Letters
by J Chan
The storm that is generated by the government’s decision to give the go-ahead to the Sime Darby-AirAsia consortium to build a brand new airport at Labu continues to blow unabated.
On the one side is a government GLC, Malaysia Airports Holdings Berhad (MAHB) which is being accused by AirAsia of not being able to meet AirAsia’s needs of no-frills service, and yet attempting to charge AirAsia “exorbitant” landside charges.
On the other side is MAHB which, through its website, defends its record of meeting clients’ expectations, and asserting that airport charges are being set by the Government, not by the airport operator.
What the public is inclined to accept is that the present LCCT is in a shambles, and is probably on a par with some domestic Indian airports.
MAHB defends this, as they have spent RM 170 million to build a new extension, which is now partially opened, and they say that the upgraded LCCT should be able to cater for up to 10 million passengers per year until 2013. After that, MAHB says that they have plans to build another terminal that is contiguous with the KLIA main terminal, and that this terminal could be ready by 2013.
AirAsia says that this is baloney, for MAHB have never really delivered commitments on time (they point to the current state of affairs at LCCT as an example) and that any delays would negatively impact AirAsia’s business model.
AirAsia defends the Labu airport proposal as a “must have” for the airline’s long term viability. It will have 100 narrow-body and wide-body aircraft by 2014, and they need gates and parking spaces.
AirAsia is so desperate that they are willing to spend money to build the Control Tower, CIQ facilities, the KTM extensions and the ERL extension without the government spending a single sen. They also say that the road connections will also be built by the private sector. This prima facie is a good deal for the government, and hence the EPU has issued the go-ahead letter to Sime Darby.
However, the more relevant questions to ask is whether this project is good for the rakyat in the long run, and whether this project is consistent with the country’s air transport policy.
The KLIA masterplan was conceived during the Mahathir era, and had proposed that KLIA be built on a modular basis to eventually cater for 100 million passengers per annum.
The masterplan talked about connectivities, both airside and landside, and eononomies of scale to avoid duplication of certain services.
The ultimate objective was to build a transport hub to rival Changi and Bangkok’s new airport. Today, only one-third of KLIA’s allocated landbank is used, and hence expansion around KLIA is not a constraint.
To say that “not a single sen of the rakyat’s money will be used” in the construction of Labu airport is misleading, for there is socio-economic impact on air travellers, and on the people living around the airport site.
Each time a new airport is built, you uproot people and you affect the ecology of the area. Heathrow’s third runway took 10 years for approval.
The Labu airport took less than a year for the EPU to approve, although AirAsia claims on its website that an “extensive and in-depth study has conducted by the government”.
Then there is duplication which by its very nature is a waste of resources. Take taxi and bus transport. Each terminal (KLIA, Subang, LCCT) now has its own “exclusive” taxi service. Connectivity between KLIA and LCCT is so bad that buses run hourly, and taxis charge you RM30 to get rrom KLIA to LCCT and vice versa.
We can assume that Labu will have its own exclusive taxi and bus service. Labu airport will need a new set of air traffic controllers, a new set of CIQ personnel, a new set of public security measures.
AirAsia has bravely said that they are even willing to put these personnel under the payroll, which is commendable, but of course not practical as these people have a duty of care to the rakyat and not to AirAsia.
The Transport Minister, Dato Seri Ong Tee Keat had said about 10 days ago that the Labu airport proposal was approved by the cabinet, and not by his ministry alone.
He then went on to tell reporters to direct further questions at the Ministry of Finance as the approval letter was issued to Sime Darby, a GLC.
This is clearly an outright abrogation of responsibility by the Minister who is supposed to be in charge of Air Transport Policy, and Aviation Policy.
If we all recognise that AirAsia needs to have its own terminal, and that MAHB is by its very nature a reactive rather than a pro-active agency, then the solution is quite obvious.
Let AirAsia build its terminal at KLIA. Kennedy Airport in New York has different airlines operating different terminals but using common airside facilities.
