New airline AirBorneo

[AIRwin]

Will it change to the IATA code AB which ironically was used by Borneo Airways (before Air Berlin and Bonza)?

Sarawak takes flight with own carrier AirBorneo after MASWings acquisition | Malay Mail - Sarawak takes flight with own carrier AirBorneo after MASWings acquisition

 

[moa999]

Basically the 'prop' division of MH that operates within Borneo - ATR 72-500s and Twin Otters.

Malaysian will still fly to / from Borneo using MH and FY (Firefly) aircraft, alongside Air Asia and Batik Malaysia.

 

[SeanExile]

With Sarawak taking control, hopefully they will shift their HQ back to Miri where it used to be 10 plus years ago. Its currently in Sabah (KK). But Maswings has been crying out for an interested owner thats willing to put some resources into the carrier for a decade or more so this is a welcome development.

I also hope the new deals for Sarawak to keep more of the oil and gas money will be sufficient to cover all the investment Sarawak has done as of late. The new CM seems to be on a roll...

 

[AIRwin]

AirBorneo: A bold vision or a risky investment? | Borneo Post Online

THE recent acquisition of MASwings by the Sarawak state government marks a significant shift in the region’s aviation landscape. Its rebranding exercise to AirBorneo signifies a strategic move aimed at enhancing regional connectivity and asserting greater control over the region’s aviation...

www.theborneopost.com

Oceania: Australia and New Zealand are lucrative markets for AirBorneo. Direct flights from Kuching to cities like Darwin, Cairns, or Brisbane could cater to tourists, students, and business travelers.

 

[AIRwin]

1 year on...

AirBorneo to take delivery of three Boeing 737-800s ahead of jet launch | New Straits Times

KUALA LUMPUR: Sarawak-owned airline AirBorneo Holdings Sdn Bhd (AirBorneo) is expected to receive three Boeing B737-800 aircraft by July from Ascend Airways Malaysia (AAM), as it gears up to start jet operations in the third quarter of this year.

www.nst.com.my

 

[AIRwin]

Flight disruptions in the meantime...
AirBorneo says flight disruptions to continue as concurrent aircraft maintenance hits Sabah, Sarawak services | Malay Mail https://www.malaymail.com/news/mala...aintenance-hits-sabah-sarawak-services/223034

 

[Ansett Nostalgic]

I'd love to explore Borneo.

 

[Franky]

I'd love to explore Borneo.

Well there’s lots of dense forests, and it is also the home of a very small country(?) in Brunei and is also where the Sandakan death march occurred in WWII. I was serving on HMAS Swan in 1974/75 and we made a big ceremonial visit to Sandakan on the Eastern coast, and then sailed around the top of the Island and berthed at Tarakan Island, just off the NW tip of Borneo where there is a large Commonwealth War Grave where most of those who perished on the march are buried. We laid a wreath in the honour of those poor souls. Some years later when the RAN built 6 small LCPs, they commissioned one of them as HMAS Tarakan.

 

[OZDUCK]

I'd love to explore Borneo.

We have driven the Pan Borneo Highway from Kuching to Miri return in Sarawak and also spent a week in Brunei. In Sarawak there are immense areas of countryside along the highway that have been turned into a monoculture of Palm Oil Plantations. There is also a lot of logging operations. You often have to get off the main road a bit to see more of the original vegetation but it was still a great experience. In Brunei their economy is based on oil/gas reserves with much of them being just offshore so outside of the cities - small and not many of them - the native vegetation is still mostly intact. When flying into Brunei from Singapore you can see the vegetation change at the border between Malaysia and Brunei.

The locals have uniformly been very friendly and the food is excellent and somewhat different to that on Peninsular Malaysia/Singapore. Brunei is of course very strict about alcohol. It is not difficult to get around or arrange tours once there, They are really both worth a visit.