By Zairina Zainudin
JEDDAH, Saudi Arabia, July 29 (Bernama) -- Amal by Malaysia Airlines, a Malaysia Aviation Group (MAG) unit offering Haj and Umrah flight services, aims to increase its revenue contribution to the group to between 7.5 per cent and eight per cent in the next three to five years.
Chief operating officer Muhammad Najmi Mansor said this increase would be supported by the recovery of the Haj and Umrah market, high demand to perform Umrah, active capacity building by the Saudi government, usage of e-Visa for Tourist, as well as further expansion of the Amal network.
He said that based on the performance for 2023 and first half of 2024, Amal’s revenue contribution to the group stood at five per cent.
For the previous years, its revenue contribution were around three per cent to four per cent as the Haj and Umrah market was still in the recovery process post-COVID-19, he said.
“This year we are back to achieving a five per cent revenue contribution (which was recorded) in 2019 due to market recovery.
“For the long term, we aim to increase revenue contribution to the group to between 7.5 per cent and 8.0 per cent within the next three to five years,” he told reporters during a media familiarisation programme recently.
He said the target has also taken into account variable factors such as the uncertainty of the ringgit against the US dollar and global fuel prices.
Targets to Carry More Pilgrims
Muhammad Najmi said Amal has carried a total of 1.17 million Haj and Umrah pilgrims since it was launched in 2019.
For the period from January to April 2024, on average, Amal carried 20,000 Umrah pilgrims each month with about three daily flight operations to Jeddah and Madinah.
“Our target for the future is to increase by five per cent to 10 per cent each year.
“In the long term, over three to five years, we aim to double (number of pilgrims) from what we are operating this year, from 20,000 to 40,000 pilgrims,” he said.
For the 1445 Hijrah/2024 Haj season, Amal has transported up to 15,800 pilgrims back to Malaysia in the second phase, which took place from June 24 to July 20.
In efforts to ensure comfort and efficiency, Amal operated up to 110 flights for this year’s Haj season, with 55 flights for each phase.
These flights used A330-300 aircraft, configured with 284 seats, prioritising a comfortable travel experience for all Haj pilgrims.
Expanding the Operational Network
This year marks a significant event as Amal flew the first group of Singaporean pilgrims to Saudi Arabia for Haj.
These pilgrims experienced Amal's dedicated service for the first time, joining other Haj passengers from Australia, New Zealand, Indonesia, and Cambodia.
Muhammad Najmi said that Amal has also received requests to provide flights for pilgrims from countries in Africa, South Asia, and Central Asia.
Due to the highly regulated nature of the aviation industry, he said Amal intends to find more effective, sustainable, and beneficial solutions for the business in the long term.
“For this strategy, we need strategic partners. This is one of the ways that we are exploring as our target market for long-term expansion (includes) Africa, South and Central Asia,” he said.
Without revealing further details, he pointed out that Amal has already discussed with several national airlines from the countries involved for this operational network initiative.
Programme to Appreciate GLCs
According to Muhammad Najmi, Amal will introduce a special Umrah package offered to several selected government-linked companies (GLC) in an effort to strengthen their relationships.
He said the package was created to appreciate the GLC partners who have supported MAG in the good and bad times.
“(For this) Amal is collaborating with four strategic partners, namely MKM Ticketing Travel & Tours, Andalusia Travel & Tours Sdn. Bhd, Wira Saujana Travel & Tours Sdn Bhd, and KRS Travel Sdn Bhd.
“Therefore, we will hold several promotions and also offer price discounts to make our package cheaper compared with other packages available in the market,” he noted.
Muhammad Najmi said the package will be offered with price discounts of about five per cent to seven per cent.
The pilot package, for eight days and seven nights, has already been implemented with the first flight on July 15, involving 30 MAG staff and their families, as well as several media personnel.
He said the GLC premium package will include round-trip flights operated by Amal, as well as accommodations at prime locations, namely Movenpick Hotel in Makkah and View by Maden in Madinah, or their equivalents.
The next package is expected to be launched in August.
-- BERNAMA
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