JAL and Malaysia Airlines expand codeshare partnership to cover Kuala Lumpur-Fukuoka route

Ahead of the launch of Malaysia Airlines’ new route to Fukuoka next month September, Japan Airlines (JAL) announced it will expand its joint business partnership with the Malaysian flag carrier to cover codeshare flights on the Kuala Lumpur-Fukuoka route.

JAL stated it will begin codeshare sales on Malaysia Airlines’ Kuala Lumpur-Fukuoka route on August 7. In return, Malaysia Airlines will add its MH flight code on JAL-operated domestic flights to/from Fukuoka Airport.

Among the JAL domestic connections covered in the updated partnership from Fukuoka include Tokyo Haneda, Sapporo New Chitose, Osaka Itami, Kochi, Kagoshima, Miyazaki, and Izumo.

Image: JAL/Malaysia Airlines codeshare networks. Credit: JAL

From Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Airlines will operate five weekly flights to/from Fukuoka (Sunday, Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday). The outbound flight MH56 (JL7098) will depart Kuala Lumpur at 2345H and arrive at Fukuoka the following morning (Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday) at 0705H. The return flight MH57 (JL7099) will depart Fukuoka at 1000H before arriving back at Kuala Lumpur at 1545H. Malaysia Airlines will use its narrowbody Boeing 737-8 (737 MAX 8) with 164 seats featuring 12 seats in Business and 162 in Economy.

Fukuoka will be Malaysia Airlines’ third destination in Japan, where it currently operates twice-daily flights to Tokyo Narita and daily to Osaka Kansai. Malaysia Airlines will offer a total of 25 weekly flights between Malaysia and Japan.

The inclusion of the Kuala Lumpur-Fukuoka route into the Malaysia Airlines-Japan Airlines codeshare partnership aims to enhance flight connectivity across Japan for inbound travelers and strengthen Fukuoka’s position as an international gateway.

JAL currently operates daily flights between Tokyo Narita and Kuala Lumpur. The Tokyo-based airline places its JL flight code on the two Malaysia-Japan routes operated by Malaysia Airlines, along with flights from Kuala Lumpur to destinations in South Asia (India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka) and Southeast Asia (Thailand).