MASwings Sdn Bhd's move to fly to destinations in the Brunei-Indonesia-Malaysia-Philippines East ASEAN Growth Area (BIMP-EAGA) has been described as the best platform to enhance trade and tourism.

It could also narrow the economic gap between members of the sub-region, Sabah Tourism, Culture and Environment Assistant Minister Datuk Bolkiah Ismail told Malaysian journalists covering the airline's maiden flight from Kota Kinabalu to this Brunei capital.

"To ensure continued prosperity, we need to make friends with our neighbours and with this, we can do things together not only in tourism but also other fields like trade and investment.

"This is the best flight and the ministry will intensify efforts to draw more tourists from Brunei by introducing new attractions particularly in the east coast of Sabah," he said.

MASwings, a subsidiary of Malaysia Airlines, is the first Malaysian carrier to connect BIMP-EAGA entry points under a memorandum of understanding for air route expansion to the sub-region signed between the four countries on Jan 12, 2007.

MASwings now flies twice daily from Kota Kinabalu to Bandar Seri Begawan route and trice weekly from Kuching to Bandar Seri Begawan.

It will operate one flight daily between Kuching and Pontianak in West Kalimantan from Feb 6 and three flights a week from Tawau to Tarakan in East Kalimantan beginning Feb 13.

Bolkiah said statistics from his ministry showed that tourist arrivals from Brunei had grown 300 percent to 109,000 last year from 34,000 in 2009, and the new flights would create space for the exploration of new areas in both countries.

Meanwhile, Sarawak Tourism Minister Datuk Amar Abang Johari Tun Openg said MASwings' move would help increase the value of trade in BIMP-EAGA this year.

Tourism Brunei CEO Sheikh Jamaluddin Sheikh Mohamed said he would continue to support the collaboration with Malaysia after the success of several activities that involved Brunei, Sabah, Sarawak and Labuan like the "Borneo Package" in 2003.

MASwings CEO Datuk Capt Mohd Nawawi Awang said the airline would introduce new routes in BIMP-EAGA if there were demand for it.
The company would expand its operation using 10 ATR 72-500 aircraft to destinations such as Labuan, Balikpapan, Ujung Pandang, Davao, Silibus islands and Mindanao by year-end, he said.

Previously, only Royal Brunei Airlines served the Kota Kinabalu-Bandar Seri Begawan route while Indonesia's Batavia Air and Kal Star Aviation operated the Kuching-Pontianak route. -- BERNAMA