CH Teo

Regional players jumping on the BIMP-EAGA air connectivity bandwagon KUCHING: With the concluded memorandum of understanding (MoU) on ‘Expansion of Air Linkages’ between the governments of Brunei Darussalam, Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines under the BIMP-EAGA cooperation initiative, MASwings is set to create a niche in the hotly contested air routes competition. Back in January 2007, the respective governments of the BIMP-EAGA signed a MoU at Cebu City, the Philippines, that facilitated the Fifth Freedom Traffic Right (FFTR) airports in the East Asean Growth Area (EAGA) countries to cater for EAGA carriers. The FFTR arrangements allowed an air carrier of one EAGA member country to pick up traffic in the territory of the other EAGA member country and carry it to a third EAGA member coutry as part of the service to/from the home country of the operating carrier. The MoU thrust BIMP-EAGA air services into a whole new scenario – an ‘open sky’ era since then. “Given the fact that the federal government had given a ‘green light’ for MASwings expansion, this will be the stepping stone for the airline to expand,” BIMP-EAGA ‘Equator Asia’ head (Malaysia Chapter) Datuk Wee Hong Seng told The Borneo Post in an interview. Most industry players highlighted the need for MASwings to first, facilitate the BIMP-EAGA region before eyeing other international routes such as Bangkok, Hong Kong, Australia and so forth. “The ‘Open Sky Policy’ will pave the way for airline operations in the region to connect the dots throughout the sub-region,” he added. ast month, MASwings chief executive officer (CEO) Datuk Captain Mohd Nawawi Awang had also expressed his hope to launch the first phase of its BIMP-EAGA operations by early next year. He further stressed that MASwings had recorded many remarkable achievements, particularly in terms of passenger numbers. The rural-service airline marked an increase of passengers from 45,000 per month in 2007 to 130,000 per month this year, representing a three-fold increase or equivalent to a 300 per cent hike and it currently operates more than 950 flights per week. According to Wee, the BIMP-EAGA MoU allowed designated airline(s) of each participating party to operate with ‘no limitation on third and fourth traffic rights’ and also ‘no limitation on FFTR’, which meant it could operate scheduled and chartered international air services for carriage of passengers, baggage, cargo and mail, separately or in combination between points. The designated points are Bandar Seri Begawan in Brunei; Balikpapan, Manado, Pontianak and Tarakan in Indonesia; Kota Kinabalu, Kuching, Labuan and Miri in Malaysia, and Davao City, General Santos, Puerto Princesa and Zamboanga in the Philippines. On the tourism front, Wee further pointed out that tourism products as well as pristine landscape would be the best selling point for Sabah and Sarawak given that both states were at the core of the Coral Triangle area, where the richest coral reef fish diversity and also the largest rainforest reserve can be found. “With the full support that MASwings has from the BIMP-EAGA cooperation and with the ‘soft parts’ arrangement that are already in place, it should transform into a fully fledged regional airline and expand the tourism businesses here in Sabah and Sarawak,” stressed Wee. MASwings was required to acquire at least four jetliners in order to fulfill the requirement of being a regional airline. It currently owns 10 ATR 72-500 and four DHC-6 Twin Otters. MASwings when contacted said it had yet to receive any letter or request from the ministry. While MASwings was endeavouring to capatalise on the open sky policy, other regional players were also looking at the sub-regional landscape with a magnifying glass to further make their presence felt as early players. AirAsia co-founder and CEO Tan Sri Tony Fernandes recently highlighted to The Borneo Post the company’s plans to commence a Kuching-Bangkok route, which was currently at the ‘waiting for approval’ stage. “We are also looking at restarting the Kuching-Jakarta route,” he added. He pinpointed the need of having LCC terminals (LCCTs) to connect Borneo to major hubs in Asean such as Thailand, Indonesia and Singapore. In order to make it work, he said LCCTs were needed in Kuching as well as Kota Kinabalu. Earlier this year, the Sarawak government had offered a piece of land, which was adjacent to the Kuching International Airport, for AirAsia to build a dedicated LCCT. However, the latest airport tax hike by Malaysia Airport Holdings Bhd might impact the justification by AirAsia to build its terminal here. On the international front, low-cost carrier Cebu Pacific Air of the Philippines had also expressed its interest to expand its international routes in Malaysia by making Kuching its next stop after Kuala Lumpur and Kota