PETALING JAYA, March 1 (Bernama) -- Malindo Air has commenced its inaugural flight between Langkawi and Malacca today. Flight OD1350 arrived at Langkawi International Airport at 3:45p.m. with a full load of 72 passengers onboard, received a warm welcome given water cannon salute,  followed by flower gallon and goodie bags giveaway to the passengers at the terminal.
 
Flight OD1350 departed from Malacca at 2:05p.m. in an ATR72-600 aircraft. From Langkawi, flight OD1351 is scheduled to depart at 12:05p.m. and arrive in Malacca International Airport at 1:45p.m.  The flights are available 3 times weekly on Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays.
 
Chandran Rama Muthy, CEO of Malindo Air said, “We are pleased to announce this new route, which links the twin tourism cities. We want to take advantage of the secondary international airports and provide better connectivity.”
 
“We are committed to grow domestic and international tourism to Langkawi. Currently, we have 8 domestic flights daily from KLIA and Subang Skypark.  We are also flying directly between Langkawi to Chengdu, Kunming and Chongqing in China, with our Boeing 737 fleet. We are looking forward to more direct connections from Langkawi to our international network, such as cities in South Asia,” he added.
 
Haji Mohd Asri Redha Abdul Rahman, Deputy CEO of Langkawi Development Authority said, “On behalf of Langkawi, we would like to extend our gratitude for making this happen. Langkawi needs more direct connectivity as we are more than ready to welcome visitors via our newly refurbished airport. In 2019, we are targeting more domestic visitors to come over and experience our Naturally Langkawi.
 
Raja Azmi Raja Nazuddin, Group Chief Executive Officer of Malaysia Airports added “Malindo Air’s effort in connecting Langkawi and Malacca will further increase the overall connectivity in Peninsular Malaysia. There is always a vast potential for traffic between these two destinations, which can grow further with the inclusion of service from the airline. Malaysia Airports is grateful to receive tremendous support from the state governments, which further complements our relentless marketing programme particularly in attracting new routes and services in Malaysia.

On the other hand, Malindo also celebrates its inaugural flights between Kota Bharu and Malacca today. Flight OD1300 departed from Sultan Ismail Petra Airport at 11:55a.m. and arrived at Malacca International Airport at 1:30p.m. From Malacca, flight OD1301 departed at 1:50p.m. and arrived in Kota Bharu at 3:15p.m. The flights are also scheduled 3 times weekly on Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays and an ATR72-600 aircraft which can accommodate 72 passengers is deployed for this route.
 
The flights between Langkawi and Melaka as well as Kota Bharu and Melacca are both offered at promotional all-in one way fare of RM139 inclusive of 15 kg baggage allowance. Booking can be done through Malindo Air website www.malindoair.com, ticketing offices, customer care centre and our preferred travel agents.
 
Passengers who have like to enjoy a cuppa in the air, the combo packs of Starbucks Coffee with either bun or muffin are available for purchase on-board at just RM12.
 
For updates on Malindo Air’s latest activities and promotions, please connect with us via Twitter (https://twitter.com/malindoair), Facebook (facebook.com/MalindoAirMalaysia) or Instagram (instagram.com/malindoair).








About Malindo Air

Malindo Air is a Malaysian airline with main hubs at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) and the convenient KL downtown city airport Subang Skypark in Selangor, Malaysia. The airline took to the skies in March 2013 with domestic flights and has since grown to operate routes to all major airports in Malaysia and across the continents of Asia and Australia. The fleet itself has grown exponentially to 13 ATR72-600 and 29 Boeing 737 as of Mar 2019. The airline also obtained the IATA Operational Safety Audit (IOSA).
 
Today, the airline operates over 800 flights weekly across a continuously growing network of about 55 routes in the region. Also an IATA airline member, Malindo Air codeshare with Turkish Airline, Lion Air, Batik Air, as well as an interlining partner to Xiamen Air, All Nippon Airways (ANA), Turkish Airline, Qatar Airways, Etihad Airways and Oman Air.
 
Malindo Air has recently won Airline Passenger Experience Association (APEX) 2019 and Best International Flight Ad of “The Exquisite Pic Award” by Thomas Edison Advertisement (TEA) Awards. Previous awards included Airline Passenger Experience Association (APEX) 2018 Four Star Major Regional Airline Recognition and Malaysia Best Employer Brand Awards 2018, CAPA’s 2016 Asia Pacific Regional Airline of the Year, New Comer of the Year, Australia 2016/17 by Expedia.com., TOP Recognition - Malaysia SME® Preferred Airline Partner, Airline of the Year (Passenger) at the KLIA Awards 2014 and Top Performing Airline 2015 by Travelport.

About Langkawi
 
An island surrounded with plethora of flora and fauna, Langkawi is also the region’s first Geopark, which is famous for its 550 million years old rock formations.  It is a natural complement of rainforests, beaches, waterfalls, mangroves, unique wildlife and insects, such as 500 species and sub-species of butterflies and more than 226 species of birds. On top of that, the genuinely friendly people of Langkawi is the main strength and the pulse of Naturally Langkawi. In 2017, Langkawi received a total of 3.67 million tourists with average length of stay (ALOS) of 4.31 days for international tourist and 3.56 days for domestic tourists. Langkawi ranked as the 4th best island in Asia Conde Nast Traveller's Choice for 2018.
 
­­This jewel of the state of Kedah in Malaysia is an archipelago of 99 islands, and is recognised as the first Geopark in South East Asia by UNESCO. Langkawi has a population of about 150,000 made up predominantly of Malays with Chinese and Indian communities.
 
Tourism has grown to be the main economic activity of this duty free island, having surpassed the traditional livelihoods of paddy farming and fishing.

About Langkawi International Airport
 
Langkawi International Airport (LIA) has recently completed its terminal expansion. With this expansion, Langkawi will be better positioned to support Langkawi’s growth as a popular tourist destination, as well as act as a larger catalyst to its economic development. On a larger picture, it will also strengthen the country’s position as a preferred global hub.
 
In 2017, Langkawi registered 2.7 million passenger traffic movements with a 14.6% increase in international passengers. As at year to date November 2018, international passenger traffic movements increased by 31.5% compared to the same period in 2017. This expansion will definitely further facilitate Langkawi’s growth. LIA are already seeing more interest from foreign airlines to operate from here. Currently, there are six (6) airlines operating from LGK to four (4) domestic destinations and five (5) international destinations with combined weekly frequencies of 238.

SOURCE: Malindo Air

FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT: 
PR & Communications Department, Malindo Air
Name: Andrea Liong 
Head of PR & Communications
Tel: +603 2035 6699 ext. 1312 
Email: andrea.liong@malindoair.com

--BERNAMA