MASWING MAY OPERATE LONG HAUL AIRCRAFT

MASwings may operate long haul aircraft

KOTA KINABALU Feb 4, 2012: If the expansion of MASwings’ services is successful, there is a need for the federal government to seriously consider allowing MASwings to operate jet aircraft that can fly longer.

Minister of Tourism, Culture and Environment Datuk Masidi Manjun said this during the MASwings Brunei Nite here on Thursday.

He said with the inaugural flight to Bandar Seri Begawan on Feb 1, there is hope that people from Brunei-Indonesia-Malaysia-Philippines East Asean Growth Area (BIMP-EAGA) could travel easier by air.

He said it could be a medium to strengthen relationships among the people in the BIMP-EAGA region.

When asked on MASwings’ new route, he said it would be good based on the marketing plan done by the airline.

He said when an airline starts a new destination, it must be complemented with a good marketing strategy and he assumes that MASwings was ready with their marketing plan when they decided to fly to Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei.

“With a smaller aircraft, MASwings could probably land on smaller airfields in future. Now the flight is only from Kota Kinabalu-Bandar Seri Begawan-Kota Kinabalu, but perhaps in the future, if there is demand to land at the other parts of the state, they can do it.

“It is not a short term effort. If we are talking about passenger load and benefit, I think we have to look medium and long term,” he said.

Commenting on MASwings’ confidence on the Kota Kinabalu-Bandar Seri Begawan route compared to that of Kuching-Bandar Seri Begawan, Masidi said the important thing was to look at the spin-offs that could benefit both regions.

“It is not the issue of more Bruneians or Sabahans coming here and there, it is more on the amount of money that is being spent at the respective regions. The spin-off is the benefit,” he said.

Earlier, Masidi expressed his gratitude to MASwings and the Brunei government for their initiative to complete the air links between Brunei and Sabah.

He said he always believed in the potentials of airlines.

Although there are Airasia and Malaysia Airlines, he believes that there must be an airline dedicated to serve the interest of Sabah and Sarawak and also parts of Kalimantan.

MASwings might be new but he said he always saw things positively.

“When they are new, they have fresh challenges and they know how to overcome these challenges.”

Masidi said on behalf of the Sabah government he would like to express his gratitude to the Brunei government for allowing MASwings to fly to their country.

“We hope that perhaps in the not too distant future, MASwings can collaborate with Royal Brunei to improve the tourism industry in Sabah.

“As we have a good relationship with Brunei, it can be a foundation for future cooperation in other aspects of development within these regions, particularly within Sabah and Brunei,” he said.

Masidi also said that with the steady increase of Indonesian arrivals to Sabah by air, there was a need for MASwings to expand its services to other parts of Indonesia like Balik Papan and probably to Makassar.

In response to Masidi, MASwings chief executive officer Datuk Captain Mohd Nawawi Awang said if the first phase of the three destinations to BIMP-EAGA were successful, they would look into other destinations, like Balik Papan, Makassar and maybe the Southern Philippines.

Nawawi said MASwings’ promotional strategy was to showcase the mystery of Borneo to the rest of the world.

“MASwings has a lot to contribute to BIMP-EAGA in terms of tourism. Eco-tourism has large potentials in Borneo, particularly Brunei, Sabah and Sarawak where they are blessed with a diverse range of natural attractions, marine biodiversities and world heritage sites which are parallel to the world’s best.

“With our new network expansion, we will be able to offer customers even faster and hassle-free connections to many exotic leisure destinations and business cities across Borneo and beyond on both MASwings and Malaysia Airlines flights.

“Customers would also benefit from the full range of MASwings services such as an inflight service, lounge access for eligible members and seamless baggage transfers and connection to other MASwings or Malaysia Airlines destinations,” he said.