The KLIA masterplan envisages the creation of an underground driverless train link between the current terminal and future terminals. This should be expedited. There should be free shuttle bus services between the terminals to be paid for by the terminal operators.
This is the time for the Transport Minister to show some leadership, and not abrogate responsibility to other ministries.
This is the time to demand that AirAsia and MAHB sit down to discuss what is best for the traveller and for the country.
This is the time to demand that both protagonists stop the cyberwar that is making us the laughing stock in the region.
UMNO sure knows the tricks in not only window dressing but choosing the said curtain colors.The Middle man syndrome is their livelihood . Soon they will want to build a suspension bridge connecting the jungles of Sarawak from Pekan!
http://sjsandteam.wordpress.com/
Something fishy ….going on.
Air Asia seems to get what they want..then keep complaining this or that…like if ..if ever they fail….it is due to this or that reasons…..and not of their own making.
The airline now have so many budget planes competitions….as what they do make sense…and where money making is concern…..why not..so easy to copy?
But S’pore Airline is keeping a low profile…after creating budget planes themselves…why?
Concerning sudden big incident…were lives are lost….in any developed countrty…Malaysia is now very famous.
Plane crashes possibilities….are taboo discussions by Airliners..until it happens.
Luck has to play alot with Air Asia success..with all those real old and battered planes.
We are the guinea pigs.
Anyone who fly alot can feel a sense of insecurity with those old planes. I did.
That went on for few years..no accident……thank God for it.
Logically speaking…..free things are never good and good things are never free.
So beware….you get a free ticket for a ride in any airline.
CHANGE OR BE CHANGED.
DPM Tainted History
The DPM”s warning that BN must change or be voted out rings hollow in the face of Najib’s tainted history
[ deleted]
UMNO must change
It is not just the BN component that needs to be changed. UMNO must change.
The first thing that UMNO can do is to stop the manipulating Samy Value propagating his iron grip rule on the waning Indian coalition – striking another blow for the further alienation of the Indian voters. Najib’s silence is tantamount to endorse these dirty tactics.
Najib is NOT the people’s choice as PM.
The general perception is that Najib is only the president of UMNO and an the KT results is a repudiation of him being PM of the country.
The nest thing BN can do to show its political will to change is to REPEAL THE ISA and the abolition of annual press licences.
Malacca International Airport will be ready in june why don’t AA go there.. c’mon tony nego with Ali.
Common mistake ‘wither‘ – you mean ‘whither‘, as in ‘going where?’, as opposed to wither=’dry up, shrink and die’.
Same with ‘wether‘, which means ‘castrated ram’, as opposed to whether=’a choice of two options – eg whether or not’
Unless, that is, national air transport policy really is shrivelling up and dying.
[Thanks. You are right about the error. – Admin]
The interest AirAsia has in building a new airport shows that there must have been good money making opportunities with the project. The sources of revenue could include appreciation of land value in the vicinity of the airport apart from the contract works associated with the building activities. That might also be the reason why KLIA has been built to cater for 125 million passengers a year when the present flow is only 25 million, a fifth of its intended capacity 10 years after KLIA has been in operation. AirAsia expects to have 20 million passengers in 10 years. This together with the increased in passenger volume in 10 years at KLIA alone would still not exceed the capacity of 125 million planned for KLIA.
Whether KLIA should have been planned for 125 passengers or only for half that number when it was built more than a decade ago, and thus deprive others of the opportunity to make money along similar paths should have been debated then. Now that a site has been found for an airport larger than the capacity needed for another 50 to 100 years and transportation network have been put in place, it would be more economical for the country to build extensions at the current site to take care of the need of AirAsia, than to build an airport at a different location. AirAsia must have taken into account he cost of transportation network to the new site it has proposed that it considered it fit to have it at Labu, 10 KM from KLIA.
Many have expressed concern on the safety of having two airports within 10 KM or two minutes of flying time when there are different controllers for the two airports. Besides, it would cost more to build an airport at Labu and the extension of transportation network than to build similar facilities of the new airport as an extension of KLIA. The advantage is that passengers who travel on cheap flights by AirAsia can get connection to other destinations offered by others operating at KLIA and vice versa.
