Malaysia Airlines’ Takes Off To Kathmandu, Nepal

KLIA (1 September 2012): Malaysia Airlines’ inaugural commercial flight to Kathmandu took off from KL International Airport (KLIA) at 0855hrs (Malaysian Time) this morning, scheduled to arrive at Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA), Kathmandu at 11.30am (Nepali Time) today.

The flight left after a grand send-off reception at the KLIA attended by the guest of honour, Deputy Minister of Transport, Malaysia, YB Dato Abdul Rahim Bakri, Director General Tourism Malaysia, Y.Bhg. Dato’ Mirza Mohammad Taiyab. Mr. Lekha Nath Bhattarai, Charge ‘de’ Affaires of the Nepal Embassy in Kuala Lumpur was also present at the event. These guests were also invited to join the first flight to Kathmandu.

The event was a display of true Nepali culture. Traditional Nepali dance performed by professional Nepali dancers brought the real feel of Nepal into KLIA.

Malaysia Airlines, Commercial Director, Dr Hugh Noel Dunleavy said, “We see great potential in Kathmandu. Kathmandu is a hub for independent travellers as well as a growing vacation spot catering to all budgets. Surrounded by serene mountains, it is a perfect place for those who yearn for a relaxing holiday or even a challenging mountain climbing adventure. We also foresee and welcome the labour market traffic from Nepal to Malaysia to use this direct connection”.

“Given the flight timings, this flight will also act as an excellent connecting flight between Malaysia and various main cities in the world. In total, Malaysia Airlines will be offering a capacity of 960 seats in both directions each week,” added Dr. Hugh

MASholidays, the travel arm of Malaysia Airlines, is also offering attractive holiday packages to Nepal that are up for grabs. Customers have a choice of full board package with tours to various tourist and spiritual sites or the Free and Easy package for the more adventurous ones. For the inaugural flight, a total of 52 passengers departed to Kathmandu on a special MASholidays 4days/3nights inaugural flight promotion.

Upcoming group departures are on 15-18Sep2012, a 4days/3nights Kathmandu special and on 9-13October2012 a 5days/4nights of Kathmandu and Nagarkot tour. MASholidays is participating in the Kathmandu Travel Mart organized by Nepal Tourism Board where both inbound/outbound packages available for travel agents.

A two-class configured Boeing 737-800 aircraft with 144 economy class seats and 16 business class seats is being operated for this Kuala Lumpur-Kathmandu return service.

Malaysia Airlines flight MH171 departs Kuala Lumpur on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays at 8.55am to arrive at Kathmandu at 11.30am. On the same days, the inbound flight MH170 departs Kathmandu at 12.20pm and arrives at Kuala Lumpur at 7.15pm.

The introduction of the new link with Kathmandu is in line with Malaysia Airlines’ continued efforts to further strengthen its regional market presence as outlined in its Business Plan announced on 7 Dec 2011.