Malaysia Airlines today said it has launched code-sharing flights with Gulf Air on routes from Kuala Lumpur to Bahrain and Muscat under a plan to improve connections and expand its reach.

"We are very excited with this Gulf Air partnership. This is in line with our strategy of shifting from a point-to-point network to a hub-and-spoke connecting network," Malaysia Airlines' managing director Idris Jala said in a statement.

The two carriers last month inked the pact which allows Malaysia Airlines to market seats on Gulf Air flights between Kuala Lumpur and the Middle East destinations of Bahrain and Oman.

Malaysia, a predominantly Muslim country, has in recent years become a popular holiday destination for Middle Eastern tourists.

Code share partners

Idris also said that Malaysia Airlines was in discussions with other airlines to develop hub-and-spoke networks in South Africa, China, Europe and the United States.

Under the strategy, the struggling carrier flies to key destinations and then uses code share deals to ferry travellers onwards.

Malaysia Airlines has axed a number of domestic and international routes, some already plied by code share partners, and will cut its workforce by 6,000 employees over two years in an effort to improve its balance sheet.

It announced the turnaround plan after posting losses of RM498.2 million in the first half to June.

It hopes to be back in the black by 2007 and to achieve record profitability the following year.