A few persons would make the decision to build a new airport at Labu, and millions of passengers would experience the inconveniences arise thereof, and for generations to come. EPU should have the expertise to decide the proper use of national resources, whether the funds for the Airport comes from the government or from private sector. Surely the additional expenditure involved in building a new airport at Labu could be utilized for other investments that would bring higher economic returns.
Khazanah has now weighed in to say that they are not in favour of the new airport. I suspect that Tony Fernandez is making use of Sime Darby to get what he wants with MAB. Eventually Ong Ta Kut will have to get these parties to sit down and the spineless government will have to write off some of the debt that AirAsia owes to MAB.
OrangRojak:
You could say whither the balls of the Transport Minister or that the balls have withered. I’d say that it is true for both.
“This is the time for the Transport Minister to show some leadership, and not abrogate responsibility to other ministries.” (J Chan)
MCA always claims that Barisan Nasional (BN) rules the country with collective leadership and collective responsibilities among all the component parties of BN. If this is true to the core, then why mustn’t the Transport Minister, Dato Seri Ong Tee Keat, be given an equal share of power with Umno ministers in making the decision about constructing a new airport? Anyway, airport construction shall be classified as part of the duties of the Minister of Transport as this is well written in his job description.
“The Transport Minister, Dato Seri Ong Tee Keat had said about 10 days ago that the Labu airport proposal was approved by the cabinet, and not by his ministry alone.
He then went on to tell reporters to direct further questions at the Ministry of Finance as the approval letter was issued to Sime Darby, a GLC.” (J Chan)
Dato Seri Ong Tee Keat advised the reporters to get the answer to the reporters’ query from the Ministry of Finance. This clearly shows that as a second line echelon in BN’s leadership, MCA minister is unfortunately not being paid a good respect by Umno’s minister because it seems that the MCA’s Minister of Transport has not been informed and therefore knows nothing about the matter of approval for Sime Darby to build a new airport at Labu.
If MCA top leader has also to be treated as a second class human being in cabinet by Umno’s ministers, then why should Dato Seri Ong Tee Keat continue to allow MCA to humiliatedly stay in BN further as a second class component party which is not being given any true government policy decision making power?
In order to preserve the traditional noble pride of Hainanese people, Dato Seri Ong Tee Keat should be giving a serious thought about the decision of causing MCA to withdraw abruptly from Barisan Nasional Coalition in order to protest on his being bullied by Najib and to rebuild his political image among all his Chinese followers.
I believe all the Malaysian Chinese will stand behind Dato Seri Ong Tee Keat if he chooses to dissolve MCA and merge all MCA membership into DAP in order to stay away from being bullied by Umno again.
Given that KLIA is under-utilised and Subang is still available, the idea of Labu is completely absurd. Has anyone considered the fact that this may be a plot to fix a broken vessel? Is it possible that this new project is required to generate cash to repay loans? (Hhmmm, rubbing my chin with a big frown)
Some of us can understand that Ong Ta Kut is working for a lame duck PM, and that this is a rudderless regime. However, Ong Ta Kut has to understand that he has to show some leadership, some transparency and not go the way of the Port Klang Free Trade Zone scandal – deferring to UMNO for all key decisions. Shameful indeed.
In-dept study!!!? tell him my foot!!!
Open the issue for public hearing and let the rakyat listen to OKT and question him and let see whether he can give a satisfactory answers.
Who are the process owner of Air Transport Policy and the Aviation Policy?
What is the view from The Department of Civil Aviation (DCA)? There are many experts on the Air Transport and Aviation issues!!! Were they consulted by EPU? What makes EPU to agree with Air Asia proposal and surely they can come out with reasons of the decision. The DCA is not saying anything….agree or disagree or is there a hidden agenda by MOT, EPU, DCA and Air Asia and what about The Defence Ministry who is also the stake holder in aviation in particular the airspace or may be the RMAF is still sleeping dreaming of new Eurocopter?!!!
