KUCHING: AirBorneo Airways Sdn Bhd (AirBorneo) says its RM375 all-in one-way economy class fare for Kuching-Kuala Lumpur route is aimed at stabilising airfares between Sarawak and Peninsular Malaysia as the state-owned airline prepares to begin jet operations this month.

AirBorneo chief executive officer (CEO) Megat Ardian Aminuddin said the fare was introduced after the airline benchmarked prices offered by other carriers on the route, including average lower fares recorded over the past six months and last year.

He said the RM375 fare included airport taxes, meals, baggage and seat selection.

“Ours is all-in. RM375 is what you see, what you pay. What you get on board is of value. So that is the difference that we have,” he said during a media question and answer here today.

AirBorneo opened ticket sales for the route yesterday at 7am, offering all-in one-way economy class fares from RM375 and business class fares from RM736 under its “Sarawakku Sayang” promotion.

The airline is scheduled to start its inaugural commercial service from Kuala Lumpur to Kuching on July 20, 2026 while regular twice-daily Kuching-Kuala Lumpur services will begin from July 21, 2026.

For comparison, Utusan Sarawak reported that fare checks for the Kuching-Kuala Lumpur route showed Malaysia Airlines Bhd and AirBorneo offering fares from RM374.88 with checked baggage and meals included, while AirAsia offered fares from RM269 as a base fare with checked baggage, meals and seat selection charged separately.

Batik Air’s Super Saver fare was listed from RM318.72 also without checked baggage and meals.

Megat Ardian said the fare was also part of AirBorneo’s role in addressing high airfares between Sarawak and Peninsular Malaysia.

“One of the main things was the high fare price from Semenanjung and here. Those are the things that we want to stabilise going forward. That is why we introduced this fare to stabilise fares going forward,” he said.

He added that the travel period for the fare runs until March 27, 2027 while the booking period would be assessed based on market response.

“The booking period is where we want to test the market and see how the market reacts.”

“So far, what we have had yesterday and today has been positive. There are quite a lot of people who are excited also on the fare,” he said.

Megat Ardian said the data would be important for AirBorneo to chart its future plans for the Kuching-Kuala Lumpur route.

He said AirBorneo’s entry had already triggered a market response from other carriers.

“I think if local carriers did not react to our price, then it is irrelevant anyway. But it is good that we make an impact,” he said, adding that the airline would continue to monitor the route’s performance, competitor pricing and how long other carriers maintain their lower fares.

Business Times reported yesterday that AirBorneo was understood to be wet leasing two Boeing B737-800 aircraft from Batik Air for its planned jet services from Kuching to Kuala Lumpur.

The wet lease is for 18 months and could be extended if needed, sources said. A wet lease typically includes aircraft, crew, maintenance and insurance.

Megat Ardian said told the media briefing that AirBorneo would start its jet operations with two wet-leased B737-800 but he did not share information about the lessor.

Business Times first reported on Monday that AirBorneo had filed planned B737-800 jet operations in the OAG airline schedules database for Kuching-Kuala Lumpur and Kuching-Singapore Changi services from July 2026.

The filing showed Kuching-Kuala Lumpur services starting from July 20, while Kuching-Singapore services were planned from July 27 at the earliest.

Megat Ardian said AirBorneo has secured approval and air traffic rights for the Singapore route and was finalising the last stages of operational testing with Changi Airport.

He said the Singapore service would begin soon after the Kuala Lumpur route but did not indicate the exact launch date except saying that it could happen by end-July if everything went well.

Megat Ardian also said AirBorneo would start its jet operations with two aircraft this year before expanding to five aircraft by end-2027.

He said the airline planned to add more domestic and regional destinations as more aircraft joined the fleet.

“When we have additional aircraft, that is when we launch new routes,” he said.

Megat Ardian said AirBorneo would target domestic and regional routes, including intra-Sarawak destinations such as Miri, Bintulu and Sibu, as well as points in Sabah and Asean cities.

He said regional routes would cover destinations within a three-to-five-hour flying radius from Sarawak.