The Hindu Business Line : Malaysian Airlines splits operations in S. India into two

Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh have been carved into a new region that would be headed by Mr Blasius Binjua. Mr Tajul Ariffin Kamat would head the Tamil Nadu and Kerala regions. The changes would come into force on Friday.

Talking to reporters here on Friday, Mr Christopher Yek, Regional Manager (South Asia) of Malaysia Airlines, said the Bangalore and Hyderabad sectors had contributed nearly 50 per cent of the revenues the airline got from the South.

The airline hopes to tap the ever-increasing population of IT pros and tourists from the region. The young IT pros were trendsetters of changing lifestyle pattern. This included outbound leisure and business trips abroad.

Also, traffic to the Asia-Pacific region was expected to grow by 18 per cent annually, with the increasing numbers of Indian IT professionals in the region.

The airline operates daily flights to Chennai and three flights a week to Bangalore and Hyderabad. The airline had deferred its services to Kochi. In all, the airline runs 33 flights (a week) to India.

Mr Christopher Yek said Malaysia has emerged as an important tourism destination for Indian tourists. During January-August period, as many as 1.52 lakh Indian tourists visited Malaysia, registering a growth of 27 per cent. The country hoped to cross the 2.2-lakh mark by the year-end.

Mr Christopher said the airline would take up promotional campaigns along with the Tourism Board of Malaysia and other players.

"We will prepare different packages to cater to different markets," he said.

The Hyderabad and Bangalore sectors recorded an average load factor of 65 per cent in the last one year.

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