Summary

  • Foreign airlines now have clearance to operate from Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah Airport, starting with TransNusa from Indonesia.
  • TransNusa will fly from Subang to Jakarta daily using Airbus A320, marking its launch at Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah Airport (SZB).
  • The airline’s CEO expressed gratitude for this opportunity and the chance to provide scheduled jet flights from Subang Airport to Jakarta.

Movement is afoot at Kuala Lumpur’s second airport, now known as Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah Airport (SZB) and formerly Subang International Airport, which was once Malaysia’s primary international air gateway. The airport served as the main international airport from 1965 until 1995, when the new Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KUL) opened in Sepang, around 28 miles from the center of Kuala Lumpur (KL).

The news from SZB

Today, Indonesian carrier TransNusa announced it will be the first foreign carrier to operate scheduled jet services at SZB, now one of only two foreign airlines selected to operate passenger jets from the airport. Four Malaysian airlines, the AirAsia Aviation Group, Batik Air, SKS Airways, and Firefly, have been given the green light for operations at Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah Airport (Subang).

Kulon Progo, Indonesia - 21 June 2023: Transnusa's Airbus A320-214 aircraft from Jakarta is preparing to land in Yogyakarta Province

Photo:  Kikik Hayustya | Shutterstock

The second foreign airline has not been named (at the time of writing), but various reports suggest that low-cost carrier Scoot, a member of the Singapore Airlines Group, is the likely frontrunner. TransNusa is starting on August 1 with one daily scheduled flight from Subang to Jakarta Soekarno-Hatta International Airport (CGK) that will be operated with an Airbus A320.

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TransNusa flight 8B 698 will depart Subang at 19:30 and arrive in Jakarta at 20:30, while flight 8B 699 leaves Jakarta at 16:10 and arrives at Subang at 19:00. The carrier will continue with its current flights between Indonesia and Malaysia, which include three scheduled daily flights from Jakarta to KUL and four scheduled weekly flights to Johor Bharu.

A Phoenix rising

TransNusa Group Chief Executive Officer Datuk Bernard said he was thankful for the opportunity to be the first foreign aircraft to start scheduled jet aircraft operations for an international route from Subang airport.

“When we re-launched TransNusa in October 2022, we started from the bottom again. We had no aircraft or roadmap to follow, everything was new because the pandemic had broken the aviation business operations boundaries. Being handpicked by the Malaysian Aviation Commission as the only airline to operate from the Subang Airport to offer a scheduled daily flight to Jakarta is another milestone.”

In September 2020, TransNusa closed its business due to the impact of COVID-19 and could not restart operations until October 2022. By then, the premium service carrier had new shareholders and management and, within six months, had launched its first international flight from Jakarta to Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KUL).

ARJ21 TransNusa

Photo: TransNusa

The airline restarted with two Airbus A320s and one Chinese-built COMAC ARJ21-700, and today, according to Flightradar24, it has four Airbus A320-200s and three COMAC ARJ21-700s, although pre-pandemic it did operate the Airbus A320neo. The airline uses the A320 on the existing flight to KUL and will operate the same aircraft when it starts flying from Subang on August 1, 2024.

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TransNusa Praises COMAC ARJ21 And Eyes Future C919 Operations

The airline’s CEO is pleased with the COMAC regional jet’s performance.

In 2024, TransNusa will celebrate its first year of operations in KL and is now also flying to three other international destinations, including Singapore, Guangzhou (China) and Johor Bharu (Malaysia). Tickets for the new Jakarta-KUL route are now on sale on TransNusa’s website and primary online ticketing platforms, with one-way tickets starting from RM299 ($64).

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