> Quick view: AirBorneo, Sarawak's state-owned full-service carrier, flies daily between Kuching and Singapore on a Boeing 737-800 — its first international route. Launch "Sarawakku Sayang" one-way tickets start from RM399 Economy / RM871 Business, all-in with taxes, a 23kg checked bag, seat selection and an onboard meal, for travel through 21 March 2027. Re-priced in AirBorneo's own booking engine on 1 September 2026: RM399 was still the price on 13 of the 15 dates sampled — but the flight moves 45 minutes later from 25 October 2026.

The offer

  • New route: Kuching International Airport (Sarawak) to Singapore Changi Airport Terminal 4 — AirBorneo's first international route since it took over MASwings operations on 1 January 2026
  • Daily flights, running since 22 July 2026, on the Boeing 737-800. Block time is about 1 hour 35 minutes each way.
  • The times change on 25 October 2026. Through 24 October 2026: MY363 departs Kuching 6:50pm, arrives Singapore 8:25pm; MY364 departs Singapore 9:15pm, arrives Kuching 10:50pm. From 25 October 2026 onwards: MY363 departs Kuching 7:35pm and arrives 9:10pm; MY364 departs Singapore 10:00pm and arrives Kuching 11:35pm. Both timetables were priced live on airborneo.com on 1 September 2026.
  • Launch promo, the "Sarawakku Sayang" fare: all-in one-way fares from RM399 Economy Class and RM871 Business Class
  • Bookings opened 13 July 2026 via AirBorneo's official website and mobile app
  • The promo fare applies to travel for the period 22 July 2026 to 21 March 2027

What the RM399 actually buys you

AirBorneo sells exactly two fare types on this flight — Economy Standard at RM399 and Business Value at RM871. There is no cheaper economy bucket hiding beneath the "from" price.

The Economy Standard fare card, read off AirBorneo's booking engine on 1 September 2026, includes:

  • 10kg hand carry
  • Checked baggage: unlimited pieces, 23kg maximum — a weight allowance, not a one-bag limit
  • Free standard seat selection
  • Complimentary snacks/meals and beverages — AirBorneo is a full-service carrier and the meal is not an optional extra
  • Change penalty: maximum RM100 per passenger. Refund penalty: maximum RM150 per passenger.

Business Value at RM871 raises that to 15kg hand carry and 33kg of checked baggage, adds free choice of any seat, and carries the same RM100 / RM150 change and refund penalties. Per AirBorneo's own fleet page, the 737-800's 12-seat Business cabin has 46-inch seat pitch, 21-inch width and 6 inches of recline — a genuine front cabin for RM472 more than Economy.

How firm is "from RM399"?

Firmer than most "from" prices. Sampling the booking engine's own 15-day price strip on 1 September 2026:

  • September 2026: RM399 on 13 of 15 dates. The two exceptions were Sundays, at RM429.
  • December 2026, including the school-holiday week: RM399 on 13 of 15 dates. Sunday 20 and Monday 21 December were RM429.

So moving your dates saves RM30 at best. The engine did tag the flight "6 seats left at this price", so the cheapest bucket is finite on any given day — book early rather than shop for a cheaper date.

Is RM399 actually cheap? The real numbers

Kuching–Singapore is not an underserved route. AirAsia, Scoot and Singapore Airlines fly it non-stop, at roughly 38 flights a week between the two cities as of August 2026. (Royal Brunei Airlines connects the two cities only through its Bandar Seri Begawan hub, not non-stop.)

Priced on one sample date — Tuesday 22 September 2026, one adult, one way, checked on 1 September 2026 — the direct flights looked like this:

Two things fall out of that table.

Against Scoot's evening direct, AirBorneo wins. RM49 more buys a 23kg checked bag, a chosen seat and a meal, none of which Scoot's RM350 includes.

