Rural airport tax and security charges in Sabah and Sarawak waived

MIRI: Good news for nearly one million rural folks travelling by air in Sarawak and Sabah.

MASWings, the airline that will take over the rural air service sector from Fly Asian Xpress (FAX) next month, has done away with airport tax and security charges for those flying out from rural destinations in the two states.

Both the charges ranged from RM11 to RM50 one-way depending on the sector.

MASWings managing director Dr Amin Khan said the airline took the decision as a social service to rural folks.

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MASWings expands link across Sarawak and Sabah

MIRI: MASWings will operate an extra 193 flights per week across Sarawak and Sabah when it takes over rural air services in the two states from Fly Asian Xpress (FAX) on Oct 1.

Of these, 113 flights per week will be for destinations served by the 50-seater Fokker50 aircraft, while the remaining 80 flights would be in sectors serviced by the 19-seater Twin Otters.

Among the sectors in Sarawak and Sabah that will benefit are Miri-Limbang (from 14 flights weekly to 21), Miri-Bintulu (seven to 21), Miri-Sibu (seven to 28), and Kuching-Bintulu, Kuching-Sibu, Kota Kinabalu-Sandakan and Sandakan-Tawau.

MASWings, a subsidiary of Malaysia Airlines (MAS), will also operate flights in sectors not flown by FAX now, such as Kota Kinabalu-Miri and Kota Kinabalu-Bintulu.

Continue reading at: MASWings expands link across Sarawak and Sabah

Confirmed MASWings taking over from Oct 1

Kuala Lumpur: MASWings Sdn Bhd (MASWings) takes over the Rural Air Services (RAS) in Sabah and Sarawak from Fly Asian Xpress (FAX) from Oct 1, the Transport Ministry announced Thursday.

It also directed that Malaysia Airlines (MAS), which now handles the general maintenance of the Fokker 50 and Twin Otter aircraft that FAX uses for RAS, take over the total fleet management from Aug 1.

This encompasses maintenance, refurbishment, maintenance scheduling, spare parts logistics and maintaining records, the statement said.

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FAX cuts flight frequency in Sabah and Sarawak

KOTA KINABALU: Rural air service provider Fly Asia Xpress (FAX) has revised its timetable, with reduced flight frequency to certain locations.

This comes in the wake of criticisms against the airline, whose services have been described as unreliable and affected rural travel and tourism in Sabah and Sarawak.

In a statement here, the company said the new schedule took effect from June 16 and would be in force until Aug 31.

Malaysia Airlines subsidiary MASWings is due to take over the rural air service from Oct 1.

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Sarawak Govt wants MAS to take over FAX flights immediately

MIRI: The Sarawak Government wants rural air services to be handed over to Malaysia Airlines (MAS) subsidiary MASWing immediately.

The state government feels that the Oct 1 date fixed by the Federal Cabinet for MASWing to take over from Fly Asian Xpress (FAX) was “too far away” and would cause more economic losses to the state and suffering for its rural population, said Sarawak Tourism Minister Datuk Seri Wong Soon Koh.

Wong, who is also State Second Finance Minister, said the state Cabinet had appealed to the Transport Ministry to fix an earlier date for the handover so that Sarawak’s tourism industry could be healed sooner and air-link woes for some 800,000 rural folk could be resolved.

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FAX announces new flight schedule between Sabah and Sarawak

KOTA KINABALU: Rural air service Fly Asia Xpress (FAX) announced a new schedule for flights between Sabah and Sarawak to overcome constant disruptions to its schedule.

In an email received here Tuesday, the airline said that the revised schedule took effect on June 16 and there was a reduction of flights on certain rural routes inviolving Sibu, Labuan, Mulu and Lahad Datu.

The new schedule was based on using three Fokker 50 aircraft, with one kept as a stand-by, the statement said amid calls by both the Sarawak and Sabah governments for routes to be serviced immediately by Malaysia Airlines' subsidiary MasWing.

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MASWings takes over Sabah and Sarawak Rural Air Services in stages from Oct

Kuala Lumpur: The new fully-owned subsidiary of Malaysia Airlines (MAS), MASWings Sdn Bhd, will take over the Rural Air Services (RAS) in Sabah and Sarawak from its current operator, Fly Asian Xpress (FAX), in stages from Oct 1, Transport Minister Datuk Seri Chan Kong Choy said Friday.

He said MASWings will use the existing turboprop or propeller-driven aircraft currently operated by FAX - seven Fokker F-50s and five Twin Otters - to service the RAS routes.

"The aircraft will be fully serviced to ensure they are fit for operation before being handed over to MASWings. Later, it will look for new aircraft but in the beginning, it will use the existing ones," he said.

Chan was responding to concerns over whether the 12 planes currently used by FAX are fit to fly due to frequent breakdowns and technical problems.

