CONVERGENCE MAY - JUNE 2016

Malaysia Welcomes
Airlines
Now you can fly direct to
Karachi and Lahore four times a week
Shaheen Air's Chief Commercial Officer, Faisal Rafique (third from
right) during a cake-cutting ceremony at KLIA celebrating the
airline's inaugural flight from Lahore
Passengers looking to travel to Pakistan will be spoilt for choice
now that private Pakistani airline Shaheen Air is offering direct
flights to Karachi and Lahore.
The four times a week service from Lahore-Kuala Lumpur-
Karachi (Monday and Friday) and the Karachi-Kuala Lumpur-
Lahore (Tuesday and Saturday) operates using an Airbus
A330-200 aircraft in all-Economy class configuration.
Shaheen Air's Chief Commercial Officer, Faisal Rafique said
the airline is a private Pakistani airline and Malaysia was chosen
as one of its prime destinations in order to boost tourist arrivals
and to enhance bilateral relations.
"In recent years, Malaysia has been quite a popular destination
for Pakistani tourists. As such, we feel that we will be fulfilling
a strong market demand. We also hope that this route will
serve as an air bridge for further development of long-term
friendly relations between our two countries in the fields of
trade and investment, as well as accelerating the development
of tourism."
On a similar note, Malaysia Airports' Chief Operating Officer,
Datuk Abd Hamid Mohd Ali said the inclusion of Shaheen Air
into the KLIA family will attract a significant number of Pakistani
tourists arriving into the country.
He said the year 2015 saw 66,400 such tourists, a drop from
previous figures which stood around 100,000 travellers. But
with the arrival of Shaheen Air, he was confident that the airline
would contribute around 25,000 tourists annually.
On 22 April 2016, the airline celebrated its inaugural flight
from Lahore complete with a water turret salute at KLIA.
VietJet Air
flies new international route connecting
Ho Chi Minh City with Kuala Lumpur
Vietnam's international low-cost airline VietJet Air will start
flying a new international route connecting Kuala Lumpur with
Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam beginning 1 June 2016.
The Ho Chi Minh City-Kuala Lumpur route will be a daily flight
that takes about one hour and 55 minutes. The flights depart
from Ho Chi Minh City at 9:30am (local time) and arrive in
Kuala Lumpur at 12:25pm (local time). Return flights take off
from Kuala Lumpur at 1:00pm (local time) and arrive in Ho Chi
Minh City at 1:55pm (local time).
Speaking at the official ceremony, Nguyen Thi Thuy Binh –
VietJet’s Vice President said, “With the route, VietJet expects
to offer passengers more options for their aviation travel with
affordable fares and joyful flights. I do want to enable our
valued passengers to enjoy their journey at the very moment
when they board our aircraft.”
Malaysia Airports' Chief
Operating Officer, Datuk
Abd Hamid Mohd Ali,
congratulated VietJet on
its presence in Malaysia
VietJet senior
management
team together
with distinguished
guests at the
launching ceremony
of VietJet's new
route SGN–KUL
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