Kuala Lumpur, 12.07.2012 - Malaysia Airlines has teamed up with PayPal to become the first airline in Southeast Asia providing faster and safer mobile payments in as little as two clicks on any Internet-connected mobile device.

The national carrier’s MHmobile app and flymas.mobi mobile site now accept PayPal for all its domestic flights and from Malaysia to its international destinations, booked from anywhere in the world.

As an extension of this convenience, PayPal’s mobile checkout experience for Malaysia Airlines flights from other areas will be rolled out in phases in the near future.

In conjunction with the launch of this improved customer experience option, Malaysia Airlines’ Enrich will be rewarding its loyalty programme members with 500 Enrich miles per transaction made using PayPal on mobile devices from 5 July 2012 to 5 October 2012. To commemorate this launch, Malaysia Airlines is offering promotional all-in fares from as low as RM150 for Malaysian domestic travel and starting fares of RM340 for ASEAN destinations. Customers may start booking from 5 July 2012 – 8 July 2012 for travel from 5 July 2012 – 31 October 2012 to enjoy these offers, which are not restricted to PayPal users but open to all.

The phenomenal growth of smartphones and the mobile commerce market in Malaysia and worldwide brought about this decision by Malaysia Airlines. In 2011, Malaysia Airlines saw an increase of 500% in average daily bookings via MHmobile.

According to the recent PayPal Mobile Shopping Insights 2011 study, the mobile commerce market in Malaysia grew from RM101 million in 2010 to RM467 million in 2011, representing more than a 370% jump in just one year. The mobile commerce market is also forecasted to grow more than seven times to reach RM3.43 billion in 2015. There were 642,770 Malaysians who made a purchase through a mobile device in 2011 and the median spend increased to RM500 per mobile shopper in 2011.

Booking of airline tickets was in the top five mobile shopping categories for Malaysians worth RM32 million in total mobile transactions in 2011. More importantly, airline ticket booking is a top three category for future purchases on smartphones. Quelle: ftnnews.com