'OVER-COMPETITION'? Seven airlines crowd Malaysian skies

KUALA LUMPUR - With the introduction of a new airline, flymojo, Malaysia will have seven airlines flying as of next year.

Joining AirAsia, Malaysia Airlines (MAS), Firefly, MasWings and Malindo Air will be upcoming Rayani Air – which is due to start operations in a few months.

Although it previously announced operations would begin from January this year, the airline will now begin flying only by June, said a Rayani spokesperson today. The spokesperson declined to explain the delay.

Having been relatively quiet ever since its announcement last August, Rayani Air is a new airline to be based in Malacca.

It is slated to have thrice-weekly flights to five domestic destinations as well as international destinations such as Surabaya, Yogyakarta and Medan from its hub at the Melaka International Airport in Batu Berendam.

MAS remains the country’s oldest airline, beginning operations in 1972 as Malayan Airways.

For the past 42 years, the airline has undergone numerous name changes, expansion, periods of unprofitability and most recently the tragedies of MH370 and MH17, ahead of its delisting and restructuring.

The airline has two subsidiaries, MasWings Sdn Bhd, a regional commuter airline started in 2007 which currently caters more to Sabah and Sarawak’s travels especially rural air services within the two states.

It also flies to two destinations in Indonesia, Pontianak and Tarakan.

The other MAS subsidiary is community carrier, FireFly, which also began operations in 2007, flying domestically and to Indonesia, Singapore as well as Thailand.

AirAsia began its operations in 1996 and has since then risen to become the region’s top low cost carrier.

The budget group has also undergone numerous bouts of profitability and unprofitability, route cuts and expansion, it faced its first major tragedy last December with the crashing of flight QZ 8501 bound for Singapore.

Malindo Air is a hybrid service airline based in Malaysia, a joint venture between the National Aerospace and Defence Industries and Lion Air of Indonesia.

Entering into service in 2012, the airline now flies to various domestic destinations and also to Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Indonesia, Thailand and Singapore. - http://www.therakyatpost.com/