LUFTHANSA plans to ramp up capacity in South-east Asia in the coming year, beginning with the launch of a new direct Kuala Lumpur-Frankfurt flight in summer.
The carrier will commence the five-weekly service on March 30 using an Airbus A340-600 aircraft with eight seats in first class, 48 in business class and 270 in economy.
The new service marks the first time Lufthansa offers a non-stop connection between the two cities. A Jakarta leg will be tagged on to the itinerary, providing longhaul travellers access to the Indonesian capital via Kuala Lumpur.
Previously, Kuala Lumpur was connected to Frankfurt only through a four-times-weekly flight via Bangkok. This service will be dropped as a result of the new direct flight from Frankfurt to Malaysia.
The existing Bangkok-Ho Chi Minh flight run by Lufthansa will also be axed, with daily connections between those cities operated by partner airlines instead.
Furthermore, flight timings of Lufthansa Group airlines Lufthansa, Swiss International Air Lines and Austrian Airlines into the Star Alliance hub airport in Bangkok will be adjusted for better flexibility for passengers. Lufthansa flight LH773 Bangkok will be brought forward to 12.00 for arrival in Frankfurt at 18.30, while LH772 will depart Frankfurt at 17.35 to touch down in Bangkok at 09.35.
Steffen Harbarth, area manager Asia-Pacific at Lufthansa, commented: “With the current service extensions and flight schedule measures, we are improving the offer for our customers in South-east Asia. Indonesia will now be connected with the Lufthansa network once again and for the first time, our European network can be reached non-stop from Malaysia.”
“With our new flight we are extending the offer to our customers in South-east Asia by 27 per cent compared with the same period last year and will thus grow next year at an above-average rate in this part of Asia.”
