NICHOLAS IONIDES / SINGAPORE
New carrier set to operate from old Kuala Lumpur airport
A new airline, Aero Malaysiana, is being established in Malaysia following last year's collapse of Pelangi Air. The newcomer plans to operate ATR 72s on domestic routes.
Industry sources in Malaysia say the new carrier is hoping to launch services from Kuala Lumpur's old Subang Airport, near the city centre. The airport now only handles turboprop aircraft after its last domestic jet operations were transferred to the flagship Kuala Lumpur International Airport early in July.
The first of two ex-Gill Airways ATR 72-200s acquired through ATR have been delivered, the sources say, although an operating licence has yet to be secured from the Malaysian government. Some of Aero Malaysiana's executives are former employees of Pelangi.
Aero Malaysiana's managing director, Syed Yusof, declines to comment on the group's plans or its ownership base. He says only that Aero Malaysiana is in no way affiliated with Pelangi, which was government-controlled, and is privately held. "It is a totally new and private airline," he says.
Loss-making Pelangi ceased operating in October, but later said it would restart services in May this year. These plans have since been scrapped.
ATR announced at the Asian Aerospace 2002 air show in Singapore in February that a "new Malaysian operator" had signed for two ATR 72s, but the manufacturer refused to identify the airline.
Source: Flight International
