British Airways is to resume direct flights from Heathrow to Kuala Lumpur in summer 2015.
The daily service from Terminal 5 will be operated by a four-cabin Boeing 777-200ER, featuring 12 seats in First, 48 in Club World, 32 in World Traveller Plus and a further 127 in World Traveller.
Flights begin on May 27, 2015. British Airways last flew to the Malaysian capital in 2001. Lynne Embleton, British Airways’ director of business strategy, said: “We have been working to resume flights to Kuala Lumpur for a long time, so it’s wonderful to be back in the heart of Malaysia once again.
“We are re-starting the route in response to commercial demand from our customers who have been asking us for direct British Airways flights to Kuala Lumpur, which opens up new connecting routes around the region.
“A thriving economy offers fantastic opportunities for UK businesses, while holiday-makers can enjoy some stunning destinations around the country and beyond.”
Kuala Lumpur is the world’s largest aviation hub not currently served directly by British Airways, and a major centre for oneworld airlines. Malaysia itself has strong ties with the UK and a large, rapidly growing economy with a focus on international trade.
British Airways, known then as Imperial Airways, first began flying to Malaysia on December 9, 1933. The flight from London Croydon Airport, made 22 stops before eventually reaching Alor Star (now Alor Setar) nine days later.
The airline’s first flight to Kuala Lumpur took off on August 1, 1956 when BOAC operated a Canadair Argonaut ‘Coronet’ aircraft on the outbound route and a Lockheed Constellation ‘Majestic’ on the return.
The airline has given the route the same flight numbers it previously operated with before 2001. The BA033 will depart T5 daily at 8.15pm, arriving into Kuala Lumpur 12 hours 45 minutes, later at 4pm (local). The returning BA034 will leave Kuala Lumpur at 11.05pm (local) and arrive back into Heathrow’s T5 at 5.25am the next morning.
Datuk Badlisham Ghazali, the managing director of Malaysia Airports, said: “I greatly welcome the return of British Airways to Malaysia.
“I believe this new route will have a very positive economic, political, social and cultural impact on both countries and it underlines the strength and vibrancy of the air travel market between them.
"Malaysia Airports has been working closely with British Airways for several years in planning the resumption of its flights to Kuala Lumpur. I wish them the best in their preparations to reconnect the two great cities of London and Kuala Lumpur and am confident it will enhance the airline’s huge global network.”
British Airways is investing more than £5bn in new aircraft, smarter cabins, elegant lounges, and new technologies to make life more comfortable in the air and on the ground.
Source: Advance (http://www.adsadvance.co.uk)
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