Thiruvananthapuram | Malaysian carrier Malaysian Airlines will launch a direct flight service between Thiruvananthapuram and Kuala Lumpur from November 9.

Malaysian Airlines would be operating the Thiruvananthapuram-Kuala Lumpur flight with Boeing 737-800 aircraft with a capacity of 174 passengers including business class, a TIAL spokesperson said in a statement here on Tuesday.

"The flight will be operated initially on Thursdays and Sundays from Thiruvananthapuram. The flight will arrive at 11 PM and depart at midnight," the statement said.

This will be the first Malaysian Airlines service from Thiruvananthapuram, it added.

Beyond Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Airlines will provide good connectivity to Australia, New Zealand, North America, Japan, China, Hongkong, Vietnam, Indonesia, Thailand, etc, it said.

Business class travel facility to East Asian countries has been a demand for a long time, including by IT companies.

This service will boost the travel and tourism sectors of Kerala, the statement said, adding it will also benefit the students from Kerala who are studying in far east countries and expatriates from southern districts of Tamil Nadu.