KUALA LUMPUR (July 19): Batik Air, a member of the Lion Air Group of Indonesia, will begin thrice-weekly flights from the Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah Airport in Subang, Selangor (Subang Airport) to Penang from Aug 1, with a Boeing 737-8 narrow-body aircraft.
"The route will initially operate with three flights weekly, expanding to daily service starting on Aug 15," said the airline in a statement on Friday.
"The increased flight frequency from Subang to Penang will offer passengers even greater flexibility and ease, facilitating more seamless travel plans," Batik Air chief executive officer Datuk Chandran Rama Muthy said.
Batik Air had previously operated an ATR turboprop aircraft on the route before its suspension in February this year.
Chandran said the reinstatement of the Subang-Penang route is a strategic move aimed at strengthening regional connectivity. It also aligns with Batik Air’s broader strategy to expand its domestic network and enhance its service offerings.
“The convenience of Subang, combined with the appeal of Penang, creates an ideal synergy that benefits both business and leisure travellers. We anticipate a strong response and are prepared to increase the flight frequency to daily to meet passenger needs,” he added.
Looking ahead, he said Batik Air will introduce more destinations from Subang, with plans to fly to Kota Bharu, Kota Kinabalu and Kuching.
The 737-8 will have a dual-class layout, comprising 12 Business Class seats and 150 Economy Class seats.
The Batik Air fleet includes four Airbus A330-300s and 38 737-8/800NG aircraft. It operates 800 weekly flights to over 52 destinations across 20 countries. Batik Air carried 4.5 million passengers last year.
Earlier, Scoot Pte Ltd, the low-cost carrier of Singapore Airlines Ltd, announced that it will start jet operations out of Subang Airport from Sept 1. Scoot will deploy the A320 for the Singapore-Subang daily flights.
Two other airlines that have so far confirmed jet operations at Subang Airport are Indonesian airline PT TransNusa Aviation Mandiri and Malaysia Aviation Group Bhd's low-cost arm FireFly, while Capital A Bhd’s (KL:CAPITALA) low-cost airline AirAsia is also understood to be planning to commence operations at the airport soon. TransNusa will deploy an Airbus A320 for the Jakarta-Subang route beginning Aug 1, while Firefly will mount a Boeing 737-800.