07 AUG 2022
Sandakan Tourism Association (STAN) and Malaysia Airlines have jointly launched the “Discover A Great Deal More in Sandakan” promotional campaign to further boost tourist arrivals to Sandakan, the second largest city in Sabah.
As part of the promotion, customers can #FlyConfidently with the superb deals on offer – ranging from airfare tickets, holidays packages and experiences – for their next getaway when booking from 5 to 19 August 2022 for immediate travel until 31 March 2023.
The latest campaign offers domestic travellers to fly from Kuala Lumpur to Sandakan with a special one-way fare of RM179.00. Likewise, travellers from Singapore will also enjoy special discounted fares of up to 15% when flying from Singapore to Sandakan (via Kuala Lumpur).
Meanwhile, its tour operating arm, MHholidays, invites customers to enjoy flight and holiday packages, including hotel stays starting from RM509 in selected hotels and destinations in Sandakan. To top it all off, first 20 customers who book a Junior Suite room at the Sabah Hotel Sandakan (minimum stay of two nights) will receive a Bornean Sun Bear Conservation Centre (BSBCC) merchandise voucher worth RM100. The promotion is bookable through https://holidays.malaysiaairlines.com/mhholidays-home.html from today until 19 August 2022. MHholidays packages come with a baggage allowance of 35kg, complimentary onboard meals, and free seat selection and earn Enrich points.
In addition, travellers will also enjoy discount F&B or shopping vouchers provided by STAN members, such as Sabah Hotel, The Pavilion Hotel, Borneo Eco Tours, Balin Rooftop Bar, San Da Gen Kopitiam, Urban Café as well as KITA “Our Fresh Mart”.
“We are delighted to have the opportunity to partner with Malaysia Airlines for this special campaign to further promote the Sandakan region domestically and to the Singapore market. Sandakan is well-known as the gateway to Borneo’s wildlife. The name Sandakan may automatically conjure up the image of lush tropical rainforest, orang-utan, Bornean sun bear, proboscis monkey, pygmy elephant and more. However, there is a great deal more to be discovered in Sandakan other than our natural wonders. Culinary tourism is gaining popularity in Sandakan with our fresh seafood and unique local eats such as UFO tart and Avocado ABC. In addition, as the former capital city of British North Borneo, there are numerous heritage sites around the city with rich and fascinating stories waiting to be uncovered. Through this campaign, we hope to diversify Sandakan’s offerings and further strengthen Sandakan’s destination awareness in the tourism circuit”, said Mr. Teo Chee Kim, STAN President.
Group Chief Marketing and Customer Experience Officer of Malaysia Airlines, Lau Yin May commented, “With our commitment to #FlyConfidently, we have noticed a high appetite for travel, with most flights being 75 to 80 percent full, demonstrating customer confidence to travel. This is an incredibly encouraging sign that tourism has been progressively returning to full recovery.
With the upcoming festive season and long weekends, this is an excellent opportunity for Malaysians who recently redeemed the RM100 vouchers through the “Jom Cuti-Cuti Malaysia” campaign to use their vouchers on flights and enjoy our signature Malaysian Hospitality and well-deserved vacations to Sandakan and other parts of Sabah, whether for holidays or to reunite with loved ones.”
Currently, Malaysia Airlines is operating 10 weekly flights from Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) to Sandakan with the following schedule:
| Routes | Flight No | Time | Weekly Frequency |
| Kuala Lumpur to Sandakan | MH 2710 | 1025hrs – 1325 hrs | Daily |
| MH 2668 | 1450hrs – 1745hrs | 1, 3, 5 | |
| Sandakan to Kuala Lumpur | MH 2711 | 1410hrs – 1710hrs | Daily |
| MH 2669 | 1830hrs – 2190hrs | 1, 3, 5 |
In addition to the signature Malaysian Hospitality service offered on all Malaysia Airlines flights, guests can be assured that all necessary measures are taken to ensure the safety and comfort of all those on board. Malaysia Airlines’ COVID-19 health and safety protocols are globally recognised and certified by Bureau Veritas Certification Malaysia via its MHFlySafe program. The airline also received a 7-star rating for COVID-19 health and safety measures from Airline Ratings and is a member of the aviation industry’s Travel Safe Alliance Malaysia.
