Malaysian firm Flymojo Sdn Bhd today announced the establishment of a new airline, called flymojo, and said it has signed a deal with Canadian planemaker Bombardier Inc to buy 20 CS100 aircraft for about US$1.47 billion (RM5.44 billion).
The announcement, made in the presence of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak at the Langkawi International Maritime and Aerospace (LIMA) exhibition, included an option to buy 20 more aircraft, taking the deal value up to US$2.94 billion.
The new airline will be based out of Johor Baru and Kota Kinabalu.
FlightGlobal reported that flymojo has attained its air operator’s certificate and that it will become a “value” carrier.
The airline will begin flying in the first quarter of 2016 and focus on regional routes, managing director Janardhanan Gopala Krishnan said, without disclosing details about its owners.
Checks showed that Flymojo is owned by Fly Mojo UK Ltd, registered in 2013 in London, with Janardhanan registered as shareholder and director. A flymojo spokesperson said the airline is fully Malaysian-owned.
“With flymojo’s primary hub at Senai International Airport and secondary hub in Kota Kinabalu, the airline’s ultra-modern fleet of CS100 aircraft will play a key role in improving connectivity between the Peninsula and Sabah and Sarawak, as well as other parts of the region,” said Deputy Transport Minister Datuk Abdul Aziz Kaprawi in a separate statement.
“In addition, as the only airline utilising the Southern Corridor as its headquarters, flymojo will transform Senai into a key regional aviation and logistics hub – augmenting the government’s initiatives in developing Iskandar Malaysia and the Southern Corridor.
“Further strengthening Kota Kinabalu’s standing as a gateway into Malaysia, flymojo will also boost tourism into Sabah and Sarawak.”
“Born of the desire to make air travel a much-anticipated and longed for experience, flymojo is dedicated to providing value, and exceptional customer service that will focus on putting the human touch back into flying,” said flymojo chairman Datuk Seri Alies Anor Abdul, last reported to be Putra World Trade Centre chairman.
“We are confident that our model will resonate deeply with our passengers and that the use of the technologically advanced CSeries aircraft will transform the aviation industry in Malaysia and the region.”
He said flymojo, operated by Fly Mojo Sdn Bhd, is a new airline targeting the travel market within Asean and the regions bordering it.
Meanwhile, Bombardier’s vice president of sales in China and Asia-Pacific Andy Solem said no fixed date has been set for the deliveries, nor a timeframe in place for the firming up of orders.
The Malaysian airline would become the first customer and operator of the CS100 aircraft in the region.
Bombardier now has booked orders and commitments for 603 of its C Series aircraft, which had its first flight in September 2013.
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