KUALA LUMPUR, 18 June 2024: Malaysia Airlines promotes the magic of Chiang Mai, announcing via a Facebook video that it will fly to the northern Thai city from its home base, Kuala Lumpur, on 15 August.
Promotions got underway this week almost exclusively on Facebook with a compelling video and sales pitch. Still, details of introductory fares on the new route and holiday options are not jumping off the airline’s website pages. Searching for a promotional fare on its website has yet to trigger any price magic for a trip to Chiang Mai.
After a long pause of around four years, the airline resumes flights between Kuala Lumpur and Chiang Mai five times a week on Monday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday using a Boeing 737-800. Flight time is two hours and 50 minutes.
Flight MH772 departs Kuala Lumpur at 1150 and arrives in Chiang Mai at 1340.
Flight MH773 departs Chiang Mai at 1440 and arrives in Kuala Lumpur at 1845.
Competition will be harsh on the route as AirAsia flies daily, departing Kuala Lumpur at 1505 using a 180-seat A320. Google Flights quotes a roundtrip fare of USD132, while it quotes a roundtrip fare of USD173 on Malaysia Airlines.
Until now, with just AirAsia serving the route, the average roundtrip fare is around USD 140.
