KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia will welcome the arrival of the new Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China Ltd's (Comac) ARJ21 aircraft at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) Terminal 1 from July 24.

The Comac ARJ21 aircraft will be operated by PT TransNusa Aviation Mandiri (TransNusa). 

The airline will start servicing its Jakarta-Kuala Lumpur route using the China-made aircraft instead of the current Airbus A320 from next week onwards. 

TransNusa chief executive officer Datuk Bernard Francis said the airline will also increase its flight frequency from Jakarta to Kuala Lumpur to four flights a day from twice daily with two Comac ARJ21. 

"We're going to dedicate the (Comac) ARJ21 aircraft specifically on the Jakarta-Kuala Lumpur route. We'll still have about 12 per cent increase in capacity from two A320 to (Comac) ARJ21.

"We find that frequency works better than capacity. That's why I would like to try putting more frequency using lesser capacity aircraft to make this route more vibrant and exciting," he said in a media briefing today.

The narrow-body Comac ARJ21 has a capacity of 95 seats while its European rival the A320 has 180 seats maximum.

The Comac ARJ21 aircraft is operated mostly by China-based airlines including Air China, China Southern Airlines, Jiangxi Air, Chengdu Airlines. 

TransNusa is the first foreign carrier that operates the aircraft. 

In an interview with the New Straits Times in April this year, Francis said the Comac ARJ21 aircraft has advanced technology and a powerful engine that could cut short flight time compared to other aircraft models that are traditionally manufactured by non-Chinese manufacturers. 

TransNusa has carried 33,000 passengers on its Jakarta-Kuala Lumpur route since the introductrion of the flight in April this year. 

Francis said with an average load factor of 78 per cent, the twice daily flights have an on-time performance (OTP) of 94 per cent. 

"It's quite a big feat for airlines in Indonesia because mainly in Indonesia most of the airports are very congested and due to the high traffic, for any airline to maintain the OTP above 90 per cent is quite a difficult task," he said. 

He added that TransNusa is targeting to have 100 per cent OTP with the upcoming four flights a day to Kuala Lumpur. 

Francis also said TransNusa is looking into introducing Jakarta-Melaka flights possibly next year given the high demand for medical and leisure tourism in the south of Malaysia.  

TransNusa is 51 per cent-owned by PT Panca Global International Indonesia and 49 per cent held by Singapore-based Linkasia Airlines Group, in which China Aircraft Leasing Group Holdings Ltd owns 72.82 per cent.

The airline was launched in 2005 as a low-cost carrier flying out of Jakarta Soekarno-Hatta International Airport.

It was rebranded as a premium service carrier in 2022 with hubs in Bali and Jakarta.

https://www.nst.com.my/business/2023/07/931809/transnusa-first-foreign-airline-use-chinas-comac-ar21-aircraft-flying-klia