Kit:
Ask Ong Ta Kut for a copy of the “in-depth study” referred to by Tony Fernandez. Tony also said that the EPU letter of approval was addressed to Sime Darby so perhaps you can ask Amirsham or Nor Mohamed for a copy of the approval letter.
Today is the inauguration of Barack Obama, the first African-American as President of the United States and leader of the Free World. There is a record crowd of some 1.0 million people who are in Washington DC and increasing. Nobody knows the exact number. It may well surpass 2.0 million. These are people who come from all over the world and feel they have to be here to be part of history. Here I am shivering in the cold, sitting on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial with my laptop ready to witness history being made – some two miles away! Wishful thinking?
This is no ordinary occasion and yet here we are discussing the shadowy world of corrupt politicians who want to put their fingers into every pie.
George Bush is leaving the White House as one of the most unpopular President the U.S. ever had. On his way out he pardoned two criminals. In comes a President who is not only the President of the United States but really President of the Free World. He will inherit a major economic crisis (the worst since the Great Depression of the 1930s) and two wars.
So let’s focus on a historic occasion unfolding on the steps of the Capitol. For here is the “moment” when the man makes his rendezvous with destiny and changes the world as we know it. It is not just an “American Moment” but a moment for the entire world.
Wow so much money I can access too and imagine what I can do with a little bit here and there..
Lincoln Memorial with my laptop ready to witness history being made
…and then his battery went flat.
If you can type something similar about LKS one day, I’ll buy you a new laptop! I suspect you’ll be sitting in KLCC, shivering with the cold first.
In Malaysia the nearest you come to being cold is when you develop cold feet. Would DAP develop cold feet and opt out of the coalition? Under LKS the chances of that happening, I would like to think, is rather remote.
LKS would be too smart to go with the fringe of his party and not seize the moment. When Anwar becomes PM it is my hope to see LKS as DPM.
dang!
even if i wanted to,
i don’t think i can become the finance
minister and loot the country
to purchase my own private jet!
at least not whilst limkamput hasn’t
gone kaput…
President Obama has a message to the world ( ….including Malaysia).
To those who sow the seeds of conflict and blame the ills of their society on the west, your people will judge you. To those who stifle dissent, know that you’re on the wrong side of history! Show that you are willing to unclench your fist and we’ll work with you.
Ong Tee Keat tipped his shoulder, it seems. “Go ask Fin Min” he said. “Decision is in the cabinet.” “Not mine.” “Alone.” For greater credibitility he should have added “I am Hamba deBully really.” “So go ask Tuan McBully.” Then again, perhaps he need not. Dont we all know it already? Yeh. Dont we all? And he seems to think that ex-mca supporters will return. Have returned or are returning. No doubt KT result would be his evidence. Actually its only evidence of his fancy I fear. And when the shoulder is tipped, not only would burden and responsibilities slide away, principles, ideals and support too would wither. Perhaps that he didnt know. Oh yes I must not earn the conviction of premature conclusion. Its not nice. In any event, it would be unfair. So maybe (or is it certainly?) he is a product of umno gobermen’s (-)meritocracy system. We all are. So its the system. Not the man! But to have a guilty system operated by innocent men and women makes wee sense. To hear the innocent operators proclaim their desire to change the system makes even wee-er sense. The habit (or is it skill) of shoulder tipping would certainly not gel with any such desire! And quite apart from burden shedding, doesnt he realise that sloping shoulders make an awful sight of a person? An upright rocket with limbs I suspect is not too appealing a sight to a lot of people.
President Obama of America with bring Perdana Menteri Hamba deBully to Malaysia.
Joke of the Century
[deleted]
cintanegara asks “which country allows the leader of a minority party to take such a senior post as the Transport Minister?”
We say that UMNO can have Ong Ta Kut, simply because he represents change that we don’t believe in.
