Foreign Carriers and Malaysia

[JuliusWong 0]

On 9/16/2023 at 7:44 AM, Adam Lawrence said:

Sichuan Airlines Sep 2023 SE Asia Network Additions

Sichuan Airlines this month is adding a pair of new international routes to Southeast Asia, including Malaysia and Indonesia. Planned new routes and schedules as follows.

Haikou – Kuala Lumpur eff 17SEP23 2 weekly A321
3U3749 HAK1055 – 1450KUL 321 47
3U3750 KUL1550 – 1915HAK 321 47
 

https://www.aeroroutes.com/eng/230915-3usep23myid

Surprisingly it is not Hainan Airlines doing the flight, rather Sichuan Airlines from their secondary hub. Glad to see Penang and KL are getting some new flight from mainland China.

[Craig 0]

QR will resume PEN passenger service beginning 29 October. Routing will be DOH-HKT-PEN (no traffic rights between HKT and PEN). And QR will add another daily DOH-KUL flight beginning 15 December for a total of 4 daily between MH (359/333) and QR (77W/788). Flight schedule will be very similar to previous QR852/853 and will be operated by B787-8. 

[nrazmoor 0]

flydubai launches daily service to Langkawi and Penang in Malaysia 

https://news.flydubai.com/flydubai-launches-daily-service-to-langkawi-and-penang-in-malaysia

 

Edited September 21, 2023 by nrazmoor

[Chris Tan 0]

4 hours ago, nrazmoor said:

flydubai launches daily service to Langkawi and Penang in Malaysia 

https://news.flydubai.com/flydubai-launches-daily-service-to-langkawi-and-penang-in-malaysia

 

Nice to see LGK get long-haul service again but I guess this rules out EK launching PEN. IIRC it was slated to be DXB-SIN-PEN with 5th freedom rights but never actually launched because of Covid. That would've been a very interesting ride.

[Pall 0]

flydubai's 737max product puts MH's refurbished NG and soon max to shame. 

[Robert 0]

7 hours ago, Chris Tan said:

Nice to see LGK get long-haul service again but I guess this rules out EK launching PEN. IIRC it was slated to be DXB-SIN-PEN with 5th freedom rights but never actually launched because of Covid. That would've been a very interesting ride.

I guess that if there is strong demand then EK could eventually take over 

[Adam Lawrence 0]

Most likely other LCC in the same region such as Air Arabia, Salam Air, Wizz Air Abu Dhabi, etc to follow suit.

[Adam Lawrence 0]

1 hour ago, Robert said:

I guess that if there is strong demand then EK could eventually take over 

Not necessary to take over. Both EK and FlyDubai can fly to the same destination if there is really a strong demand. There are many destinations currently served by both carriers.

[flee 5]

4 hours ago, Robert said:

I guess that if there is strong demand then EK could eventually take over 

I think EK's problem is not demand but aircraft availability. They can't get any more A380s and the B779s are delayed by an unreasonable amount of time. With their flights mostly sold out, they need more aircraft capacity for their routes!

[Pall 0]

9 minutes ago, flee said:

I think EK's problem is not demand but aircraft availability. They can't get any more A380s and the B779s are delayed by an unreasonable amount of time. With their flights mostly sold out, they need more aircraft capacity for their routes!

There are still 5 A380's parked in DWC. 

[flee 5]

1 hour ago, Pall said:

There are still 5 A380's parked in DWC. 

Yeah, but airlines are finding supply chain issues and can't get them to return to service soon enough! 

[Adam Lawrence 0]

Thai Lion Air Plans Penang Service From Nov 2023

Thai Lion Air from mid-November 2023 intends to add service to Penang, where the airline schedules Bangkok Don Mueang – Penang nonstop flight. From 16NOV23, Boeing 737-800/-900ER operates this route 4 times weekly, based on schedule listing in the OAG.

SL132 DMK1205 – 1455PEN 737 x135
SL133 PEN1550 – 1640DMK 737 x135

https://www.aeroroutes.com/eng/230921-slnw23pen

[Adam Lawrence 0]

China Eastern Resumes Shanghai – Kuala Lumpur From Sep 2023

China Eastern next week plans to resume Shanghai Pu Dong – Kuala Lumpur service, last served until April 2014. The Skyteam member will operate this route from 25SEP23, with Airbus A350-900XWB aircraft.

This route is scheduled on daily basis.

MU247 PVG2000 – 0200+1KUL 359 D
MU248 KUL0300 – 0815PVG 359 D

This daily service is in addition to existing 2 daily flights operated by Shanghai Airlines.

https://www.aeroroutes.com/eng/230920-musep23kul

[Izanee 0]

From Jim Liu’s aeroroutes….

 

ETIHAD INCREASES KUALA LUMPUR FLIGHTS FROM JANUARY 2024

 

Published at 1730GMT 22SEP23

Etihad Airways starting January 2024 is expanding service to Malaysia, where the airline plans to increase Abu Dhabi – Kuala Lumpur flight, from 1 to 2 daily. The 2nd daily EY412/413 service, on board Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner, is scheduled to commence on 15JAN24, and will be maintained on/after 31MAR24.

EY412 AUH0845 – 1950KUL 789 D
EY418 AUH2100 – 0805+1KUL 789 D

EY413 KUL0925 – 1250AUH 789 D
EY411 KUL2115 – 0040+1AUH 789 D

 

 

good to see that the demand for flights to Malaysia is healthy! 

