Berjaya Air to start five-times daily Penang flights

PETALING JAYA (Jan 2, 2013): Berjaya Air, which started thrice weekly flights to Hua Hin, Thailand on Nov 18 last year, will begin five times daily flights between Subang Skypark and Penang from Jan 23.


It will fly the ATR 72-500 on the new route.

"Berjaya Air sees Penang as a market with great potential, rich with heritage and has been seeking for a partner with strong Penang markets influence to further expand its scope," Berjaya Air general manager Adelie Lee said in a statement today.

She added that the turboprop operator plans to fly to other getaways to help meet demand from leisure inbound and outbound travellers seeking more business opportunities in the region.

Apart from Hua Hin, Berjaya Air, a subsidiary of Berjaya Land Bhd, currently flies out of Subang Skypark to Redang, Tioman, Pangkor and Langkawi. It also offers direct flights from Singapore to Tioman and Redang.

Berjaya Air said in conjunction with the inaugural flight to Penang, it is offering promotional fares from RM84 one-way for travel period between Jan 23 and Oct 27 this year. This promotion is available online at www.berjaya-air.com.

"Berjaya Air's objective is to assist and cater more options for travellers in providing more flights to Penang, especially during this coming Chinese New Year," said Lee.

"We think that this is what we should contribute by providing more services in the airline industry for the people. Still holding to our motto "Your Getaway Airline", we aim to generate new demand to various island and shore destinations in making affordable and quality getaway travel available to all."

Berjaya Air will also be offering free connecting flight tickets from Penang to Tioman, Redang, Pangkor and Hua Hin for a limited period during its roadshow at Plaza Gurney and Queensbay Mall, Penang from Jan 3 to 6 from 10am to 10pm. The connecting flight includes transit from Subang Skypark to the islands.
-thesundaily.

Promoting KL to Thailand

Welcome to KL: Thai delegates given a warm reception upon arrival.

In conjunction with Berjaya Air’s newly-launched route to Hua Hin in Thailand, a recent familiarisation trip to Malaysia was held for Thai dignitaries.

Berjaya Air welcomed Petchaburi Province governor Monthian Thongnit, Prachuap Khiri Khan Province governor Weera Sriwathanatrakoon and Hua Hin mayor Noppron Vuttikul, Hua Hin representatives, and media to Kuala Lumpur.

The three-day, two-night trip saw 34 guests arrive in SkyPark Terminal in Subang Jaya on Berjaya Air’s ATR 72-500 aircraft. Berjaya Air general manager Adelie Lee welcomed guests with bunga telur followed by a short kompang performance and a bunga manggar procession.

“This trip is a significant occasion for both Berjaya Air and Hua Hin to meet and explore the countries and to build future working collaborations in making Kuala Lumpur and Hua Hin more attractive tourist destinations,” said Lee.

The collaboration with GIT Tours & Travels who sponsored the coach and tour guide made the trip a greater occasion in showing Hua Hin travel agents and media the attractions Kuala Lumpur has to offer. The itinerary started off with a dinner at Atmosphere 360 Restaurant followed by a night view of the Petronas Twin Towers.

The next morning, the visitors were taken to locations such as the Royal Selangor Pewter Factory, the Kuala Lumpur Railway Station, Dataran Merdeka, Putrajaya and Sunway Lagoon Theme Park. The trip ended with a dinner with Tourism Malaysia deputy director general (planning) Datuk Azizan Noordin and Berjaya Air director Datuk Azlan Meah at Saloma Restaurant.

Berjaya Air flies to Hua Hin every Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays. For details, visit www.berjaya-air.com.

-thestar online.

Berjaya Air to fly to Pangkor and Langkawi

PETALING JAYA: Berjaya Air, a niche player that offers commercial flights to island destinations, will reinstate its flights to Pangkor Island today and add Langkawi as its new destination tomorrow, sources said.

The airline, owned by Berjaya Land Bhd, which in turn is a unit of Berjaya Corporation, stopped plying the Subang-Pangkor-Subang route May last year for unknown reasons. Currently, the airline offers flights from Subang to the islands of Tioman, Redang and Koh Samui, and from Singapore's budget terminal to Tioman and Redang islands.

