Malaysia Airlines plans to connect more non-metro cities in India

Malaysia Airlines plans to fly to more non-metro cities in India as well as increase the frequency of flights to Ahmedabad and Trivandrum, a senior airline official said on Friday. The carrier, part of the Malaysia Aviation Group (MAG), currently connects nine Indian cities with Kuala Lumpur and operates 71 weekly flights to India.

Dersenish Aresandiran, Chief Commercial Officer of Airline Business at MAG, said Malaysia Airlines plans to increase frequencies to Ahmedabad and Trivandrum.

The airline also plans to operate to more non-metro cities in India where there are no restrictions due to bilateral flying rights, he told PTI on the sidelines of a briefing here.

The bilateral flying rights between India and Malaysia, based on the number of seats airlines from either side can operate, is mostly utilised for metro routes in India. So, Malaysia Airlines can have more services to non-metro cities in the country as there are no restrictions of the bilateral flying rights.

Currently, Malaysia's national carrier operates daily flights to Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Amritsar, Chennai, Hyderabad and Kochi.

Besides, it has four weekly services from Ahmedabad and Trivandrum.

The flights to Amritsar were increased from four per week to daily in August.

On August 24, MAG announced it would temporarily reduce its network till December amid operational difficulties due to various factors, including supply chain constraints and manpower challenges.

Datuk Captain Izham Ismail, Group Managing Director of MAG, on Friday said the impact of network reduction is minimal on India operations.

Meanwhile, at the briefing, the airline announced it will start services from Kuala Lumpur to Paris on March 22, 2025.

MAG comprises three businesses -- airlines, loyalty and travel solutions, and aviation services.

The airline segment has Malaysia Airlines, regional carriers -- Firefly and MASwings -- and AMAL, which provides Hajj and Umrah pilgrimage services.