Malaysia Airlines (MAS) will relaunch flights to Macau after a nine-year hiatus to take advantage of the country's economic growth and strong demand from air travellers.

The airline's senior general manager of network revenue management, Bernard Francis, said the route would be relaunched from Nov. 10 with a frequency of four flights weekly.

The carrier started flying to Macau on Nov. 9, 1995, but suspended the route on March 21, 1998, due to low demand and non-profitability.

"Macau is now growing with a lot of hotels coming up, and there is strong demand from businessmen and tourists," Francis told a media briefing on the route on Nov. 6.

He said the airline will service the Kuala Lumpur-Macau route using the Boeing 737-400 aircraft.

Fares per passenger will range between RM199 and RM699 for Economy Class and between RM1,899 and RM2,219 for Business Class.

Francis said Macau will be the first new route to be relaunched by MAS since the company's business turnaround.

"We want to increase our strong market presence in China ... increase our flight utilisation," he said, adding that the airline planned to have daily flights to Macau by next year.

He also said that the airline has an interline agreement with China Southern Airlines which enabled customers to fly to several destinations in China.

From Nov. 10, with the addition of Macau, Malaysia Airlines will offer 98 flights weekly between Malaysia and China.

Besides Macau, the airline also operates services to six cities in China, covering Hong Kong, Guangzhou, Beijing, Shanghai, Kunming and Xiamen.

Francis said members of the airline's Enrich frequent flyer programme travelling this season could now enjoy Macau and earn triple privilege points.

Under its Golden Holiday programme, the airline offers customers two packages: four-day three-night trip to Macau from RM798 per person and five-day four-night trip to Macau-Hong Kong from RM1,498 per person, both for departure in January 2008.