Malindo's KL-Jeddah route a boon to Muslim travel sector

Malindo Air's upcoming services from Kuala Lumpur to Jeddah, the first Middle Eastern destination in its network, is expected to bolster Malaysia's Muslim pilgrimage travel segment.

Malindo Air will complement other carriers on this route, namely Saudi Airlines, Malaysia Airlines and AirAsia.

Chandran Rama Muthy, CEO, Malindo Air, said in a press release: “This new route will create another affordable option for our Muslim guests to perform Umrah and Hajj. We already have plans to progressively increase our frequency from twice to four-times weekly, and to a daily frequency during the month of Ramadan.”

The service will run twice weekly from February 21 until March 25, with frequency likely be increased thereafter.

Syed Razif Al-Yahya, group managing director of Sutra Group of Companies, said: "This route will cater to Umrah and Hajj pilgrims from Malaysia during the Malaysian school holiday and Ramadan peaks."

The new Jeddah-Kuala Lumpur service will benefit inbound traffic into Malaysia too, pointed out Within Earth Holidays' executive director Saini Vermeulen, as it will help to curb the “shortage of seats during the Middle East peak travel season in summer”.

“However, the airline will have to create brand awareness of its offerings in Saudi Arabia as this is its first foray into the market,” Saini added.

There will be an hour-long technical stop at Ahmedabad, India along this route.

-TTG Asia.