Malaysia Airlines doubles Kuala...

The increase in flights is the result of high passenger demand

Malaysia Airlines has announced that it will double its capacity between Kuala Lumpur and Doha with a second daily non-stop flight commencing 10 August 2022.

The additional daily service will depart from Kuala Lumpur at 02:55 on MH164 and from Doha at 08:05 on MH165.

These flights will join the existing daily services on MH160 departing Kuala Lumpur at 09:20 and MH161 departing Doha at 01:30, bringing the number of Malaysia Airlines flights to Doha to 14 flights per week.

The twice-daily flights will be operated by the Malaysia Airlines’ A330-300 aircraft and tickets for the additional daily service are already on sale. A Qatar Airways codeshare will apply in both directions.

This additional service will allow passengers to travel to more than 96 codeshare destinations via the partners’ hubs in Kuala Lumpur and Doha.

The arrival and departure times of the double daily Malaysia Airlines flights were selected to maximise connections to Qatar Airways’ network of destinations in the Middle East, Europe, Africa and the US via Qatar's Hamad International Airport.

Through a strategic partnership, both partners will further strengthen ties and traffic flow, and improve tourism in both countries. Customers on both airlines will also benefit from the ease of a single ticket, check-in services, boarding, and baggage-check operations, frequent flyer benefits, and access to world-class lounges during the travel.

Malaysia Airlines group chief executive officer Izham Ismail said: “We are delighted to increase our frequency to Doha, after a successful launch of daily service in May [2022]. We recognise the importance of collaborating with partners such as Qatar Airways, more so with travel demand picking up steeply for this route following the easing of borders restrictions.

“This latest strategic collaboration with Qatar Airways will allow Malaysia Airlines to achieve passenger capacity of more than 70% of pre-pandemic levels by the end of the year. As a national airline, we will continuously play a significant role in facilitating safe travel through #FlyConfidently initiatives for passengers to travel with peace of mind.”

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Qatar Airways group chief executive Akbar Al Baker added: “We are delighted with the rapid growth of our strategic alliance with Malaysia Airlines and welcome our partner’s decision to add a second daily non-stop flight to Doha, just a few weeks after the start of their operations between Kuala Lumpur and Doha.

"This is an impressive example of how our partner airlines can instantly benefit from working with Qatar Airways, both in terms of our growing global route network and our unparalleled service in the air and on the ground at our award-winning airport, Hamad International Airport (HIA).

“We are committed to further expanding our strategic cooperation with Malaysia Airlines and to jointly develop Kuala Lumpur International Airport, KLIA, as a leading hub in the South East Asia region in view of the strong rebound in global air travel demand.”

Malaysia Airlines and Qatar Airways’ strategic partnership evolved progressively beginning 2001 and have significantly expanded with the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding in February 2022.

Together, the airlines are leveraging each other’s network strengths and providing access for passengers to new destinations beyond their individual networks.

For more information, visit www.malaysiaairlines.com and www.qatarairways.com