Malaysia Airlines begins Kota Kinabalu–Singapore flights

28th Aug 2022 Yesterday, Malaysia Airlines introduced a new direct flight route between Kota Kinabalu and Singapore, marking a new milestone in its network expansion strategy.

Flight MH648 from Changi International Airport landed at Kota Kinabalu International Airport (BKI) at 12:25 p.m. local time. This was the first flight, and it was celebrated with a welcoming ceremony (SIN).

Captain Izham Ismail, the group chief executive officer (CEO) of Malaysia Aviation Group, which operates Malaysia Airlines, stated that the route will increase connectivity and flexibility for Singapore-bound passengers, as the airline already offers direct flights to the country via its main hubs of Kuala Lumpur, Penang, and Kuching.

"With this new service, travellers from Singapore may smoothly connect to the Land Below the Wind to see the picturesque attractions of Sabah, as well as fly to neighbouring states through sibling airlines Firefly and MASwings from BKI.

"We look forward to further expanding our growth, introducing new strategic routes, and increasing our capacity to surpass 70 percent of our pre-COVID-19 capacity by the end of the year," he stated in a statement released today.

Noredah Othman, chief executive officer of the Sabah Tourism Board, said that since the reopening of the SIN-BKI route in April, the route has had a rising trend, with 1,248 visitors in May and 3,050 arrivals in June.

She went on to say, "With Malaysia Airlines joining the mix, we are sure that this trend will continue."

Malaysia Airlines will fly the direct flights three times each week on Monday, Thursday, and Saturday, leaving BKI-SIN through MH647 at 7:00 am and SIN-BKI via MH48 at 10:00 am.

The flights will be flown by B737-800 aircraft with 160 seats, including 16 business class seats and 144 economy class seats.

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