Malaysia Airlines is set to double its capacity between Kuala Lumpur and Doha with a second daily nonstop flight from August 10, 2022, in response to high passenger demand on the route.

The twice-daily flights, which will include Qatar Airways codeshare in both directions, will be operated by the A330-300 aircraft with 27 state-of-the-art seats in Business Class, 16 seats in Economy with extra legroom, and 247 seats in Economy Class.

The additional daily service will depart from Kuala Lumpur at 2:55am via MH164 and from Doha at 8:05am via MH165. It is in addition to the existing daily services MH160 departing Kuala Lumpur at 9:20pm and MH161 departing Doha at 1:30am, bringing the number of Malaysia Airlines flights to Doha to 14 flights weekly.

Malaysia Airlines Group Chief Executive Officer, Captain Izham Ismail, said the additional service strengthens Malaysia Airlines and Qatar Airways’ strategic partnership, allowing passengers to travel to over 96 codeshare destinations and enjoying seamless and most convenient connectivity, via the partners’ key hubs in Kuala Lumpur and Doha.

He said the arrival and departure times of the double daily Malaysia Airlines flights offer customers full access to Qatar Airways’ unrivalled network to the Middle East, Europe, Africa and the US via the world’s best airport, Hamad International Airport.

Ismail said it simultaneously buildings on the perfect connectivity to Malaysia Airlines’ network to states within Malaysia, as well as South East Asia, North Asia and also to Australasia.

“We are delighted to increase our frequency to Doha, after a successful launch of daily service in May,” he said. “We recognise the importance of collaborating with our partners such as Qatar Airways, more so with travel demand picking up steeply for this route following the easing of borders restrictions.

“By doubling our services to Doha and codeshare flights on Qatar Airways, we will be able to extend our signature Malaysian Hospitality offerings to a broader customer base.

“This latest addition of strategic collaboration with Qatar Airways will allow Malaysia Airlines to achieve passenger capacity of more than 70% of pre-pandemic levels by the end of the year.

“As a national airline, we will continuously play a significant role in facilitating safe travel through ‘Fly Confidently’ initiatives for passengers to travel with peace of mind,” he said.

Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive, His Excellency Mr. Akbar Al Baker, welcomed the additional flights.

“We are delighted with the rapid growth of our strategic alliance with Malaysia Airlines and welcome our partner’s decision to add a second daily non-stop flight to Doha, just a few weeks after the start of their operations between Kuala Lumpur and Doha,” he said.

“This is an impressive example of how our partner airlines can instantly benefit from working with Qatar Airways, both in terms of our growing global route network and our unparalleled service in the air and on the ground at our award-winning airport, Hamad International Airport (HIA).

“We are committed to further expanding our strategic cooperation with Malaysia Airlines and to jointly develop Kuala Lumpur International Airport, KLIA, as a leading hub in the South East Asia region in view of the strong rebound in global air travel demand.”

Malaysia Airlines and Qatar Airways’ strategic partnership evolved progressively beginning 2001 and have significantly expanded the collaborative partnership with the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding in February 2022.