Monday, September 12, 2011

Support for MASwings’ Sarawak-Brunei initiative

KUCHING: BIMP-EAGA Malaysia Tourism Council is keen to see MASwings ply the Sarawak-Brunei route because the oil-rich sultanate could serve as another gateway into the state.

Its chairman Datuk Wee Hong Seng said the council would write to the Ministry of Transport to urge it to give MASwings the green light to start this service.

“I do not see any reason for not approving it since MASwings wants to fly the route,” he told reporters after opening the celebration of Pa Sien Kung’s birthday at King’s Centre here on Saturday.

The former president of Sarawak Tourism Federation asserted that any connectivity to the state “is a plus point” for the tourism market.

“If MASwings is willing to fly, why hold it back? It is not difficult for the Ministry of Transport to sort things out if the issue is for MASwings (to only) operate rural air services.

“I do not think it has something to do with the open sky policy. What matters is that over 100 seats can be easily filled if MASwings serves the route.”

Wee said the council supported MASwings to fly not only Kuching-Brunei but also Kuching-Jakarta and Kota Kinabalu-Brunei.

If this materialised, it would certainly enhance connectivity in the BIMP-EAGA region.

Responding to the possibility of Firefly terminating services in Sarawak and Sabah, he said the swapping of shares between Malaysia Airlines (MAS) and AirAsia should not result in a monopoly.

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