Tag - Tourism

REGIONAL GROWTH: New aircraft part of plans to expand its routes in the East Asean region TOULOUSE: Maswings will soon expand its operations  in Sabah with the arrival of a new aircraft, the ATR72-600, on Aug 4. Named Rafflesia, the newest aircraft will help the company increase its frequencies and open new routes in the BIMP-EAGA (Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines-East Asean Growth Area) region. MASwings currently runs a fleet of 10 ATR72-500 aircrafts, flying domestic and international routes from Sabah and Sarawak. Its chief executive officer, Datuk Mohd Nawawi Awang, who officially received the plane at the French-Italian aircraft manufacturer's final assembly line here on Thursday, said the 72-seater plane will arrive at Subang Airport on Monday at 4.30pm. "It will make several stops at Cyprus, Oman and Sri Lanka before reaching Malaysia. "Once in Subang, it will be there for several days before flying to Kota Kinabalu and we can expect it to be put in our scheduled operations from August 4. "Besides being our first ATR-600 series plane, we are naming it Rafflesia in honour of the flower commonly found in the region MASwings operates," he said. The new addition will enable MASwings to increase frequencies and open new routes, including to Puerto Princesa in Philippines "which we hope to start servicing around the end of October," he said. Also present were ATR Global Sales head John Moore, Sabah Tourism Board chairman Datuk Joniston Bangkuai, Sarawak Tourism Board chief executive officer Datuk Rashid Khan, Sarawak Tourism Ministry permanent secretary and BIMP-EAGA Tourism chapter chairman Datuk Ik Pahon. The upgraded 600 version is equipped with the widest cabin in the turbo-prop market, and the most advanced glass cockpit in the regional aircraft market. Based on the agreement by ATR and MASwings' parent company, Malaysia Airlines, MASwings will receive another eight ATR72-600 until 2017. Mohd Nawawi said its next ATR72-600 would be delivered to them in February next year. Source: New Straits Times

KOTA KINABALU: AirAsia’s decision to expand its connectivity from Kota Kinabalu to Hangzhou, China will contribute to the increasing number of tourists from China and Hong Kong to Sabah. Tourism, culture and environment Minister Datuk Masidi Manjun said the arrival of international tourists from China and Hong Kong for the first five months of this year was up by 77.3 per cent compared to last year. “The statistics had increased from 71,152 to 126,150 tourists, showing that China is a very important market for Sabah. For the past two consecutive years, China and Hong Kong recorded the highest international arrivals into Sabah,” he said in a press conference during the AirAsia inaugural Kota Kinabalu-Hangzhou flight at Kota Kinabalu International Airport (KKIA) Terminal 2, yesterday. Masidi said the ministry and Sabah Tourism Board (STB) will continue to work closely with each and all airlines that fly to Sabah. “We have strong relationship with AirAsia. Even before AirAsia took its first flight, STB was already in discussion with this airline, formulating strategies to hub AirAsia in Kota Kinabalu. I am confident this partnership and cooperation will continue to grow further. “The combined efforts from all parties including the Malaysia Airports Holding Berhad and the Ministry of Transport have made and positioned KKIA as the busiest airport in Malaysia, after KLIA. KKIA is the eastern gateway to Malaysia. It has a great potential to be the hub for AirAsia to fully tap the business prospects from northern Asia routes and Australia, saving on fuel and flight time,” he said. Masidi added Hangzhou to Kota Kinabalu is about four hours flight, and is the fifth Chinese city to connect Sabah via a direct non-stop flight. He said people from Hangzhou would appreciate going to the islands off Sabah, which are located 15 minutes away by boat from the city, water activities and fresh seafood. “The Sabah government has worked with AirAsia for the last decade and will continue doing so. My ministry will work to further increase the number of air accessibility into Sabah to target 3.55 million arrivals and RM80 billion in tourism receipts by 2015,” Masidi added in his speech before the latest direct flight from Kota Kinabalu to Hangzhou, China took off on time at 4.10pm yesterday, with a healthy 85 per cent flight load. The latest direct flight marks AirAsia’s 26th route into China and the fifth route from Kota Kinabalu to greater China. AirAsia has direct flights to Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Hong Kong and Taipei from Kota Kinabalu. Apart from Masidi, AirAsia Berhad’s Chief Executive officer (CEO), Aireen Omar, STB Chairman Datuk Joniston Bangkuai, STB General Manager Datuk Irene Charuruks and Head of Commercial AirAsia Berhad Kenny Wong were also present to send off the guests of the inaugural flight at KKIA Terminal 2. Aireen, in her speech said AirAsia was committed towards enhancing connectivity from East Malaysia, and the direct flight from Kota Kinabalu-Hangzhou would be a contributing factor towards making Sabah a major international hub for both business and leisure travellers. “As this is the fifth route connecting China to Sabah, we hope that more tourists will be able to discover the beauty of Sabah through AirAsia. “The route’s load factors for the upcoming months are on a steady growth rate, and we are confident this route will perform as expected. Apart from Kota Kinabalu, visitors from Hangzhou can also take advantage of our domestic connectivity in Sabah and fly to places such as Tawau, where they can enjoy one of the best dive sites in the world,” she added, AirAsia is having a special promotion to mark this inaugural flight and a new direct route with all-in-fares from as low as RM289 one way from Kota Kinabalu-Hangzhou. Guests can book this special rate online at www.airasia.com from yesterday until August 11, and travel between Sept 1, 2013 to Jan 23, 2014. Hangzhou is one of the most scenic cities in China, with the famed West Lake at the forefront. The West Lake Cultural Landscape of Hangzhou, comprising the West Lake and the hills surrounding its three sides is one of UNESCO’s World Heritage List and is a must-visit for anyone to Hangzhou. The nearby Zhejiang Province also houses the ‘Thousand Island Lake’ with 1078 islets surrounded with crystal clear water. Hangzhou is also a gateway to the vibrant city of Shanghai, with great attractions such as ‘Xintiandi’ – a lifestyle centre with great shopping and nightlife. Other shopping spots include The Bund, Shanghai’s iconic riverfront and the Shanghai Yuyuan Bazaar. For those who prefer to explore cuisines while traveling, Hangzhou is famed for dishes such as the ‘xiaolongbao’ (buns with soup), ‘Yangchun’ noodles (longevity noodles), Fried Steamed Bun, West Lake Sweet & Sour Fish and many more. Source: Borneo Post

KOTA KINABALU: AirAsia launched its inaugural flight from Kota Kinabalu to Hangzhou city in China’s Zhejiang province, with the aim of catering to the growing demand from the tourism industry in both countries. AirAsia Bhd chief executive officer Aireen Omar said the additional flight would help Malaysia and the province economically and socially. “This is because we have many students and tourists here as well as in China, so with this additional destination to choose from, we can learn more about each other’s culture and support each other financially,” she told a press conference here yesterday. She said the two-way traffic between China and Malaysia was at a capacity of 80% to 90%. Hangzhou, which is the capital of Zhejiang province in eastern China, is the airline’s 26th route into China and the fifth from Kota Kinabalu to China. Aireen said this was also a way to make Sabah a major international hub for both business and leisure travellers. Sabah Tourism, Cultural and Environment Minister Datuk Masidi Manjun said the arrival rate from China to Sabah increased by over 7% in the first five months, compared to the same period last year. He said his ministry had achieved about one-third of the targeted arrival for this year, with more than 48% of it being tourists from China.