KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 20 – Saudi Arabia-based low-cost carrier flynas is on track to start its long-haul service with its maiden long-haul flight to Malaysia this April.
Chief Executive Officer Raja M.Azmi said Malaysia was chosen as its first long-haul destination mainly due to the country providing the largest contingents of haj and umrah inbound tourists to Saudi Arabia.
“Last year about 229,000 inbound Malaysians tourists performed haj and umrah. Malaysia is also known to be a popular tourism destination for the Saudis with 73,000 visiting the country between January and September 2013.
“We expect the momentum of last year to continue this year. We estimate about 4,000 to 5,000 tourists from Kuala Lumpur to Jeddah every month and hope to double the number of flights next year,” said Azmi to reporters after the launch of the new Kuala Lumpur-Jeddah and vice versa sector today.
The sector is slated to be served three times weekly from early April 2014,with fares starting from RM1,500 for economy class and RM5,000 for business class.
Azmi said the move into the long-haul market was originally announced by the airline in November during the Dubai Airshow.
He said the budget airline also plans to expand their flight routes to cover long-haul destinations in Europe, Asia and Africa in the second quarter of this year.
On its expansion plan, Azmi said that the airline would add another 40 to 50 of A330 aircraft to its fleet in the next four to five years.
“flynas’ fleet currently consists of 27 Airbus A320 and A330 aircraft,” he said.
flynas, formerly known as Nas Air, is targeting 20 million passengers per year by end of 2020 through its expansion into long-haul destinations.
– BERNAMA
