LONDON – Malaysia Airlines and SAUDIA, both their respective nation’s national flag carriers, have entered into a new codeshare agreement.
When the agreement begins, the MH flight code seen on Malaysia Airlines flights will also be seen on selected SAUDIA flights from Kuala Lumpur to Jeddah and Riyadh.
Similarly, the SV flight code seen on SAUDIA flights will begin to appear on Malaysia Airlines flights from the nations capital to several worldwide destinations, including Sydney, Melbourne and Penang.
Pending regulatory approval, these codeshare operations were due to begin on December 15, and when they do, passengers will be able to take advantage of seamless connections from, or in either of the respective airlines home countries.
Malaysia Airlines comments
Group Chief Executive Officer of Malaysia Airlines, Captain Izham Ismail had this to say on announcement of the agreement;
“We are delighted to welcome SAUDIA as our new codeshare partner to leverage each other’s network, allowing two full-service carriers to expand their operations to South East Asia and Australia as well as the Middle East respectively.”
“This partnership will strengthen Malaysia Airlines’ presence in Saudi Arabia and build upon a strong relationship between the two carriers.”
“It will also complement our double daily commercial services via Doha with Qatar Airways, as well as flights to Jeddah and Madinah operated by AMAL by Malaysia Airlines for umrah and hajj journeys”.
It offers travellers from the Far East and Australian regions the opportunity to visit popular tourist destinations throughout Saudi Arabia such as Madinah and Al-Ula.
The agreement allows both airlines to expand their operations in Southeast Asia and Australia for SAUDIA and the Middle East for Malaysia Airlines.
SAUDIA comments
Capt. Ibrahim Koshy, Executive Chief Officer of SAUDIA, said: “We are pleased to cooperate with Malaysia Airlines to give its passengers the opportunity to learn about the warm Arab hospitality that SAUDIA is famous for all over the world, as well as providing access to various destinations in the region.”
“We look forward to enhancing the prospects of bilateral relations in the future. SAUDIA’s destinations reach more than 100 destinations on four continents around the world, with an ambitious plan to increase its points of departure through many international destinations to the Kingdom.”
“This is supported by its modern fleet, which is characterized by operational efficiency and comfortable seats equipped with the latest technologies in the world of aviation to enhance the travel experience,” continued Koshy.
Saudi Arabia and Vision 2030
The partnership comes at a time where Saudi Arabia is aiming to boost tourism within the Kingdom as part of its ‘Vision 2030’. Earlier this year a new tourism law was approved by ministers that will allow the tourism sector to grow.
By giving it permissions to facilitate tax and customs exceptions, this will create incentives for businesses to invest in the Saudi tourism sector.
The Kingdom’s National Tourism Strategy and Vision 2030 plans to create new, and boost existing infrastructure, in a bid to attract 100 million new visits to the country over the next 7 years.
Supporting this goal are several large-scale projects that will be designed to attract people from all over the world.
Projects such as NEOM, AMAALA, Diriyah and Qiddiyah are just a few examples of the culture rich experiences that will showcase the best of what Saudi Arabia has to offer and is being created to help achieve the Vision 2030 tourism goals.
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