The newly strengthened partnership gives passengers in Malaysia a greatly enhanced selection of destinations, and will also allow international passengers to add a KL stopover to their travels.

Last week, Emirates and Batik Air Malaysia jointly unveiled a codeshare agreement, granting Emirates’ passengers access to five domestic cities in Malaysia and three regional destinations in Southeast Asia via Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA).

YB Tuan Anthony Loke, Malaysia’s Transportation Minister, expressed his support for the strategic partnership. He highlighted the significant opportunities this collaboration brings to travelers worldwide, stating, “We are pleased with the partnership, which has the potential to strengthen Malaysia’s role as a prime gateway to the region. We hope to see an increase in KLIA traffic, especially to facilitate connectivity to regional destinations.”

The enhanced partnership was introduced by Orhan Abbas, Emirates’ Senior Vice President, Commercial Operations (Far East), and Datuk Chandran Rama Muthy, Group Strategic Director of Batik Air. Present at the launch event were Anand Lakshminarayanan, Emirates’ Senior Vice President Revenue Optimisation and Airline Partnerships, and Saeed Mubarak, Emirates’ Country Manager in Malaysia.

As part of this collaboration, Emirates will include its code on Batik Air-operated flights to Penang, Kuching, Kota Kinabalu, Langkawi, Johor Bahru, Denpasar, Jakarta, and Singapore. This will provide customers with a seamless travel experience, connecting to new destinations using a single ticket, and an efficient baggage policy.

Emirates passengers will also have the option to make a stopover in Kuala Lumpur before continuing to their final destinations. The airline will additionally gain access to eight more destinations operated by Batik Air via Kuala Lumpur for interline transfers.

Orhan Abbas emphasized the importance of this partnership, stating, “Malaysia is an important market in our Far East network, and we’re pleased to offer increased connectivity and more options for our customers to new and exciting destinations. Through this partnership, we’ll further expand our network reach to more than 1,490 cities worldwide. We look forward to working closely with our partner Batik Air on offering even better choices and more convenient experiences for travelers.”

Group Strategic Director of Batik Air, Datuk Chandran Rama Muthy, emphasized the significance of this initiative, not only in expanding Batik Air’s network connectivity but also in providing Emirates passengers with the opportunity to explore captivating new destinations in Malaysia and Southeast Asia. He stated, “We are proud to be part of this strategic alliance, further expanding our footprint and offering flexibility and convenience to our valued passengers. This partnership underscores our commitment to excellence, and we look forward to welcoming travelers from around the world to experience the unique blend of Emirates’ and Batik Air’s services.”

Emirates has been serving Malaysia since 1996 and presently operates 21 weekly flights to Kuala Lumpur, deploying a combination of Boeing 777 and Airbus A380 aircraft. The airline boasts a broad network of partners, including 30 codeshare, 11 Intermodal, and 118 interline partners. This includes a long-standing partnership with the Jakarta-based Lion Air Group, including its subsidiaries Batik Air Indonesia and Batik Air Malaysia, the latter previously known as Malindo Air.

Travellers can book tickets for travel commencing from November 1, 2023, on the Emirates website, through Online Travel Agencies (OTAs), and via travel agents.