KUALA LUMPUR (Jan 9): Malaysia Airlines Bhd will reinstate direct flights between Kuala Lumpur and Brisbane on June 6 after a three-year hiatus.

In a statement today, the national carrier said it will operate four times per week to Brisbane using an Airbus A330-300 with up to 290 seats. The airline will be operating every Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday.

“Malaysia Airlines needs to be agile in order to respond quickly to market demands and we are very excited to be re-instating Brisbane back to our network. Brisbane is strategically placed, in close proximity to many of Queensland’s tourist destinations, which will facilitate our growth plans focusing on key business and leisure cities,” said Malaysia Airlines chief executive officer Izham Ismail in the statement.

Malaysia Airlines had dropped its daily services to the Queensland capital in August 2015, as part of its network rationalisation exercise under the 12-point MAS Recovery Plan announced in 2014.

Brisbane Airport Corp spokeswoman Leonie Vandeven was then reported as saying that it had no warning the flights were set to end. "We were disappointed, and must confess surprised, to read the news that our partnership with Malaysia Airlines spanning some 25 years has ended so suddenly," she had said in The Sydney Morning Herald report dated June 25, 2015.

According to Izham, Malaysia Airlines has had a long presence in Queensland since the commencement of its operations into Brisbane on Oct 31, 1990.

Reports in Australian media today said Malaysia Airlines' return to Brisbane is a coup for Queensland tourism, as the four flights a week are expected to generate A$98 million for the Queensland tourism industry over the next three years.

"Through the Queensland Government’s Attracting Aviation Investment Fund, Tourism and Events Queensland and its partners have again been able to secure an important airline on an important route, giving travellers another way to come here and further enhancing the reputation of Brisbane Airport," Queensland Minister for Innovation, Tourism Industry Development and Commonwealth Games Kate Jones said.

“Malaysia Airlines is a renowned global airline and Kuala Lumpur is a thriving international hub which means a new gateway has been opened for thousands of travellers to come to Queensland to experience the Great Barrier Reef, our world-heritage listed rainforests, our iconic beaches and the outback,” she added.

Tickets to Brisbane will go on sale from Jan 9 on Malaysia Airlines' website. MH135 will depart Kuala Lumpur at 9.50am and will arrive Brisbane at 7.55pm the same day. The return flight, MH134 will depart Brisbane at 11.20pm and arrive Kuala Lumpur at 5.50am the next day.

Currently, Malaysia Airlines operates flights from Kuala Lumpur to Sydney (twice daily), Melbourne (twice daily), Perth (daily) and Adelaide (four times weekly) within Australia.