Malaysia Airlines resumed operations on its Kuala Lumpur–Fukuoka route on September 2.
The airline operates five weekly round trips, with flights departing Fukuoka on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays, and Sundays, and departing Kuala Lumpur on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays. Boeing 737-8 aircraft are used. Flight time is 6 hours and 20 minutes from Kuala Lumpur and 6 hours and 45 minutes from Fukuoka.
Under its joint venture with Japan Airlines (JAL), the route is operated as a codeshare service. Malaysia Airlines flight numbers will also be placed on JAL-operated routes from Fukuoka to Sapporo/Chitose, Izumo, Matsuyama, Tokushima, Kochi, Miyazaki, Kagoshima, Amami, and Yakushima.
To coincide with the departure of the inaugural flight, a send-off event featuring Japanese food stalls and photo spots was held in Kuala Lumpur. Upon arrival in Fukuoka, the flight was welcomed with a water cannon salute, followed by a ceremony. Load factors were 88% on the Kuala Lumpur departure and 90% on the Fukuoka departure.
Fukuoka becomes Malaysia Airlines’ third destination in Japan, following Tokyo/Narita and Osaka/Kansai. The airline’s Japan network will expand to 26 weekly round trips.
■Schedule MH56 Kuala Lumpur (23:45) – Fukuoka (07:05+1) / Monday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday MH57 Fukuoka (10:00) – Kuala Lumpur (15:45) / Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday, Sunday
