Flymojo sees KK as an important hub: Masidi
Published on: Thursday, March 19, 2015
Kota Kinabalu: The jury is still out on whether the new Malaysia-owned airline flymojo will benefit Sabah although nobody is complaining that the airline is setting up shop here.Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Datuk Seri Masidi Manjun, when contacted on Wednesday, said he would comment on the issue only after the airline announced and officially launched its flight schedules."As it is, it is only a manifestation of intention (of making Kota Kinabalu as the airline's secondary base after Senai Airport in Johor Baru)," he said.ADVERTISEMENT Masidi was also cautious when commenting about the impact of another airline operating out of Sabah on the number of tourist arrivals to the State.However, he noted that flymojo sees Kota Kinabalu as an important hub or transit point for a viable route network for them.He said it is still too early to deliberate on the issue as the execution is yet to be seen despite the abundance of interest on the matter.Meanwhile, former Sabah Tourism Board (STB) Chairman Tengku Datuk Zainal Adlin welcomed the announcement by flymojo since 96 per cent of arrivals into Sabah is by air.ADVERTISEMENT "You must have direct non-stop connectivity to be a preferred destination of choice for tourists. So any airline that connects to Sabah is a bonus to us. "The key is connectivity whether by land or sea and that should of course be encouraged," he said.
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On Tuesday, it was announced that flymojo, run by Malaysian firm Flymojo Sdn Bhd, will be based out of Johor Baru and Kota Kinabalu, and is scheduled to start its operation in October this year.According to the firm's Managing Director Datuk Janardhanan Gopala Krishnan, the airline would initially service domestic routes in the country and regional routes within Asean.Explaining the rationale behind choosing Johor Baru and Kota Kinabalu as its bases, Janardhanan said it is because the southern and eastern corridors require the necessary infrastructure to support investments in both areas.Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
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He added that flymojo, a 100 per cent Malaysian company, is not going to be a budget or low-cost carrier.The company has already signed a deal with Canadian planemaker Bombardier Inc to buy 20 CS100 aircrafts for about RM5.44billion and will become the planemaker's first customer and operator of the CS100 aircraft in the region.