Singapore is "fully committed" to liberalising air travel between the city-state and Malaysia, the government said Thursday.

The transport ministry commented after Malaysian budget carrier AirAsia won a long battle to fly the lucrative Singapore-Kuala Lumpur route, breaking a 35-year stranglehold by national carriers Singapore Airlines and Malaysia Airlines.

"Singapore is fully committed to liberalising air services between our two countries as soon as possible," the ministry said in a statement.

"This includes not only the Singapore-Kuala Lumpur route, but also between Singapore and additional cities in Malaysia."

Singapore and Malaysian officials are planning to meet soon to discuss the expansion of their air services agreement, the ministry said.

Freer skies would bring the neighbours "one step closer" to ASEAN's goal of lifting all restrictions on passenger flights between the bloc's capital cities by December 2008, the ministry added.

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) includes Singapore, Malaysia, Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Myanmar, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam.

The entry of budget carriers on the Singapore-Kuala Lumpur route is expected to give passengers the option of cheaper tickets for the one-hour flight.

A roundtrip ticket currently costs around 450 Singapore dollars (308 US) including taxes. AirAsia is proposing one-way tickets from 60 dollars.

Singapore-based Tiger Airways, which is 49-percent owned by Singapore Airlines, said Thursday it wants to fly the route too as soon as possible.