News
15 September 2009
MASwings Launches Kuching - Mulu Direct Non Stop Service
Kuching: MASwings, a wholly owned subsidiary of Malaysia Airlines, commenced thrice weekly operations between Kuching and Mulu non stop service effective today.
The maiden flight took off from Kuching International Airport at 11.20am ferrying 60 delegates including the Minister of Tourism Sarawak, travel players and members of the media for an official ceremony in Mulu.
The inaugural service was launched by YB Datuk Michael Manyin, Minister of Tourism Sarawak at Royal Mulu Resort. Amongst present were Malaysia Airlines Commercial Director, Dato Rashid Khan, MASwings Managing Director Mohd Salleh Ahmad Tabrani, Regional Manager MASwings Sarawak, Mohd Suffian Abdul Malik, BORSA Mulu Managing Director, Dato Robert Geneid and PARABENA Managing Director, Datuk Radziah Mahmud Geneid.
MASwings Managing Director, Mohd Salleh Ahmad Tabrani said “ We were extremely pleased to revive this direct service in light of Kuching as the gateway for connecting tourist to various destination within Sarawak”.
“We hope that the arrival of this service will open up new avenues of economic development in Sarawak and encourage air travel between Mulu and the capital city of Sarawak,” he added.
MASwings effort in introducing this direct service is part of our commitment to assist the Government of Sarawak to make Mulu more accessible and reachable to many tourists.
With Europeans having the largest number of tourist into Mulu, the direct service will be able to offer immediate connection to Mulu via Kuching upon arrival on Malaysia Airlines or other airlines. The tourists from Europe will arrive KLIA at 6.35am and connect to Kuching at 8.20am, which arrives at 10.00am, and connect to Mulu at 11.20am. This reduces the flying time and transit hours, allowing tourist more time to discover Mulu as compared when flying via Miri from Kuching.
Also speaking in the occasion, Datuk Michael Manyin said, “ This renewed commitment by MASwings had clearly indicated the airline is optimistic that Mulu is capable of attracting more passengers than before”.
Datuk Michael express gratitude for MASwings for providing good departure and arrival schedules with an ideal number of frequencies that meets the profiles of most of the travelers coming to Mulu. “ This will definitely help to revive the demand for travel into Mulu as this new service allows direct connectivity and shorter flying time compared to another alternative passage via Miri” he added.
Mulu National Park is a world-class attraction being renowned as UNESCO World Heritage Site puts Mulu as one of the best destination in the world. The Forestry Department is constantly unveiling new product at Mulu National Park allowing new and exciting experience for visitors. The new products include the Canopy Walk, Prince Albert’s Bat Cam, Bird Watching Towers and the new Lagang Adventure Cave.
MASwings brought in International media and travel writers in their inaugural flight, giving them the opportunity to experience the new product and sharing their experiences with the rest of the world.
The direct service operated using Fokker 50 aircraft out of Kuching and ATR aircraft out of Mulu, links the most visited tourist destination in Sarawak, departing from Kuching to Mulu and vice versa on Tuesdays, Fridays and Sundays.
Flight M3196 departs Kuching at 11.20am and arrives Mulu at 12.55pm whilst the return flight MH3197 departs Mulu at 3.40pm to arrive Kuching at 5.15pm.
The Fokker 50 service will provide a capacity of 150 seats weekly into Mulu, where passengers will get to enjoy enhanced safety and comfort of MASwings cabin staff.
MASwings commenced its operations on October 1 2007, offers 700 weekly flights, which serves a network of 22 destinations in Sarawak and Sabah as well as the Federal Territory of Labuan. It currently has a fleet of 5 ATR, 5 Fokker 50 and 4 Twin Otter aircraft.
Its online booking engine www.maswings.com.my offers fares that do not attract service fees and are 15-35% lower than fares offered through traditional distribution channels. The booking engine also allows reservations on Malaysia Airlines flights, which enables passengers to book their air travel on MASwings and Malaysia Airlines through a single online distribution channel.
Issued by:
MASwings Sarawak