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Waisai, 999-logo.blogspot.com - MASwings Sendirian Berhad is a regional airline operating the Rural Air Services (RAS) in East Malaysia. It took over the RAS previously operated by Fly AsianXpress. The first flight was on 1 October 2007, which is also the anniversary of the founding of Malaysia Airlines in 1972. Its headquarters are located in MAS/MASwings Administration Building, Kota Kinabalu International Airport, Sabah. Previously its head office was located in the Beautiful Jade Centre in Miri.
MASwings is a wholly owned subsidiary of Malaysia Airlines.
On 2 December 2009, The Star reported that MASwings planned to begin flying to the Philippines, Kalimantan and Sulawesi by the middle of 2010. However, due to certain circumstances, they could not begin flying on some these routes yet, with the exception of Pontianak, Balikpapan and Tarakan, in the Kalimantan region.
On 26 June 2010, MASwings had been exploring the possibility of serving regional routes on the Brunei Indonesia Malaysia Philippines-East Asian Growth Area (BIMP-EAGA), specifically Bandar Seri Begawan in Brunei, Cebu and Davao in the Philippines,Pontianak, Balikpapan and Tarakan in Kalimantan, Sulawesi and Irian Jaya, Indonesia. On 21 December 2010, MASwings' Managing Director Mohd Salleh Ahmad Tabrani confirmed these routes and was waiting for the approval of the relevant authorities.
Exactly 11 months later, on 26 May 2011, during a lunch session with the press, the new Managing Director for MASwings, Datuk Capt Mohd Nawawi Awang, said in a statement that he is confident that the first phase of the expansion plan, between Kota Kinabalu and Bandar Seri Begawan, and between Kuching and Pontianak, will take off by July 2011. He also said that if the flights were successful, they will also introduce routes from Kota Kinabalu to Tawau and Tarakan and from Kuching to Mulu and Bandar Seri Begawan.
On 22 June 2011, Brunei's national carrier Royal Brunei Airlines announced in a press release that flights between Brunei and Kuching will be suspended after the last scheduled flight in July 2011, along with suspension of services between Auckland, Brisbane, Perth and Ho Chi Minh City in October 2011. This was part of the airline's "comprehensive and sustainable plan to improve its operations, financial performance and customer service experience". Royal Brunei Airlines' Deputy Chairman Dermot Mannion said that the reduction of services is a difficult decision for the airline but also said that it was "the first step towards creating a stronger foundation that will allow the airline to enhance value customers, employees and society". The suspension of these services immediately prompted MASwings to restart routes between Brunei and Sarawak because the suspension will have adverse effect on Sarawak's tourism as Brunei International Airport is the main regional transit hub for flights between Sabah and Sarawak with international destinations.
Source : Wikipedia,