BANGKOK, Thailand -- Filipinos can now fly to Bangkok from Manila via AirAsia.

The budget airline launched its first Manila-Bangkok flight on Sunday night, with passengers treated to bite-sized Thai treats and AirAsia merchandise.

A short program at Terminal 3 of Ninoy Aquino International Airport showed AirAsia Philippines' CEO, Captain Dexter Comendador, in a ceremonial exchange of tokens with Kajorndet Apichartrakul, director of Tourism Authority of Thailand.

Comendador was also the pilot-in-command for the Manila-Bangkok inaugural flight.

He said the airline's new route is part of their effort "to help bridge communities and economies as we move toward even greater integration and mutual understanding."

"AirAsia is a product of ASEAN and we are proud to be part of this region we call home. We are the only airline that carries the 'I love ASEAN' painted on our aircraft, including the ASEAN logo," he said.

Apichartrakul, for his part, said: "We want to bring people across the ASEAN region closer together and further expand our ASEAN footprint to serve more and more communities."

"We have 100% load for this inaugural flight and we hope to do more inter-ASEAN routes to serve every Filipino traveler needs and enable them to connect, do business, and build socio-economic ties with neighboring countries."

AirAsia now flies from Manila to Bangkok daily, with flights leaving NAIA 3 at 6:25 p.m. (Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Saturday) and 6:35 p.m. (Mondays, Fridays, and Sundays).

The budget carrier also has flights to Malaysia, Vietnam, Indonesia, and Singapore from Manila, Davao, and Cebu.