THE MYAirline headquarters was abuzz with palpable energy on Wednesday, November 30. It was a cocktail of excitement, anticipation, and hints of warranted nervousness. After all, they were less than 24 hours away from their maiden flight, scheduled for the morning of December 1.
I was invited to a Media Roundtable session at the MYAirline offices to get a sneak peek of what Malaysia’s newest low-cost carrier had in store. The first thing I noticed were the big buntings that said “Fly The New Red”. Cheeky, sure, but it’s an emphatic statement that this challenger brand welcomes competition.
After all, Malaysia is no stranger to low-cost airlines. I was a teenager when AirAsia was launched two decades ago. Full-page ads were in the papers – you could book a domestic flight for under RM50, which was unheard of at the time. To say that low-cost carriers redefined travel in Malaysia, and the region, would be an understatement. As a millennial, most of my travels were only possible because LCCs existed.
So, it was strange being in the offices of a new player in the market, on the eve of its first flight, from Kuala Lumpur to Kota Kinabalu. Is this a new era in low-cost travel for the region? Will consumers benefit from all the competition? If football is any indication, competing reds are always good for paying customers.
At the moment, MYAirline is servicing Langkawi, Kuching, and Kota Kinabalu, with Kota Baru, Penang, and Sibu happening soon. Tawau, Miri, Alor Setar, and Terengganu are in the pipeline. During the media briefing, CEO Rayner Teo said for international routes, they are looking to fly to regional destinations like Singapore and Bangkok in the first quarter of 2023.
Bookings for MYAirline opened on November 26, shortly after the company was given the greenlight by relevant authorities. When asked about public response, Teo said, “There are flight routes that record 100% passenger load factor with an average of 75%”. He’s also confident that the company will stay “cash positive” in the coming year.
It’s clear that the brand is adopting a more youthful approach to flying, akin to Singapore’s Scoot. At the very least, it’s a youthful approach to marketing. For instance, their flight crew uniforms are gender-neutral and refreshingly utilitarian. Everyone wears pants and white sneakers, and in a world-first, every top comes with a hoodie.
CEO Rayner Teo discussing the MYAirline flight crew uniform
There was a lot of talk of sustainability in the room. Most of this I had already heard of during ‘Aviation: Preparing For The New World’ at WiT Singapore 2022, which featured Kathleen Tan, Chief Executive Advisor, MYAirline as a panelist. Captains and crew are given iPads and tablets loaded with digital aviation manuals and guidelines as a way of going paperless. We were told that the lightweight nature of the seats could save around 800kg of weight, which amounts to 155 tonnes of fuel saved per plane each year.
MYAirline’s marketing seems to be heavily digital-reliant as well, which isn’t to say they aren’t being advertised on physical platforms. I spotted a couple of employees shooting videos and TikToks for social media, which I assume targets their largest demographic – millennials, and more recently, Gen Zs who have entered the workforce. At the time of writing, MYAirline has 41k followers on Facebook and 16k followers on Instagram.
In Malaysia, it’s not uncommon to hear talk of saturated markets whenever a new player shows up, especially when in major industries like telecommunications, entertainment, or in this case, aviation. We have a relatively small population of 32.7 million. Then again, at the risk of sounding dismissive, plenty of research must have gone into the making of this company. Getting a new airline off the ground, no pun intended, is a herculean task.
However, that isn’t to say that there aren’t significant changes happening in the Malaysian aviation scene.
In a report by The Edge, AirAsia X Bhd (AAX) said it is formulating a regularisation plan that involves the merger with AirAsia Bhd and AirAsia Aviation Group Ltd, which has shareholdings in AirAsia Indonesia, AirAsia Philippines and AirAsia Thailand. This is a part of the carrier’s bid to uplift its PN17 status. (PN17 stands for Practice Note 17/2005 and it is a practice note issued by Bursa Malaysia for listed issuers that are in financial distress)
As a Malaysian consumer, I hope these changes in the industry cultivate healthy competition in the market. If anything, the emergence of a low-cost carrier is a sign of a recovering travel industry in the country, as well as the region.