Against AirAsia's morning direct, it doesn't. AirBorneo is RM263 more than AirAsia's RM136.12, and a checked bag plus a seat assignment does not cost RM263 on AirAsia. Note how that RM136.12 breaks down at checkout: RM42.12 base fare plus RM94.00 in taxes, fees and surcharges. On this route the tax is most of the ticket, which is why no carrier's headline fare drops far below RM115.

So the verdict is narrower than "it depends whether you check a bag". If you want an evening departure with luggage, AirBorneo is the best-value evening flight on the route. If you can fly in the morning, AirAsia is materially cheaper even after you add a bag and a seat.

Returns, and the Business-class asymmetry

The promo runs in both directions, but not at the same price.

  • Singapore to Kuching in Economy is RM398, so a return trip in Economy is about RM797 all-in — and the same 23kg bag, seat and meal apply on the way home.
  • Singapore to Kuching in Business is RM1,631, not RM871. A return in Business is therefore about RM2,502, not RM1,742. If you want to try the 12-seat cabin, do it on the Kuching–Singapore leg and fly Economy home.

Who it suits — and who should skip

Worth booking if you fly with checked luggage, the evening timing works for you (a full working day in Kuching before departure, or a full day in Singapore before flying back), or you want to try a 12-seat Business cabin at RM871 all-in one way, which sits well below most full-service business fares on this route.

Skip it if you travel hand-luggage only and are price-sensitive — AirAsia's morning direct was about a third of the price on our sample date. Skip it too if you need a daytime departure: AirBorneo runs one evening rotation a day, while the competition spreads 38 weekly flights across the clock. And note that Enrich points can no longer be earned or redeemed on AirBorneo flights since 1 January 2026, so Malaysia Airlines loyalty members lose that benefit here.

Fine print

  • "From RM399" is the lowest fare bucket, not a flat price — the booking engine showed "6 seats left at this price" on every date we checked, and the fare rises once those seats sell.
  • Book only through official channels. AirBorneo sells these fares exclusively through airborneo.com and its own mobile app. Checking AirAsia MOVE's metasearch for Kuching–Singapore on 1 September 2026 returned 35 results across AirAsia, Scoot and connecting carriers — and no AirBorneo at all.
  • Changes and refunds go through the call centre, not the website. Since March 2026 AirBorneo has directed all reservations and ticketing requests — new bookings, flight changes and refunds — to 1300-22-1388 (toll-free within Malaysia) or +60 82 537 555 from outside Malaysia. The amounts are published at booking: a maximum of RM100 to change and RM150 to refund, per passenger.
  • Online check-in is available on this route. AirBorneo's check-in page opens 48 hours before departure and closes 90 minutes before takeoff. The only aircraft it excludes is the Twin Otter, which this Boeing 737 service is not — so there is no need to allow extra time for a counter-only check-in.
  • AirBorneo has not published blackout dates (school holidays, festive periods) for this promo, and the December sample found none in practice: the school-holiday week priced identically to an ordinary September week.

Tips

  • Compare on your real dates at the checkout screen, with a bag and a seat added to the competitor's basket. On this route that is the only comparison that means anything.
  • Remember the 25 October retiming. A flight booked for November or later leaves Kuching at 7:35pm, not the 6:50pm quoted in the route's launch coverage — worth checking before you plan an airport transfer or a same-day connection.
  • The "Sarawakku Sayang" fares are a family, not a one-off: Kuching–Kuala Lumpur launched at RM375 all-in into KLIA Terminal 1, and Kuching–Mulu was showing from RM219. Both were still on AirBorneo's homepage on 1 September 2026.
  • AirBorneo is genuinely state-owned: the Sarawak Government signed the sale and purchase agreement with Malaysia Aviation Group on 12 February 2025 and the airline assumed the full MASwings route portfolio on 1 January 2026. It calls itself a full-service carrier, which is what the included bag, seat and meal reflect.

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*Cover image: AirBorneo (official Facebook page)*