Why didn’t DAP work closely with the Government to put an end to land reclamation issue in Straits Johor which may impact the maritime boundary, shipping lanes and water ecology of the Malaysian side.
Furthermore, the reclamation works could have an adverse impact on marine life and waters on the Johor side have become so narrow that it could not be used even by small boats.
cintanegara
your question above is
a little mystifying. i don’t know what you
are referring to. what land reclaimation issue?
also i don’t know what you mean by
“Why didn’t DAP work closely with the Government to put an end
to land…” can you tell us what is it that DAP did not do
that you felt they should have done?
asking questions like that which have no head or tail
doesn’t make sense.
also i will be replying to your questions in the previous
post. i haven’t got time to do so now. so please be patient.
also could you also please try to answer a few questions
that some readers leave on this blog?
i observe that
all you really do is ask questions but never really reply to
other peoples questions.
it seems you just ask and ask but never reply to theirs.
i repeat i will be taking some time to respond to your
questions in the previous posts. but when i finally get round to
doing so i hope you will realize it does take time
on peoples part to give answers and likewise we hope
in fact it is only fair that you do so.
thanks!
taiking
maybe if and supposing hudud
is introduced the thieving criminals
should have their limbs chopped
off? strap them to the rocket
and blast them off into space with only enough
fuel for a one way trip?
:)
At the end of the day, all the BIG picture painted by Air Asia will come to NOUGHT! but the commission had already changed hands; and the BN gomen will have to take over! Fees ‘semua sudah bayar ‘ up-front. For a smallish environment like Peninsular, we do not need so many air ports! all we need is a well planned metro system connecting all the major centers in the central part.
The other day, I spoke to my friend’s daughter who took the plane from LCCT to Singapore, it took her 6.5 hours to arrive home!! A bus at half the price takes 4.5 hours! I would certainly say those who still want to fly this sector should have a second thought.
Considering the inconvenience and the cost of travelling to either airport at KLIA and the time taken, it does not make sense!!
The money to be spent in creating all these facilities related to air travels should be concentrated at the current KLIA. Let us plan and spend on MRT not just to connect to the airport but to all the suburbs in the Greater Klang Valley which is congested with all kinds of traffic from Port Klang, North to South traffic.
It is high time that some realistic planning be done for people working in the central region of the Peninsular.
The current problem related to traffic congestion was created by those involved in the toll collection business, Instead of allowing traffic flow based on ‘natural flow’, they created ‘jams’ to force the direction of traffic flow towards the tolls.This is the GREAT work of Super-Ego, Sami half-value and the non-thinking LLS/CKC of MOT.
Instead of all the talks of building new airports to meet the needs of budget lines, why can’t Subang be used? And Subang can be connected by MRT to the current lines. Travelling is a necessity to many who have to travel to work, it is certainly not the job of ANY responsible Gomen to make it tougher for the general public not only to pay more but also wasted their time in travelling!
Unless we wake and face reality, our internal cost of logistics will make us uncompetitive in this sector.
cintanegara of course refers to the reclamation done by our neighbour in the south. well so long that his claims can be proven, I believe negotiation is possible. But he forgot all the reclamation done at PTP, which was done without consulting the same neighbour!
ok thats fine but what is he claiming when he says
that dap “didn’t work closely” with the government?
i mean dap isn’t responsible for that issue is it?
what is it that dap did to oppose the government
if dap did in fact
oppose the government that he is unhappy about?
well still waiting for cintanegara to clarify his question.
and the question also is will he respond to
what waterfrontcoolie says about port if tanjung pelepas
doing the “same thing”?
cintanegara don’t just ask. answer as well.
show that you are even handed.
also perhaps cintanegara will want to answer this
question.
malaysia’s foreign minister (i think it was
if i remember corrrectly) said that malaysia
searched (scoured) the whole world for documents
proving malaysian ownership pf pedra branca
not only that. malaysia claimed that singapore
deliberately withheld documents from singapore
showing malaysian ownership.
