Yangon to Abuja Malaysia Flights

  About Abuja

The city of Abuja, overlooked by the dominating Aso Rock, is the capital city of Nigeria. Located right in the middle of the country, Abuja is a planned city that was developed in the 1980s. It actually managed to replace Lagos to be the new capital of Nigeria.

Best time to visit Abuja

Due to its proximity to the equator, the city of Abuja is hot through most of the year. However, out of the heat that you do face, they are pleasant and mild in some months in Abuja. The city also witnesses some moderate rainfall which adds to the humidity you might face. You will have to prepare yourself mentally concerning the heat as you will face a lot of it. The months January through July though, are pleasant. In fact, January to March is recognised as the best time to visit Abuja. The temperature is at a friendly 26 degree Celsius, and the humidity in the air is quite mild. This helps the tourism industry to attract more crowds. You will actually see a slew of tourists during these months as the mild temperatures are easy on the senses. Due to the peak season though, there is a surge in the hotel prices. You will find cheap hotels also spike up their rates during the peak season. Hence, it would be ideal for making prior hotel bookings to Abuja to avoid the last-minute surge in prices. The good thing is, the flight tickets are quite decent, irrespective of the peak season.

From May through August, you will witness a rise in the humidity level in the air. Even though the temperature is slightly mild, the humidity will make things a little difficult. Travelling within the city or engaging in tourist activities might become tough. You will have to constantly carry bottles of water and ensure that you stay hydrated throughout the day. The humidity will sap out all your energy. Avoiding these months would be the best choice. Unless you're okay with the excess heat, you should at all cost, not plan a trip to Abuja during these months. Instead, you can opt for the months of September through November. These months also see a moderate temperature where the humidity is also not too much. It would be nice to carry equipment such as moisturisers and bottles of water to survive in Abuja. But these mild months would be refreshing and paint a new colour to the vibe of Abuja. You can make prior bookings of flight tickets and accommodations in Abuja to avoid any excess cost. You might even receive some online deals.

Places to visit in Abuja

As part of your Abuja rendezvous, you can start your exploring by checking out the famous Zuma Rock. The rock is composed of gabbro and granodiorite. In the past, the Gbagyi tribe people used the rock to defend themselves from invasions and attacks from neighbouring tribes. You can take up trekking and hiking as an activity to reach the peak of the rock. You should also visit the National Mosque of Abuja. The beautiful structure has a golden dome and boasts Islamic architecture. It is Nigeria's national mosque and holds tremendous religious significance. It was constructed back in 1984 and is open to non-Muslims as well. Aso Rock is another interesting natural granitic rock that is situated on the outskirts of the capital city. Important buildings such as the Supreme Court and the Nigerian National Assembly are both located close by. Another beautiful mosque that you can visit is the An Noor Mosque. The place is quaint and quiet.

Things to do in Abuja

One of the best ways for you to spend your time in Abuja would be to hang out at the Millennium Park. The park is in proximity with the former Presidential Palace. It is beautiful and has the Zuma Rock in the background too. You can actually take a picnic basket and spend your time in leisure at the park. You can also indulge in a boating rendezvous at the Jabi Lake. The scenic landscape is sure to marvel you. You should also visit the National Children's Park and Zoo Abuja. It has some basic animals, including turtles, jackals and more. The IBB International Golf & Country Club is definitely another place that you should visit. The vast expanse is certainly a spectacular sight, plus you can also explore the golf course. Pack yourselves a nice lunch basket and head to Usuma Lower Dam for a lovely afternoon. The place is gorgeous and soothing to the senses, especially since it is not surrounded by the city's noise and bustle. You can also indulge in some waterfalls excursions. The Gurara Falls is one such place that you simply cannot miss. You also should go exploring at the Pedam Lake.

