TransNusa Pioneers International Route With New Flights From Jakarta To Malaysia’s Subang Airport
Published
Image generated with Ai
TransNusa has successfully inaugurated its first flight from Jakarta to Subang on August 1. As the sole airline providing service on this route to Malaysia, TransNusa offers travelers an expedited journey for both leisure and business trips in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
TransNusa Group Chief Executive Officer, Datuk Bernard Francis said, “We are honoured and thrilled to successfully launch our new scheduled Jakarta – Subang route.
“This route will allow passengers from Subang Airport to reach Kuala Lumpur in a mere 19 to 20 minutes by car with only 23km between the two locations,” Francis said, adding that passengers will need to travel 59km from the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) to Kuala Lumpur.
TransNusa’s first flight from Jakarta took off from Terminal 3 of Soekarno-Hatta International Airport at 11:00 am and landed at Subang Airport at 2:00 pm on August 1, 2024.
Francis noted that TransNusa has arranged for a daily flight departing from Terminal 3 of Soekarno-Hatta International Airport to Subang Airport.
TransNusa flight 8B 699 is set to depart from Jakarta at 4:10 pm, arriving at Subang Airport at 7:00 pm, while its return flight, 8B 698, leaves Subang at 7:30 pm and reaches Jakarta by 8:30 pm. The airline will deploy an Airbus A320, a narrow-body airliner with 174 seats, for this two-hour journey. Tickets for this route start at IDR 999,000, offering competitive pricing.
Chosen by the Malaysian Aviation Commission, Jakarta-based TransNusa is one of the two foreign carriers permitted to operate from the historic Subang International Airport, also known as Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah Airport. This airport was Malaysia’s primary international gateway from 1965 to 1998 before Kuala Lumpur International Airport took over. From the early 2000s, there have been appeals to allow the use of Subang Airport for scheduled domestic and ASEAN flights due to its advantageous location.
Last month, the Commission approved only six airlines, including four Malaysian and two foreign carriers like TransNusa, to operate from Subang Airport. Despite introducing this new route, TransNusa will maintain its existing schedule of three daily flights from Jakarta to KLIA and four weekly flights to Johor Bharu, as stated by Francis.
On what passengers can expect from TransNusa in future, Francis said, “As a Premium Service Carrier, our main priority is to provide our passengers with not only comfort, safety and good experience but also alternative options and competitive pricing.
“Hence, we will continuously aim to provide our passengers with new creative routes and accommodate their need to save time, to have as many options as possible, to have a comfortable experience and to have peace of mind while travelling.”
Francis noted that since the relaunch of TransNusa in August 2022, the airline has been focused on designing, implementing, and advancing new strategies to improve the travel experience for passengers, offer additional travel options, and ensure competitive pricing.
Meanwhile Mr. Manoharan Periasamy, Director General of Tourism Malaysia said, “Since the re-launch of TransNusa in 2022, the airline has grown and made a valuable contribution to the tourism industry in Malaysia by offering Indonesian passengers additional and competitive flights to Kuala Lumpur.
“We anticipate that TransNusa will keep expanding and make a significant contribution to the travel and tourism sectors in both nations,” he continued.
TransNusa, which ceased operations in September 2020 due to the adverse effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the aviation sector, resumed operations in October 2022 following the introduction of new shareholders and a revamped management team. Within just six months, under the guidance of Francis, the airline launched its inaugural international route connecting Jakarta and Kuala Lumpur. By April 14, 2024, TransNusa celebrated the first anniversary of this route.
“When we re-launched TransNusa in October 2022, we started from the bottom again. We had no aircraft or roadmap to follow. Everything was new because the pandemic had broken the aviation business operations boundaries.
“As such, we re-created and customised our own new business operations model and positioned TransNusa as the first Premium Service Carrier to cater for the new norm and needs of passengers that is based on the post-pandemic scenario,” Francis explained.
“Therefore, being handpicked by the Malaysian Aviation Commission as the only foreign airline to offer daily scheduled flights from Jakarta to Subang Airport is another milestone for us,” Francis said.
In April 2023, TransNusa inaugurated its maiden international journey from Jakarta to Kuala Lumpur, swiftly followed by the launch of three additional international routes by year-end. This bold expansion into international markets, coupled with strategic domestic operations, has positioned TransNusa as the fastest-growing airline in Southeast Asia.
Following a change in ownership, TransNusa has significantly influenced the aviation sector in Indonesia and beyond, capturing attention in Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, China, and globally. The airline made waves by being the first in Indonesia—and globally—to establish a new domestic connection between Bali and Manado. Moreover, TransNusa was the second Indonesian carrier to secure authorization for flights to China, offering passengers enhanced flexibility in pricing and route selection. Additionally, it distinguished itself as the first non-Chinese airline to operate the COMAC ARJ21-700 aircraft.
