This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily on November 21, 2017

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia Airlines Bhd’s parent Malaysia Aviation Group Bhd (MAG) said its subsidiary MASwings Sdn Bhd will continue to operate the rural air service (RAS) routes until 2024.

In a statement yesterday, MAG said the RAS routes are being subsidised by the government and operated on a non-profit basis.

“The RAS is a vital service providing connectivity for rural areas in Sabah and Sarawak,” it said, adding that MASwings has continuously provided this service for over 10 years after taking over from Fly Asian Express Sdn Bhd, which is now known as AirAsia X Bhd.

Under the new agreement and as recently stated by Transport Minister Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai, six routes in Sabah and Sarawak have been omitted.

MAG said the six routes mentioned by the minister were not renewed as they serviced/linked larger towns in Sabah and Sarawak and therefore, they will not be covered by the new RAS agreement. They are Kota Kinabalu-Sandakan, Kota Kinabalu-Tawau, Kota Kinabalu-Miri, Kuching-Miri, Kuching-Bintulu dan Kuching-Sibu.

It added that MASwings will continue to operate these six routes until the end of 2018.

“These routes are, however, currently being operated by other commercial airlines, including [the] MAG group of airlines. Other routes, beyond the six, will still be covered under the RAS agreement,” said MAG.