Malaysia Airlines inaugurates Kuala Lumpur-Krabi flights

PHUKET: Malaysia Airlines flight MH770 made its inaugural flight from Kuala Lumpur to Krabi yesterday, initiating a four-times-a-week service between the two destinations.

The new B737-800 flights will operate on Monday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday, departing from Kuala Lumpur at 2:55pm (local time in Malaysia) and departing from Krabi at 5:20pm (local time).

“Last year more than 90,000 tourists from Malaysia visited Krabi,” said Wiyada Srirangkul, director of the Tourism Authority of Thailand Krabi office.

“We also have two flights a day from Kuala Lumpur to Krabi with Air Asia. The new Malaysia Airlines flights give Malaysian visitors more options for visiting Krabi and will definitely support tourism here.”

Krabi is a popular holiday spot for Malaysians, said Ahmad Jauhari Yahya, Malaysia Airlines group chief executive officer.

“This will also be a gateway for our guests to connect… with other destinations served by Malaysia Airlines as well as oneworld [travel alliance] routes,” Mr Yahya said.

Noting the benefits to both countries, he said the new flights are in addition to “35 weekly flights to Bangkok and 21 weekly flights to Phuket, bringing… a total of 60 weekly flights between Malaysia and Thailand.

“This is a very encouraging development for Malaysia Airlines, especially with Visit Malaysia Year 2014 tourism promotion underway [click here].”

Ms Wiyada noted that tourism in Krabi was robust despite the protests in Bangkok.

“Krabi has 100 per cent hotel occupancy in four- and five-star hotels. For all hotels, occupancy is at 85 per cent,” she said.

— Chutharat Plerin