Hi all,

I'm curious as to your thoughts on the potential for Malaysia's second biggest city - PEN - to see mid-haul wide-body flights (likely on AirAsia X) to places like Australia, Japan and/or the Middle East. It strikes me that PEN, despite its multiculturalism and size, sees fairly limited international traffic - particularly in the mid or long-haul space.

Some comments:

- PEN has a large Chinese-speaking population, yet no passenger flights to PEK or PVG.
- PEN arguably has in-bound tourism potential, which may support flights to SYD or NRT.
- In 2017, PEN's passenger traffic grew by 8%, and it secured a symbolic new QR service.
- Malaysia's new government has big short and long-term plans to expand PEN's capacity.

On this last point, there are plans to implement terminal optimisation to reduce congestion, with this to be completed by Q2 in 2019. This will involve the relocation of airline ticket counters, increasing check-in counters and immigration counters, as well as renovating the baggage reclaim carousel, with construction to take five months or so.

Longer-term, there are plans to increase passenger handling capacity from 6.5 million passengers to 12 million passengers a year. The government is now in the process of appointing a consultant through open tender for this. Hopefully this will be a smooth process, as the government says no new land is needed - the existing land is sufficient.

See: http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/catego ... -take-off/.

Some questions:

- Which cities are most likely to be added ex-PEN? IMO, Australia and Japan are possible.
- Which airlines are most likely to take up the opportunity? IMO, D7 is more likely than MH.

Cheers,

C.

PEN is really not well known outside of the region. The Chinese population there has more affiliation with HK and surrounding Chinese expat communities.

Maybe they will get flights after "Crazy Rich Asians". Who knows. I didn't think there was that much to see when I went there.

I am more surprised that MF doesn't fly from PEN to XMN or FOC. Granted, the Hokkien Chinese had been in Penang for a long time and thus, there is probably not as much VFR as I think.

Otherwise, as tphuang said, Penang is simply not ultra well known outside the region (Malaysia overall has a fair amount of somewhat hidden gems anyway). As for tourism - yes, there are some colonial architecture, and Penang (by miles) has the best food in Malaysia, but it is otherwise just another mid-size city in SE Asia.

Used to be fairly popular with UK tourists (Not sure how popular it is now). For a while MH operated LHR-PEN-KUL-LHR.

For political reasons - there was a general sentiment that the previous government did not actively promote Penang nor invest in infrastructure like its airport - as the state of Penang was for many years an opposition stronghold. Given Penang is Malaysia's second largest city - the airport is appallingly subpar.

Things may change with the recent end of Barisan National's 68 year rule.

QR launched direct flights to PEN earlier this year.

The Malaysian govt. is considering building a low cost carrier terminal to supplement the current terminal. Penang also reasonable cruise ship traffic - so, I am not sure if more long haul flights will be well accepted.

I think that with Visit Malaysia Year 2020, the Tourism Ministry might promore Penang more aggressively. So, airlines like D7 and MH may want to mount more flights into PEN from international destinations.

When I visited Penang in the '90s I remember seeing CX 747s, Japanese jets, as well as European leisure charters there (Finnair maybe?). MH also briefly operated some weekly long-hauls to Europe (MXP comes to mind), some of which were stopping also in Langkawi.

Penang is an amazing place! Would love to go back!

KL used to fly there till around 2000 iirc, making them the latest non-Asian airline to serve the airport.

BR CEO is on public record saying they are looking at starting up PEN with the A321.

The Chinese population at Penang have very little connection with Shanghai/Beijing according to my understanding, comoares to some other Chinese cities

KE tried ICN-PEN in the mid-2000s with the A330-200. Can't remember what the exact frequency was but it was less than daily. Maybe Jin Air (KE's LCC subsidiary) can add ICN-PEN someday, but at the present moment I believe they are not allowed to add any new routes due to their recent scandal.

