Malaysia airlines Chief Commercial Officer Arved von Zur Muehlen stated at the opening of Malaysia Airlines office in Surabaya on Monday that Surabaya has become the fourth destination city for the airlines after it opened flight routes to Jakarta, Bali, and Medan.
"I am proud to participate in this celebration and reiterate the close ties between Malaysia and Indonesia, with the opening of our flight to Surabaya. I am also proud to announce that we will increase the flight frequency to daily, starting from early December," he revealed.
He noted that four weekly flights will be operated on the new route, with its latest B737-800 aircraft having 144 economy-class and 16 business-class seats.
The opening of its office in Surabaya is expected to expand the airlines market in Indonesia, he said.
"We are expecting more passengers to enjoy Malaysias hospitality," he remarked.
Meanwhile, Malaysian Ambassador Zahrain Mohamed Hashim said East Java, especially Surabaya, has huge potential in the tourism as well as business and education sectors.
"In the past few years, plane crashes have driven down the position of Malaysia Airlines. With the opening of the route to Surabaya, I hope it would boost Malaysia Airlines ranking," he added.
In future, passengers from Surabaya can fly directly, not only to Kuala Lumpur but also to Kinabalu and Penang, he remarked.
He called on travel agents to take into account the two countries close relations.
"This is since many families from both Indonesia and Malaysia share several similarities. Hence, it would need to go beyond tourism and business," he noted.
Reported by Indra Setiawan/Willy Irawan
(S022/INE)
EDITED BY INE/a014.
Editor: Suryanto
Copyright © ANTARA 2017
