Eaglexpress, Noz Usaha Seal Us$11.52 Mil Charter Flight Deal

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 27 (Bernama) -- Eaglexpress Air Charter Sdn Bhd, a new air charter airline, Friday signed a six-month charter agreement worth RM35 million (US$11.52 million) with Noz Usaha Sdn Bhd. The airline will provide Noz Usaha, a travel agency which specialises in organising pilgrimage tours to the Holy Land in Mecca, 31 chartered flights, each carrying 450 economy-class passengers from the KL International Airport to the Jeddah International Airport in Saudi Arabia. "We expect to fly some 15,000 passengers to the Holy Land through this six-month contract," said Eaglexpress chairman Aseh Che Mat to reporters after the signing ceremony. He said the first chartered flight will depart on March 2 and will be continued on a twice-weekly basis. Aseh said Eaglexpress, a charter airline funded by investors from Malaysia, South Korea and the Middle East, is currently operating on one B747-400 aircraft. "Many more aircraft will be coming to meet the increasing demand that we receive," he said. Eaglexpress chief executive officer Azlan Zainal Abidin said the company has seven to eight memorandums of understanding with entities related to the travel and tour industry. "Most of the parties involved in the MoU have declared their interest to take a step further to sign a charter agreement with us. However, we are taking one step at a time while considering our capacity," he added. (US$1 = RM3.04) -- BERNAMA