And, to end the year on a positive note, Transaero Airlines, Russia’s second largest airline, made its maiden landing at KL International Airport (KLIA) today.

Transaero, the sole airline from Russia to operate into Kuala Lumpur, operates one weekly flight every Saturday from Moscow and Kuala Lumpur and vice versa, using a Boeing 763 aircraft with 255 seat configuration, said Malaysia Airports in a statement.

The inaugural flight UN551 touched down at KLIA today and was given a warm Malaysian style reception by Malaysia Airports and Tourism Malaysia.

It said Transaero has been operating charter flights to KLIA for the last few years and has created sufficient market demand on this route for the airline to start scheduled operations.

Managing Director Tan Sri Bashir Ahmad was quoted as saying:”Malaysia Airports is very pleased with Transaero’s decision to include Kuala Lumpur in their network and establish a direct connection between Malaysia and Russia.

“Transaero’s service opens a new market for us and we wish them all the best for their operations in Kuala Lumpur. We look forward for the airline to stabilise and strengthen its operation into Kuala Lumpur and hopefully, increase their frequency to KLIA soon”.

He said it was Malaysia Airports’ close cooperation and relations with Tourism Malaysia plus the Ministry of Transport’s pro-business policies that brought this airline from Russia to Malaysia.

Transaero, the 57th airline serving Kuala Lumpur, will provide convenient access between Kuala Lumpur and Moscow and expand two-way trade, investment and tourism for both countries.

In 2011, apart from Transaero, KLIA also welcomed Air Koryo and Lion Air, while Egypt Air made a comeback to KLIA.

Transaero, which flies to China, Japan, Thailand and India, also plys to major Russian cities and is also the leading carrier to Kazakhstan.

Its network covers many European destinations such as Austria, Cyprus, England, Germany, Greece, Israel and Spain.

The reason: the government said that MAHB will now build the new LCCT within the Kuala Lumpur International Airport, or KLIA which MAHB manages, but in “close consultation” with Air Asia. “The company’s input in the building of the new terminal will have to be taken into consideration,” said the New Straits Times, citing a source familiar with the proceedings.

To read Air Asia comments on this, visit http://www.airasia.com/kliaeast/index.html

Get details explanation on this at Malaysia Insider.

A spokesman for the airways said the pilot, a 43-year-old Indian national, complained of chest pains and the co-pilot requested to land at KLIA around 11.30am.

“The plane, an A330 Airbus with about 250 passengers on board, landed here while a medical team was on standby.

“The pilot was pronounced dead and the airlines took immediate steps and changed the entire crew before the aircraft took off at 1.15pm,” he said.

Sepang police chief Supt Zahedi Ayub, when contacted, said the pilot’s body was taken to the Serdang Hospital for a post mortem and the results showed that he had died of heart failure.

Via : The Star

Given the rapid growth of low-cost air travel, the new terminal brings the country many benefits such as job opportunities and boost tourism by attracting more airlines and visitors.

MAHB has anticipated the KLIA as whole to handle over 60 million passengers by 2020 and close to 45 per cent of those passengers are likely to be low-cost travellers.

The prime minister is confident that the new terminal construction will surpass expectations, saying that it is poised to serve as a hub and attract more low-cost carriers to fly to Kuala Lumpur.

KLIA 2, catering for 30 million passengers per annum, has the potential to expand for future growth and is expected to be completed in April 2012, based on a 20-month construction period.

Complimenting AirAsia for its innovative efforts to stimulate low-cost travel, Najib said while KLIA 2 is designed with consideration for the requirements of the AirAsia, it will be accessible to all airlines upon completion.

He is confident that KLIA 2 marked the beginning of an exciting new chapter in the history of air transportation in Malaysia.

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The total cost for this new LCCT is RM2 billion and designed to handle 45 million passengers a year and be connected to the main terminal via an extended Express Rail Link (ERL) and a new side road

The new LCCT, spread over 150,000 sq metres, would be larger than the main terminal with retail and food outlets to ensure passenger comfort. On top of that, there are plans for a 6,000-vehicle parking complex, parking bays for 70 planes and an integrated transport hub for buses and taxis.

10,000 sq metres of the space would go towards setting up AirAsia’s headquarters, which would be sited away from airport operation areas.

KLIA’s master plan took into account long-term use of infrastructure and land to handle up to 120 million passengers annually. Currently, only 30% of the entire complex and land are used.

The plan to build the new LCCT near the main terminal was part of the National Airport Master Plan for Malaysia to strategically develop all 24 airports in the country over 50 years.

The present LCCT would then be reverted into a cargo handling terminal.

Via : The Star

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