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Pieter C.

MASwings Set To Fly To BIMP-EAGA

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Good news for East Malaysians! good.gif

 

Apart from that, he said MASwings would also explore the possibility of embarking on international flights from Sabah and Sarawak with immediate focus being on the Kota Kinabalu-Kuala Lumpur and Kuching-Kuala Lumpur sectors.

 

 

Hmm, BKI - KUL and KCH - KUL can't be international?! blink.gif

 

I really hope that Maswings will consider doing KCH-BWN. Even better BI should code-share with them on this sector... At the moment the 2x weekly flight operated by BI is just pathetic...

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Even with a stop in MULU I will still fly to BWN and onwards to elsewhere!

 

HC, KUL/PEN/BKI/JHB are all "International" when flying from KCH .

 

These flight Depart from Hall B, ANTARABANGSA...

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now huge competition at KCH/BKI-KUL route... :blink:

 

I can see that our Cikgu really want more connections to BWN. Hardcore supporter! Its a pity that no airline actually based in KCH. MH used to fly to Perth from Kuching.... :sorry: :sorry:

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Even with a stop in MULU I will still fly to BWN and onwards to elsewhere!

 

HC, KUL/PEN/BKI/JHB are all "International" when flying from KCH .

 

These flight Depart from Hall B, ANTARABANGSA...

 

What...BKI - KCH considered international ?.....

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What...BKI - KCH considered international ?.....

yes! other destinations outside Sarawak is considered international to avoid confusion. Flights within Sarawak such as Kuching-Miri, Kuching-Bintulu,Kuching-Sibu,etc is considered as "domestic" flights.

 

They were supposed to have that some times ago, even the flight schedule was on the website, but somehow withdrawn. Hopefully they could make it this time.

 

Btw, I thought Kuching - Mulu's route is operating now. And.. KCH/BKI to KUL? They need a bigger aircraft then...

they plan to extend the Kuching-Mulu route to Kuching-Mulu-Brunei

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Pardon my ignorance but what is there to see and do in BWN??? I wouldn't think it would be a particularly busy tourist destination and I really don't see that many business people flying there like you'd see with SIN, HKG, BKK or even KUL! :blink:

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Hmm, BKI - KUL and KCH - KUL can't be international?!

What...BKI - KCH considered international ?.....

Technically no, but they sure make it feel so at immigration control :D

 

 

Pardon my ignorance but what is there to see and do in BWN???

I think the Brunei tourism people would dearly love to know as well :D

But I think the excitement generated here is the potential for better connectivity with BWN and Royal Brunei as access to destinations beyond - that carrier can offer very very attractive fares :)

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Technically no, but they sure make it feel so at immigration control :D

 

 

 

I think the Brunei tourism people would dearly love to know as well :D

But I think the excitement generated here is the potential for better connectivity with BWN and Royal Brunei as access to destinations beyond - that carrier can offer very very attractive fares :)

I thought as much but I can understand the benefit of having better access to Royal Brunei and their international network. I always see them offering good fares. I've never been game enough to try them though... :nea:

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LOL-- You know I can always see maswings fly planes over Brunei... Sometimes when I jog at a park- Loud propeller engine can be heard - Look up the sky- A blue clour plane which I assume is maswing.. :drinks:

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Reading this and other thread about MH's Q1 Loss, am hoping that all these 'expansions' by MASwings and Firefly are being effected after careful evaluations of consumer needs and marketability of the new routes

Otherwise there will be the danger of things developing into yet another expensive 'syiok sendiri' exercise, at the end of which the parent will be down on her knees, yet again

Yeah, call me a pessimist, but MH already has a few of these boon-bust cycles under her belt already :rolleyes:

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Pardon my ignorance but what is there to see and do in BWN??? I wouldn't think it would be a particularly busy tourist destination and I really don't see that many business people flying there like you'd see with SIN, HKG, BKK or even KUL! :blink:

Brunei is actually not so bad as a tourism destination. And there are many business people flying to there especially in oil & gas industry.

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Reading this and other thread about MH's Q1 Loss, am hoping that all these 'expansions' by MASwings and Firefly are being effected after careful evaluations of consumer needs and marketability of the new routes

Otherwise there will be the danger of things developing into yet another expensive 'syiok sendiri' exercise, at the end of which the parent will be down on her knees, yet again

Yeah, call me a pessimist, but MH already has a few of these boon-bust cycles under her belt already :rolleyes:

Yes, they are adding capacity with Firefly and MASWings, but they are not reviewing the impact it has on MH services. So it can mean more losses...

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Brunei's tourism industry has much potential if they have comprehensive short and long term plan. However, so far from I've seen the Government is half baking the industry. Brunei lags behind its counterparts in SEA substantially.

 

The Brunei Tourism is parked under the Ministry of Industry and Primary Resources. This is one of the major hindrance to develop the tourism industry as other countries have their own Tourism Ministry, at least those of Malaysia and Singapore. With separate budget they have more financial resources to play around. In addition, there are lack of cohesive support among the ministry.

 

However, the Brunei Government is putting strong emphasis on tourism industry and other industries such as the methanol plant and SMEs, to shy away from reliant on oil and gas industry. This is a positive sign. :rolleyes: :rolleyes:

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KOTA KINABALU, July 14 (Bernama) -- If everything goes to plan, MASwings may start introducing its Kota Kinabalu-Bandar Seri Begawan (Brunei) route and Kuching-Pontianak (Indonesia) services in October.

 

This move will mark the airline's foray into international operations, in particular the Brunei-Indonesia-Malaysia-Philippines East Asean Growth Area (BIMP-EAGA) region.

