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KUALA LUMPUR : National carrier Malaysia Airlines will launch more flights
to China and India to enhance
bilateral trade, according to a press report. "In the immediate future,
MAS (Malaysia Airlines) is looking to Shenyang and Chongqin in northeast
China," Transport Minister Chan Kong Choy was quoted as saying by the Star.
He was speaking before embarking on the carrier's inaugural flight on
Tuesday to the historic city of
Xian, its
eighth destination in China, the daily said.
The flights to Shenyang and Chongqin are expected to take-off in October.
"I am sure this will further strengthen the position of the Kuala Lumpur
International Airport as a regional travel hub and also contribute towards
the government's vision for Malaysia to partner with and complement China,
which is the new economic powerhouse," Chan said.
The increase in flights would also help to pull in more Chinese tourists,
who numbered more than 550,000 last year, he added.
The airline would focus on increasing flights to both India and China in
the next two to three years, Malaysia Airlines senior general manager of
sales, marketing and distribution Rashid Khan said.
"This is especially true for India which allows MAS to operate from
secondary airports. We will certainly be looking into providing this
connectivity once we have obtained additional aircraft," he said.
The carrier currently operates 26 weekly flights to India which include
routes to New Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad and
Kolkata.
In China, the airline operates 66 weekly flights to
Beijing,
Shanghai,
Hong Kong,
Guangzhou,
Xiamen, Chengdu, Kunming and Xian. |
