Royal Brunei Airlines to boost Brunei-Kuching route frequency, enhance int’l tourism, Umrah connectivity

Lee (left) receiving a memento from Sabirin at Baitul Makmur Building on Jan 30, 2024.

KUCHING, Jan 31: Royal Brunei Airlines (RBA) is set to enhance its Brunei-Kuching route frequency from April 5 this year, increasing flights to four weekly to meet rising travel demands.

This initiative aims to support Umrah pilgrims’ travel needs and tap into the potential of the Korean market by introducing new leisure and golf tourism opportunities in Sarawak.

RBA chief executive officer Captain Sabirin Abdul Hamid shared these developments as part of the airline’s 2024 planning during a courtesy visit to the Minister of Transport Dato Sri Lee Kim Shin at his office in Baitul Makmur Building, Petra Jaya, on Tuesday (Jan 30).

Presently, RBA operates three flights weekly to Kuching on Tuesday, Thursday, and Sunday.

Sabirin informed that effective April 5, 2024, an additional frequency on Friday will be introduced, with the new schedule on Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Sunday to be maintained throughout the year.

“The passenger load to Sarawak in 2023/2023 averaged above 65 per cent.

“RBA carried slightly more than 9,000 passengers into Kuching last year and we may surpass last year’s performance in 2024 with the increased capacity. These were passengers who transited Brunei to/from the 20 destinations served by RBA,” he said in a statement today.

With tickets already on sale for the festive season, Sabirin underscored RBA’s readiness to either upgrade the service using a larger B787 Dreamliner aircraft, replacing the current A320, or add more flights if demand necessitates.

Highlighting the connectivity aspect, Sabirin noted, “Kuching via Brunei offers 11 to 13 weekly connections to other international destinations, including Bangkok, Dubai, Beijing, Hong Kong, Seoul, Jeddah, Melbourne, Manila, Tokyo, Ho Chi Minh, Surabaya, and Taipei.”

Additionally, RBA and Malaysia Airlines have a codeshare partnership to Malaysian destinations like Kota Kinabalu, Kuching, Kuala Lumpur, Alor Setar, Johor Bahru, Kota Bahru, Langkawi, and Penang.

Besides a successful joint campaign in 2023 with Tourism Malaysia, Sabirin affirmed ongoing efforts through RBA to promote travel to Kuching via Brunei.

Lee emphasised the importance of sustaining joint marketing campaigns and roadshows with Sarawak Tourism to further promote Sarawak through Brunei. — DayakDaily