KUALA LUMPUR: After a hiatus of more than a decade, British Airways (BA) will resume daily direct flights from Kuala Lumpur to London from May 27, 2015.
“It’s wonderful to be back in Malaysia. We’re starting the new flights in response to strong demand for direct flights to Kuala Lumpur,” Jamie Cassidy, BA area general manager for the Asia Pacific, Middle East and Africa told StarBiz.
Cassidy said Malaysia was becoming increasingly important and had a huge market. He noted that there were about 460,000 passengers flying the KL-London route per annum.
“As Malaysia’s economy grows, it is becoming an even more important trading partner for the UK, and Britain has long been a favourite destination for Malaysians to shop, experience historical sites, culture, and study,” he said.
Cassidy said the carrier had been spreading its wings in Asia for the past few years, with the latest destinations being Haneda, Japan, and Chengdu, China. BA is also a member of the oneworld alliance.
He explained that its expansion came especially after a £5bil investment in planes, network and equipment.
“We’re very excited. We have a long history in Malaysia. We started flying to Malaysia in 1933 and took nine days to get here. It takes just more than 12 hours to reach KL,” he said.
The airline suspended services to KL in 2001 as global travel slowed after the Sept 11 terrorist attacks on the United States.
For the time being, Cassidy said BA would take “one step at a time”. For now, he said it would be a point-to-point flight, but noted that it had a big network of over 75 countries.
Without disclosing its expected load factor, Cassidy was confident of a successful load from KL to London.
BA will be also setting up a commercial team with a small office in Malaysia.
He said its investment to commence flights to KL included the planes plying the route, an office as well as human resources. Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd (MAHB) has been pursuing BA in the past years. So far, the airport operator has been fairly successful in wooing some carriers to return to Kuala Lumpur.
Cassidy disclosed that BA had been in talks with MAHB for “several years”.
MAHB adviser Tan Sri Bashir Ahmad Abdul Majid, who has been instrumental in bringing BA back, said the carrier had been a major airline operating to Malaysia for many years and had played a major role in providing travel connectivity to Malaysia.
“Following its withdrawal during the financial crisis in 2001, we have been engaging BA to evaluate the resumption of services to the KL International Airport (KLIA).
“Discussions were held involving market research studies, the right choice of aircraft, convenient landing slots, level of frequencies and pricing. This was to ensure that not only the services will be viable, but also sustainable for the future,” he said when contacted.
Bashir also said BA’s announcement demonstrated its confidence on the Malaysian economy, tourism potential and travel demand.
Managing director Datuk Badlisham Ghazali said: “We’re very excited about the return of BA to KLIA. It joins other European carriers (KLM, Air France, Lufthansa and Turkish Airlines) that have made KL one of their primary destinations in South-East Asia.”
BA will be the only airline to offer premium economy seats between London and Kuala Lumpur. The daily service will be operated by a four-cabin Boeing 777-200ER, featuring 12 seats in First, 48 in Club World business class, 32 in World Traveller Plus premium economy class and 127 in World Traveller economy class.
The flight’s early morning arrival in London allows passengers a full day in the city to catch connecting flights to other destinations in the UK and Europe.
Tickets will go on sale today and may be booked at ba.com. All-inclusive return fares start from RM3,696 for world traveller economy class.
