KUALA LUMPUR: Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah Airport or better known as Subang Airport will see the resumption of narrowbody aircraft operations from up to five airlines from August this year.
Business Times learned that three Malaysian-based carriers – FlyFirefly Sdn Bhd (Firefly), Batik Air Malaysia Sdn Bhd and AirAsia Malaysia, a unit of AirAsia Aviation Group (AAG), will begin operating their Boeing 737s and Airbus A320s respectively while the two other airlines are believed to be foreign.
Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd (MAHB), the company that operates Subang Airport, confirmed to Business Times yesterday that the airport will start jet operations in August this year.
"We are in the midst of conducting the Operational Readiness Activation and Transition (ORAT) right now in preparation for it," an MAHB spokesperson said, adding that it is still early for the airport operator to announce which airlines will be flying out of Subang Airport.
ORAT is a rehearsal or testing of airport operations, typically done prior to the opening of a new airport or terminal, or before the start of a new airport operation to identify and mitigate risks.
Malaysia Aviation Group (MAG), the parent company of Firefly, AAG and Batik Air Malaysia have confirmed the start of their narrowbody aircraft operations out of Subang Airport next month.
MAG said Firefly will be operating its B737-800 aircraft out of Subang Airport while the group will assess its financial performance and make adjustments accordingly as and when needed.
"Firefly has been designated as the vehicle to launch MAG's jet operations at Subang Airport. However, financial viability is key for the group and we will continue to rigorously assess all aspects of our operation including the new Firefly jet operations in Subang and will adjust our plan accordingly as and when needed," the group's spokesperson said.
In May this year, MAG group managing director Datuk Captain Izham Ismail told Business Times in an interview that the destinations that MAG would fly to from Subang would be domestic and Asean destinations.
MAG's other airline unit, Malaysia Airlines Bhd, will remain operating out of Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) Terminal 1.
Firefly also operates ATR 72-500 turboprop airplanes from Subang Airport. The airline has 12 ATRs and three B737-800s in its fleet.
AAG group chief executive officer (CEO) Bo Lingam confirmed that AirAsia will be flying out of Subang Airport starting August 30 with twice daily flights to Kota Kinabalu International Airport (BKI) and Kuching International Airport (KCH).
"We're planning to fly on August 30 from Subang. Two times daily flights on BKI and KCH. July 23 (we will be) open for sale for Subang (Airport) and operations (start) from August 30," he told Business Times when contacted yesterday.
Batik Air Malaysia's CEO Datuk Chandran Rama Muthy said the carrier will fly its B737 MAX-8 aircraft to domestic destinations first from Subang Airport and he hopes that the airline will have more slots.
Batik Air Malaysia and Firefly already have slots at the airport as both airlines have been operating out of Subang.
As for the two foreign airlines, aviation industry sources remain tight lipped saying that it would be revealed during the announcement of Subang Airport's jet operations' resumption.
The announcement is believed to be made in the next few weeks.
There were talks that Singapore Airlines' budget carrier, Scoot, might be one of the two foreign airlines to operate out of Subang Airport.
When contacted, a Scoot spokesperson said the airline is currently unable to share any further details.
"We seek your patience to wait for official announcements from Scoot relating to new route launches," the spokesperson added.
In May this year, Scoot CEO Leslie Thng said the airline is interested to fly its new Embraer E190-E2 aircraft from Singapore to Subang once the airport is ready for jet operations.
"Subang Airport is one that we would be interested in but it depends on when the airport is open for jet operations," he said when asked by Business Times during a media briefing in Singapore ahead of Scoot's inaugural E190-E2 flight to Thailand.
The resumption of narrowbody aircraft operations out of Subang Airport comes 26 years after all jet operations were moved to KLIA in 1998.
MAHB senior general manager for strategy Megat Ardian Wira Mohd Aminuddin told Business Times in an interview in May that Subang Airport will be able to handle B737s, A320s and A321s.
Subang Airport had undergone a redevelopment project in Dec 2023 starting with Phase One where five parking bays for narrowbody aircraft and six for turboprops were built.