According to a report by Malay Mail Online, Suasa Airlines CEO Captain Sheikh Salleh Abod said that the “Monspace” marking on the aircraft was only an advertisement which the Department of Civil Aviation (DCA) was aware of.
Recently, photos of an aircraft marked with the words “Monspace”, “Suasa Airlines”, “www.monskyways.com” were circulated online, creating confusion over the identity of the actual flight operator.
This also prompted the DCA on Monday to insist Suasa Airlines explain the markings.
Responding to this request, Salleh said the airline had allowed Mon Space (M) Sdn Bhd to have its advertisement carried on the Suasa Airline aircraft that took-off on a DCA-approved demonstration flight to Langkawi on July 22.
“It is our charterer’s advertisement. There’s nothing wrong with it,” he told Malay Mail Online.
“They (Monspace) charter our flights, they will be our charterer. And they are not a one-off charter, they charter for the long-term. That is the reason why we allowed them to paint on our aircraft.”
He added that the DCA was already aware of the situation and had even given its approval for the demonstration flight.
“When DCA approved our aircraft, they saw all that and we will be painting (the logos of) some other companies later.
“The approval was given by the DCA, otherwise we cannot even operate.”
However, a report by The Star said clues had surfaced linking the airline to China’s self-proclaimed “world’s future richest person” Zhang Jian.
A brochure circulating on WeChat promoting the airline’s trip to Langkawi features Zhang in a business suit with two thumbs up.
According to the report, the plane bearing what The Star referred to in its report as “Monspace Sky Airline’s” logo and a silhouette of Zhang in the middle of the advert, was targeted to tourists from China.
The report said the airline’s parent company Monspace Group, known to the Chinese as Yun Xun Tong, was said to have advertised in a Chinese website called Zhong Zhi Wang.
The English daily also said that Langkawi Island in the advert, was referred to as Yun Xun Tong Island, implying that the island belonged to the company.
The report noted further that in another video uploaded on a Chinese video-hosting site, Yoku.com, the founder of Monspace Group Jessy Lai claimed that the group had acquired an island located about a 15-minute boat ride away from Langkawi and had renamed it Monspace Sands Island.
Despite being accessible over the past few days, the Monspace Sky Airline website at www.monskyways.com has now been removed.