Turboprops plan for Sabah-S'wak routes
Published on: Saturday, January 31, 2015
Kuching: Turbo propellor aircraft might take over the MASwings' Sabah and Sarawak intra-routes from Malaysia Airlines Boeing 737 under the restructuring plan of the national air carrier.Khazanah as the owner of Malaysia Airlines together with the new CEO would make the decision by middle of this year, said MASwings Chief Executive Officer Capt. Ritzerwan Rashid."Malaysia Airlines prefers MASwings to handle the 737 jets route. We are waiting for approval from the Government. But the crossing flights (over South China Sea) will still be operated by Malaysia Airlines," he said, at a pre-launch Press conference of The New Beginning at Hilton, Thursday.
ADVERTISEMENT
Ritzerwan assured that whatever happened, MASwings "is here to stay."MASwings Chief Commercial Officer, Shauqi Ahmad said this year MASwings hoped to get 1.8 million passengers compared to 1.6 million last year more or less a 10 per cent increase.Ritzerwan asserted the increase was partially projected to MASwings taking over Malaysia Airlines routes in Sabah and Sarawak.Although the ATR-72 could only take up to 64 passengers at onetime, the frequency of flights is an important aspect, he said. "If you miss this flight you can catch the next one 30 minutes later," he said.
ADVERTISEMENT
On the programme that would be launched at the Kuching Waterfront here today (Friday), Ritzerwan said it was one of the ways for MASwings to express gratitude to the people of Sabah and Sarawak.For the past eight years, MASwings have carried 10 million passengers but the history goes back 40 years ago back during the Twin Otter and Fokker 50 eras, he said.
ADVERTISEMENT
The New Beginning would be officiated by both the Sarawak and Sabah Ministers of Tourism, Datuk Amar Abg Abd Rahman Zohari Tun Abg Hj Openg and Datuk Seri Masidi Manjun."This is a significant event because it is the first time that the Tourism ministers from both states are in Kuching to launch an event," said Ritzerwan.At the launching, MASwings will also unveil their new ground staff uniform with a new shade of green – the signature of growth and to mark the start of an enhanced customer service practice, embodying the Malaysian spirit. In conjunction with the celebration, MASwings is also offering X-FARES promotions with base fares from as low as RM21, to selected ATR domestic destinations.During this promotion, passengers travelling from Kuching will be able to enjoy all in one-way fares to Bintulu, Sibu Miri, Mulu and Kota Kinabalu from as low as RM80 and those travelling from Kota Kinabalu to Sandakan, Tawau, Lahad Datu and Labuan will also enjoy the same all in one-way fares from RM80 until June 23 this year with travel period Feb 6 until Jun 30.Travellers from Miri may also enjoy the same promotion to Kota Kinabalu, Kuching, Mulu and Labuan respectively. Shauqi said the fare was cheaper than the bus fare from Kuching to Bintulu.The RM21 base-fares are not inclusive of airport taxes, fuel and insurance charges, which start from RM59 one-way, and subject to MASwings terms and conditions. The above offers are also available through MASwings- Malaysia Airlines ticket offices."More people are travelling with us as our fares are becoming increasingly competitive, and guests traveling on these special fares will continue to enjoy all the services including refreshments on board, convenient schedules with more frequencies, on time departures, maximum 20kg baggage allowance for economy class and many other benefits. "We encourage travellers to visit and delight in the wonderful array of local destinations, and we urge customers to take advantage of this opportunity to plan their travel in advance to avoid disappointment."With the encouraging demand we are confident that the increase in flight frequency will help MASwings expand and build scale in its core domestic markets which played an important role to contribute to the economic growth of Sabah and Sarawak," said Ritzerwan.The MASwings event will last for two days from Jan 30 to 31 from 10am to 6pm and will feature fun-filled activities in conjunction with various bodies across tourism, aviation and much more industries. Visitors of the fair will be able to get first hand exclusive X-FARES promotion deals to any of the selected destinations within Sabah and Sarawak and stand a chance to win various merchandise giveaways by participating in the booth activities. Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
Daily Express Malaysia