Kinabalu. “Borneo (Sabah and Sarawak) has such a big land mass that air connectivity is crucial not only to the local community but also to international tourists visiting our nature and cultural destinations not found anywhere else,” Sabah Tourists Association immediate past chairman Len P Liew responded in an email interview. “The priority should be on promoting Sabah and Sarawak and should not entirely depend on the policies of airline companies and the routes that are lucrative. Perhaps it is time to explore the possibility of creating a domestic cum regional airline solely dedicated to the BIMP-EAGA region,” he said. Len urged the state government to consider this as another option if MASwings and the existing airlines could not make this happen. “We are hoping that the state governments of both Sabah and Sarawak will consider establishing a new airline together. Maybe calling it ‘Borneo Airlines’ perhaps,” he added. Sarawak Tourism Federation president Audry Wan Ullok concurred by saying, “In principle, the BIMP-EAGA countries have agreed but now it is down to the ‘nuts and bolts’ and the approvals of the related authorities. If it is realised, this will definitely boost the economy in both states.” “The private sector is very happy with the news and will support the decision taken by the governments. With greater connectivity and accessibility, I believe the future for both Sarawak and Sabah will be bright,” she concluded. Within the BIMP-EAGA region, there was a massive population base of more than 60 million, covering an area of 1.56 million square kilometres. Considering the vast tracks of unexplored routes, it augured well for the region to ‘get cracking’ and connect the dots. “Imagine the lucrative returns that can be captured from these unexplored regional connections and the massive amount of investments and income that will flow into the economy. My question is, why wait?,” Wee concluded. Read more: http://www.theborneopost.com/2011/12/05/open-sky-competition-heating-up/#ixzz1fehLkLhy MASwings to begin flying within BIMP-EAGA in February KUCHING: MASwings has been given the green light to fly within the BIMP-EAGA region early next year. Transport Deputy Minister Datuk Abdul Rahim Bakri said the Cabinet had approved MASwings’ application to expand its service to Brunei, Pontianak in Kalimantan, Indonesia and Davao in Southern Philippines. “The flights will start in February. I was told that they are planning to fly from Kuching to Pontianak, Kuching to Brunei, and Kuching to Kota Kinabalu, Tawau and Davao,” he told a press conference at Kuching International Airport yesterday. Following the latest greenlight, MASwings, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Malaysia Airlines (MAS), is expected to fly the Bandar Seri Begawan-Davao City-Tarakan-Balikpapan (both in Kalimantan) sector from Kota Kinabalu and Kuching. Abdul Rahim believed MASwings’ flights within BIMP-EAGA region would enhance commerce, trade and tourism for Sabah and Sarawak. “MASwings ATR 72-500, which can accommodate about 70 passengers, are more suitable and efficient to serve this (BIMP-EAGA) region than if the sector is operated by bigger aircraft,” he added. He said the Federal Government was fully committed to Sabah and Sarawak, especially in providing air connectivity. He noted that the Government was paying RM150mil to MASwings in subsidy for the airline to operate the rural air services in Sabah and Sarawak. “We subsidise MASwings’ flights to remote areas even if there is no passenger,” he said. The recent share swap between MAS and AirAsia had created a lot uncertainty and anxiety among the state’s tourism players. With the termination of Firefly flights to Kuching from Kuala Lumpur (seven times daily) and Johor (twice daily), accessibility to Sarawak has been adversely affected despite the favourable load factor of at least 90% . The Sarawak Government had asked its federal counterpart to consider positioning MASwings as a regional airline after budget airline Firefly ceased operations between Peninsular Malaysia and Kuching in October. All four countries in the BIMP-EAGA grouping had agreed to discuss ways to improve air connectivity in the region after the conclusion of the BIMP-EAGA ministerial meeting in Cagayan De Oro in the Philippines recently. On aircraft movements at the Kuching International Airport between January and September, Abdul Rahim said flight landings and departures increased by 19.28 per cent to 39,984 from 31,844 last year. Till September, flights to domestic destinations rose by 19.46 per cent while international flights by 17.71 per cent, he said. Sources: http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2011/12/5/sarawak/10032873&sec=sarawak

Haha, is about Kuching to Melaka and reverse direction lah, to KUL if by turboprop is definitely 2 hours and more...

