KUALA LUMPUR: Turkish Airlines will increase its flight frequency between Istanbul and Kuala Lumpur to 14 times per week by mid-August, compared with 10 times per week currently.
Its chairman Prof Dr Ahmet Bolat said the Turkiye’s flag carrier placed great emphasis on Southeast Asia particularly Malaysia as it celebrates the 10th anniversary of operations in Kuala Lumpur this year.
“Last year 51 million people visited Turkiye including 88,000 Malaysians. So I asked my manager to make this number to 200,000 in a short period of time,” he told reporters at the “Connect with Turkiye” event, here last night.
Also present at the event was Turkiye’s Ambassador to Malaysia Emir Salim Yuksel.
Bolat noted that Turkish Airlines is also considering adding new routes to Malaysia depending on its aircraft capacity.
“The main problem now is that we are lacking aircraft capacity, some of our aircraft are kept in Boeing because of the 787 issues. Once we have this we will consider, why not?” he added.
Despite the devastating twin earthquakes in southern Turkiye that claimed almost 50,000 lives last month, Bolat said many parts of the country were not affected and ready to welcome more international visitors.
For the holy month of Ramadan, he said the airline is offering a special package to Istanbul for Malaysian travellers.
“Round trip for two people US$3,300 which includes all accommodation for five days in Istanbul. If you’re going for Umrah (during Ramadan), it’s really recommended to also visit Istanbul before coming back (to Malaysia),” he said.
Bolat said Turkish Airlines has a fleet of 400 aircraft flying to 342 destinations in more than 129 countries. The airline is planning to add 100 more aircraft by 2025. – BERNAMA
