Why, oh why, do you want to fly, flymojo?

By A. Stephanie

The plan to set up yet another airline in Malaysia – with the funky name of flymojo – boggles the mind as airlines are facing major problems. What is it that flymojo can offer that will make it different… and who really backs it?

Malaysia Boleh. Nothing, I think, encapsulates this as much as the fact that the first thing on the minds of any Malaysian with spare cash is to start an airline.

Of all the businesses to start in a downturn, with only a population of 28 million to service (yes yes we know the Asean population totals 600 million but the average Laotian and Burmese person doesn’t fly eh), whilst competing with more established regional flyers.

Flyers like Thai AirAsia and Nok Air (Thailand), Lion Air (Indonesia), Cebu Pacific and AirAsia Zest (Philippines), Tiger Air and JetStar Asia (Singapore), and Malindo Air and of course AirAsia, the latter two based in Malaysia.

Aiyo. Malaysia memang Boleh.

I am of course, referring to the emergence of Fly Mojo Sdn Bhd early this month, bursting onto the scene at no less than the Langkawi International Maritime & Airspace (LIMA) hullaballoo.

The actual airline, flymojo, will only be launched October and the first plane delivered in the first quarter of 2016, with the airline based in Senai, Johor and Kota Kinabalu, Sabah. It is expected that it will have both regional and domestic services but details are scant.

The signing ceremony for its 20 Bombardier craft worth US$1.49 billion (RM5.47 billion), was witnessed by Prime Minister Najib Razak, Transport Minister Liow Tiong Lai and the Canadian high commissioner (Bombardier being a Canadian brand).

Sri Gading MP and Deputy Transport Minister Abdul Aziz Kaprawi enthused greatly about how flymojo will help boost air connectivity and underutilised airports.

“There are many airports in Malaysia that are not fully utilised or capitalised, so this (airline) could create growth in new areas and cities,” the Johorean told Bernama.

Could he be referring to the 100 domestic routes MAS slashed in favour of  AirAsia in its drastic 2006 restructuring strategy to push the ailing national airline – again – above water?

Some of these routes are on the Rural Air Service, which was taken up in August 2006 by FlyAsianXpress – privately owned by AirAsia bosses Tony Fernandes and Kamarudin Meranun – and subsidised by the government.

By mid 2007, facing losses and complaints about unreliable service, Fernandes had bounced the service off to Firefly (a MAS subsidiary), then MAS passed it to its other subsidiary MASWings, which currently oversees Sarawak’s rural routes.

MASWings also serves Sabah, together with state government-owned Sabah Air, a charter airline which has been servicing businesses, flying doctor services as well as supporting sightseeing and government trips.

Kota Kinabalu is the country’s second busiest airport after KLIA, so MAS, Firefly and AirAsia have bases there too.

Competition is already rife, so why now, just before GST kicks in and after three air tragedies in 2014 is flymojo setting up? With prices of daily necessities expected to rise, quick weekend trips to Bangkok or Singapore will be one of the first things to go.

Hey, why not an overpriced fashion line or a chain of hipster coffee shops or even a series of upscale lifestyle property launches? In this economy, any one of these ventures could vacuum through less money over a much longer time. Why an airline?

Fernandes took less than two years to pay back the US$11 million (then RM40 million) debt AirAsia was saddled with when he bought the company for a nominal RM1. But he got two Boeing jets in that bargain and operated solely out of Langkawi in the beginning, according to its website.

Though Fernandes had zero industry experience, he had worked for Virgin billionaire Richard Branson before. Former RyanAir director Conor McCarthy was brought in to help in the early days.

Malindo Air is a joint venture between Indonesia’s largest low-cost carrier Lion Air and Malaysia’s National Aerospace & Defence Industries Bhd (Nadi). Nadi also owns Airod, Asean’s leading aircraft maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) services provider.

These are big guns supporting big ventures. That is why the question everyone is asking is: Who is behind flymojo?

CEO Janardhanan Gopala Krishnan – who also owns 9% in Fly Mojo Sdn Bhd – was formerly the chief operating officer of Subang Skypark, operator of Subang Airport. But nothing is known of major stakeholders Azharuddin Satyapal Das (81%) and Ismail Hue Kor Ming (10%).

Janardhanan insists he has absorbed Azharuddin’s 81% after the latter exited the company last year, that he is not a front for any big names, and that Fly Mojo represents four individual investors including himself and two corporates.

KiniBiz checks with the Companies Commission of Malaysia show that the earlier breakdown of shareholding – and Azharuddin’s stake – is still on record.