Food and restaurants in Abuja

Abuja's food culture is heavily influenced by the tribal traditions of Nigeria. You would majorly find a lot of dishes that celebrate the Nigerian cuisine and style of cooking. It would actually be a good opportunity for you to try out some exquisite authentic Nigerian cuisine. Their tribal dishes are a rage in the city of Abuja. Over the years though, they have managed to infuse much of their traditional cuisines with European flavours to promote tourism. You will find some lovely African meals favouring European-style cooking. The food culture is a trip on its own and you can make the most of it in Nigeria's capital, Abuja. You can start your culinary excursion in Abuja from the Salamander Café. It is recognised for its cool vibe and manages to attract a slew of native crowds. The quaint cafe offers not just extraordinary coffee but also books to indulge in while you sip on the beverage. The menu is also curated to serve the natives as well as the international crowd. You will find Indian cuisine also in Abuja as the city has the famous Wakkis, a restaurant that boasts Indian cuisine.

From murgh malai to tandoori chicken, if you are in no mood to experiment with the traditional Nigerian cuisine, then you can simply make regular visits to Wakkis. The staff is friendly, and the cooking styles are very indigenous to the raw Indian culture. BluCabana is an interesting restaurant that doesn't just limit to African food but also expands to Middle Eastern cuisine. You will find some exquisite Lebanese food as well as global cuisine such as sandwiches, pastas, pizzas, salads and more. The fish suya is a big seller which basically consists of grilled skewered meat that has been perfectly coated with aromatic spices. At the Bukka at the Hilton, you will find traditional African spread. The dining hall is a vast and beautiful spot which leaves enough room for the fresh breeze to pass through. Not to mention how the classic dishes such as oha soup, pounded yam, jollof rice, egusi soup, to name a few, can be found here. Other restaurants that you can check out are The Charcoal, Vanilla, Jevinik, Dunes Continental and Chez Victor.

How to reach Abuja

As the capital of Nigeria, Abuja enjoys great flight connectivity with other international cities. Abuja does witness some flight action as it is an important city. Although there are no direct flights to Abuja from Indian cities, they do have international airlines that accommodate flights to Abuja. There are many international routes connected to Abuja, such as from Addis Ababa, Kigali, Dubai and Cairo. However, Addis Ababa and Dubai are recognised as the most popular routes to Abuja. Airlines such as RwandAir, Ethiopian Airlines, EgyptAir, Emirates, Turkish Airlines, Lufthansa, Etihad Airways, Air France and British Airways have flight services to Abuja. Most of these airlines have layovers in their domestic cities. You do not need a specific transit visa when travelling to Abuja. A transit visa is only required when you are travelling from European cities. If you do pick Air France as your airlines to travel to Abuja, then you will need a Schengen transit visa. Similarly, the only other route to Abuja where you would require a transit visa is if you travel by Emirates.

The flight duration of Abuja is quite decent. It takes about 12 hours to 15 hours to reach the city. Flying to Abuja is the only way to reach the Nigerian capital. The flight tickets are a little steep. In fact, they actually start from INR 35,000 and from here, the graph only goes up. Since the flight tickets to Abuja are so pricey, the best way to go about booking a ticket would be to search for online deals. It comes in handy to find great flight deals online to Abuja. You will be surprised by the drastic drop in the ticket prices to Abuja with the addition of discounts. This means you will actually have to invest a lot of time to ensure that you get some good flight deals. You can also use this time to make hotel reservations as that would further reduce the total cost of the trip. These can be found online as various platforms and airlines have sale and discounts. Another way to go about this would be to use up your miles if you are collecting them. You might be eligible for some more discounts depending on the program.

