Malaysia Airlines plans to relaunch Kota Kinabalu – Tokyo route after a 13-year break on February 24, 2025, AeroRoutes reported. Based on the currently filed schedules, the airline eyes operating the route twice a week as follows:
- MH82 / Kota Kinabalu – Tokyo Haneda / 4:05PM – 10:35PM / Mon, Thu
- MH83 / Tokyo Haneda – Kota Kinabalu / 12:15AM – 5:45AM / Tue, Fri
The flights are not available for booking yet.
Malaysia Airlines plans to use Boeing 737-800 aircraft on the route. It is unclear whether its aircraft with new or old interiors will be deployed. The former are equipped with 174 seats including 12 in business and 162 in economy class. The latter are less dense, having 160 seats including 16 in business and 144 in economy class.
The Kota Kinabalu – Tokyo Haneda route was last operated in January 2012. More recently, Malaysia Airlines served Tokyo Narita out of Kota Kinabalu from early August 2023 until early May 2024.
While in the past Malaysia Airlines also served Haneda out of Kuala Lumpur, it moved all flights between the Malaysian and Japanese capitals to Narita Airport.
