KUALA LUMPUR (June 8): Malaysia Airlines Bhd (MAB) has increased the frequency of its domestic flights beginning June and will resume some of its international flights in July to facilitate essential travels locally and as other countries begin to lift border restrictions.
In a statement today, the airline said it will adjust its network capacity from time to time to ensure passenger demands are met prior to normalising the schedule in October for both domestic and international destinations.
“The resumption of services will allow families who have not been able to return to their loved ones due to travel restrictions in many parts of the world to reunite,” said MAB, adding that passengers are, however, reminded to check entry and exit requirements before their journeys with travel restrictions remaining in place in most countries.
For the months of June and July, flights between Kuala Lumpur (KL) and Alor Setar, Johor Baru, Kota Baru, Langkawi, Terengganu, Labuan, Miri, Sandakan as well as Tawau will be twice weekly. Flights from Kuala Lumpur to Kuantan, Bintulu and Sibu will be once a week.
Flights between KL and Penang as well as Kuching in June will be three times per week, while flights between KL and Kuching will be five times a week starting July.
For international connectivity, which will begin only in July, flights between KL and Dhaka, Kathmandu, London, Osaka, Narita, Incheon, Hong Kong, Perth, Denpasar, Phuket and Cambodia will be twice a week.
However, the twice per week connectivity with Melbourne will only be from July 1 to July 18, and for Sydney, it will only be for five days from July 1 to July 5. Following that, flights from KL to Melbourne and Sydney will be once per week.
Flights between KL and Chennai, Hyderabad, Mumbai, Bangalore, Cochin, Sri Lanka, Taipei, Guangzhou, Adelaide, Brisbane as well as Surabaya will be once a week.
KL-Manila flights will be three times weekly, while Kuala Lumpur-Jakarta/Bangkok will be four times weekly and Kuala Lumpur-Singapore will be five times per week.
“We are pleased to announce the resumption of our services by increasing the capacity of domestic and international routes and we look forward to welcoming our passengers back on board,” said its group chief executive officer (CEO) Captain Izham Ismail.
“We shall continue to ensure their safety, health as well as their comfort by introducing new initiatives aligned with international safety and health protocols as part of our commitment to offering passengers peace of mind throughout their journey with us,” said Izham.
“Following the Malaysian government’s recent announcement on interstate travel, we have also released a special video titled "Ready to fly and rediscover Malaysia" which is available on Malaysia Airlines’ social media platforms.
“We hope that by showcasing unique and beautiful domestic attractions located across Malaysia, we can inspire local travellers to explore the beauty of our homeland and boost local tourism efforts,” Izham added.
At the onset of the Covid-19 outbreak, MAB said it had implemented various enhanced safety measures and protocols in coordination with health and airport authorities, also extended to the Malaysia Airlines Golden Lounge planned to be reopened on July 1.
Additionally, MAB said its passengers can continue to enjoy hours of in-flight entertainment on their seat-back screens, Wi-Fi connectivity and comfort amenities of hygienically packed pillows and blankets available on selected flights.
In-flight dining has been modified to limit contact between the cabin crew and passengers but is assured to be substantial for all cabin classes, especially on long haul flights, MAB added.
Other in-flight services such as reading material, in-flight duty-free and retail, however, will continue to be suspended for the time being.
MAB said passengers looking for flights to return home on Malaysia Airlines may book their tickets on Malaysia Airlines’ official website at https://www.malaysiaairlines.com/my/en.html or via Malaysia Airlines’ app with some departure dates available for booking.
The flight schedules are available on Malaysia Airlines' website, and passengers are urged to perform online or by mobile check-ins to reduce interaction and avoid queues at the airport, especially those travelling on domestic and regional routes.
http://www.theedgemarkets.com/article/malaysia-airlines-adds-domestic-flights-starting-month-resumes-international-flights-july
