KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia Airlines will offer direct flights to Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris from Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) Terminal 1 starting on March 22, 2025.

Malaysia Aviation Group (MAG) said the service will operate four weekly flights, and tickets for the route will be available from Sept 6, 2024, with an introductory all-in return fare of RM3,699.

Group managing director Datuk Captain Izham Ismail said the Paris route, which represents Malaysia Airlines’ 68th destination, will be served by A350-900 aircraft.

“While the European market is highly competitive, MAG sees tremendous potential for the Paris route to attract key travellers, not just from Malaysia but also from neighbouring regions.

“With the arrival of additional widebody aircraft starting this fourth quarter, the group is ready to bring the long-awaited city back into its network,” he said at a press conference at the MATTA Fair 2024 here today.

Izham said that the group has been evaluating European destinations for the last three years and sees Paris has a very strong passenger demand each way.

“It can feed from North America and North Europe and connect Australia, Asia, and New Zealand.

“So basically, we feel very strongly that Paris is the best candidate in our growth path, and it also helped us facilitate making KLIA a strong hub in the Asia-Pacific region.

Izham added that the airline’s focus in 2025 will be on Australia and South Asia, where it anticipates an increase in demand.

At the event, MAG also announced that Malaysia Airlines and Google Gemini are transforming the travel experience by showcasing its cutting-edge artificial intelligence (AI) technology, Gemini, for the first time at a physical demonstration in Malaysia at MAG’s Arena during the MATTA Fair.

The group added that Malaysia Airlines is also revamping its corporate travel programme from MHbiz TRAVEL to MHcorporate, which aims at delivering unmatched flexibility, upfront savings on Malaysia Airlines routes, and customised travel solutions tailored for both small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and large corporations.

To celebrate the launch, SMEs enrolled in MHcorporate can earn four times corporate enrich points on base fares and enjoy an extra five per cent discount on MATTA Fair offers for travel through Dec 31, 2024.