SINGAPORE - Berjaya Hotels & Resorts, a subsidiary of Bursa Malaysia-listed conglomerate Berjaya Corporation, will be making a US$15-20 million purchase of two ATR 42-500 aircraft that will serve Redang island in Malaysia.

This was announced at the Singapore Airshow on Wednesday (Feb 7).

The hotel group said that in the future, Beraya Air will explore opportunities to link Redang island to Singapore.

TBerjaya has two resorts, which see an average room rate of US$200, on Redang Island. The new aircraft will reduce the time taken to reach the island from Kuala Lumpur, from five to six hours to just about an hour.

On the choice of ATR 42-500, Berjaya Hotels & Resorts chief executive Hanley Chew said that it was the correct size for the hotel group.

The ATR 42-500 aircraft has a typical seating capacity of 42 seats, but it will be configured to seat 36 passengers - or nine rows of four seats - for Berjaya Hotel & Resorts.

Additionally, the size of such aircraft allows it to take off and land on short runways, said Mr Chew.

He added: "The airport runway on Redang island is only 1,100m long, so the ATR 42's capabilities on short runways is very important."

The first aircraft will be delivered in April, and Berjaya Hotels & Resorts hopes that the inaugral flight will take place in June. The aircraft will be operated by sister company Berjaya Air.

The hotel group said that in the future, Beraya Air will explore opportunities to link Redang island to Singapore.