I travel to Langkawi and Penang at least once per year from Australia. Langkawi is our annual 'drop and flop' holiday!
In my view, both are not all that well known locations for Australian tourists when compared to other locations around SE Asia like Bali and Thailand. They are not promoted locally here whatsoever. Whilst direct services to say Penang would be handy, I am not sure there would be sufficient demand. There is a plethora of connections from SIN (and KL) which make it very simple and easy to get there. It is only a 1 hour connection flight to either.
My observations are that both attract a lot of tourists from the Middle East (maybe hence the QR flights to PEN), Russia and ironically the nordic countries. At different times of the year, there are charter flights from Russia to be found at both LGK and PEN.
We love Malaysia but it does not quite have the service standards offered in some of the luxury resorts found in say Bali and Thailand who absolutely nail it

hoons90 wrote:

KE tried ICN-PEN in the mid-2000s with the A330-200. Can't remember what the exact frequency was but it was less than daily. Maybe Jin Air (KE's LCC subsidiary) can add ICN-PEN someday, but at the present moment I believe they are not allowed to add any new routes due to their recent scandal.

KE currently flies this a week.

I always found it curious how Cathay Dragon overnight an aircraft at Penang. I suppose they all can’t start in Hong Kong for aircraft utilisation

There's some useful - if slightly old - O&D data for Penang: https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source= ... bTSRCcADrH

At the very least we should see more service to a hub in northeast Asia.

MAS777 wrote:

For political reasons - there was a general sentiment that the previous government did not actively promote Penang nor invest in infrastructure like its airport - as the state of Penang was for many years an opposition stronghold. Given Penang is Malaysia's second largest city - the airport is appallingly subpar.

Things may change with the recent end of Barisan National's 68 year rule.

Seems like this would be the main reason. Penang was rich in 90s, and pretty much got stagnant afterward due to BN's focus on developing KL. It's actually BN's biased towards KL that make Penang such a stronghold for opposition, though.

c933103 wrote:

The Chinese population at Penang have very little connection with Shanghai/Beijing according to my understanding, comoares to some other Chinese cities

But the mere fact that PEN has a big Chinese-speaking population should make it well-suited to attracting Chinese tourists from PEK and PVG - PEN could be marketed as somewhere where it's easier to get around and harder to get lost in translation, than elsewhere in ASEAN. Aside from language, Chinese foods and holidays prevail, which could further boost marketability and tourism potential, no?

Cheers,

C.

Armaghman wrote:

I always found it curious how Cathay Dragon overnight an aircraft at Penang. I suppose they all can’t start in Hong Kong for aircraft utilisation

Interestingly, Cathay Dragon seem to be doing well at PEN - they recently increased flights from 10x to 12x weekly. They are now the fourth largest international operator at PEN. I wonder if Malaysia Airlines would ever consider this route in the future?

See: https://www.thestar.com.my/metro/metro- ... hong-kong/.

Cheers

C.

hayzel777 wrote:

BR CEO is on public record saying they are looking at starting up PEN with the A321.

Correct, with potential to feed North America. Their biggest competition will be Cathay Dragon.

EVA Air disclosed that it is planning for its 13th and 14th destinations – Penang and Yangon ...

See: https://centreforaviation.com/analysis/ ... ork-426620.

Cheers

C.

Armaghman wrote:

hoons90 wrote:

KE tried ICN-PEN in the mid-2000s with the A330-200. Can't remember what the exact frequency was but it was less than daily. Maybe Jin Air (KE's LCC subsidiary) can add ICN-PEN someday, but at the present moment I believe they are not allowed to add any new routes due to their recent scandal.

KE currently flies this a week.

KE only flies a freighter service to PEN - not a passenger one.

See: https://centreforaviation.com/analysis/ ... ork-426620.

Cheers,

C.

flee wrote:

The Malaysian govt. is considering building a low cost carrier terminal to supplement the current terminal

An update on this:

- Work will start on this next year, and will be completed in 2022.
- AK will increase their PEN fleet from 5 to 16 over these 5 years.
- AK will increase its connectivity from 8 international cities to 21.

There would be direct flights from Penang to Bali, Chiangmai, Macau, Hong Kong, Taipei and several cities in China such as Shanghai, Beijing, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Chengdu and Chong­qing, as well as Trichi and Kochi in India.

Quite ambitious!

See: https://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/ ... -new-lcct/.