  About Malaysia Airlines

Malaysia Airlines Berhad (MAB) or formerly referred to as Malaysian Airline System (MAS) is primarily recognised by its brand name Malaysia Airlines. It is the national flag carrier of Malaysia and is also one of the members of the Oneworld airline alliance. The airline has its headquarters in Kuala Lumpur International Airport. In fact, the airport is also the main hub for the airline with Kota, Kinabalu and Kuching being the secondary hubs. The airline was predominantly owned by the Malaysian government's sovereign wealth fund called Khazanah Nasional. It owned about 69.37 per cent of stakes in the airline. However, in 2014, the fund further expressed interest to purchase the remaining ownership from the small-time shareholders and to even de-list Malaysia Airlines from Malaysia's stock exchange. Their eventual aim was to renationalise the airline by primarily taking over the entire venture. The airline has catered to a slew of destinations sprawled across Asia, Europe and Oceania. It currently operates two subsidiary airlines under its wing, namely, Firefly and MASwings.

Malaysia Airlines' Firefly operates from its two designated home bases in Penang International Airport and Subang International Airport. It has scheduled flight operations and focuses majorly on tertiary cities. Meanwhile, MASwings focuses on inter-Borneo flights. Along with the passenger-flying airline subsidiary, Malaysia Airlines also has a cargo carrier fleet called MASkargo. The freighter fleet enables cargo carrier services and caters to the aircraft cargo-hold capacity for all the dedicated passenger flights of Malaysia Airlines. The history of the airline traces back to the time when it was founded as Malayan Airways Limited. The airline was founded in the 1930s, in Singapore and chartered its first commercial flight in 1947. In 1963, the airline was rebranded as Malaysian Airways following the formation of Malaysia. As Singapore separated from Malaysia in 1966, the airline was once again renamed as Malaysia - Singapore Airlines. Eventually, the assets were divided, and in 1972 two diverse airlines, namely Malaysian Airline System and Singapore Airlines, were formed.

Over the years since its formation as a dedicated national flag carrier to Malaysia, the airline has received tremendous recognition by Skytrax, including the titles of The World's 5-Star Airline and Asia's Leading Airline at the World Travel Awards. They have actually won these accolades on multiple occasions. However, despite the recognition and accolades, Malaysia Airlines has struggled to cope with the costs that have accumulated with the rise in the low-cost carriers prevalent in the region. After incurring huge losses, the airline did announce a turnaround plan by cutting a few routes prominent yet unprofitable long-haul international destinations. These included Los Angeles and Buenos Aires in North and South America as well as cities in South Africa. Internal restructuring of the management and operations in Malaysia Airlines also kick-started as they planned to sell off some of the engineering and pilot training units. Malaysia Airlines currently owns about 28 subsidiaries, of which 25 of them are wholly owned by the company. Further, the airline has also diversified into various sectors that are pertinent and related to the aviation industry. These include aviation engineering, tour operator operations, aircraft ground handling and aircraft leasing, to name a few.

Fleet size of Malaysia Airlines

Malaysia Airlines' current fleet size accommodates 81 aircraft in total. The airline majorly has Airbus and Boeing aircraft. It has a total of 48 Boeing 737-800 narrow-body aircraft, 15 Airbus A330-300s, six Airbus A330-200, Airbus A330-900 and Airbus A380-800. Meanwhile, the airline has already placed an order for 15 Boeing 737 MAX 8 and 10 Boeing 737 MAX 10. Airbus A330-200 and Airbus A330-300 flights cater majorly to the high-demanding medium-haul and long-haul routes. These flights also accommodate business class and economy class cabins. Meanwhile, they started accepting deliveries of six Airbus A350-900 in 2017 and replaced them with the ageing Boeing 777-200ER fleet.

With the inclusion of Airbus A350-900, the airline received its first aircraft fleet with provisions of first-class cabins. With a view to replacing the ageing Boeing 747-400 fleet with Airbus A380s, Malaysia Airlines also signed a contract in 2003 to purchase six of the new fleet. Although the flights were expected to be delivered in 2007, there were some delays that cropped up due to manufacturing concerns. Malaysia Airlines did announce to purchase 25 Boeing 737 MAX jets in 2016, the aviation authorities put the deliveries on halt, following two fatal crashes that took place in less than five months.

