Malaysia Airlines announced that it is launching direct flight services between Kota Kinabalu International Airport (BKI) and Singapore’s Changi International Airport (SIN).
Kota Kinabalu is a coastal city in the Western part of Malaysia, surrounded by rainforest, and is the state capital of Sabah.
The inaugural flight, MH648, took place on August 27, 2022. The flight arrived in BKI at 12:25 local time. A water cannon salute welcomed the aircraft, a B737-800.
“We are delighted to expand our connectivity to Singapore as many of our passengers opt for this route for business and leisure travel,” group chief executive officer of Malaysia Aviation Group, Izham Ismail said in an airline statement.
“This will further boost connectivity and flexibility for passengers bound to Singapore, as the airline also offers direct flights to the country via our main hub of Kuala Lumpur, Penang, and Kuching,” Ismail added.
“Sabah Tourism Board will continue to promote Sabah as a preferred holiday destination to Singaporeans and also to use the popular Singapore hub as a transit point for long haul market travelers to reach Sabah,” chief executive officer of Sabah Tourism Board Puan Noredah Othman said in a statement.
Othman added: “Since the reopening of the SIN-BKI route in April, we have recorded an upward trend with 1,248 arrivals in May and 3,051 arrivals in June. With the inclusion of Malaysia Airlines, we are confident that this trend will continue.”
Malaysia Airlines will operate direct flights three times a week on Monday, Thursday and Saturday. MH647 will depart from BKI at 07:00 local time and MH648 will depart SIN at 10:00 local time. The flights will be operated by B737-800 aircraft, equipped with 160 seats, comprising 16 seats in Business Class and 144 seats in Economy Class.