[Anonymous]

[Kais767]

BA has pulled out of its Kuala Lumpur route for many years now, presumably due to the lack of traffic during that time

The KUL-LHR route is flown by MH 2x daily while Air Asia flies up tp 9x weekly KUL-STN. Both also have relatively good loads, which is a positive sign for BA to rejoin the market right?

If BA returns to KUL, it would certainly give travelers more choices. KLM and LH both serve KUL and they too get relatively good loads. Maybe BA can even try LHR-KUL-MEL/PER? Austrian used to fly VIE-KUL-SYD but for some reason, pulled out it. And no, those flights were full.

Thoughts?

[Bullfrog]

A number of years ago BA pulled out of KL & Jakarta.
Whether there was a ‘quid pro quo’ or a deal done, I don’t know.

If my memory serves me correctly, BA also pulled out of Palma for many years, probably because it was being served by GO.

Equally, and I am on a sticky wicket here, BA also had an absence from Dublin for a while.

Allowing me to digress, whilst BMi always appears to me to be a business without a ‘plan’, (hats off to Sir Michael Bishop for the deal he struck with Lufthansa), I sometimes think BA also lacks some sort of plan.

Surely BMed would have fitted perfectly into the BA network.

[TominScotland]

Fair point, Kais 767. I used BA for LHR – KUL a few times but one of the problems with this route is that there are no oneworld partner airlines with KUL as a hub so difficult to feed onward traffic. KLM fly the route as a feed to MAS Australia services but BA would need to generate sufficient load locally. I hardly think that BA to MEL or PER via KUL is likely with QF offering distribution to these and other Oz cities out of BKK and SIN for them.

My memory is that the Austrian service was, in fact, operated by Lauda Air but I may be wrong there. I don’t think that Austrian have ventured as far south as Oz themselves.

[VintageKrug]

In all fleet deliberations, it is important to consider that LHR is extremely slot constrained; any new route has to stand alone and justify taking a 747 off an LHR-JFK flight.

I would be interesting if BA offered a KUL flight exLGW……

[Hippocampus]

Didn’t BA originally withdraw from KUL due to landing charges (which also prompted other carriers to withdraw) and under-cutting on price by MH?

I guess post-787 and Mixed Fleet this, along with ICN, is potentially a good prospect.

[hinunung]

Perhaps a re-introduction of LHR-KUL-CGK three weekly flights would be a good start. I’m sure many travellers have long missed such direct service with BA.

[VintageKrug]

But which services should BA drop to accommodate a KUL rotation?

[PsyDtoBe]

It seems like BA has the least Asian route compare to other Major European Airlines, AF, LH, and KLM.

I would personally think KUL/CGK/DPS will be serve by Finnair in the near future because it is clearly now that OW has divided their EU member to focus on different continent. BA to North America, IB to South America, AY to Asia, and Malev to Eastern European Cities.

You can book BA ticket out of CGK and DPS to EU, Western US and Canada coast from BA Indonesia website. You will be transiting via HKG with CX on CGK/DPS-HKG route.

Or BA may serve DPS directly thru LGW considering the growing number of EU tourist to the island, especially, post Eat Pray Love and Indonesian government promotion to visit indonesia where Bali is the most famous and visited place in Indonesia.

[Hippocampus]

In terms of slots some short-haul capacity can be moved to LGW and LCY.

Leisure routes (as per the recent Malaga move) can be moved to LGW and some business focused rotations can go to LCY (as per the LCY-ARN announcement this week).

BA also picked up quite a few slot pairs at LHR when BMED was sold to BD and following capacity reductions post-downturn there is probably a bit of capacity at LHR to add some new routes (some leisure routes were moved from LGW to LHR temporarily to babysit slots).

Time will tell as to what exactly will happen to bmi in the long term but I would not rule out BA acquiring a portfolio of the less lucrative BD slots that are unlikely to be of interest to smaller long-haul players at LHR who will only want slots at peak times.

[JJ51435]

LH w/ integrate BMI for the slots at LHR to take the fight to BA’ s backyard. Unless LH falters and needs the money in which case it w/ sell the slots for the best offer.

[Senator]

TominScotland,

Austrian did have service to MEL and SYD via SIA and KUL using a Lauda B777. It was the only European carrier (except BA) with service to OZ. I assume they had traffic rights KUL to OZ, They pulled out 2007 or 2008 I think.

Interesting enough, LX, SK, and OS have all pulled out of SIN but continue flying into BKK using TG as feeder. LH has a four-day a week one-stop service to KUL via BKK.

My two trips last year included the discontiuned ARN-KUL on MAS and AF/KLM to SIN using Silk/MAS to KUL.

More European flights to KUL would be nice.

[TominScotland]

Thanks, Senator. The original carrier on that route was an independent Lauda and Austrian must have continued it for a couple of years after the takeover.

KUL has always been caught in a “hub vice” between BKK and SIN and it seems unlikely to me that airlines will divert traffic from these hubs in order to spread jam more thinly over 3 destinations.

An alternative scenario is that Air Asia X will grow out of KUL and undermine MAS longhaul as it has already done with domestic and regional services. That will make new routings through KUL by European airlines even more unlikely, least of all BA.

[AMcWhirter]

I believe BA pulled out of KUL during the Asian economic downturn some 10 years ago. At the time the Malaysian dollar was weak so the yields made the route unprofitable.

Some time back BA even used to route one of its LHR-SYD flights via KUL.

Although currency values have shifted over the past decade I just cannot see BA wishing to restart a KUL service.

Right now Air AsiaX copes with the budget end of the UK/Malaysia market and then we must not forget the rise of the Gulf airlines.

When BA last served KUL the likes of EK, EY and QR were either unknown on the KUL route or had limited services.

Fast forward 10 years and we see EK operating no fewer than 21 large B777-300 flights every week between DXB and KUL. From next Spring EK’s total will rise to 24 flights a week.

There are also currently 11 flights a week with QR from DOH and a daily service by EY from AUH.

When you consider that the Gulf airlines combined offer connections not just from LHR but also from LGW and other UK regional airports then what chance does BA have to attract sufficient passengers to make a KUL route profitable ?

[Ausline]

A few points;

1] VS also serves Syd daily,

2] both BA and QF pulled out of KUL several years ago and chose to focus on their SIN hub. KUL is not major destination and seems adequately served over SIN by OW carriers.

3] Jetstar also offered 3 x direct services to KUL but they lasted for less than 12 months and are one the only destinations, that I am aware of, that JQ has pulled out of.

4] Air Asia X does well out of MEL but most of the traffic is conx to Asia and the UK. MH is fighting to keep Air Asia X out of Syd and so far have succeeded.

[Author]

Posts