True also, but delivery flights not much loads...Melaka to Kuching and vv on ATR 72 should be ok, they said around 1 hour or plus...

From what I know and read about before it's about 2.5 to 3 hours flight time the longest non-stop; well, your last sentence comment above it's quite true...

Yea, I understand that...I thought you are talking about between KCH and MKZ? still reachable I think as long as it is around 2 hours plus the maximum...

An ATR 72 can do that, one hour plus only...FY did use ATR 72 for Subang-Koh Samui and vv which last about 2 hours non-stop...

Haha, I also wanders why MH spent the money on repainting it to old livery...funny...

Supposing the proposal by Sarawak government comes true and the long planned BIMP-EAGA region services also materialised; I don't see that they can grow the destinations without growing the fleets of 10 ATR 72, larger or not I am not sure, but in terms of numbers, they MUST grow in order to support the proposed growth in routes...

You mean the aircraft that is doing those flights mentioned? It's B737-800 already, but believed MH sent those previous FY birds...

Read more here: http://www.airasia.com/my/en/flightinfo/redcarpet.page 100 bucks is pretty high actually...Anyone been to LCCT Premium Lounge before??

Let's just wait and see, whether it is free publicity or for real East Malaysian benefits...seems more and more turmoil being seen with so many "speculation" after the share swap...and yet the CCF had not come out yet...

Malaysia Airlines: Firefly ATR 72 operations to remains PETALING JAYA (Nov 25, 2011): Malaysia Airlines (MAS) said Firefly will remain an integral part of the group and that it remains committed to ensuring the continuation of the community airline's turboprop operations. The national carrier was responding to theSun's report yesterday which had questioned the future of Firefly following the resignation of its managing director on Tuesday. "MAS wishes to put on record that the group strongly believes in the Firefly brand and has on many occasions made clear our intention to maintain Firefly's turboprop operations as an integral part of the group. This was in fact reinforced most recently in our statement issued on Wednesday with respect to the appointment of Ignatius Ong Ming Choy as Firefly's new chief operating officer," MAS said in a statement issued late last night. "The group is very committed to ensuring the continuation of Firefly's award-winning and highly popular turboprop operations, which offer consumers a niche product providing point-to-point connectivity to up to 18 destinations in Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia and Thailand," it added. MAS also said the suggestion that Firefly's turboprop operations offer a "second class" service was "unfair and uncalled for" and "flies in the face of all the customers served by the airline". "With the implementation of the service segregation strategy, announced last month, Firefly turboprop, a profitable company, is in fact being expanded through the delivery of new aircraft, allowing the airline to diversify the range and frequencies of services offered," said the carrier. "We have expressed our sincere gratitude to (Firefly former MD) Datuk Eddy Leong Chin Tung for his dedicated service to the MAS Group and recognise his indisputable success in building such a strong brand and airline. "His departure, however, does not in any way infer, as your report suggests, that Firefly's turboprop operations, air services licence or brand are 'in limbo'," MAS told theSun. Sources: http://www.thesundaily.my/news/220282

