SKS Airways (KI, Johor Bahru) signed a strategic agreement with Azorra and Embraer (EMB, São José dos Campos U.E. Stumpf International) to lease ten E195-E2s at last week's Langkawi International Maritime and Aerospace (LIMA) event. SKS Airways says the aircraft will "open new growth opportunities in the region.
Deliveries of the aircraft will commence in early 2024. The airline, which styles itself as "Malaysia's new commercial carrier," already operates a pair of DHC-6-300s from Kuala Lumpur's Subang Airport and the Embraers will facilitate a significant ramp-up of operations. The lease agreement period is 12 years.
"With these strategic partnerships, we are excited to embark on a new phase of growth, with a fleet of Embraers operating out of Subang. The prevalence of the E-Jets at city airports around the world and the low noise emissions of the E195-E2 makes the aircraft a perfect fit for flights in and out of Subang," said SKS Airways Director Dato Rohman Ahmad.
The Malaysian government is keen to ramp up scheduled passenger services at Subang. It published the Subang Airport Regeneration Plan (SARP) in 2021, saying that the airport, when redeveloped, would be capable of handling over seven million passengers a year. According to ch-aviation PRO airports data, SKS Airways presently flies from Subang to Pulau Redang and Tioman, while Batik Air Malaysia, Firefly, and Berjaya Air all schedule passenger flights in and out of the airport. Earlier this year, AirAsia said it would open a base at Subang and restart flights there. In addition, cargo carrier Raya Airways also schedules freight flights to and from the airport.
SKS Airways say the Embraer aircraft will form the core of its Subang-focused expansion plans. SKS Airways commenced operations in 2022, focusing on domestic, short-range, leisure, and commuter flights to unserved and underserved destinations. The SKS Airways' E195-E2s, which will seat 136 passengers, have a range of 4,800 kilometres.
