Berjaya Hotels & Resorts announced at Singapore Airshow 2018 that it has acquired two pre-owned ATR 42-500 aircraft to run twice-daily flights between Kuala Lumpur’s Subang Airport and Redang Island starting this June.
The new service will enable the Malaysia-based hotel operator to fill its rooms in Redang Island, where it operates Taaras Beach & Spa and Redang Island Resort. “The flights are a catalyst to drive business to the hotels,” said Hanley Chew, CEO, Berjaya Hotels & Resorts.
Operated by the group’s sister company Berjaya Air, the flights reduce travelling time between Subang and Redang from five hours to an hour, Chew said. The aircraft will be refurbished with new interior and offers 36 passenger seats each.
When Berjaya tested the Subang-Redang flights last year, every 10-seater flight saw at least 80 per cent occupancy, he shared. There is demand for Redang holidays, he stressed, but the island currently does not enjoy as much connectivity as other Berjaya locations such as Langkawi.
He explained that Berjaya is now running flights solely to fill their resorts, rather than competing with full-fledged airlines as they previously did with flights to Penang, Langkawi and Koh Samui.
Flight tickets will be sold with all-inclusive resort packages, which include a three-day, two-night stay in a twin-sharing suite and will cost upwards of RM3,500 (US$897), confirmed Chew.
Guests can check into their rooms in the Subang lounge before boarding the plane.
Chew added that Berjaya will collaborate with travel agents to feature these packages as “a pre- or post-trip extension of tours in Kuala Lumpur and Singapore”.
The company is currently working with agencies in Germany, Italy, the UK, Japan and Singapore, and is seeing a pick-up in demand from the latter two, shared Chew.
He also revealed that Berjaya is now “in talks” to establish connections between Redang and Seletar Airport in Singapore. This route is expected to be introduced around end-2018 to early-2019 with a new aircraft.