Philippine Department of Tourism targets tourism boost in East Malaysia KUCHING: The Philippine Department of Tourism is seeking to boost tourism in the country, with particular focus on East Malaysia as this region is geographically closer to the Philippines. Outlining the measures being taken by the department, director and group head of North America and Asia-Pacific region Maria Corazon Jorda-Apo revealed, “Last year, 79,694 Malaysians visited the Philippines. This is the highest visitor arrivals figure on record. “The figure for the first nine months (January to September) of this year is about 69,000 arrivals, representing 18 per cent growth when compared with the same period last year. “We project the number of arrivals to hit 85,000 which will be another record high,” she said confidently at the first ever Philippine tourism roadshow in East Malaysia, held here yesterday. She said that the department had actively promoted Philippine tourism products in West Malaysia but was now ‘drumming up’ more promotional activities in East Malaysia. Malaysia is among the Philippines’ top 12 sources of foreign visitors for the past five years. With the growing trend of regional travel and the emergence of more budget carriers servicing the region, the Philippines is looking at getting more tourists from East Malaysia. East Malaysia is geographically closer to the Philippines, with a flight from Kota Kinabalu to Manila taking two hours whereas a flight from Kuala Lumpur to Manila would take three hours and 45 minutes. This closer proximity provided shorter travel time and lower flight cost, adding the value of tourism for East Malaysians. Manila, the main gateway to the Philippines, is currently augmented by a secondary gateway in Cebu City with both providing access to key cities in Asia. The destination presently being used by AirAsia to operate flights linking Kota Kinabalu and the Philippines is Clark Airport (70 kilometres from Manila) which was the third gateway in the country. Cebu Pacific Air, one of the two flag carriers of the country is currently looking at the potential of Kuching to be part of its regional routes opening more opportunities for East Malaysians to travel to the Philippines as well as Filipinos travelling to Sarawak. The Philippine product presentation was attended by some 50 travel agents from Kuching who learned about the top tourist destinations in the Philippines, namely, Manila, Cebu, Bohol, Boracay and Palawan. Joining forces with the Philippine Department of Tourism were representatives from nine private sector companies, namely Image Travel Corporation, Happy Travel, Pan Pacific Travel, Shroff Travel, Marco Polo Cebu, Resorts World Manila, Waterfront Hotel and Casino Cebu, Waterfront Insular Hotel Davao, and Cebu Pacific Air. Read more: http://www.theborneopost.com/2011/11/25/philippine-department-of-tourism-targets-tourism-boost-in-east-malaysia/#ixzz1egsrsi1W Read more: http://www.theborneopost.com/2011/11/25/philippine-department-of-tourism-targets-tourism-boost-in-east-malaysia/#ixzz1egsmDdPj

