In the news: Focus this week is on new developments in Malaysia – the country’s first shariah-compliant airline commences service, BookDoc partners with MyTeksi, Firefly codeshares with Malaysia Airlines Bhd.
Malaysia’s first shariah-compliant airline takes flight
Langkawi is Rayani Air’s first destination and its operations hub. (Image credit: karnizz/iStock)
The already crowded skies over Malaysia is now more congested with the entry of a new budget carrier – Rayani Air – the country’s first shariah-compliant airline.
The carrier had its maiden flight on December 20 from budget terminal klia2 to Langkawi, which is also the airline’s operations hub.
As a “shariah-compliant” (in accordance with Islamic laws) airline its Muslim crew are required to wear the hijab, food and beverages are halal-certified, and no alcohol is served on board. There are doa (prayer) recitals before every flight.
As a start, the airline has five domestic destinations – Kuala Lumpur (klia2), Langkawi, Kota Baru (Kelantan), Kuching (Sarawak), and Kota Kinabalu (Sabah). It flies five times weekly between klia2 and Langkawi, and bookings have opened for the Langkawi-Kota Baru sector.
Services to Kuching and Kota Kinabalu will commence next year. On the drawing board are international flights to Indonesia and the Philippines.
Rayani Air’s managing director, Jaafar Zamhari, said the airline offers both business and economy classes and is using two Boeing B737-400s for its operations.
The airline, whose slogan is “Let’s fly” (Jom Terbang in Malay), has 350 staff including eight pilots and 50 crew members.
To cater to its expansion Rayani Air plans to add two more Boeing 737-400s and two 737-800s to its fleet by 2017.
According to Rayani Air founders, Ravi Alagendrran and his wife Datuk Karthiyani Govindan, the airline aims to provide Muslim travellers with a comfortable flying experience with its shariah-compliant services. Passengers of other faiths are also welcomed.
Ravi added that the shariah-compliant industry has a huge potential for growth. “We are confident that we will fill this niche and be able to compete with established airlines,” he was quoted as saying.
Positioning itself as a low cost carrier, Rayani Air will be competing head-on with AirAsia, Asia’s leading LCC, and Malindo Air, Malaysia’s hybrid carrier.
AirAsia, however, is unfazed by the new entrant. Its group chief executive officer Tan Sri Tony Fernandes told The Edge Financial Daily the group welcomes new competition into the industry, as it would drive it to be a better airline.
“We got to be better. Competition is good,” added Fernandes.
Aviation analysts also do not see Rayani Air as posing a threat to or taking market share away from AirAsia or the other airlines, as currently its operations is small with a fleet of just two aircraft. It depends on the rate of the airline’s expansion and its future developments.
Rayani Air is the fourth shariah-compliant airline in the world after Royal Brunei Airlines, Saudi Arabian Airlines, and Iran Air. UK-based Firnas Airways is also targeting London-based Muslims with shariah-friendly flights and plans to start operations next year with services to South Asia, according to a report from Bloomberg.
Book a doc and ride with MyTeksi
BookDoc provides relief for the sick with appointments and a ride. (Image credit: BookDoc)
Feeling sick, can’t get a cab to go to see the doctor? New start-up BookDoc has come to the rescue by teaming up MyTeksi (GrabTaxi in other countries), South East Asia’s leading on demand land transportation platform, to provide the ride.
BookDoc, billed as Malaysia’s first healthcare online platform, was launched this October with the mission “to connect and unite customer with the healthcare professionals of their choice.”
The two start-ups will use their technology platforms to enable the users to seamlessly book a taxi ride after making an appointment through BookDoc.
“Imagine that you are not feeling well and need to see a doctor urgently. The last thing you want is to experience traffic, find a parking spot or to trouble someone to pick you up, and later be surprised that your preferred doctor has left. This is where BookDoc and Myteksi will come in handy,” Chevy Beh, founder of BookDoc, told Malaysia national news agency, Bernama.
Jaygan Fu, general manager of MyTeksi Malaysia, added once the user of BookDoc makes the appointment with a medical practitioner using the app, “let the drivers who are carefully screened by MyTeksi take care of the physical journey to and from your preferred health professionals anytime and anywhere.”
BookDoc is looking to extend its partnership with MyTeksi in countries where the latter has a presence like Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia, and the Philippines to expand its services.
Firefly adds three routes in codeshare with Malaysia Airlines Bhd
Kuching, one of the codeshared destination between Firefly and Malaysia Airlines Bhd
Malaysia’s community airline, Firefly, has signed a codeshare agreement with its parent company, Malaysia Airlines Bhd (MAB), on three routes on the latter’s network out of the KL International Airport (KLIA).
Firefly said in a statement the partnership would allow customers to book routes to Kota Kinabalu (Sabah), Kuching (Sarawak), and Penang via any Firefly ticket booking platforms.
“With the launch of these initial routes, Firefly will gradually increase the number of codeshare routes with MAB in 2016,” said Firefly chief executive officer, Ignatius Ong.
Firefly used to operate services to Kota Kinabalu and Kuching via KLIA, but had to give up these routes when the now defunct Malaysia Airlines formed a partnership with low cost carrier AirAsia. Although the partnership fell through Firefly has not reinstated the routes, and instead concentrates on its turbo jet operations out of Kuala Lumpur’s Subang Skypark to other domestic destinations, as well as to Singapore, Indonesia and Thailand.