Baggage Allowance

Baggage allowance in Malaysia Airlines varies depending on the ticket type and class cabin. For passengers who are travelling from the business class cabin, the maximum weight for checked baggage allowed is 40 kg. The passenger will be charged extra if the weight exceeds the set allowance weight. As for the economy class cabin, the airline allows 30 kg of checked baggage. The checked baggage dimensions should also not exceed a sum of 158 cm. While extra baggage weight can be purchased, the same cannot be done for the dimensions as it is a mandatory clause. For hand baggage, the airline allows two pieces to be carried in the cabin. The weight of the two bags should not exceed 14 kg. As for the economy class cabin passengers, the airline allows baggage weight to be 7 kg and not more than that.

Passengers also need to make a note of the dimension of the baggage which should be within the total dimension of 115 cm. Should your baggage weigh more than the free checked baggage allowance allotted by Malaysia Airlines, the airline would charge in US dollars per kg. It will also depend on the passenger's point of departure for the tariff. For example, if the passenger is travelling from India, the set airline charge for the excess baggage would be USD 20 per kilo. Medicines and toiletry items such as perfumes, toothpaste, creams, etc., can be carried in hand luggage, provided they are in 100 ml/mg containers. The airline also expects the passengers to put the said toiletries in transparent plastic bags, and the total dimension should not exceed 80 cm. Special reservations are made for passengers who are travelling with infants. Details of the same can be found on the official website of the airline.

In-flight services

Malaysia Airlines is recognised for its immaculate in-flight services that range from world-class hospitality to well-equipped flights. The airline offers a slew of exquisite in-flight services such as comfortable seating arrangement, reclining seats made of leather, decent legroom, personalised in-flight entertainment systems, in-flight meals for medium and long haul flights, and more. These facilities are available on all the class cabins to enable a comfortable journey for the passenger.

Popular routes and top cities for Malaysia Airlines

Malaysia Airlines initially catered to about 118 domestic routes and over 114 international routes that sprawled over six continents. However, following the announcement of the turnaround plan in 2006 to accommodate more profits to the venture, the airline terminated several flight services to destinations that didn't yield profit. Some of the routes whose flight operations were reduced include Vienna, Manchester, Kolkata, Zurich, Chengdu, Fukuoka, Xi'an, Cairo, Ahmedabad and Nagoya. The airline did commence services to South Africa with flights to Cape Town, Johannesburg, to name a few.

However, these services were also suspended following the cost-cutting plans. Malaysia Airlines has played a pivotal role in introducing the Kangaroo Route, which has direct connections to Australian and New Zealand destinations from Europe via Kuala Lumpur, in less than 5 hours. As of 2020, the airline caters to top cities such as Brisbane, Melbourne, Sydney, Phnom Penh, Beijing, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Chennai, Delhi, Kochi, Mumbai, Jakarta, Osaka, Kuala Lumpur, Langkawi, Penang, Kathmandu, Jeddah, Medina, Seoul, Colombo, Bangkok, London, Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, to name a few.

Why travel by Malaysia Airlines?

Malaysia Airlines has witnessed tremendous trials and tribulations over the years since it rebranded and became a new aviation entity. Despite all the concerns with respect to losses and debts, the airline continues to offer world-class facilities and amenities that manage to attract travellers to choose the said airline. Over the years, the airline has terminated a few of its international routes and domestic routes to accommodate better in-flight services and enhance the travel experience of the passengers.

Further, they have also started online booking facilities as well as ensured to keep their website up to date. Passengers can book a Malaysia Airlines ticket online without having to worry much as it is available on all travel portals. The airline's phenomenal connectivity with major Southeast Asian destinations has added to its reputation for being a sought-after choice to travel in the Asian continent. Plus, their newer and more comfortable international routes with direct flights have also put them on the map. Passengers can do web check-ins as well as get updates on the flight status. They can also get hold of Malaysia Airlines' flight schedule on their official website to help plan a trip.