JEDDAH, 7 August 2006 — Gulf Air and Malaysia Airlines have entered into a code share agreement opening up routes and services to each other in their respective networks effective Sept. 18. The agreement, inked at a ceremony in Subang, allows Malaysia Airlines to market seats under its code on the Gulf Air operated flights between Kuala Lumpur and Bahrain and Oman, Gulf Air’s Jeddah office said yesterday.

“Code sharing enables travelers to enjoy a seamless product, as a single airline supervises the passenger’s entire journey,” says Gulf Air President and Chief Executive James Hogan. “Such an arrangement offers significant economic and consumer benefits giving passengers price and service options.”

Bahrain-based Gulf Air flies six flights a week to Kuala Lumpur during the current summer. The two carriers have plans to expand their commercial relationship further later this year, with Gulf Air adding its code on parts of Malaysian Airlines domestic and international network.

The agreement comes shortly after Gulf Air and a high-level delegation from Malaysian Tourism Promotion Board (MTPB) agreed to set up a task force to study possibilities of joint cooperation to promote the upcoming 50 years of Malaysia’s nationhood in 2007. “This commercial relationship is in line with our strategy of shifting from point-to-point network to hub and spoke connecting network,” said Malaysia Airlines Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer Idris Jala.

“Malaysia is one of the popular destinations for Arabs as it has been witnessing a steady increase in the tourist’s arrival over the years from the GCC countries and the country is expecting a significant jump in the tourists arrival in 2007.

“This agreement is yet another manifestation of the ‘winning coalitions’ thrust of our business turnaround plan.”

According to Malaysian officials, around 147,646 Saudi and other Gulf tourists visited Malaysia last year, up from 123,000 in 2004.

Gulf Air has been flying to Kuala Lumpur for many years and its holiday division, Gulf Air Holidays, has been offering varied holiday packages.

Gulf Air already has code-sharing agreements with Saudi Arabian Airlines, American Airlines, Thai Airways, BMI, Cyprus Airways, Egypt Air, Philippine Airlines, Garuda Indonesia, Indian Airlines, Jet Airways, KLM, Olympic Airlines, Oman Air, Qantas Airways, Royal Jordanian and Middle East Airlines.