MALAYSIA Airlines (MAS) yesterday announced four more routes suspension, following up on the rationalisation involving eight routes of its international network announced last week.
The routes on its regional network that will be suspended early next year include twice-weekly Kota Kinabalu-Osaka return flight, thrice-weekly Kota Kinabalu-Perth return, four times weekly Kota Kinabalu-Haneda (Tokyo) return and four times weekly Kota Kinabalu-Seoul return.
All of these routes are served by Boeing B737 aircraft.
The Kota Kinabalu-Osaka route will be suspended from January 6 2012, Kota Kinabalu-Perth from January 31, the Kota Kinabalu-Haneda from February 1 and the Kota Kinabalu-Seoul from February 21.
"This suspension is until further notice and is part of our regional network consolidation involving single-aisle aircraft operations. We will be reviewing this situation in about three months, from the date of the first route suspension and will be deciding further by early April 2012," MAS group chief executive officer Ahmad Jauhari Yahya said in a statement.
Ahmad Jauhari said during the suspension, the national carrier will take advantage of its existing code-share operations with Korean Air to provide direct connectivity between Sabah and South Korea using the Korean carrier's Seoul-Kota Kinabalu return direct flights.
MAS will also also continue offering direct international connectivity to Kota Kinabalu through its existing daily B737 flights from Hong Kong and Taipei.
"In addition, we will also use our existing 86 weekly flights between Sabah and KL International Airport (KLIA) to provide immediate connections for passengers who prefer full service flights between Sabah and the cities of Perth, Tokyo and Osaka," he added.
MAS assures passengers that it will honour all forward bookings ticketed to date on the affected routes. It said where necessary, the company will make alternative carrier arrangements, at its own cost, to ensure minimum discomfort to passengers.
As for the Sandakan-Kuala Lumpur operations, MAS will continue to offer the connectivity via Kota Kinabalu, 22 times weekly from Sandakan and 25 times weekly from Kuala Lumpur, using both its daily B737 flights and daily MASwings ATR services, currently operating between Sandakan and Kota Kinabalu.
On December 14, MAS announced a major route rationalisation to stem losses expected this year and in 2012.
The rationalisation takes effect early next year and involves the withdrawal of loss-making flights from Kuala Lumpur to cities that include Surabaya, Karachi, Johannesburg, Cape Town, Rome and Buenos Aires.
The routes on its regional network that will be suspended early next year include twice-weekly Kota Kinabalu-Osaka return flight, thrice-weekly Kota Kinabalu-Perth return, four times weekly Kota Kinabalu-Haneda (Tokyo) return and four times weekly Kota Kinabalu-Seoul return.
All of these routes are served by Boeing B737 aircraft.
The Kota Kinabalu-Osaka route will be suspended from January 6 2012, Kota Kinabalu-Perth from January 31, the Kota Kinabalu-Haneda from February 1 and the Kota Kinabalu-Seoul from February 21.
"This suspension is until further notice and is part of our regional network consolidation involving single-aisle aircraft operations. We will be reviewing this situation in about three months, from the date of the first route suspension and will be deciding further by early April 2012," MAS group chief executive officer Ahmad Jauhari Yahya said in a statement.
Ahmad Jauhari said during the suspension, the national carrier will take advantage of its existing code-share operations with Korean Air to provide direct connectivity between Sabah and South Korea using the Korean carrier's Seoul-Kota Kinabalu return direct flights.
MAS will also also continue offering direct international connectivity to Kota Kinabalu through its existing daily B737 flights from Hong Kong and Taipei.
"In addition, we will also use our existing 86 weekly flights between Sabah and KL International Airport (KLIA) to provide immediate connections for passengers who prefer full service flights between Sabah and the cities of Perth, Tokyo and Osaka," he added.
MAS assures passengers that it will honour all forward bookings ticketed to date on the affected routes. It said where necessary, the company will make alternative carrier arrangements, at its own cost, to ensure minimum discomfort to passengers.
As for the Sandakan-Kuala Lumpur operations, MAS will continue to offer the connectivity via Kota Kinabalu, 22 times weekly from Sandakan and 25 times weekly from Kuala Lumpur, using both its daily B737 flights and daily MASwings ATR services, currently operating between Sandakan and Kota Kinabalu.
On December 14, MAS announced a major route rationalisation to stem losses expected this year and in 2012.
The rationalisation takes effect early next year and involves the withdrawal of loss-making flights from Kuala Lumpur to cities that include Surabaya, Karachi, Johannesburg, Cape Town, Rome and Buenos Aires.
