Malaysia Airlines is resuming flights between Kota Kinabalu and both Osaka Kansai, Japan and Perth, Australia from December as part of its re-expansion of services from eastern Malaysia.
The airline cut its routes from Kota Kinabalu to both destinations at the start of this year, part of a wider network rationalisation that aimed to reduce its overall capacity by 12 per cent (see here). At the time, the Centre for Aviation CAPA attributed this restructuring to MAS's increasing co-operation with the low-cost carrier AirAsia and its desire to focus on more premium markets.
The airline will now resume a once-weekly service to Perth from December 9. Flight MH121 will leave Kota Kinabalu International Airport at 1800 on Sundays, to land in Perth at 2335, with the return leg leaving 0040 the next morning to arrive back in Malaysia at 0625.
It will resume twice-weekly flights to Osaka Kansai, meanwhile, on December 20. Flight MH054 will depart Kota Kinabalu at 0815 on Monday and Thursday, landing in Osaka at 1405, the return leg leaving the same day at 1505 to arrive at 1945.
Both flights will be operated by 160-seat B737-800 aircraft.
Kota Kinabalu, the capital of the state of Sabah, is an emerging industrial centre in the east of Malaysia. Industries include steel manufacturing and palm oil production, along with agriculture. The city is strategically located in the centre of the region, with Manila, Singapore and Taipei within three hours flight distance. It has a seaport and is well placed for regional trade with commercial hubs surrounding the South China Sea (to read more about Malaysia’s emerging hubs click here).
Malaysia Airlines is also increasing flight frequencies between Kota Kinabalu and Hong Kong from daily to nine weekly. The new flight MH426 will depart at 1530 on Wednesday and 1620 on Saturday, to arrive in Hong Kong at 1825 and 1915 respectively. The return leg will leave Hong Kong at 1925 and 2015 on the same days, landing at 2225 and 2315 respectively.
For more information, visit www.malaysiaairlines.com
Nicholas Olczak
