By DayakDaily Team
KUCHING, Mar 9: German aviation group Lufthansa Group will launch a direct Frankfurt–Kuala Lumpur route beginning Oct 25.
According to Malaysia Minister of Tourism, Arts, and Culture, Dato Sri Tiong King Sing, in Lufthansa Group’s core markets, including Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Belgium, and Italy, Lufthansa will also become the only airline offering direct flights to Malaysia.
He said this on his Facebook page following a meeting with Lufthansa City Centre (LCC) International managing director Heiko Brix at ITB Berlin in Germany, recently.
“Previously, we had discussed a direct service to Kuala Lumpur with the Lufthansa Group. The airline was initially cautious about the proposal.
“However, following several rounds of discussions and engagement, Lufthansa eventually agreed to launch the Frankfurt–Kuala Lumpur route in October this year,” said Tiong, who is also Bintulu MP and Dudong assemblyman.
He said that with this route, Kuala Lumpur will become Lufthansa Group’s fourth destination in Southeast Asia, alongside Bangkok and Phuket in Thailand, as well as Singapore.
Elaborating on the meeting, he said Brix pointed out that Malaysia is still not widely recognised as a tourist destination in some global markets.
“Therefore, LCC is ready to support Malaysia by aligning with Malaysia’s key market strategies and leveraging its international network of travel agencies to strengthen promotion and sales.
“LCC also plans to submit a proposal for marketing cooperation to explore specific areas for joint promotion,” he said.
Additionally, Tiong said that representatives from LCC and the Lufthansa Group noted that the immediate priority is to ensure the stable operation of the upcoming Frankfurt–Kuala Lumpur route.
“As market demand gradually grows, they will then evaluate the possibility of increasing flight frequencies or expanding to other destinations. With the introduction of the new Boeing 787 aircraft, the route will also benefit from improved efficiency and operating conditions.
“I also suggested that the tourism board could conduct market research together with Lufthansa and explore the potential for developing future routes to Munich. Both sides also agreed to align their efforts with the upcoming tourism year and to formulate more concrete promotional plans,” he said, — DayakDaily
