KUCHING: AirBorneo Airways (AirBorneo) will officially launch its long-awaited jet operations on July 20, beginning with twice-daily services between Kuching and Kuala Lumpur while flights to Singapore are expected to commence by the end of the month.
Chief Executive Officer, Megat Ardian Wira, said the state-owned airline will begin commercial jet operations with two Boeing 737-800 aircraft, marking a significant milestone since AirBorneo officially took over from MASwings on January 1 this year.
“We have already secured the traffic rights for Singapore. We are now finalising the last few stages with Changi Airport, particularly the operational testing.
“Once that is completed, we will have a firm launch date,” he told reporters during AirBorneo’s media roundtable today.
If everything proceeds according to plan, Megat said Singapore services are expected to begin before the end of July with ticket sales to be announced ahead of the inaugural flight.
He described the past six months as “running a marathon in 100-metre sprints”, saying the airline had been built with limited resources while laying the foundation for long-term growth.
“Rather than expanding aggressively, we will spend the remainder of the year focusing on operational stability, customer feedback, and market performance. We want to stabilise our operations, understand how passengers respond, and see how the market reacts before moving forward,” he said.
Megat said AirBorneo plans to expand its fleet to five jet aircraft by the end of next year with the addition of three more Boeing 737-800s.
From 2028 onwards, he said the airline intends to introduce one aircraft every quarter, with a long-term target of operating 17 aircraft by the end of 2030.
“Future expansion will include additional domestic routes within Sarawak, increased frequencies to Kuala Lumpur and Singapore, and regional destinations within a three- to five-hour flying radius,” he said.
However, Megat stressed that new destinations would only be announced after receiving the necessary approvals from Malaysian and foreign aviation authorities.
“We cannot announce destinations until all the regulatory approvals have been obtained,” he added.
