Malaysian Government Announces Flymojo, New Regional Airline

Trying to create distance from multiple aviation tragedies in the past year, the Malaysian government announces a new airline with estimated launch in October.

The Malaysian government unveiled plans to launch a new national airline, with the goal of offering regional flights from two air bases across the Asian nation. BBC News reports the new airline, named flymojo, could take to the air as soon as October.

Announced at the Langkawi International Maritime and Aerospace show, the new airline would not be a replacement or rebranding for embattled Malaysia Airlines. Rather, the new airline would serve as a regional airline serving southeast Asia with service on growing air routes throughout the area. The new carrier will operate Bombardier CS100 aircraft, offering a capacity of 125 passengers.

In addition to operating the regional jets, flymojo will operate bases out of two airlines across both of Malaysia’s territories. Western operations will run from Johor Bahru, just north of Singapore, while eastern operations will be based out of Kota Kinabalu, northeast of Brunei.

“As the only airline utilizing the southern corridor as its headquarters, flymojo will transform [Johor Bahru’s airport] into a key regional aviation and logistics hub,” Aziz Kaprawi, Malaysian deputy minister of transport, said in a statement released by Bombardier. “Augmenting the government’s initiatives in developing Iskandar, Malaysia and the southern corridor.”

The launch of the new airline by the Malaysian government comes as the nation’s developing airline industry is recovering from three aviation incidents in the past year. Two of the incidents involved Malayasia Airlines, while the other involved the crash of an AirAsia flight.

[Photo: Bombardier]