SARAWAK Chief Minister Abang Johari Openg’s six-year dream for the state to have its own airline could become a reality – that is if his Gabungan Parti Sarawak is returned to power.

Abang Johari said a “boutique” carrier will be formed with leased aircraft.

He did not say how many aircraft were planned but in his press conference later he said the aircraft would be 100- to 120-seaters, mentioning Canadian-built Bombardier CRJ series regional jets as a possible type.

From reports on his earlier proposal, the airline would have a mix of medium-haul jet aircraft to fly out of the Kuching International Airport to regional hubs like Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Bangkok, Manila, Jakarta, Hong Kong and short take and landing (STOL) aircraft on feeder routes like Bebuling, Kapit and Lawas.

The airline would be a unit of the state-owned air charter company Hornbill Skyway.

Making the carrier a unit of Hornbill would render its registration easier, utilising Hornbill’s aviation registration, Abang Johari said.

He said the airline also fits into Hornbill’s plan to expand its air charter services.

“We bring in the tourists ourselves. We need not be reliant on other airlines,” he said at a ground-breaking ceremony for the new RM108.16 million Bebuling STOL airport in Spaoh, Betong today.

He also said tourists prefer flying point-to-point rather than having to transit and the hassles that go with it.

The chief minister said he has done his calculations on the cost of running their own carrier and that “it would not be a financial burden to the state”.

Abang Johari’s dream for the state to have its own airline goes way back to 2015 when he was the tourism minister.

He had proposed to the state cabinet that Sarawak and Sabah buy out the then money-bleeding MasWings and turn it into a regional carrier to improve the state’s air connectivity.

It was a proposal that the Sabah government agreed to.

However, Malaysia Airlines Berhad, MasWings’ parent company, reportedly shot down the plan after finding out that the proposed takeover was not to bail out the rural service provider but turn it into a regional carrier, which could provide competition to MAS. – November 30, 2021.