MALAYSIA Airlines has brought forward the launch of its Manchester service from June until March this year.

Manchester will be the airline's second destination in the United Kingdom and its 112th destination worldwide.

Initially Malaysia Airlines will operate a twice-weekly service from Manchester to Kuala Lumpur with convenient onward connections to destinations in Asia and Australia.

Flight frequency will be increased to three flights per week during the summer.

World "firsts" on Boeing 777 SuperRanger aircraft include Faxgram, an electronic in-seat fax service, an airborne business centre and a ground-to-air retail service with Interflora.

There are a growing number of business and cultural links between Manchester and Malaysia and a large number of Malaysian students are based in the Manchester area.

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