[Craig 0]

5 hours ago, Izanee said:

ETIHAD INCREASES KUALA LUMPUR FLIGHTS FROM JANUARY 2024 [...]

good to see that the demand for flights to Malaysia is healthy! 

Oman Air is also increasing from current 8x to 14x weekly beginning March 2024. So next summer, we will have:

1. 5x daily JED (3x SV, 1 each between MH and QR)
2. 4x daily DOH between MH and QR
3. 3x daily DXB by EK 
4. 2x daily AUH by EY
5. 2x daily MCT by WY
6. 2x daily IST by TK

That seems to be a lot of MENA/Europe traffic plus a number of Americas and Africa connections but yet no European carriers have announced their plans to return to KUL for summer 2024 (yet?). Most if not all of these carriers above have beyond KUL connections with MH and to a certain extent, OD.

Edited September 23, 2023 by Craig

[Craig 0]

delete

Edited September 23, 2023 by Craig

[Kee Hooi Yen 0]

3 hours ago, Craig said:

Oman Air is also increasing from current 8x to 14x weekly beginning March 2024. So next summer, we will have:

1. 5x daily JED (3x SV, 1 each between MH and QR)
2. 4x daily DOH between MH and QR
3. 3x daily DXB by EK 
4. 2x daily AUH by EY
5. 2x daily MCT by WY
6. 2x daily IST by TK

That seems to be a lot of MENA/Europe traffic plus a number of Americas and Africa connections but yet no European carriers have announced their plans to return to KUL for summer 2024 (yet?). Most if not all of these carriers above have beyond KUL connections with MH and to a certain extent, OD.

I believe Air Arabia flies SHJ-KUL too. And KU on KWI-KUL.

Is there any BAH flight ?

[Craig 0]

33 minutes ago, Kee Hooi Yen said:

I believe Air Arabia flies SHJ-KUL too. And KU on KWI-KUL.

Is there any BAH flight ?

You are right. Air Arabia flies SHJ-KUL 11x weekly and KU 3x weekly (both aren't loaded for Summer 2024 tho). No BAH/AMM flights. GF only flies to SIN, BKK, MNL. And also SV with a few MED flights plus IR from TKA (both aren't convenient for beyond connections from those cities). I remember Iraqi Airways used to fly Baghdad-KL not too long ago 😅

[Riza 0]

GF used to fly to KUL with their 343 then discontinue. They plan to reinstate the route but then pandemic hits.

[Craig 0]

China Airlines will up gauge their PEN flights from A321neo (180 seats) to A333 (313 seats) for the month of December. Business class will go from flat bed to recliner 😅 but a huge increase in capacity.

Edited September 27, 2023 by Craig

[Pall 0]

2 hours ago, Craig said:

China Airlines will up gauge their PEN flights from A321neo (180 seats) to A333 (313 seats) for the month of December. Business class will go from flat bed to recliner 😅 but a huge increase in capacity.

Probably due to cargo as well. PEN is part of the semi-conductor supply chain of those giant chipmakers in Taiwan. High value cargo. More belly cargo capacity on A333.

Edited September 27, 2023 by Pall

[Chris Tan 0]

2 hours ago, Pall said:

Probably due to cargo as well. PEN is part of the semi-conductor supply chain of those giant chipmakers in Taiwan. High value cargo. More belly cargo capacity on A333.

That was my initial thought as well. But if cargo were a big reason they should be flying 333's year round, and CI Cargo already flies there, which makes me think it's driven by passenger demand.

[Craig 0]

2 hours ago, Pall said:

Probably due to cargo as well. PEN is part of the semi-conductor supply chain of those giant chipmakers in Taiwan. High value cargo. More belly cargo capacity on A333.

 

19 minutes ago, Chris Tan said:

That was my initial thought as well. But if cargo were a big reason they should be flying 333's year round, and CI Cargo already flies there, which makes me think it's driven by passenger demand.

Probably a combination of both.  But I suspect more so on passenger demand since December is one of the peak travel months and they'd probably send their freighters to PEN instead of a larger passenger plane if it's mostly cargo. I'd imagine a lot of companies slow down between Christmas and New Year.

[JuliusWong 0]

5 hours ago, Craig said:

China Airlines will up gauge their PEN flights from A321neo (180 seats) to A333 (313 seats) for the month of December. Business class will go from flat bed to recliner 😅 but a huge increase in capacity.

If China Airlines indeed upgauging PEN with A330 for good, it will only for a year plus before the new B787 joins the fleet in 2025. CI is progressively retiring their A330 now.

Edited September 27, 2023 by JuliusWong

[Izanee 0]

More from aeroroutes…

 

AIR MAURITIUS NS24 MALAYSIA SERVICE INCREASES

 

Published at 0700GMT 28SEP23

Air Mauritius in Northern summer 2024 season intends to increase service to Malaysia, as the airline currently lists 3 weekly Mauritius – Kuala Lumpur service during following periods, instead of 2 weekly: 03APR24 – 25APR24, 03JUL24 – 29AUG24.

The 3rd weekly flight is not scheduled for the month of May and June 2024.

MK646 MRU2300 – 1010+1KUL 332 14
MK646 MRU2300 – 1010+1KUL 339 3

MK647 KUL1250 – 1550MRU 339 4
MK647 KUL1250 – 1550MRU 332 25