KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia Airlines Bhd (MAS) is not worried about the upcoming passenger service charge (PSC) revision but hopes the rates for Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) and Kuala Lumpur International Airport 2 (KLIA 2) will be the same.
MAS chief executive officer Peter Bellew said the 51 other carriers now operating out of the two terminals in Sepang were also looking forward to the same charges.
Normally, airports worldwide had a difference of US$1 to US$2 (RM4 to RM8) between terminals, but it was US$8.25 between KLIA and KLIA 2, he said.
“To us in a year, it’s a cost of well over RM100 million, in terms of the differential (between KLIA and KLIA 2). I have been in this business a long time, so I am used to the pricing of airports.
I have dealt with the pricing of airports in more than 200 locations in Europe and the United States,” said Bellew at a media briefing, here, yesterday.
The current PSC at KLIA is RM65 for international destinations and RM9 for domestic travel. At KLIA 2, the charges for international and domestic destinations are RM32 and RM6, respectively.
Malaysian Aviation Commission chief operating officer Azmir Zain had said it was reviewing the PSC and an announcement could be made by year-end. MAS announced recently that it would operate some flights to new leisure destinations from KLIA 2 next year.
This means costs will be RM33 cheaper per passenger, or RM5,412 per flight. This, he said, would translate into annual savings of RM1.97 million for each daily flight.
However, Bellew said MAS would stay only at KLIA should the PSC between the two terminals remain the same. “If the charges stay much higher at KLIA, we will have to operate some of the new flights at KLIA 2.
But if they balance it out, we will stay where we are (at KLIA),” he said, adding that MAS would likely introduce up to eight new leisure destinations, primarily in North Asia, next year.
The new routes, which would be announced in the next six to seven weeks, will not significantly have connecting traffic between KLIA and KLIA 2 as the majority of passengers would be inbound.
As an aviation expert who has dealt with airport operations for more than 20 years, Bellew said he was impressed with the facilities at KLIA 2.
The terminal, he said, was one of the finest developments that he had seen. He brushed off some of the highly-publicised issues regarding the terminal, such as ponding at the aircraft parking bays, saying it was among the normal teething problems of a new airport.
“I have spent a lot of time over there (KLIA 2) myself. There are super baggage transfer systems, the immigration desk is very well set up and they have put in new travellators.
So there is nothing wrong with the facilities over there. The shopping is obviously quite incredible. I shop at the Jaya Grocer there myself,” Bellew added.
Source: New Straits Times | Business | 20 July 2016
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