Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim announced yesterday that he has agreed in principle to the Sarawak state government’s proposal to run a state-owned boutique airline. The move is supposedly aimed at stabilising airfare prices between West Malaysia and the Borneo island.
The goal was reiterated by Anwar, assuring that the airline can ease the issue of high fares for flights between the two regions. “Looking at the performance and capability of the Sarawak government, I have agreed in principle to the proposal of setting up another airline company by the Sarawak government,” said the Prime Minister.
He added that the state government’s proposal would be brought to the weekly cabinet meeting for further discussion. Sarawak Premier Abang Johari Tun Open said that they have no intention of competing with other airlines but they instead want to stabilise fares as the flight price from Kuala Lumpur to Kuching is the same as travelling from Kuala Lumpur to Hong Kong.
In 2021, just before the state elections in Sarawak, the Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) coalition promised to establish a boutique state airline if re-elected as the government. The plan was to build it up from Hornbill Skyways, a state-owned regional charter air service.
At the time, the coalition said that commercial Hornbill Skyways flights would be able to carry between 100 and 120 passengers. Notably, GPS was called out as it was the second time it had promised to establish such an airline despite the fact that it still had not been materialised.
Last November, Abang Johari gave an update on the promise, saying that the state was waiting for a license to be issued from the Transport Ministry to operate the boutique airline. He also stated that Hornbill Skyways would allow international tourists to bypass KL and fly directly to the state.
