KUCHING, March 13 — Sarawak will do a proper evaluation and study before deciding to buy an aircraft when the state takes over Maswings, Transport Minister Datuk Seri Lee Kim Shin said.
He said the ARJ22 aircraft may be suitable to be used in the region, with a maximum range of 2000 nautical miles can be utilized for the short to medium haul.
“The aircraft is very comfortable, can easily be reconfigured to cater for different types of business models and can sit between 78 to 97 passengers.
“Within Sabah, Sarawak and Indonesia such as in Nusantara, Pontianak or even to Kuala Lumpur is just nice. It is suitable for us here in Sarawak because of the flying time,” he said after welcoming the Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (COMAC) at Kuching International Airport here, today.
Lee said with that capacity, the frequency of the flight per day can be increased depending on the demand.
“More convenient for people to fly especially for business and local travelers even for tourists, that makes it more economical and flexible.
“My personal opinion, the way I look at it and I see a big potential, maybe we also can have a chartered flight,” he said.
Lee added that currently, Trans Nusa Airline in Indonesia is using two units of ARJ21 aircraft in their flight operations and will get another 60 more aircraft this year.
The ARJ21 aircraft by COMAC was on a demo flight from Subang airport to Kuching International Airport today.
— Bernama