Berjaya Air, formerly known as Pacific Air Charter, was incorporated on Aug 15, 1989 and for many years was offering air charter services before it entered the commercial domain.In June this year it entered into a joint venture with Indonesia's PT Lion Air Mentari, the parent of Lion Air, to transform itself into a low cost carrier operating B737-900ERs and ATR 72-500s. This would have changed a lot of things for Berjaya Air but reports from Indonesia claimed that the deal had been called off.

Whether Berjaya Air will seek out other partners to become a bigger player, given the fact that many experts acknowledge that the local market has room for another big player, remains to be seen. “It may just opt to explore opening new island routes for the time being,'' sources said.
Berjaya operates three Dash and two ATR72 aircraft which can seat about 48 and 72 passengers respectively. It has an option to buy two more ATR72, but has yet to exercise it.

Berjaya Air may just opt to explore opening new island routes for the time being. For Pangkor and Langkawi, it is offering return air fares less tax of RM200 and RM260 respectively. It will fly three and four times weekly to Pangkor and Langkawi respectively.
-thestar online.

Berjaya Air heads to Langkawi and Pangkor Island

Berjaya Air will be adding two new destinations to their lists this November with their expansion programme. The new destinations — Langkawi and Pangkor were revealed at a poolside party by the airline company at Berjaya Times Square Hotel in Kuala Lumpur recently.

Berjaya Air general manager Adelie Lee said Pangkor was not a new destination as Berjaya was flying there until the service was stopped in May last year. “We see the potential of resuming the flight to Pangkor Island with the new Marina Island Project located next to it,” she said.

It’s official: (From left) Berjaya Group director Alan Chee, Lee and Berjaya Air engineering manager Arthur Lee looking at the advertisement during poolside party.

There will be three flights per week direct from Subang airport effective Nov 25 and on top of flight services, the company is working closely with resorts and hotels to provide travel packages for their clients. As for Langkawi, there will be four flights per week direct from Subang airport effective Nov 18.

Lee said Langkawi would be the best market for them as the local government had been given a budget of RM420mil under the Langkawi Five-Year Tourism Development Master Plan. The budget was to re-structure the Langkawi Development Authority and the establishment of a forest ranger team, which was an important process towards improving the tourism value of the place.

The company is also planning to expand to other parts of the country as well as South-East Asia, however the details have not been finalised yet. Lee also said they have the Dash 7 aircraft that was ideal for island operation with its short take-off and landing performance.

Berjaya Air has added the ATR72 planes as well and was the first airline to have the planes into Malaysia. For details, visit www.Berjaya-air.com

-thestar online.

Flight to Pangkor is back!

www.berjaya-air.com

Berjaya Air to fly to Langkawi

Berjaya Air Sdn Bhd (Berjaya Air) customers can look forward to more holiday options with the airline beginning flights to Pangkor and Langkawi next month.

In her speech at the company’s first poolside get-together last Friday, Berjaya Air general manager Adelie Lee said this was the airline’s first domestic expansion and is only the beginning as there are plans to fly to destinations in Southeast Asia next year. “We are trying to make holidays affordable and available for the entire family in line with our new tagline unveiled last month, ‘Your getaway starts with us!’ or ‘Your getaway airline’.

“We will begin flying directly to Langkawi four times a week from Nov 18 using the DeHavilland Dash 7 aircraft as the numerous activities available on the island makes it a popular destination and Budget 2012 has also allocated funds for further development there,” she said. Meanwhile, the airline will resume direct flights to Pangkor three times a week from Nov 25 using the ATR72-500. It had stopped its Pangkor route, which had been in operation since 2001, in May last year.

“In our expansion, our focus remains unchanged – a niche market where we bring our passengers to place where everyone can have fun, enjoy the sun and sea and all in all have the perfect getaway,” Lee said, adding the company also works closely with hotels and resorts to create holiday packages. She also said the management is committed to improving service standards, and over the past 12 months the airline has managed to maintain an average on-time performance of 95%.

“Compared to other carriers, Berjaya Air is small. But we believe that a smaller structure does provide the advantage of a closer and more beneficial relationship, creating a win-win situation for all,” she told the 100 travel agents, hotel and resort operators, media and guests present at the event. The airline is attached to the Berjaya Group and operates out of Subang Airport.

-thesundaily.

photo: pelancongankini