MALAYSIA AIRLINES LAUNCHES TWO NEW JOHANNESBURG-KL DIRECT FLIGHTS

By Muin Abdul Majid

DUBAI, Feb 24 (Bernama) -- Malaysia Airlines will launch two new weekly
non-stop flights from the South African city of Johannesburg to Kuala Lumpur
from March 30, bringing the total number to four weekly schedules.

The two additional flights will be on Tuesday and Friday in addition to
existing flights operating on Monday and Thursday.

Malaysia Airlines area manager for South and Central Africa, Yusnodjarwadi
Said, said the airline was delighted to be able to offer more capacity to the
Malaysian capital from Johannesburg.

"Passenger demand for travel has shown an improvement on the
Johannesburg-Kuala Lumpur sector over the past couple of months due to the
highly competitive fares that we're offering," he said in a statement to
Bernama.

"This demonstrates a healthy demand for Malaysia Airlines flights as we
also offer many benefits at no extra charge such as 20-kilogram baggage
allowance, assigned seats and meals."

The new flights will depart Johannesburg at 1.40pm, arriving in Kuala
Lumpur at 6.10am (local time) the next day.

Flights from Kuala Lumpur on Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday will
leave at 1.20am and arrive in Johannesburg the same day at 6am.

The two new weekly direct service between the two cities will use a Boeing
777-200 aircraft with 245 economy and 35 business class seats, providing a total
weekly capacity of 560 seats in each direction.

Yusnodjarwadi expressed hope that the four weekly schedules would encourage
increased corporate travel to Kuala Lumpur, describing it as a dynamic business
capital of Southeast Asia.

"The new Friday services will also appeal to South African leisure
travellers as they'll be able to maximise their time away by commencing their
holidays at the start of the weekend," he said.

"Customers are also assured of easy connectivity to Kuala Lumpur and beyond
with the early morning flight arrival," he noted.

Malaysia Airlines will be launching special low fares mainly to Malaysia,
Asean, China and Australia destinations for the flights.

Customers can also check out offers from MASholidays during their stay in
Malaysia.

The travel arm of Malaysia Airlines is offering several packages to suit the
different needs and interests of travellers in South Africa.

"Those who prefer relaxing holidays can opt for special beach packages while
the more adventurous can choose tropical packages," Yusnodjarwadi said.

Customers can purchase the value-for-money deals via Malaysia Airlines'
website www.malaysiaairlines.com, or call travel agents or the airline's
ticketing offices at (011) 8808560 (Johannesburg) or (021) 4197607 (Cape Town).

-- BERNAMA