Continue reading at: MASWings takes over Sabah and Sarawak Rural Air Services in stages from Oct

Aggressive Promotion To Restore Mulu National Park's Popularity

The Tourism Ministry will embark on several promotional efforts to revive the popularity of the Mulu National Park in Sarawak.

The national park, a Unesco World Heritage Site, is now facing the possibility of disappearing from the world tourism map due to flight cancellations and flight connection problems since Malaysia Airlines (MAS) stopped servicing the route from last Aug 1.

Tourism Deputy Minister Datuk Donald Lim Siang Chai said many tourists had omitted Mulu from their itinerary since MAS stopped flights to Sarawak's interior.

However, last Wednesday Transport Minister Datuk Seri Chan Kong Choy said the Cabinet had approved MAS' new low-fare carrier, Firefly, taking over rural air services in Sabah and Sarawak from Fly Asian Xpress (FAX), he added.

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Sabah and Sarawak rural air services back to MAS

PUTRAJAYA: It has come a full circle – the rural air services will be taken from Fly Asian Xpress(FAX) and handed back to Malaysia Airlines(MAS).

Transport Minister Datuk Seri Chan Kong Choy, who announced this Cabinet decision yesterday, gave assurances that it would not affect MAS’ turnaround plan.

“We have gone through the proposal and recommended to the Cabinet that MAS via its subsidiary Firefly be appointed to take over the rural air services.

“We also agreed that the provision of such services is the Government’s responsibility and a type of social service so we will continue subsidising the cost of running these operations, which amount to RM60mil per year, to maintain the low-fare structure.

“Officers from both my ministry and the Finance Ministry will go through all the details of the subsidy,” Chan told reporters at his office.

It has been less than a year since MAS handed over the rural air services to AirAsia, which then subcontracted them to FAX.

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Sarawak welcomes FAX's proposal to take over rural air services

MIRI - The handing over of Sarawak's rural air services to Firefly, a subsidiary of Malaysian Airlines, from Fly Asian Xpress (FAX) is a welcoming move, said Deputy Chief Minister Tan Sri Dr George Chan.

"However, FAX must do it properly. I hope that they won't waste any time," he said about FAX's proposal to the government on the handing over of the operation.

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Single rural airlines

SEPANG: Fly Asian Xpress Sdn Bhd (FAX) has presented its case to the Government that there should only be one domestic carrier for rural air services.

FAX submitted a proposal on Tuesday, urging the Transport Ministry to have just one turbo-prop operator in the country, instead of two now, said chief executive officer Raja Mohd Azmi Raja Razali.

“The proposal is based on (FAX director) Datuk Tony Fernandes' justification on having one player (to offer rural flight service),'' he told reporters yesterday. “I believe the ministry will get back to us before long.”

Fernandes had commented earlier that he was ready to hand back the rural air service (RAS) in Sabah and Sarawak, currently operated by FAX, to Malaysia Airlines (MAS).

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Firefly to take over rural air services operation from FAX

By George Francis

MIRI - Rural air travellers and tourism players are thrilled with the news that Firefly, a subsidiary low-cost carrier of Malaysian Airlines, might take over Sarawak's rural air services operation from Fly Asian Xpress (FAX).

Lee Kim Shin, a member of Sarawak Tourism Board welcomed the good news if it would really materialise to help resolve the prevailing FAX's flight woes which has damaged the State's tourism industry.

FAX director Datuk Tony Fernandes reportedly made a proposal to Transport Minister Datuk Chan Kong Choy for the newly launched Firefly to take over the operation.

According to Lee, he had also contacted CEO of MAS, Idris Jala, who is on holiday in Perth about Fernandes' proposal. According to Idris in his reply, the MAS team would look into details of the "dramatic" offer.

Fernandes cited that it was too distracting for FAX to service the rural aircraft as it would be launching the long-haul AirAsia X operation.

FAX took over the rural service from MAS under the national air route rationalisation exercise since last August.

The subsidised airline has been at the receiving end of a litany of complaints from rural dwellers and tourism players.

FAX, a company that shares common directors with AirAsia, has since failed to resolve its commitment to improve services and shortcomings, disrupting settled routines and tourism businesses' bottom-lines.

Domestic travellers were fed up with insufficient flights, flight cancellations and delays or rescheduling of flights.

FAX-AirAsia's non-interlining connectivity with other airlines also shunned foreign tourists to Sarawak, especially to the world heritage site - the Mulu Caves - which depends on air accessibility.

Courtesy of Borneo Bulletin

FAX to increase LD-KK flights

Lahad Datu: Fly Asian Express (FAX) will increase its flights between Kota Kinabalu (KK) and here to four times on Friday, Saturday and Sunday compared to three at present, starting on May 1.

FAX would also enhance its quality of service, particularly on its flight schedule where the last flight from Lahad Datu to KK would start at 5pm, in contrast to 4.30pm previously.

The announcement was made by FAX representatives, Marketing and Distribution Customer Manager Kaarthik Velu and Senior Marketing Manager Shaku Kandar, during a meeting on flight route in Lahad Datu at the Malaysia Airport Berhad (MAB) office, here, Friday.

