On March 31, Qingdao Airlines launched a direct international route from Qingdao to Penang, Malaysia. This marks the first direct flight from Shandong Province to Penang, making Qingdao the first city in North China to offer non-stop service to Penang.
The new route not only serves as an "air bridge" for enhancing connectivity, economic and trade ties, and cultural and tourism exchanges between Qingdao and Malaysia, but also injects great momentum into the building of Qingdao as a comprehensive international hub and efforts of promoting higher-standard opening up.
The Qingdao-Penang route is operated by Qingdao Airlines' Airbus A321, with flight numbers QW923/924. The A321 is configured with 8 business-class seats and 199 economy-class seats, featuring larger fuselage, increased capacity, greater space, and better passenger experience. According to the schedule, flights will operate every Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday starting March 31.
The outbound flight QW923 departs at 09:00 and arrives in Penang at 15:35 local time. The inbound flight QW924 departs Penang at 16:35 and returns to Qingdao at 22:55 local time. With one-way time of only 6.5 hours, this efficient direct service saves nearly half of the time compared to previous connecting flights.
The new route represents one of the important strategic moves for Qingdao Airlines to implement its differentiated development strategy, and it is also another step for its global networking which is designed to "be rooted in Qingdao, radiate across China, target Northeast Asia, and connect Southeast Asia". With the launch of the route, Qingdao Airlines has further increased its passenger routes toward Southeast Asia, forming a network that covers multiple cities including Kuala Lumpur, Bangkok, Ho Chi Minh City, and Vientiane.
