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  Malaysia Airlines

  IATA/ICAO Code:

  MH/MAS

  Airline Type:

  Full Service Carrier

  Hub(s):

  Kuala Lumpur International Airport

  Year Founded:

  May 1st, 1947

  Alliance:

  oneworld

  CEO:

  Izham Ismail

  Country:

  Malaysia

On Thursday, Malaysia Airlines and Japan Airlines announced that they have expanded their codeshare operations following the former's decision to launch new direct flights from Kuala Lumpur to Tokyo Haneda. The new agreement expands on an existing Joint Business partnership between the two oneworld member carriers that has been in effect since July 2020.

KUL as Southeast Asia hub

Starting August 14, 2022, the codeshare will be expanded to the Kuala Lumpur (KUL) - Tokyo Haneda (HND) route with the introduction of JAL codeshare on the flights operated by Malaysia Airlines. This will allow customers from Malaysia, ASEAN, Australasia, and South Asia flying with Malaysia Airlines to Tokyo Haneda to book and connect to a broader range of Japanese domestic destinations, including Osaka, Fukuoka, Nagoya, Sapporo, and Okinawa. There is also potential for onward travel to North America on the same ticket.

The Group Chief Executive Officer of Malaysia Airlines, Captain Izham Ismail, commented on the expanded agreement with JAL,

"As a national carrier, this expansion signifies a strong relationship and cooperation between the oneworld alliance partners, catalytic to further economy growth, supporting business and trade between the two countries and facilitating the capacity recovery to pre-pandemic levels. This new critical step in our Joint Business partnership with Japan Airlines will allow us to provide seamless connections to our customers, enhanced products and offerings while establishing KUL as a prominent hub in Southeast Asia region for travel into Malaysia and beyond.”

Mr Ismail further welcomed the 'timely announcement' by the Japanese government to reopen the country's borders for tourism a couple of weeks ago, and said he was looking forward to more progressive easing of travel restrictions.

Twice-weekly A330 service

Malaysia Airlines will operate MH36 (JL7097) departing KUL at 14:45 local time, and MH37 (JL7096) departing HND at 00:25. The twice-weekly service will be operated by an Airbus A330-300 aircraft, equipped with 290 seats across 27 seats in business class, 16 economy with extra legroom, and 247 seats in regular economy. Malaysia Airlines has 15 A330-300s in its fleet, averaging ten years.

Passengers who are departing from Haneda can now make use of the early check-in service and drop off their luggage up to five hours at a dedicated 'early check-in' counter before their flight is scheduled to depart. This service is already available at KUL.

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Yuji Akasaka, President of Japan Airlines, shared the following sentiments,

“We are pleased to strengthen our Joint Business partnership with Malaysia Airlines through this new codeshare operation. As one of the busiest airports in Asia, Haneda is not only conveniently located in the heart of Tokyo but is also a gateway to numerous domestic destinations in Japan and countries around the world. As we head towards a recovery in travel demand, we look forward to working closely with Malaysia Airlines to welcome our passengers with our highest standards in hospitality.”

Will you be making use of the new codeshare agreement between the two airlines as Japan reopens its borders? What other trips do you have planned in the near future? Leave a comment below and tell us about it.