Green light shows up for second Malaysian carrier
THE MALAYSIAN Government has finally given the go- ahead for the launch of the country's second national carrier in November, some two years after Malaysia Airlines (MAS) first blocked its start-up.
The new airline is being set up by AirAsia, and will operate under the name "Pacific Eagle". The carrier will start scheduled operations on 17 November using a Boeing 737-300 on a three-year lease from General Electric Capital, with a second 737 to be delivered in January on a five-year lease.
Pacific Eagle will initially operate a scheduled thrice-weekly service from Kuala Lumpur to Taipei, via Kota Kinabalu. It also plans to fly thrice-weekly charters to Utapao in Thailand and twice- weekly to Subic Bay in the Philippines.
Longer-term plans call for the opening up of additional Asian destinations and, within three-to-five years, flights to Europe and North America, says AirAsia director Tik Bin Mustaffa. It is already looking at adding more narrowbody aircraft and has begun preliminary evaluation of widebodied types.
AirAsia has scaled back the scope and timing of its international plans since they were first unveiled in 1993. Under pressure from MAS, the government in 1994 put AirAsia on hold for two years, to give the incumbent flag carrier time to restructure (Flight International, 24-30 April).
The number of local Malaysian carriers has since proliferated. East Malaysian-based Saeaga Airlines launched a regional charter service in 1995, followed this year by the start of third-tier carrier Asia Pacific Airlines. A third airline, Premier Air, hopes to begin charters from Malacca using a leased Avro 146.
Source: Flight International
