Rayani Air Is Malaysia's First Shariah-Compliant Airline. Here Are 6 Facts You Should Know
Rayani Air will serve 5 destinations in Malaysia.
By Sadho Ram — 19 Dec 2015, 07:03 PM
1. Rayani Air is Malaysia's first ever Shariah-compliant airline
As a "Shariah-Compliant" airline, its Muslim crew are required to wear hijab.
Food and beverages served are halal-certified and there will be no alcohol served onboard. Additionally, there will be prayer recitals before the departure of every flight.
"We are the first Malaysian airline to be Syariah-compliant based on guidelines by relevant authorities. We are proud of this. The Syariah-compliant aspects will be refined as time goes by," said Rayani Air MD Jaafar Zamhari.
2. Rayani Air is the fourth airline in the world that imposed application of Shariah-compliant to each Muslim cabin crews after Royal Brunei Airlines (RBA), Saudi Arabian Airlines and Iran Air
3. The airline was handed the Air Service Licence (ASL) and Air Operator's Certificate (AOC) from the Department of Civil Aviation (DCA) at Putrajaya on Friday. It will make its maiden flight on Sunday, 20 December from KLIA2 to Langkawi International Airport.
DCA director-general Datuk Seri Azharuddin Abdul Rahman handed over the documents to Rayani Air managing director Jaafar Zamhari and chief operating officer Captain Sumar Lee Hashim Lee in a ceremony at the Transport Ministry yesterday.
“The DCA has done a thorough audit on the airline and we are pleased to say that it has fulfilled all our requirements,” said Azharuddin after the handover.
4. Previously set to be based at Malacca International Airport, it changed base to Langkawi International Airport to attract tourists
Rayani Air Managing Director, Jaafar Zamhari said for a start, the airline will provide domestic flight services in five locations - Langkawi, KLIA2, Kota Bharu, Kuching and Kota Kinabalu. He said Langkawi has been chosen as a hub for the airline because of its attraction as a destination for tourists.
5. According to its MD Jaafar, Rayani Air is not a low-cost carrier, nor a hybrid Airline. It is a full-service airline similar to Malaysia Airlines.
"We are an airline that provides full service, just like Malaysia Airlines Berhad. "We provide 16 business class seats and 128 economy class seats," said Jaafar.
Rayani Air is currently using two Boeing 737-400 aircraft, which was purchased from Neptune Air Limited. It plans to add more aircraft and expand its network in the Asia region by next year. Jaafar also mentioned that the airline plans to introduce routes in the middle east and provide flights for the Umrah and Hajj.
6. It has 355 employees including 8 pilots and 50 cabin crew staff
The market response since its booking period from December 13 this year, has been encouraging with a 50 to 60 per cent booking load especially for the upcoming Chinese New Year holidays.