Cheers,

C.

planemanofnz wrote:

c933103 wrote:

The Chinese population at Penang have very little connection with Shanghai/Beijing according to my understanding, comoares to some other Chinese cities

But the mere fact that PEN has a big Chinese-speaking population should make it well-suited to attracting Chinese tourists from PEK and PVG - PEN could be marketed as somewhere where it's easier to get around and harder to get lost in translation, than elsewhere in ASEAN. Aside from language, Chinese foods and holidays prevail, which could further boost marketability and tourism potential, no?

Cheers,

C.

The difference between the version of Chinese speaking in area like Penang and the version of Chinese spoken in cities like Shanghai or Beijing is probably larger than the difference between the italian language spoken in Milano versus the Spanish language spoken in Madrid. Their cultural background [foods, custom, festival, etc.] have also evolved toward completely different direction over the past century (Not to mention people settled in Penang originally come from different cultural region in China than those that live in Shanghai/Beijing area). Surely they are still Chinese and is still a factor that can be used to attract travellers visit the city when they come to Malaysia, but I don't think that alone can generate too much demand.

c933103 wrote:

The difference between the version of Chinese speaking in area like Penang and the version of Chinese spoken in cities like Shanghai or Beijing is probably larger than the difference between the italian language spoken in Milano versus the Spanish language spoken in Madrid.

Mandarin is the medium of instruction in Chinese schools throughout Penang state - most Penangite Chinese can speak at least some Mandarin, if not fluent Mandarin. "Mandarin, which is the main language used in vernacular schools, is widely spoken ... many among the younger generation and urbanites do not speak [Hokkien]."

See:
- https://www.malaymail.com/s/1445715/has ... -in-penang.
- https://www.thestar.com.my/opinion/colu ... ter-is-tr/.

c933103 wrote:

... cultural background [foods, custom, festival, etc.] have also evolved toward completely different direction over the past century.

I'd also add that many of the cultural events and festivals are pan-Chinese, like Chinese New Year. That, in tandem with the fact that Mandarin is widely spoken across PEN, could, IMHO, definitely be used to market PEN and attract Chinese tourists. It's all about convenience and familiarity, while still having foreign charm.

Cheers,

C.

Penang is famous among Indonesian middle-upper class as a cheaper alternative to Singapore (or even Indonesian hospital in some case) for 'medical tourism', even my Dad still visit Penang every 2/3 years for some sort of a human C-Check with his cardiologist. Could they also try attract this kind of market from South Asia or China as well?

planemanofnz wrote:

c933103 wrote:

The difference between the version of Chinese speaking in area like Penang and the version of Chinese spoken in cities like Shanghai or Beijing is probably larger than the difference between the italian language spoken in Milano versus the Spanish language spoken in Madrid.

Mandarin is the medium of instruction in Chinese schools throughout Penang state - most Penangite Chinese can speak at least some Mandarin, if not fluent Mandarin. "Mandarin, which is the main language used in vernacular schools, is widely spoken ... many among the younger generation and urbanites do not speak [Hokkien]."

See:
- https://www.malaymail.com/s/1445715/has ... -in-penang.
- https://www.thestar.com.my/opinion/colu ... ter-is-tr/.

c933103 wrote:

... cultural background [foods, custom, festival, etc.] have also evolved toward completely different direction over the past century.

I'd also add that many of the cultural events and festivals are pan-Chinese, like Chinese New Year. That, in tandem with the fact that Mandarin is widely spoken across PEN, could, IMHO, definitely be used to market PEN and attract Chinese tourists. It's all about convenience and familiarity, while still having foreign charm.

Cheers,

C.

If I remember correctly, I had no issue communicating in mandarin with local Chinese population. But I still don’t get the sense it’s a location that has much attraction to mainlanders. There are however a lot of visitors from Singapore.

I have flown MH direct from LHR to Langkawi in the late 2000s. I heard there was a similar flight to Penang which was direct one way and coupled with KUL on the way back. Both are well known in the UK having been to both for a holiday. I'm surprised more long haul carriers haven't considered this, especially low cost or holiday charters from China or Australia. I would've thought this would be a destination someone like EK may even try.