News & Reviews:   MASWings

Since early this year, the Sarawak government has taken over MASWings and renamed it AirBorneo. It will take a few more months for the airline to be fully operational, as according to Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg at a recent corporate dinner event, it will begin regional jet operations by July 2026.

Today, it's now AirAsia's turn to announce a new policy for passengers carrying power banks. Just like Malaysia Airlines and Singapore Airlines, the usage of power banks onboard all flights will also be banned, effective from 1 April 2025 onwards.

Yes, this is not an April Fools joke in advance. Starting on 1 April 2025, passengers travelling with Malaysia Airlines, Firefly and MASwings can still carry their power banks on board but this is now restricted in a few ways. This is in line with the recent updated regulations.

Previously, we shared that after some delays, the Sarawak State Government is finalising its acquisition of MASwings today for its state-owned airline. Well, today, the acquisition has been formalised through the signing of a sale and purchase agreement with Malaysia Aviation Group (MAG), and the Sarawak Government has named the new airline ‘AirBorneo’.

After a series of delays, it looks like Sarawak’s state-owned boutique airline is nearing takeoff as the Sarawak State Government will finalise its takeover of MASwings on 12 February. A sale and purchase agreement would be signed on that day between the Sarawak Government and Malaysia Aviation Group  (MAG) for the acquisition of the latter’s subsidiary.

It looks like Sarawak’s plan to establish its own boutique airline is nearing reality. This is after the Sarawak State Government, through Hornbill Skyways Sdn Bhd, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Malaysia Aviation Group (MAG) to acquire MASWings Sdn Bhd.

Starting on 1 July 2023, Malaysia Aviation Group announced its airlines (Malaysia Airlines, Firefly, and MASwings) have been granted regulatory approval by the Civil Aviation Authority of Malaysia (CAAM) to enable Gate-to-Gate connectivity for passengers. In other words, you don't exactly need to turn off your phones anymore before the plane lifts off.

Tourism, Arts and Culture Minister Datuk Seri Nancy Shukri yesterday announced that RM2.7 million worth of e-vouchers has been allocated for Malaysians to purchase domestic flight tickets online. The e-vouchers, worth between RM25 and RM100 can be redeemed by 45,879 Malaysians until the end of 2022.