On Feb. 1, Malaysia Airlines further strengthened its strategic presence in Indonesia with the launch of its direct air service between Yogyakarta and Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Effective Feb. 1, Yogyakarta becomes the national carrier's 5th scheduled services city in Indonesia, after Jakarta, Medan, Denpasar and Surabaya. Malaysia Airlines also code shares with Garuda Indonesia on the routes between these five Indonesian cities and Kuala Lumpur.

The introduction of this Malaysia Airlines' air link from one of the most populated country in the world to Malaysia reinforces its focus on network expansion within the regional market comprising North Asia, China, ASEAN and South Asia as announced in its Business Transformation Plan.

Malaysia Airlines' Commercial Director Dato Rashid Khan who arrived earlier in Yogyakarta leading an entourage of Malaysian travel agents, business partners and members of the media said, "This is a timely launch, in line with our desire to expand our presence in key regional markets and the Yogyakarta route has great potential to contribute towards our profitability."

"This is the first full service air link between Yogyakarta and Kuala Lumpur. We are offering both economy and business class hospitality on this route to cater to the needs of both leisure and business travelers. Our introductory offers for this full service route from Yogyakarta are indeed competitive, with return air fares starting from as low as US$98 to Kuala Lumpur. In addition our low return fares from Yogyakarta to Malaysia Airlines' destinations beyond Kuala Lumpur also start from a low rate of US$340."

"Our strategy is to provide direct links between more cities in Indonesia especially the island of Java which is the most populated area of the country and Malaysia. With this third direct air link after Jakarta and Surabaya, we now offer 44 return weekly flights with a total capacity of 15,372 seats in both directions between Java and Kuala Lumpur," he added.

Malaysia Airlines' flight MH 856 departs Yogyakarta every Tuesday, Friday and Sunday at 11.40am and arrives in Kuala Lumpur at 3.05pm. The inbound flight MH857 departs Kuala Lumpur at 9.20am on the same days to arrive Yogyakarta at 10.50am. The 3 times weekly direct service between Yogyakarta and Kuala Lumpur is operated using a Boeing 737-400 aircraft with 128 economy and 16 Business class seats, providing a total weekly capacity of 432 seats in each direction.

With the addition of Yogyakarta, Malaysia Airlines now offers 79 return weekly frequencies between Malaysia and the 5 cities in Indonesia offering a total capacity of 27,422 seats in both directions.

Malaysia Airlines commenced air services between Indonesia and Malaysia in 1972 with its flight linking Medan and the cities of Kuala Lumpur and Penang. Subsequently it added Jakarta, Denpasar and Surabaya to its network with Kuala Lumpur.

The introduction of the air link with Yogyakarta is in line with Malaysia Airlines' continued efforts to further strengthen its market presence in Indonesia, in cooperation with its code-share partner Garuda Indonesia.