With the CEO refusing to divulge anything else, aviation analysts are assuming government backing of some sort behind this new venture, drawing upon the presence of Cabinet officials at its launch (Malindo’s too) or the fact that Fly Mojo chairman is Alies Anor, PWTC chairman and Najib’s former political secretary.

Reacting to flymojo’s emergence, Fernandes told The Star there was no problem in having a new airline so long as there was no subsidy and unfair treatment given.

But government help has never guaranteed success. MAS, undergoing yet another ‘revival’ plan, springs to mind.

Last August, Malacca-based Rayani Air was launched, operating out of the RM240 million underutilised Batu Berendam Airport.

Though this domestic flyer was a private venture, Rakyat Post quoted Malacca Chief Minister Idris Haron saying the state would consider compensating Rayani Air for passenger shortfall if the airline fills less than 35 of the 50 seats in its Fokker planes.

According to Rakyat Post, the state government had previously set up Melaka Air to fly to Penang and Medan, but the service was halted because of poor response.

Rayani was to start thrice weekly domestic flights from Batu Berendam in January but it was not stated to where the flights would be. There has been no news since, its website remains under construction, emblazoned with the words ‘Taking off soon!’

Another outfit linked to several state governments, Pelangi Air, ceased operations in 2001 after multiple disruptions due to lack of crew and financial crisis.

Putting aside government stake in airlines, private ventures in this capital-intensive industry have fallen by the wayside as well.

Ipoh-based Silverfly, which was launched by Perak Menteri Besar Zambry Abd Kadir, flew its first and last flight in March 2010. Ipoh Echo quoted the menteri besar saying the company had approached the state for assistance but was turned down for lack of a ‘proper business model.’

Based out of Senai  – like flymojo plans to –  was Athena Air, a family owned business launched in 2003, which flew to several Indonesian destinations. It soon sunk into obscurity due to lack of promotion and a website, and its exact date of demise remains unknown.

Even further back in 1995 was Kota Kinabalu-based Saeaga Airlines, which was owned by now-bankrupt former timber tycoon Ting Pek Khiing.

It was in the midst of expanding to West Malaysia and Asia Pacific when it fell victim to the Asian Financial Crisis of 1998, together with the Bakun dam and most of Ting’s other ventures.

For such a small country still in developing status, Malaysia is, amazingly the land of failed airlines. We, Malaysians however, continue to dream.

Malindo is aiming for 100 planes in 10 years, flymojo’s 20 is to arrive in the next three to four years and there was the the QZ8501 accident. All these have contributed to AirAsia’s stock slumping 26% since last December.

Analysts however, say this is mainly sentiment, and flymojo will be unable to match AirAsia’s muster of 82 planes (in Malaysia only). In the short term though, sentiment is that with increased competition and considering lower fuel prices, both Malindo and AirAsia are set to slash prices even further.

It is the average Malaysian who is set to benefit, right? After all, many still remember the RM1 fares newly-minted AirAsia sold by the millions to unseat MAS back in 2002.  Clearly, many Malaysians – especially those who stalk AirAsia websites for latest offers – are banking on more of this.

Despite Janardhanan’s insistence that flymojo’s seats will not be priced below that of AirAsia and the fact that flymojo will not even be in the air till early 2016, the latter is not taking any chances.

Less than a week after flymojo was unveiled on March 17, AirAsia again rolled out its Free Seats promotion, offering three million seats at a RM0 base far across 20 countries, including long-haul affiliate AirAsiaX.

Malindo has yet to respond in kind, but only time will tell.

In the meantime, the secrecy surrounding flymojo’s backers has the industry on tenterhooks. At first glance, their pink livery and promotional message seem to mirror AirAsia’s when it was an upstart back when.

Two paragraphs of text adorn the single webpage that is flymojo’s website.

The first alludes to their ‘coolness’: “You’ve got to admit, to get off the beaten track sometimes you need people who are off their rocker. The groovy folks who are unconventional enough to do unconventional things to your advantage.”

No really, don’t. Personally, I’d rather not have people off their rocker commandeering planes. We’ve had too much of that recently. No, thank you.

The second teases who they are: “In time, we’ll raise the curtains on who we are and our fascinatingly unorthodox way of serving our passengers (you’re not going to believe how different we are from the others!)”

Visitors are invited to add themselves to the mailing list, as for the time being, flymojo “will just have to keep you guessing.”

So why, why, flymojo, do you want to fly? And as The Who asked, “Who are you?”

GRRRRR!!!