MALAYSIA AIRLINES SEEING GROWING MARKET IN INDOCHINA

By A. Arul Rajoo

BANGKOK, Sept 30 (Bernama) -- With the regional economy slowly picking up
and leisure travel on the rise, Malaysia Airlines (MAS) is seeing a positive
growth for the highly competitive Indochina market.

Vijayakumaran Avili, MAS area manager for Indochina, said there has been
steady improvement in the number of passengers flying with the airline, which
offers 75 weekly flights from Kuala Lumpur to Bangkok, Phuket, Hanoi, Ho Chi
Minh City, Yangon, Phnom Penh and Siem Reap.

"The market rebounded fast after the economic crisis. It's a growing economy
with big potential for us," he said after hosting a Hari Raya open house here
Wednesday.

Malaysian ambassador to Thailand, Husni Zai Yaacob, and Malaysia-Thai
Chamber of Commerce president, Yeap Swee Chuan, were among those present.

Vijayakumaran, who is based in Bangkok and had previously led the Vietnam
operation, said Vietnam and Cambodia are among the key focus areas due to the
fast-growing business and tourism sectors.

"Even Myanmar is doing well, with good load in our five weekly flights
there. So, we are positioning ourselves to tap the growing demand, with ongoing
promotional activities and new offers on the card," he said.

Among the popular ones is the Asean Pass, which consists of four pre-paid
ticket vouchers from as low of 8,015 baht (US$229) for economy, to US$729
(business), and has received good support among frequent travellers, especially
businessmen, Vijayakumaran said.

"Travellers concerned with pricing and flexibility are snapping up the
offer. They just need to pay extra for airport taxes, and can decide when to use
the vouchers," he said.

Vijayakumaran said the popularity of the Asean Pass and the growing number
of passengers travelling to Malaysia augered well for efforts to beef up the
Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) as a hub.

"Soon we will launch the MAS Holidays where travellers can book hotels
online, with immediate confirmation. Besides Malaysia as a popular destination,
many of our passengers from Indochina uses KLIA to travel to Australia and
various cities in Europe," he said.

He also said that the Bangkok-Kuala Lumpur route was almost back to normal,
with MAS planning to increase its daily flights to four, similar to before the
airport closure by anti-government protesters in November last year.

The route has at least 13 daily flights operated by more than three
airlines.

-- BERNAMA