There is a connection between two of the busiest hubs in Southeast Asia via the Singapore-Kuala Lumpur air corridor. As of the year 2023, this route has more than 25,000 flights and 4 million seats available for transportation. In 2023, the city pair became the busiest international route in the world; but, according to the most recent statistics, it is currently ranked second, behind only the route that connects Hong Kong and Taiwan.
Cirium, a business that specializes in aviation analytics, has estimated that there are a total of eight airlines that operate between the two cities:
These airlines are: Jetstar Asia, AirAsia, Ethiopian Airlines, Firefly, Malaysia Airlines, Batik Air Malaysia, Singapore Airlines, Scoot, and Singapore Airlines.
During the month of August 2024, these airlines will together provide more than 1,420 roundtrips and more than half a million seats, which is almost equivalent to the high that it reached prior to the pandemic in 2019. The most dominating operator on the route this summer is AirAsia, which operates 22.8% of the flights. Malaysia Airlines and Singapore Airlines come in second and third, respectively, with 20.8% and 16.7% of the flights, respectively.
Why is the Singapore-Kuala Lumpur route still a favorite?
Despite the fact that many city pairs throughout the globe are still struggling to recover from the epidemic, Singapore and Kuala Lumpur did not have any difficulties in this regard. The demand is still high, and the cities continue to be linked by airlines that provide both low-cost and full-service options. So, what is it that makes the path between these nations that are so close together so crowded?
When it comes to tourism, traveling between the two nations is not only a matter of working and traveling. In point of fact, vacationers account for 39% of Malaysians who travel to Singapore, making it the single most popular reason for visiting the country. Malaysians travel to the south to visit attractions such as Universal Studios Singapore and Jewel Changi Airport (yes, the airport is considered an attraction in and of itself!). Residents of the island nation typically travel to Malaysia to take advantage of the country’s reasonably priced food and to shop at some of the largest shopping centers in the region.
Visiting friends and family was the second most popular reason for people to travel between Singapore and Malaysia in 2018. This year, the most common reason for making the trip was to see friends and family. As was noted, Singapore was once a part of Malaysia, which implies that it is not unusual for families to be dispersed over both nations’ borders. People fly to attend a variety of events and holidays throughout the year, which is another reason why strong shared traditions are able to support a significant amount of demand for VFR holidays.
Singapore and Malaysia have a long history of economic and cultural links, extending back to the 1960s, when both countries were members of the Federation of Malaysia. These ties have been a source of economic activity between the two countries. In the present day, economic migration is still taking place, with many Malaysians relocating to Singapore in search of higher-paying jobs. Another prevalent kind of travel along this route is that of high-level executives traveling for business.
Convenience: It is also feasible to travel between the two cities by road, with a typical bus journey taking around five hours to complete. Traffic, on the other hand, is known to be infamously awful at peak hours, which means that it might be longer. Even when taking into consideration the various time-consuming parts of air travel (getting to and from the airport, security, etc.), traveling by air is still more convenient and can be accomplished in a shorter amount of time. The flight duration is just one hour.
Airlines and planes that are flying along the route
Flag carriers Singapore Airlines and Malaysia Airlines are among the top airlines that compete on this route. However, low-cost airlines such as AirAsia, Scoot, Jetstar, and Firefly, which is a subsidiary of Malaysia Airlines, are also among the leading airlines that compete on this route. A fifth-freedom foundation was also used by Air Mauritius and Uzbekistan Airways in order to connect the airports prior to the epidemic taking place.
| Airline | Aircraft | Flights | Seats |
| AirAsia | A320 | 650 | 123,304 |
| Malaysia Airlines | B737 | 594 | 101,788 |
| Singapore Airlines | A350, B737 | 478 | 94,924 |
| Scoot | A320, B787 | 292 | 73,934 |
| Batik Air Malaysia | B737 | 248 | 40,176 |
| Jetstar Asia Airways | A320 | 186 | 33,480 |
| Firefly | ATR 72 | 364 | 26,208 |
| Ethiopian Airlines | B787 | 36 | 10,408 |
With a flight distance of just 184 miles (296 kilometers), Singapore-Kuala Lumpur is the shortest route on the list of the busiest routes in the world that was compiled by OAG travel. Despite the fact that the trip is quite short, it is interesting to note that several carriers use widebodies for the hour-long journey. As an example, Singapore Airlines use the A350 for this particular route, whilst Ethiopian Airlines and Scoot both utilize the Boeing 787 Dreamliner for travel along this route.
Additionally, a connection is made between the cities by means of a link between their respective secondary airports. Firefly, for instance, operates an ATR service that links Seletar Airport (XSP), which is located in the northeastern part of Singapore, to Subang Airport (SZB), which is located in Kuala Lumpur. This later airport, which is officially known as Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah Airport, was the major airport for the capital city of Malaysia from 1965 until 1998, when the current international airport was opened for business.
Both Changi Airport in Singapore and Kuala Lumpur International Airport are contemporary airports that are equipped to smoothly accept and discharge passengers traveling on short-haul flights. Additionally, service has been rapidly increasing at Subang Airport, which has recently received Scoot, a low-cost airline based in Singapore.
Rivalry along the path travelled
Although air travel is the most common means of transportation between Singapore and Malaysia, two other modes of transportation that link the two nations are road travel and train travel. There are buses that often shuttle between Kuala Lumpur and Singapore, and the journey from Kuala Lumpur to Singapore takes around five hours. From the furthest southern point of Malaysia, there are two bridges that connect to Singapore across water. Both of these bridges are less than 1.2 miles in length.
For those interested in train travel, there is no direct connection between the two cities; rather, the route requires a transfer at Johor Bahru, which is located nearby. Since the average duration of a rail ride between Singapore and Kuala Lumpur is between six and eight hours, it is not hard to see why many people choose to fly instead of using the train.
There are several reasons why the air corridor continues to be among the busiest in the world, and one of those reasons is because flights are a lot faster choice and are reasonably reasonable. Airlines are able to serve a wide range of passengers, from budget tourists to business travelers, due to the extensive range of service quality options that are offered, ranging from low-cost to full-service.
