MAS Well-placed To Capture Increased Passenger Traffic From London

From Noor Soraya Mohd Jamal

-Bernama

Malaysian Airlines is better poised to capture increased passenger traffic from London to Kuala Lumpur with its relocation to the newly-refurbished Terminal 4 at London's Heathrow International Airport and the opening up of its brand new Golden Lounge.

Its chairman, Tan Sri Dr Munir Majid said the opening of the new lounge in London is part of the national carrier's customer value proposition, which focuses on ensuring that customers' needs are always at the top of the mind."Besides providing five-star value services in the air, Golden Lounge is a great avenue for us to continue providing seamless services to our customers on the ground," he said during the official opening of the Golden Lounge here, Saturday.The event was officiated by Minister of Tourism Datuk Seri Dr Ng Yen Yen.Dr Ng said the opening of Malaysia Airline's Golden Lounge in London is in line with the ministry's efforts to promote Malaysia as an ideal holiday destination.

She said from January to September this year, tourists from the U.K to Kuala Lumpur rose 19.7 per cent to 362,000 and the number was expected to reach 400,000 by the end of the year.Dr Ng said the ministry was looking at the possibility of positioning Malaysia Airlines in London as the kick off point for tourists from Europe."I met operators in Copenhagen, Stockholm and Helsinki who discussed this possibility," she said.The Golden Lounge, which cost about RM11 million, has a floor space of 738 square meters.It is easily accessible as it is conveniently located next to Gate 6, the regular departure gate for all Malaysian Airlines flights and can accommodate a maximum of 100 passengers at any one time.Malaysia Airlines operates 12 Golden Lounges worldwide within and beyond Malaysia including in Los Angeles, Melbourne, Perth, Singapore and Sydney.

Malaysian Airlines operates 14 weekly direct flights from London to Kuala Lumpur.Within the U.K, Malaysia Airlines operates a codeshare agreement with British Midlands by proving connections to and from Aberdeen, Belfast, Dublin, Edinburgh, Glasgow and Manchester to London for onward connectivity to Kuala Lumpur.Meanwhile, Malaysia Airlines Regional Manager for the UK & Ireland Syed Abdillah Aziz said the airline will launch special fares this Monday.Return tickets from London to Kuala Lumpur would cost 399 pounds inclusive of tax and fuel surcharge.-- source --BERNAMA

Provide connecting flights for Scandinavians to KL, MAS told

By CHOI TUCK WO
LONDON: Malaysia Airlines has been urged to use London as a pick-up point for Scandinavian tourists to fly to Malaysia.Tourism Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ng Yen Yen said those from Helsinki, Stockholm and Copenhagen would be able to get their connection flights to Kuala Lumpur in London.“There are now no direct flights from these cities to Malaysia.“Scandinavian travellers have to fly to Bangkok or Singapore before catching a flight to Malaysia,” she told Malaysian journalists after launching MAS’ new Golden Lounge at Heathrow Airport’s Terminal Four yesterday.

Dr Ng said she received positive response about the “London connection” from tour operators during a week-long tourism mission to three Scandinavian countries.Yesterday’s ceremony also marked the launch of MAS operations in the £810mil (RM4.53bil) newly refurbished terminal. MAS had operated for 35 years from Terminal Three until Oct 29.MAS flight MH3 carrying 317 passengers was given a symbolic send-off when it left for Kuala Lumpur at 10.50am.

Among those present were MAS chairman Tan Sri Dr Munir Majid, deputy chairman Datuk N. Sadasivan, MAS regional manager for UK & Ireland Syed Abdillah Syed Aziz and Tourism Malaysia director (UK & Ireland) Abdul Rauf Abu Hassan.

The launch of the new lounge heralds a new era of exclusive comfort for the airline’s first and business class passengers as well as its Enrich platinum and gold members.

