China Express Airlines (G5, Chongqing) will establish a base in Kuching, Malaysia, as part of an agreement between the government of Sarawak state and Chinese tourism development firm, Beijing Glory International Culture Development Co Ltd.

According to Malaysia's Star newspaper, the agreement will boost Sarawak's tourism potential and hospitality management by exploiting demand in the Chinese market. Aside from China Express's operations, Beijing Glory will also manage two Sarawak Economic Development Corporation (SEDC) hotels - Damai Puri and Grand Margherita.

At present, Kuching is a base to three carriers - Malaysia Airlines, AirAsia, and MASwings. They offer services to the Philippines, China, Singapore, and Taiwan. Foreign carriers that serve Kuching include SilkAir (MI, Singapore Changi) and xpressair (XN, Makassar) with services to Singapore and Indonesia respectively.

For its part, China Express Airlines has bases around China including Chongqing, Dalian, Guiyang, Hohhot, and Xi'an Xianyang. Its operations are currently limited to the domestic Chinese market with Bangkok Don Mueang and Phnom Penh its only international destinations.

This article was extracted from CH Aviation.