Media

Senai Airport welcomes TransNusa inaugural flight from Jakarta13 Sep 2023, by The Malaysian Reserve

Ayu (left) and Francis (second from left) in support of TransNusa’s maiden flight at Senai International Airport last Friday

SENAI Airport Terminal Services Sdn Bhd (Senai International Airport), a member of MMC Group, has welcomed the PT TransNusa Aviation Mandiri’s inaugural flight from Jakarta to Johor Baru on Sept 8, 2023. 

Senai Airport Terminal Services Sdn Bhd CEO Kennedy Ayu said the airport received the first 50 passengers from fleet No 8B 651 from Jakarta to Johor Baru. 

“We believe that TransNusa’s latest route to Johor Baru is exceptionally attractive for the market. With a price rate at RM199, TransNusa airlines seats are one of the most affordable and competitive tickets in the market. 

“This is a good indication of the rising market awareness among Indonesians regarding Johor as a tourist hub, especially for business, medical tourism as well as leisure,” he said in a recent statement. 

The four weekly flights between Johor Baru and Jakarta are in line with TransNusa’s strategy in establishing its international service to Johor Baru. 

By November this year, TransNusa intends to introduce one flight daily for this route. 

According to Group Aviation, TransNusa, Indonesia CEO Datuk Bernard Francis, although the airline offers lower than the market rate, it does not mean TransNusa is a low-cost airline. 

“We are introducing one flight that will depart from Jakarta’s Soekarno Hatta Airport at 12.30pm and arrive at Senai International Airport at 3pm. The same aircraft will depart Johor at 3.30pm and arrive in Jakarta at 4.20pm. 

“We look forward to continuously working with Senai International Airport to promote and market our route to Johor Baru,” he said. 

Established in 2005, TransNusa has re-positioned itself with its newly introduced tagline “Safe-Affordable-Comfortable”. 

PT TransNusa Aviation Mandiri, call sign “TransNusa”, began its commercial flights in 2011 by providing chartered flights. 

After ceasing operations due to the Covid-19 pandemic, TransNusa relaunched itself in 2021 as a low-cost airline in its domestic market. In 2023, TransNusa introduced a new business model for international routes, making it the first Premium Service Carrier in the region. TransNusa introduced its first international route in April this year, a round trip route between Jakarta and Kuala Lumpur, and had its maiden flight on April 14. The airline is currently based in Jakarta Soekarno-Hatta International Airport.

For this inaugural flight, TransNusa offers a 95-seater narrow body fleet ARJ21-700, with features like baggage allowance of 15kg (check-in) and 7kg (hand carry), and priority boarding for senior passengers. 

Under this newly introduced business model called Premium Service, TransNusa offers products and services that are beyond low-cost carriers. 

From Sept 7, TransNusa flies four times a week on Monday, Thursday, Friday and Sunday. This will follow five times a week from Sept 18 onwards and seven times a week from Oct 29. The welcoming gesture was led by YDP of Kulai Municipal Council Mohd Fahmi Salam, along with representatives from Johor Tourism, Johor State government agencies, tourism market players, and the management of Senai International Airport.

Senai International Airport, the aviation gateway for Iskandar Malaysia, is currently one of the busiest airports in Malaysia. 

While it caters to the needs of both tourism and business travellers, Senai International Airport has a total of 17 destinations connected to domestic cities and four Asean cities namely Jakarta, Surabaya, Bangkok, and Ho Chi Minh City. — TMR