More updates on turning MASwings as regional arm's for Malaysia Airlines: 1) MASwings needs bigger fleet to make international flights a reality KUCHING: For Malaysia Airlines subsidiary MASwings to be a regional airline according to the Sarawak government’s intentions, then it will need at least four jet aircraft. MASwings presently only has turbo propeller planes and operates the rural air services segment in Sarawak and Sabah. But last Monday, it received the green light from federal decision makers to fly international destinations. State Tourism Minister Datuk Amar Abang Johari Tun Openg, who was addressing the lack of air connectivity to Sarawak during a press conference here yesterday, said MASwings needed a bigger fleet. Although he was pleased MASwings would commence its Pontianak-Kuching-Brunei flights next January, he said MASwings ought to also take up routes to Singapore and Hong Kong. The two hubs, Johari said, were key to European travellers and those from the US. “From the US, their transit points are Hong Kong and Tokyo. For Europeans, their transit is usually Singapore. We are right in the middle of all those places. We need to be connected to those hubs,” Johari told reporters. Johari said MAS was plagued by “problems at the moment”. “In my personal opinion, MAS should concentrate on international routes, and then leave domestic and closer regional routes to other carriers, like MASwings.” Johari added that MAS needed to have more “lean” expenditure. Sarawak’s air connectivity has been a perennial problem, which was made worse when another MAS subsidiary, Firefly, began cancelling routes between the state and Peninsular Malaysia recently. The move left tourism players statewide fuming with the about-turn, as Firefly had been promising continuity and further expansion in Sarawak. Firefly’s unexpected pullout was the result of a massive flight rationalisation exercise between MAS and AirAsia. That exercise was the result of a shareswap deal, announced in August, after MAS posted woeful financial results. Sources: http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2011/11/25/sarawak/9972298&sec=sarawak 2) Firefly flight stoppage creates opportunities for MASwings KUCHING: The stoppage of FlyFirefly Sdn Bhd (Firefly) flight linkage to East Malaysia since last month has created futher growth opportunities for MASwings Sdn Bhd (MASwings), although there is no confirmation yet from its parent company, Malaysia Airlines Systems Bhd (MAS). Market speculation was rife that MASwings would be the regional airline carrier for East Malaysia, serving Sabah and Sarawak, and at the same time, facilitating the Brunei-Indonesia-Malaysia-Philippines East Asean Area (BIMP-Eaga) regions. However, Sarawak Tourism Minister Datuk Amar Abang Johari Openg said it was still too early to conclude anything yet but definitely, with more shares, the state would have better say in the running of MASwings in its operations. “As a regional airline, MASwings will have to fly to Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Bangkok and Hong Kong. These are important hubs in the region. “But first, it must acquire at least four jetliners before it can start operating as a regional airline,” he said recently. MAS’s senior employee who preferred to remain anonymous said, “This is all about coping with changes in the aviation industry. The cancellation that we are seeing today is part and parcel of day to day operations. We were informed that there are still some discussions going on between the airlines. “What matters most is not so much the frequency of the aircraft, it is about filling up the slots throughout the day. There is no point having four to five airlines operating between the same desinations and yet the slots are back to back. It is better to have lesser frequency but well spread throughout the day,” he added. Firefly started its flight linkage to the East Malaysian market early this year on January 15, having two flights daily from Kuala Lumpur to Kuching and Kota Kinabalu. Not reaching a year of service, after the share swap between AirAsia Bhd and MAS, Firefly halted its flight services to Sarawak and Sabah. More question marks arose when the resignation news of Firefly chief executive officer (CEO) Datuk Eddy Leong became public. It was later confirmed by MAS group CEO Ahmad Jauhari Yahya that Leong would be replaced by Ignatius Ong Ming Choy as chief operating officer (COO) of its short-haul operations effective December 10, Leong would remain in the MAS Group until December 31, and would be joining Destination Resorts and Hotels, a unit of Khazanah Nasional Bhd as COO, it said in a recent statement. According to a recent news reports, there were speculations that Firefly could cease to exist by April next year. Read more: http://www.theborneopost.com/2011/11/25/firefly-flight-stoppage-creates-opportunities-for-maswings/#ixzz1egraeuW0 Comments:- Sit back, relax and see whether it becomes reality or just mere talking...Hopefully it will turn out positively for East Malaysians...

Oh please, no more A320; Air Asia already had plenty (in fact a lot counting those pending one), however, A318/319/321 should be good enough...or even E-Jets...

We can only hope for good dishes from them, definitely got some forces from politicians and others already since they planned to change the stakeholders...Pray for upwards and not downwards... Seconded.

Title: Sabah, Sarawak to be major shareholders of MASwings PETALING JAYA (Nov 23, 2011): Sabah and Sarawak state governments will be the major shareholders of MasWings when the airline becomes a regional airline. Aviation industry sources told theSun yesterday that the several prominent businessmen from both states have also agreed to buy stakes in the airline which was expected to be relaunched by the middle of next year. The sources however said that the both state governments will continue to hold a major share of the new airline to ensure that the service would not suffer to 'whims and fancies of the owners". The sources said negotiations were being conducted and were expected to be made public soon. It was learnt that the plans for the new airline was put in motion after Malaysia Airlines took over the jet service of its subsidiary, Firefly, last month. The takeover meant Firefly no longer services Sabah and Sarawak, handing back the low fare sector to Air Asia. Sources told theSun, the decision to end the Firefly service was taken poorly by the people in Sabah and Sarawak, prompting both state governments to lobby Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak to acquire MasWings. It was learnt that negotiations were being carried to wet-lease at four narrow body jets so the airline could start servicing the Sabah/Sarawak to peninsula route soon. (The wet lease of an aircraft is an arrangement whereby the lessor provides at least some crew, maintenance and fuel.) Initially it was planned that the airline was to make two daily flights from both Kuching and Kota Kinabalu to Kuala Lumpur. Other routes for the airline may include KK to Tawau, Kuching to Bintulu/Miri and Kuching to KK. The airline may also lease turbo-props planes to add to the six ATR-72s turbo-props already operated by MASWings for flights in both states. Meanwhile, in Kuching, Sarawak Tourism Minister Datuk Amar Abang Johari Openg confirmed that the state may become the major shareholder of the airline. "At this moment, it is still too premature to say much, but definitely, we will have something in mind," he told reporters when launching the Sarawak Tourism Calender for 2012 at the Media Room of the State Legislative Assembly. He said with more shares, the State would have better say in the running of MasWings in its operations. Abang Johari said if all goes according to plan, MasWings will start operating as a regional airline next year. "But first, it must acquire at least four jetliners before it can start operating at a regional airline," he said, adding that currently MASWings is operating a fleet of ATR turbo-prop aircraft. "As a regional airline, MASWings will have to fly to Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Bangkok and Hong Kong. These are important hubs in the region," he added when asked to elaborate on his statement when winding up the debate in the State Legislative Assembly today. On the Sarawak Tourism Calender, Abang Johari said that his ministry will organise a series of events next year as a prelude to the state's 50th anniversary in the formation of Malaysia. "We have declared the year 2013 as a special year to mark the 50th anniversary," he said. "Events and festivals will be our major attraction to entice immediate arrivals into the state," he added. Looks like they are really cooking up something for an interesting future, let's see what are the "dishes" that came out finally...Nicely drawn from the above I must say... Sources: http://www.thesundaily.my/news/218586

