KUCHING: AirBorneo chairman Datuk Amar Mohamad Abu Bakar Marzuki used a light-hearted reference to English football rivals Manchester United and Liverpool to highlight a serious message on collaboration in the aviation industry, saying airlines cannot succeed by operating in isolation.
Speaking during the AirBorneo media roundtable on Wednesday (July 8), Abu Bakar joked that the airline’s maroon cabin crew uniform was neither Manchester United’s nor Liverpool’s colours.
“To me, the maroon is a combination of Liverpool and Manchester,” he said in jest, drawing laughter from members of the media.
Abu Bakar quickly turned the humour into a broader message about teamwork and strategic partnerships.
“The principle is to be united and never walk alone. In the airline industry, we cannot work in silos,” he said.
Abu Bakar said collaboration has become increasingly important in modern aviation, where airlines often rely on commercial partnerships such as interline agreements, codeshare arrangements and global alliances to expand connectivity beyond their own route networks.
“Such partnerships allow airlines to offer passengers access to more destinations through connecting flights while sharing operational resources and strengthening their route networks without operating every service themselves,” he said.
Abu Bakar also thanked members of the media for supporting AirBorneo since its establishment and acknowledged the public’s active discussion surrounding the airline’s launch and fares.
He said he had been following comments on social media, noting that while opinions had been mixed, the public conversation reflected the high level of interest in Sarawak’s own airline.
He also described the market’s response following AirBorneo’s fare announcement as encouraging.
“What I can see is that after we announced the price, the other airlines’ pricing also became more or less the same. That means we managed to help stabilise the price,” he said.
Acknowledging that AirBorneo may not be able to satisfy everyone from the outset, Abu Bakar assured that the airline would continue improving its services over time while working with industry partners to strengthen connectivity for Sarawak.
