SIBU: Low-cost carrier AirAsia should consider cutting back on its Singapore-Sibu flight frequency rather than suspending it.
Bukit Assek assemblyman Joseph Chieng said that he received an email from the company six days ago about its move to suspend the flight.
“They said it was due to a low-load factor, heavy losses, and the overall rationalisation of the company’s operations caused by the global shortage of aircraft.
“The Singapore-Sibu sector’s average load factor is about 67 per cent, which isn’t too bad.
“The passenger load for the Singapore-Miri sector is slightly higher, at 69 per cent,” he said in a press conference at his service centre here Monday (Nov 13).
Chieng said they have since made a counter-proposal to AirAsia through the Sarawak Ministry of Transport to keep the sector but reduce its frequency from four to either two or three flights weekly.
“The sector is still relevant for businessmen, locals who are either working or studying in Singapore, and more so for the promotion of tourism between the two destinations,” he stressed.
AirAsia started operating the sector in Dec 2022 with flights four times a week on Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday.
Earlier, it was reported that the AirAsia Singapore-Sibu direct flight has been extended until March next year.
Meanwhile, when asked to comment on Lanang MP Alice Lau’s post on her Facebook yesterday (Nov 12) that a new airline will be conducting flights from Sibu-Singapore, Chieng said any airline willing to operate is very much welcome.
“A few months ago, our Transport Minister Datuk Seri Lee Kim Shin also said another airline (Scoot) is keen to fly this sector, maybe it’s the same airline.
“But the most important thing is I hope the federal ministries concerned will assist in giving the green light to it, and that at the same time, AirAsia maintains the sector,” he said.
