Mum in Australia Wins AirAsia Plane Giveaway

A mother of three from NSW in Australia will treat 251 of her Facebook friends to a holiday in Malaysia travelling in their own private jet after winning AirAsia’s plane giveaway.

Julie-Anne Foster, a 42-year-old bookkeeper from Lismore, has been named as the winner of the airline’s ‘Friendsy’ Facebook competition, which attracted exactly 12,500 entries and involved just under a million people.

Mrs Foster and her friends have won return flights to Kuala Lumpur travelling in a special reserved AirAsia Airbus A330-300, as well as three nights’ accommodation at ibis Styles Fraser Business Park.

“You never expect to win when you enter competitions and when they told me I didn’t believe it – I thought I was getting prank called,” Mrs Foster said. “I rang my husband Darren and he didn’t believe it either, but we’ve had a few celebratory drinks and it’s starting to sink in. It’s just been a buzz.”

The competition was launched in April to celebrate AirAsia’s new Sydney to Kuala Lumpur route. Entry was via a specially designed Facebook app, with entrants asked to fill up to 302 virtual plane seats with their Facebook friends.

Mrs Foster’s 251 friends included her children aged 12, 16 and 18, her mum, three brothers and one sister.

“I filled the premium Flatbed seats with family first and then I went through all my friends and picked those who I thought would like to have a holiday with us, including my hockey team, my daughter’s swim club friends and friends that we go away with all the time,” Mrs Foster said. “This will be the first overseas trip for some of my friends and there’s a few who are getting their passports organised now. They are really excited to explore Kuala Lumpur.”

Mrs Foster said she wanted to treat her friends to an unforgettable night in KL by hiring out the SkyBar, which offers views of the illuminated Petronas Towers.

“It will be interesting to see how many I can get up into the SkyBar, but I don’t know if they’ll accept 200-odd excited Aussies all at once!,” she said.

AirAsia X marketing manager Stuart Myerscough said just under a million Facebook users - 964,461 to be precise – had been tagged on a friend’s plane.

“This was our biggest and most exciting competition in Australia yet and a great way to thank Australians for their support,” he said. “Congratulations to Julie-Anne and we hope she and all 251 of her mates have the trip of a lifetime.  AirAsia is committed to upholding its ‘Now everyone can fly’ pledge. We’re thrilled to be able to take some of Julie-Anne’s friends on their first overseas trip ever and show them, and everyone else, why we’re the World’s Best Low Cost Airline.”

The AirAsia Friendsy plane will depart 2 November 2012 from Sydney Airport and return from Kuala Lumpur on 5 November 2012. The total prize is worth up to A$268,615.

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