The Jakarta Post reported in its yesterday edition that Air France could start flying to Kuala Lumpur from April 2013…
JAKARTA- According to the Jakarta Post, Air France could launch a new flight to Kuala Lumpur for its summer program and become the third European air carrier to fly direct to Malaysia with KLM and Lufthansa. The airline so far did not confirm the information. After putting the story online yesterday, the Jakarta Post deleted however the story this Wednesday morning. Asia remains of particular interest to Air France. The carrier recently opened flights to Wuhan in China and is boosting again its presence in Bangkok this winter by offering 5 weekly frequencies instead of only three flights over the summer time.
But it could only have a positive effect on traffic to and from the Malaysian capital. Sandwiched between Bangkok and Singapore, the two airports with the most flights to Europe, Kuala Lumpur has been keen to develop non-stop frequencies to Europe by attracting more airlines. Today, MAHB still tries to lure back British Airways into the Malaysian capital. Some positive move could occur following the integration of Malaysia Airlines into Oneworld. Finnair, a Oneworld-member, recently indicated studying the possibility of launching a direct flight. Turkish Airlines is another potential airline to KL.
Meanwhile, Malaysia Airlines steps up its offer to Europe this winter by increasing capacities thanks to the use of its new Airbus A380.
From 1 March 2013, the national carrier will fly its 494-seat A380 on the Kuala Lumpur-Paris Charles de Gaulle route, replacing the existing daily Boeing 777 services. MAS also revealed that its London Heathrow route –already served with an A380- will go double daily from the end of November. The national carrier will add its second daily flight to the British capital on November 24 following the delivery of two more A380s into its fleet.
Luc Citrinot a French national is a freelance journalist and consultant in tourism and air transport with over 20 years experience. Based in Paris and Bangkok, he works for various travel and air transport trade publications in Europe and Asia.
