Raya Airways to widen footprint via long-term charter services

Malaysia-based cargo carrier Raya Airways is focused on building regular services for charters into Hong Kong (HKG) and has recently signed a long-term charter program agreement with a major international logistics company to help serve that market. [caption id="attachment_96313" align="alignright" width="371"] Photo: Raya Airways[/caption] While Raya Airways did not specify where the charters would depart from, the carrier's current route into HKG departs from its hub in Kuala Lumpur (SZB), according to flight tracking software. Raya Airways’ strategy is to widen its network and establish credibility with its stakeholders by progressing into long-term chartering services, said Mohamad Najib Ishak, managing director at Raya Airways. He declined to disclose the identity of the charter customer. Considering China’s rapidly growing e-commerce and express delivery market, the carrier is especially focused on adding consistent, fixed frequencies and regular services for charters into HKG, said Najib. In addition to its own services, Raya Airways operates many flights on behalf of DHL Express, who declined to confirm whether they were the logistics company in question. “We remain focused on our charter business as we observed that demand in East Malaysia, Hong Kong, Singapore, Jakarta and Vietnam since the movement control order in Malaysia that was instituted in March 2020 [in response to the pandemic] experienced a steady [average] growth of 53% YoY between March and September 2020,” said Najib. “This growth in demand is due to the combination of increased e-commerce transactions , shipment of goods and supplies for medical purposes, and the reduction of belly cargo supply.” With the newly signed charter agreement with the international logistics company, Raya Airways can begin to build a regular, fixed frequency charter network starting this month, Najib added. Regarding its current charter operations, Najib noted that Raya Airways has provided charter services into East Malaysia, Singapore (SIN), Jakarta (CGK) and China. Both Raya’s charters and regular scheduled routes typically transport cross-border e-commerce products and consumer goods, including perishables and medical supplies, said Najib. In October 2020, Raya Airways was chartered to send medical supplies to front liners working in Sabah, Malaysia which was experiencing a high number of COVID-19 cases during that period, said Najib. A month later, the carrier collaborated with MediCOM, a leading manufacturer and distributor of personal protective equipment (PPE) and infection-control solutions, to return to Sabah and deliver PPE and dry food supplies to frontline workers. Raya Airways’ fleet currently consists of three 767-200Fs and one 737-400F, with a third 767 added earlier this year . The regional network includes eight destinations in six countries. Most recently, Raya Airways launched a four-times-weekly service between Kuala Lumpur (SZB) and Nanning (NNG), China, on June 13.

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