MAS unit to spread wings overseas

KOTA KINABALU: If everything goes according 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 on Thursday.

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 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 a 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.

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

Meanwhile, speaking on the 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 the 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 miles on any MASwings routes from as low as 6,750 Enrich miles (one way) and during the current promotion which ends on July 31, all members can earn double Enrich miles when they fly on MASwings eligible classes," Tengku Azmil said. - Bernama