer Philip Beard added, “It is an honour for Queens Park Rangers to come and play in Malaysia & Indonesia next month. Everyone at the Club is extremely excited by the Tour, and we hope it allows as many of our fans as possible in Asia to watch the team in action.”

 

“From the day Tony took over, the response and support from AirAsia has been overwhelming. This is a massive step for QPR to come and play in Asia and we hope it is the first of many more opportunities to come. I know the players and management are excited about to come in advance to a successful second season in the Premier League.”

 

To see QPR in action, fans in Malaysia can get their tickets from AirAsia RedTix. Tickets are priced between RM30 to RM200 for the matches in Malaysia. Stay tuned on when the tickets are available for sale by logging on to www.redtix.airasia.com. Details on the tickets for the Surabaya match will be announced soon.

 

AirAsia is the Official Club Partner for QPR and it was recently announced that it is also the Official Playing Kit Sponsor, with the airline’s logo to appear on all QPR’s playing kit (home, away and third shirt) for the whole duration of the 2012/13 BPL season.

 

In addition, there will also be special AirAsia QPR co-branded merchandize including t-shirts, footballs, wristbands, caps and lanyards on sale at the stadium during the friendly matches at the AirAsia booth. Those in Malaysia who has purchased their tickets online via AirAsia RedTix can also order the t-shirts online and collect it at the booth during match day.

 

AirAsia members can also win a pair of free tickets to the matches through a special online contest through the airline’s newsletter and on its website at www.airasia.com. All they have to do is submit their booking numbers for flights purchased in 2012, answer three questions on QPR and AirAsia and complete a slogan. BIG loyalty card members will stand a chance to win two pairs of tickets for the contest. The contest will begin on June 25 and ends on July 1, 2012.

 

Apart from that, 5 lucky people can also get a chance to follow the QPR team on the QPR Asia Tour to all three cities during the whole tour. All they have to do is tell AirAsia of their analytics in a blog entry of QPR’s brave battle against relegation last season in the English Premier League. Participants can submit their entries via email to facebook@airasia.com. Contest starts June 20 and ends on June 29, 2012.

 

In conjunction with the QPR Asia Tour, AirAsia will be having a special promotion. Guests can look forward to flying from Kuala Lumpur with all in fares from as low as RM29* one-way to destinations including Kuala Terengganu, Penang and Johor Bahru, RM59* to Langkawi, Palembang and Medan. Booking period for the promo is from June 26 to July 8 for the travel period of September 18 to November 30, 2012. The great, low fare offers are available online at www.airasia.com and all of AirAsia’s mobile booking platforms.

 

*All fares quoted are all-in fares, inclusive of airport tax and fuel surcharge. For one way only.

⁺Prices may not be inclusive of tax & may change at the time of print. Terms & conditions apply.

 

Photo caption:

AirAsia Group Head of Commercial, Kathleen Tan (third from left) and Queens Park Rangers Chief Executive Officer, Philip Beard (fourth from left) flanked by AirAsia flight attendants at the announcement of QPR’s Asia Tour. The tour will see QPR taking on the Sabah Allstars, Kelantan FC  and Persebaya Surabaya team in Kota Kinabalu (Sabah); Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and Surabaya, Indonesia.

 

***ENDS***

About AirAsia & AirAsia X

AirAsia, the leading and largest low-cost carrier in Asia, services the most extensive network with 150 routes. Within 10 years of operations, AirAsia has carried over 140 million guests and grown its fleet from just two aircraft to approximately 106. The airline today is proud to be a truly ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) airline with established operations based in Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand and Philippines servicing a network stretching across all ASEAN countries, China, India, Sri Lanka and Australia. This is further complemented by AirAsia X, its low-cost long-haul affiliate carrier that currently flies to destinations in China, Australia, Taiwan¸ Iran, Korea and Japan. AirAsia was named the World’s Best Low Cost Airline in the annual World Airline Survey by Skytrax for three consecutive years (2009, 2010, 2011).

 

Queens Park Rangers Football Club

QPR FC (www.qpr.co.uk) is a professional Football Club based in West London, England. The Club play their football in the top-flight of English football, the Barclays Premier League, under the management of former legendary striker Mark Hughes. On August 18th 2011, Tony Fernandes arrived at the Club as a majority shareholder, alongside Kamarudin Bin Meranun and Ruben Emir Gnanalingam. Amit Bhatia, who represents the Mittal Family, returned to the Club as Vice-Chairman.