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Tourist traffic to Sarawak drops last year

KUCHING: Sarawak recorded a 3% drop in tourist arrivals to 2.98 million last year due mainly to a shortfall of 90,000 tourists from the long-haul European markets.

Sarawak Tourism Board’s chief executrive officer Gracie Geikie said there were slightly more than two million international visitors last year.

The state received 3.02 million visitors in 2005, and has been recording a steady growth for several years.

She said the big drop in the number of European tourists was due to the domestic rationalisation exercise whereby Malaysia Airlines ceased its rural air services, with Fly Asian Xpress (FAX) becoming the new operator last August.

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AirAsia X delays start-up

Kuala Lumpur: AirAsia X, the long-haul budget airline set up by low-cost aviation pioneer Tony Fernandes, has delayed its takeoff, possibly until next year, a report said Monday.

At its launch in January, the carrier promised budget flights to Britain beginning in July.

But The Edge Malaysia, a business and investment weekly, quoted a top company executive as saying a delay has resulted from higher leasing costs.

"We are looking at the cost structure, the right aircraft ... we want to start on the right path. It is an important element as AirAsia X is going on a low-cost model," chief executive officer Raja Mohamad Azmi said in the report.

Amzi is CEO of Fly Asian Express (FAX), which Fernandes also founded and which currently operates rural air services on Borneo island. It will run the long-haul operations.

Continue reading at: AirAsia X delays start-up

Eastern Europeans flocking to Sarawak in droves

KUCHING: An increasing number of tourists from eastern Europe are coming to Sarawak, drawn by the state’s nature attractions and tropical weather.

Sarawak Tourism Board (STB) chief executive officer Gracie Geikie said some 5,900 visitors from the region came last year; almost triple the number of arrivals in 2005.

She said the surge was significant as the board had not carried out any tourism road shows there, like it had done in western Europe, its traditional market.

Ironically, the number of visitors from the western European countries had slipped to just 1,900 last year, down from 2,300 in the previous year.

She said this was largely because of the rationalisation exercise by Malaysia Airlines, which saw the rural air service, including flights to Mulu, handed over to Fly Asian Xpress (FAX) in August last year.

She said the STB has found that musical fests have extraordinary drawing power to bring in the tourists.

Continue reading at: Eastern Europeans flocking to Sarawak in droves

Govt wants review of flight schedules in Sabah, Sarawak

MIRI: The Transport Ministry has asked Malaysia Airlines (MAS), AirAsia and Fly Asian Xpress (FAX) to review their flight schedules in Sabah and Sarawak immediately to provide a better spread, benefit more people and meet the demands of travellers.

Minister Datuk Seri Chan Kong Choy said today he has received numerous complaints from the people that the present schedules did not meet the demands of travellers in the two states.

“We do not want them to operate only for a certain two to three hours a day and later have no services. We want to see a better spread of services which will be convenient to the people in Sabah and Sarawak,” he told a news conference after attending a closed-door briefing by the FAX management at the airport here.

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KKIA Terminal Two to also cater for international flights

KOTA KINABALU: The KKIA Terminal Two building is not only to cater for domestic flights, but would also serve international carriers.

The Prime Minister said although low cost carriers Air Asia and FAX are the main players for now, they would also serve the international sector.

“It is not merely a domestic terminal,” he said.

Speaking at the launching yesterday, he said that although the terminal is meant to cater for budget airlines, it doesn’t mean that the services rendered at the terminal are sub-standard in nature.

“On the contrary, we hope for quality services to be rendered and that these services must be able to guarantee the comfort of passengers,” he said.

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FLY Asian Express (FAX) to improve customer travel

MIRI: FLY Asian Express (FAX) is making special arrangement with AirAsia to improve customer travel in East Malaysia.

FAX’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Raja Mohd Azmi Raja Razali disclosed that the arrangement was part of FAX’s solution to tackle the problem of flight service connectivity.

According to the arrangement, FAX will guarantee to connect passengers on the next available FAX or AirAsia flights in the event of flight delays and cancellations by both agencies.

"As part of our continuous efforts to improve the overall customer travel experience, we have revised our terms and conditions to benefit passengers who have connecting flights on AirAsia and FAX in East Malaysia," he said in the press conference at FAX Miri headquarter office yesterday.

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Lahad Datu needs bigger airport

LAHAD DATU: This district in Sabah has a million hectares of oil palm, a population of 200,000 as well as two internationally renowned eco-tourism destinations, but only one small airport.

Hence the desire for a new airport that can accommodate aircraft bigger than the Fokker now in use.

The airport was built in 1965, about a kilometre from the coastal town centre.

FlyAsianXpress (FAX) has been providing two or three flights a day to Kota Kinabalu since it took over the route late last year. Before that, Malaysia Airlines operated four or five flights a day on that route.

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