Built on the theme “Echoes of Paradise,” the lounge’s design reflected a rimbun or foliage concept, bringing together the elements of wood, stone and water to create a soothing ambience for guests.MAS operates 11 golden lounges worldwide within and beyond Malaysia including in Los Angeles, Melbourne, Perth, Singapore and Sydney.Dr Ng described the lounge as an outlet to showcase Malaysian hospitality, an innate quality that was true of all Malaysians to customers worldwide.

She lauded MAS’ commitment to provide five-star services, convenience and facilities to its customers worldwide and carving the reputation of high standards for Malaysia internationally.The airline is the fourth after Etihad Airways, Jet Airways and Gulf Air to shift to the terminal, which handles more than 17 million passengers annually.

see more at http://biz.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2009/11/8/business/5069812&sec=business

Malaysia wins seven Asian travel awards

Malaysia wins seven Asian travel awards
By CHOI TUCK WO

LONDON: Malaysia swept seven Asian awards at the prestigious World Travel Awards 2009’s regional finals gala ceremony here Saturday.

While Malaysia Airlines bagged Asia’s Leading Airline award, Resorts World Genting scooped Asia’s Leading Family Resort and Asia’s Leading Casino Resort titles.

Tourism Malaysia’s “Malaysia: Truly Asia” tagline was also voted Asia’s Leading Marketing Campaign during the star-studded function at Grosvenor House, a JW Marriot Hotel, in London’s Mayfair.
MAS chairman Tan Sri Dr. Munir Majid (third from left) and MAS regional manager for United Kingdom and Ireland Syed Abdillah Syed Aziz (beside him) with their award. With them are: (From left) MAS air hostesses Lilis Surianty (far left) and Yvonne Kow (second from right) as well as Miss Vietnam Huong Giang (third from right) and Miss China Yu Sheng (far right).

Two other titles – Asia’s Leading City Hotel and Asia’s Leading Design Hotel – went to Hilton Kuala Lumpur while Asia’s Leading Airport Hotel award went to Pan-Pacific Kuala Lumpur International Airport Hotel.

MAS chairman Tan Sri Dr Munir Majid and Genting Malaysia Berhad president and chief operating officer Datuk Lee Choong Yan received their awards from Miss Vietnam/Miss World 2009 contestant Huong Giang.

Dr Majid said the recognition bore testament to the fact that the global industry and travellers recognised the national carrier’s brand of service delivery.

“Our focus has always been on serving customers, with a commitment towards continuous service, improvement and delivery,” he said.
MAS chairman Tan Sri Dr Munir Majid (second from right), MAS regional manager for United Kingdom and Ireland Syed Abdillah Syed Aziz (beside him) with MAS air hostesses Lilis Surianty (far left) and Yvonne Kow (far right) after the awards ceremony in London.

Lee said the awards would further encourage them to consistently provide memorable guest experience through innovative products and services.

“I am also confident these awards will help Malaysia enhance its reputation in the tourism industry and attract more visitors to our resort and the country,” he added.

The Malaysians picked up seven awards in the Asian category while regional awards were also given out to winners in the Australasia and Indian Ocean as well as the Caribbean and South America regions.

In the individual countries’ category, Mandarin Oriental Kuala Lumpur was voted Malaysia’s Leading Hotel; Ritz-Carlton Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia’s Leading Business Hotel); Sheraton Langkawi Resort (Malaysia’s Leading Resort) and Shangri-La’s Rasa Sayang Resort and Spa in Penang (Malaysia’s Leading Spa Resort).

The event was attended by more than 1,000 senior management and decision-makers from the global travel and tourism industry.
Genting Malaysia Berhad president and chief operating officer Datuk Lee Choong Yan received his award from Miss Vietnam/Miss World 2009 contestant Huong Giang.

Dubbed the “Oscars” of the global travel and tourism industry, the awards are recognised as the highest accolade within the travel industry.

Votes are cast globally in 919 categories by travel professionals from 183,000 travel agencies, tour and transport companies and tourism organisations in over 160 countries.

Tonight (Sunday) the winners of the grand finals will be announced, marking the culmination of a year-long quest to find the very best travel brands in the world.

source http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2009/11/8/nation/20091108093434&sec=nation