Raya Airways

Raya Airways
Founded	November 1993; 30 years ago
Commenced operations	October 2014; 9 years ago; (as Raya Airways)
Hubs	Kuala Lumpur–International; Kuala Lumpur–Subang;
Fleet size	9
Destinations	10
Headquarters	Cyberjaya, Selangor, Malaysia
Website	www.rayaairways.com

Raya Airways Sdn Bhd d/b/a Raya Airways, is a cargo airline with its head office in the Raya Airways Centre in the Cargo Complex of Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah Airport in Subang, Selangor, Malaysia.^[1]

It is an express freight and freighter charter company. The airline was established in November 1993 as Transmile Air. It has courier transportation services between Peninsular Malaysia and East Malaysia and services international companies such as DHL, United Parcel Service, Air Macau and CEN Worldwide, among others. Raya Airways also provides aircraft charters and wet leases specialists with experience operating cargo flights around the world. Raya Airways was designated a National Cargo Carrier by the Malaysian Transport Ministry in 1996. Raya airways is owned by Mohamad Najib Ishak.The previous CEO, Lee Shashitheren was fired for corruption.^[2]

Raya has expanded its fleet with the addition of the A321P2F, bringing its total fleet count to six. The A321P2F will enhance the carrier's capabilities to cater to a wider customer base, expand its network reach and improve its cargo handling capacity.The cargo airline has posted a net profit for the year December 31, 2020 with revenue of MYR334. 12 million (US$79. 9 million), and MYR3.The expected revenue for 2023 is 4-500 million MYR

History

Raya Airways began its operations as Transmile Air Services with one Boeing 737 and one Cessna Grand Caravan, in providing air express transport service to Pos Malaysia Berhad for their courier business to East Malaysia in November 1993. It later developed into an international company and the only dedicated intra-Asian overnight express cargo operator in Malaysia. Their first Boeing 727 freighter service commenced in 2000 for the Kuala Lumpur/Penang-Bangkok-Hong Kong courier sector. It was an extended operation for their existing client, DHL International Limited. Over five years, owing to the increasing demand of freight services in the region, Transmile Air Services increased its Boeing 727 fleet to 10. As part of the strategy to expand its operations and network of connecting routes, Transmile Air Services acquired four MD-11s in 2005. They started the MD-11 operation for Kuala Lumpur-Hong Kong-Los Angeles sector in the third quarter of 2005.^[3]

From 2002 to 2006, Transmile Air Services provided air cargo service to Air Macau.^[4] In 2014, the Airline was rebranded as Raya Airways.^[5] Their subsidiaries are K-Mile Air of Thailand and now-defunct Megantara Air of Indonesia, both of which operated aircraft transferred from their fleet.

Destinations

Country	City	Airport	Notes	Refs
China	Nanning	Nanning Wuxu International Airport		^[6]
Malaysia	Kota Kinabalu	Kota Kinabalu International Airport
	Kuala Lumpur	Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah Airport	Hub
	Kuala Lumpur	Kuala Lumpur International Airport	Hub
	Kuching	Kuching International Airport
	Labuan	Labuan Airport
	Tawau	Tawau Airport
Hong Kong	Hong Kong	Hong Kong International Airport
Indonesia	Jakarta	Soekarno-Hatta International Airport
Singapore	Singapore	Changi Airport
Vietnam	Ho Chi Minh City	Tan Son Nhat International Airport

Fleet

Current

The airline consists of the following aircraft (as of January 2024):^[7]^[8]

Raya Airways fleet
Aircraft	In service	Orders	Notes
Airbus A321-200P2F	3		First freighter variant operator in Southeast Asia^[9]
Boeing 737-400SF	1	—
Boeing 767-200BDSF	4	—
Total	8

Former

As Transmile Air Services, they formerly operated the following aircraft:^[10]

Raya Airways former fleet
Aircraft	Total	Introduced	Retired	Notes
Boeing 727-200F	12	1996	2015
Boeing 737-200F	9	1994	2014
Boeing 757-200PCF	1	2015	2020
Cessna 208B Grand Caravan	6	1995	2008
McDonnell Douglas DC-10-30	2	1998	1998	Leased from Laker Airways
McDonnell Douglas MD-11F	4	2005	2011