 

MASwings Chairman Tengku Datuk Seri Azmil Zahruddin said the airline was currently awaiting approval from the Transport Ministry.

 

"The expansion to this region will position MASwings as a truly community airline not only for the people of Sabah and Sarawak, but for the entire community of Borneo and BIMP-EAGA," he said during the launch of MASwings-Enrich Frequent Flyer partnership programme here today.

 

MASwings, a fully-owned subsidiary of Malaysia Airlines, currently flies to 22 destinations within Sabah and Sarawak with a total fleet of 10 ATR 72-500 aircraft and four Twin Otter aircraft. It has over 1,300 staff.

 

Tengku Azmil who is also Malaysia Airlines Managing Director, said the latest move into BIMP-EAGA would transform MASwings into an international player competing with the rest of the other airlines in the same league.

 

"We are extremely confident of the prospect of our expansion plan to this region with a population close to 60 million and due to the rapid business development there," he added.

 

MASwings started in October 2007 with 450 flights per week. Presently, it operates close to 940 flights per week, representing a growth of more than 100 per cent over a three-and-a-half-year period.

 

"Our current on-time performance is 93.4 per cent, compared to the average on-time performance of 92.9 per cent in 2009 and 93 per cent in 2010.

 

"I am glad to state this is the best on-time peformance ever recorded by any airlines operating in Malaysia," Tengku Azmil said.

 

MASwings passengers have also increased dramatically from an average of 41,000 passengers per month in 2007 to 110,500 passengers per month to date, representing a growth of nearly 170 per cent.

 

Meanwhile on MASwings-Enrich Frequent Flyer programme, Tengku Azmil said Enrich members could now earn and redeem their Enrich Miles when flying on MASwings.

 

Enrich is Malaysia Airline's Frequent Flyer programme that recognises customer loyalty where members can earn and burn miles each time they purchase an eligible fare ticket and fly on Malaysia Airline or any of its airline partners.

 

Depending on class of travel, Enrich members can earn up to 140 per cent of Enrich miles.

 

"We are excited to share that all Enrich members now can redeem on any MASwings routes from as low as 6,750 Enrich miles (one way) and during the current promotion which ends on July 31, 2011, all members can earn double Enrich miles when they fly on MASwings eligible classes," Tengku Azmil said.

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Just wait...it had been talking about this for more than a year, let's hope that they can get these two routes soon enough from both side of the government (to fed the demand which sounds good)...and starts growing domestically and regionally...and just noticed that they changed the tagline to "Connecting Sabah and Sarawak to the world" instead of "Connecting the world to Sabah and Sarawak"...

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I'll believe it when it happens. last year, the schedules BKI to BWN were in the system, operating from Q4-10 operating daily...but never did happen.

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"Plans are also in the pipeline for other destinations within BIMP-EAGA region and we hope to provide flight services from Sabah and Sarawak to major cities such as Palawan and Mindanao in Southern Philippines as well as Manado in Sulawesi, Indonesia, in the future," he said.

 

Believe using CRJ/ERJ for these destinations is more viable.

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MASWings should remain focussed on what it was meant for when it was peeled off from the parent - the 'impossible to make a profit' Rural Air Services :)

One of the justifications stated then was need for financial accountability so that gahmen can know how much money to pour in every year

So now with these new forays, things will likely get blurred once again. And we all know where that will lead to eventually ..... :D

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MASWings should remain focussed on what it was meant for when it was peeled off from the parent - the 'impossible to make a profit' Rural Air Services :)

One of the justifications stated then was need for financial accountability so that gahmen can know how much money to pour in every year

So now with these new forays, things will likely get blurred once again. And we all know where that will lead to eventually ..... :D

I think that since the introduction of the ATR-72s business has boomed and they are now making money. Their fares are not cheap either. So I guess that is why they have renewed confidence.

 

Yes, I agree that if they plan to venture into other areas of general aviation, they should seperate the RAS entity (which will seldom, if ever, be profitable) from their full scale commercial operations.

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Believe using CRJ/ERJ for these destinations is more viable.

 

No longer so these days with the high fuel prices. Props are making a comeback.

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flee, to me compared to F50 days; their monthly sales fares are cheap enough (not the 50% one), can't demand for more...initial operations are really high rates...plus now high paying customers can get Enrich miles already, as contrast to nothing previously...so conclusion is more affordable and valuable for the money spent to get a ticket on them...

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KOTA KINABALU: MASwings’ expansion into the international scene is on track with the airline starting its Kota Kinabalu-Bandar Seri Begawan route on Oct 1.

 

MASwings regional vice-president (Sabah) Shauqi Ahmad said everything was progressing well, adding that the airline would fly the Kuching-Pontianak and Kuching-Bandar Seri Begawan routes thereafter.

 

“We are ready and will go international by Oct 1,” he said.

 

He said that after gauging the response to the new flights, which was expected to be encouraging, the wholly-owned subsidiary of national carrier Malaysia Airlines (MAS) will consider flying throughout Borneo and the Philippines.

 

“We will start with Tarakan (in East Kalimantan) and then the rest of Borneo,” he said after a prize presentation to MASwings’ and MAS’ self check-in kiosk promotion winners here yesterday.

 

Shauqi said the airline would also consider growing its current fleet of 10 ATR72-500s if business picked up.

 

Earlier, he said more passengers were warming up to kiosk check-ins, adding that six kiosks had been installed in the Kota Kinabalu and Kuching airports.

 

Source : http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=%2F2011%2F8%2F11%2Fnation%2F9276234&sec=nation

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