Aeroline-Corus KLCC Agreement Ceases With Hotel Closure

By Thean Lee Cheng

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 18 (Bernama) -- After a 23-year journey together, the partnership between Aeroline and Corus Hotel KLCC has come to an end.

The hotel, about a 10-minute walk from the Petronas Twin Towers, will cease to operate today.

Malayan United Industries Bhd has sold the hotel and the 1.46 acres it sits on to Mah Sing group for RM260 million.

And with that, the conclusion of a 23-year exclusive agreement between the hotel and the coach company.

"Today's event is about a relationship that is unique and seldom seen elsewhere. It is a synergistic relationship between Aeroline and the hotel owner, the MUI Group," Zulco Sdn Bhd chief operating officer Law Cheok Gheen told Bernama yesterday at the “Journey to Family: A Chapter Written Together” event at Corus Hotel.

"This strategic relationship has lasted so long and we only wish it can continue," said Law, who manages and operates a fleet of 22 Aeroline coaches. He said the government has given Zulco a moratorium until Feb 18, 2026, but the hotel is shutting down.

"We have already applied to the government for an extension of time for the moratorium period to enable a smooth transition with the closure of the hotel," Law said, adding that Aeroline will use the CERES jewellery shoplet as a temporary measure as a drop off/pick-up point. 

He said Zulco operated from Pudu Raya and was just another bus operator back in the 1990s.

Law said the luxury coach services from Kuala Lumpur to Singapore took off in Corus Hotel KLCC in Jalan Ampang.

The business needed a pick-up/drop-off point that would be a win-win for the coach company, its passengers, most of them tourists, who needed accommodation and a hotel. 

"The Aeroline-Corus relationship helped to sell 7,000 room nights annually over the years on the back of 4.7 million passengers who used this Corus KLCC bus hub, excluding the COVID-19 pandemic years, " Law noted, adding that coach companies and the hospitality sector suffered during the COVID-19 years in 2020 and 2021 but the Corus hotel management continued to stand by them. “We became a family. That was when we realised that it is possible to have a family outside our family.”

MUI Group senior vice president Pel Loh said out of the 4.7 million passengers who used the hotel’s mini bus hub, an average 20 per cent roomed with them. "This Corus-Aeroline partnership turned out to be very convenient for passengers and hotel guests. It was a winning formula for Zulco, Corus and our guests," Loh added.

Loh recalled that the MUI Group had its reservations initially.

"But when we met the management, we wanted to give them a chance. The mascot - a man in executive suit carrying a briefcase on the run - was very telling. And true to form, they carried this concept in terms of quality service, a comfortable product and impeccable timing and this service was emulated by others.

"The person who flies a plane is called a captain, and Aeroline called their drivers, coach captains. Today, other services have emulated this concept. And they delivered guests to our doorstep with nine daily arrivals/departures seven days a week," said Loh.

With the hotel closure today, a new chapter begins for Aeroline and the ex-Corus Hotel staff.

-- BERNAMA