Emirates Airlines Country Manager for Singapore, Malaysia and Brunei, Andrew Bunn, said 250,000 passengers used the airlines last year and the numbers were looking positive for 2016.
“Kuala Lumpur is a good place to be. For 2016, it is very positive so far. The industry has great potential. The passenger numbers continue to grow. There is a lot of competition here and that means there are great offers for the public,” he said at a press conference to announce the Malaysian Association of Tour and Travel Agents (Matta) Fair set to take place from Sept 2 to 4.
Matta has tied up with Emirates as the official airline for the fair.
Asked why he felt Kuala Lumpur was a good place for an airline to operate, Bunn said there were still many people who wanted to travel, especially first-time travellers. Also, Kuala Lumpur was very well connected, such that traffic around the world could transit here.
He was also asked about Malaysia Airlines mammoth codeshare deal with Emirates to allow the national carrier to sell tickets to more long-haul destinations while scrapping unprofitable routes.
The deal between the two airlines is to allow Malaysia Airlines customers to book routes to Europe with Emirates, and, in exchange, Malaysia will offer Emirates passengers connections within the Asia Pacific region.
Bunn said the agreement was well conceived and the long term market share was proving to be successful. “(We are) happy to work with Malaysia Airlines,” he said.
The codesharing, he said, was successful as more people were looking at transiting flights in the Middle East. “Before people wanted to travel from A to B. Now the trend is for people in the west and Asia to transit, to see more places,” he added.