Being a East Malaysian, this is much welcomed (But how high are the probability for them to operate Jets?). But the question is that if this is really the plans after receiving much rants from the states tourism players, might as well just repainted the planes in MASwings colours and offer full services directly...

OK, but do domestic sectors using the same accruals charts? That's the burning question that I am looking for answers...

Never heard, it says working as charter company registered in Malaysia; more here: http://www.eaglexpressair.com/index.html

The exchange rate for flights are 100 biggies for RM 1 (I checked and did the calculations already), so meaning spending RM 200 on VISA, you get RM 1 back if you redeem flights later...

KUALA LUMPUR: AirAsia hopes to bolster sales by another 500 million ringgit ($160 million) annually with the launch of a passenger rewards program. Fernandes said the ``BIG'' scheme would help fill up an average 20 percent of seats on AirAsia flights that are unsold. He said the loyalty card would also double as a prepaid debit card with a tie-up with VISA. Members earn points when traveling and shopping, and can redeem those points for free air tickets and other rewards, he said. ``It's a great way to get more people to fly. From 2012, this will generate (an additional) 500 million ringgit in sales,'' he told a news conference. AirAsia hopes to attract 1 million loyalty members by mid-2012, officials said. The launch of the program comes as AirAsia and other airlines face pressure from soaring fuel costs. AirAsia reported a 48 percent drop in net profit to 104.3 million ringgit ($33 million) in the quarter through June. Fernandes said results for the quarter through September, to be released next week, would be ``very strong.'' He said AirAsia wasn't affected by the severe flooding in Thailand and that there was still a huge appetite for low-cost travel in Asia despite the weak global economy. AirAsia expects to benefit from an alliance with national carrier Malaysia Airlines in August through a share swap deal to end their long rivalry. Under the deal, Malaysia Airlines will focus on the premium market and cede low-cost routes to AirAsia. Sources:- http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/international-business/airasia-launches-loyalty-scheme-to-boost-sales/articleshow/10727083.cms

KUALA LUMPUR (AFP) - AirAsia chief Tony Fernandes revealed on Monday his plans to start a new super-premium regional airline in partnership with national carrier Malaysia Airlines. 'Here is another idea that has come out of AirAsia which will create more more value, more jobs and more business. 'If an idea like this does materialise... it will definitely involve Malaysia Airlines,' he told reporters. Mr Fernandes said the proposed short-haul carrier would cater largely to business travellers, among others, who need to travel across the region quickly. Sources:- http://www.straitstimes.com/BreakingNews/Money/Story/STIStory_733822.html

I like this one, turning too many times around maybe bringing someone back to the original point...

The flights redemption function is out, are you happy with the redemption rates required??