THE return of British Airways (BA) to Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) is one of the highlights of the aviation industry in Malaysia this year.
The carrier, which is the largest airline in terms of fleet size, international flights and international destinations, views the country as a key part of its plan to expand and strengthen its foothold in Asia.
Its regional manager in South East Asia, Robert Williams, said that British Airways’ decision to resume daily flights between KLIA and London’s Heathrow Terminal 5 is due to the growth that the Asia air travel market promises and the closer ties between Malaysia and United Kingdom (UK) over the last couple of years.
“Look at the investments made by Malaysians in the UK, look at the number of people travelling to and from the two destinations... I think there are over 600,000 people travelling between KL and London each year. There are also a high number of Malaysian students studying in UK.
“So having looked at all this over a long period of time, we have decided to announce our return to KLIA. There is definitely high demand for travellers from UK and Malaysia to travel between the two destinations for business and leisure,” Williams told Business Times in an interview recently.
British Airways announced its return to Malaysia in September this year with direct daily flights from Kuala Lumpur to London and vice versa. The airline suspended its services to Malaysia in 2001 as global travel slowed after the 9/11 incident and the global economic crisis.
Williams said the airline has worked very closely with Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd (MAHB) for over two years before its announcement of the return.
He also said the flight resumption will enable British Airways to offer connectivity to its oneworld alliance partners as well as its own global network.
“It’s not just about London and that’s it. We are a network carrier and through our home Terminal 5 at Heathrow, which is just British Airways, we offer connections to the rest of our network worldwide,” he added. The airline serves more than 170 cites in 75 countries.
The unique offering that British Airways has is its premium economy seating between Kuala Lumpur and London.
“To us the premium economy class is a separate area of the long-haul aircraft. It has got bigger seat, greater recline, different service than economy class with a nice quiet environment,” Williams said.
On the response that the airline have gotten since its announcement to return to KLIA, he said early indications have shown that many are very positive on having British Airways resuming the KL-London service and vice-versa.
He believed that there is ample room for the carrier to grow in Malaysia as it offers a new option for travellers to choose from.
However, he said the airline would have to continue offering services at its level best as there are indeed a lot of choices in terms of airlines.
The all-inclusive return fares for KL-London start from RM3696 for World Traveller economy class, RM5390 for World Traveller Plus premium economy class, RM15,264 for Club World business class and RM29,658 for first Class.