MASwings Projects

According to World Changing - A User's Guide for the 21 st Century , “Choosing to fly, is a decision with serious environmental consequences. Airplanes emit carbon dioxide, water vapor and nitrogen oxides; emissions at high altitudes can contribute to climate change at three times the rate of emissions released closer to the ground.”

So, while our passengers need to rethink their decisions on how and when to travel, we in the airline need to rethink how we operate our business. Everything we do has an impact on the environment which we operate in. Yet, we still have a choice – we can choose to ignore it and play dumb – act as if we don't know about the environmental issues at hand – or we can take the challenge and change the way we think and work in order to make a difference.

We choose the second option.

BUT again, we're no experts, and we're learning all the time, so the following are just some of the initiatives we are exploring at the moment.

A meal box that's safe enough to eat

With over 400 flights per week, MASwings provides a large number of meal boxes for passengers on board our longer flights. In order to move away from non-recyclable plastics and cardboard materials originally used to make these boxes, we're working together with a supplier which produces fully disposable meal boxes made out of “kelapa sawit” palm tree fibres which literally change into pure compost after approximately 6 to 8 weeks in a landfill. When compared to plastic or foam packaging which requires 60 to 100 years to break down, these palm fibre meal boxes – which are practically safe enough to eat - are definitely a smarter choice when it comes to reducing negative impacts on the environment.

The birth of a new fleet

MASwings currently flies eight Fokker-50 aircraft and 5 Twin Otter aircraft. Although they are recognized as being more fuel-efficient than other aircraft in their class, these planes have been in use for quite a number of years. MASwings will be operating with new aircraft beginning in September of this year when the first ATR-72 aircraft will be delivered.

Making use of the right materials

MASwings is also actively making environmentally conscious decisions in choosing raw materials for the production of marketing, advertising and promotional collaterals and products. For instance, MASwings recently procured paper bags made from recycled paper fibres. Moving ahead, pamphlets, timetables and other collaterals will also be produced using recycled fibers and craft paper. (Unlike the meal boxes, you can't eat these though.)

Working together with the community

MASwings places a lot of emphasis on working together with travel and tourism partners in collaborating to make changes that help the environment. MASwings works together with Sabah Tourism Board and Sarawak Tourism Board to promote the locations in Sabah and Sarawak which houses a multitude of conservation efforts for example Tabin Wildlife Reserve, The Mulu World Heritage National Park, The Sepilok Orang Utan Rehabilitation Centre, The Danum Valley Conservation Area, Tabin Wildlife Park and many more.

By promoting responsible tourism and eco-tourism, MASwings hopes to raise the awareness of the environmental issues faced in this part of the world.

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