MYAirline, a low-cost airline, has been given permission to launch operations in December.
The airline, which is the second low-cost carrier in Malaysia, received its air service licence (ASL) from the Malaysian Aviation Commission (MAVCOM) on Nov. 15. This permits it to operate commercial flight and begin taking reservations for airline tickets.
As a further step toward complete certification, MYAirline also announced on Twitter that the Civil Aviation Authority of Malaysia (CAAM) had granted them an Air Operator Certificate (AOC).
The next step for MYAirline, according to CEO Rayner Teo, is to apply for domestic air traffic rights in order to begin flying within Malaysia by the end of the year.
“We’re aiming for domestic destinations on Malaysia’s Peninsula,” he said while hinting at several cities such as Langkawi, Kota Kinabalu, and Kuching as the airline’s initial destinations on Facebook.
Three narrow-body Airbus A320 aircraft from the airline will launch operations from Kuala Lumpur International Airport 2 (KLIA 2).
The airline is able to operate several local destinations with high flight frequency with up to 13 hours of utilization per aircraft.
Teo stated that the current airline will operate 50 aircraft within the next five years and that the fourth A320 aircraft is currently being painted.
Teo added that due to the Covid-19 pandemic, all of MYAirline’s aircraft are currently leased, and he was able to negotiate these leases in the company’s favor.
He thinks that MYAirline’s decision to launch during the pandemic was a plus because it allowed them to study and learn from their rivals in order to provide superior services.
“A lot of feedback that we hear is that it’s hard to reach the airline after you have purchased a flight ticket. As for us, we’ll ensure that our passengers can communicate with us effectively,” the CEO said, as he has nearly 16 years of experience in the budget airline business.
“We won’t be looking at chatbots, but rather focus on human interaction. On-time performance is also something that we’ll be focused on.”
Despite being somewhat similar to its rival in Malaysia, the CEO added that the company chose red as its official corporate color because it is the most eye-catching color to represent the airline.
“We shouldn’t be restricted by the fact that somebody else is using that color. Every other color was pretty boring to us,” Teo said.
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