after the case was decided, singapores chief justice
declared that malaysia’s case had been supported only
by documents that singapore had shared with them.
in fact singapore had taken the first initiative long
before the case was heard to share ALL documents
in singapores possesion with malaysia to avoid
any protracted arguments. has rais yatim
responded?
can cintanegara respond as to the work ethics of
malaysian ministers?
cintanegara
you also have not responded to the comments
that in the country down south which you
obviously have contempt for
there are ministers from a minority group
there who hold the positions of DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER,
FINANCE minister and LAW minister.
not just transport minister.
surely you agree these are very very important ministries
far more important than a “transport ministry”.
Can you answer as to whether malaysians from minority
groups can ever hold them again?
Please answer. don’t just ask questions.
It seems that Najib Razak is keen to go ahead with Labu Airport project even though Khazanah may not agree with it. This Labu Airport project may just be another money siphoning plan in order to cover the poor quality decision that had been made by Umno state government.
In 1993 Negeri Sembilan State Government promised to buy over the agricultural lands from the small farmers who resided in Labu and Sendayan by paying a down payment of RM120,000 for each person who offers to sell their 8- acre lands for more than RM1 million per piece. Such a decision was made by the State Government under the administration of Tan Sri Isa with the confidence of ability to resell the land to a housing developer at a lucrative price. Later on when the economic situation turned sluggish before the transaction had been fully completed and the debt due to the farmers duly paid by the state government, the housing developer ran into a bankruptcy situation and was put under the receivership. The farmers who had not received full payment from the state government later took the state government to court. The court ruled that NS State Government was obliged to pay the debt due to the farmers but NS State Government found no money to complete such deal even though a court order had been obtained by the farmers to demand prompt payment.
It is no surprised that Najib Razak will continue to push through the Labu Airport projects in order to avoid further borrowing of money by NS State Government from the Federal Government. This is because NS State Government and the Federal Government are too poor to make payment for debts now.
Dear Computation,
Allow me to reiterate that Malaysians from minority groups can become PM, DPM or other senior posts in the cabinet if he/she gets the full support from the majority.
As I said earlier, Malaysia is a unique country whereby every citizens are not denied to hold any position if they are qualified. Unlike the other country, we trust every of our citizens and never had any doubt of their sincerity and loyalty.
The Minister of Transport has no authority over money making schemes. That is MoF’s prerogative. That was cleverly taichied by the minister. So there is really no National Air Transport policy.
We should know by now, that Malaysia is ruled by scams. And this Labu Labi is no different from the other scams.
If this cintanegara is the best that UMNO can throw at us, then it is obviously heading to oblivion. He not only doesn’t answer readers’ questions, he tries to divert and deflect attention. Typical of UMNO’s bankrupt tactics.
how to change and command respect ? Susah lah ini macam.
AA mentioned Chicago and Midland la, JFK and Laguardia la. Please note this airports are very very busy. So easy to expand JFK ka?Do you think there is land around these airports? if they do like KLIA, they will not built another airport close by. So lets not simply make airport or city comparison without looking at utilisation or land availability.
will AA park all 100 planes at LCCT Labu? waht ab out their KK and JB hub. soon Malacca.
anyway ryan air doesn’t have their own airport, they own 195
planes. many bases..why can’t air asia see how it works for Ryan air.
Tony can ask fro own airport. but the gomen needs to look at the big pictuure and big picture says, do it at KLIA, economic of scale, safety etc…bodhlah this gomen
WHERE IS THE IN-DEPTH STUDY CONDUCTED BY THE GOMEN ?
the in depth study consisted of
can or not ?
can !
ok boss say can or not?
boss say can!
oh like that can !
cintanegara
at this point in time
i don’t know whether you are
brain damaged or have been brain washed…
If I’m not mistaken…
1. ERL (by YTL) will be expanded to Labu
2. KTM will be expanded to connect KTM Labu. Also KTM has submitted a proposal to introduce “Airport Express” (by KTM)
There’ll be two airport (Sepang and Labu), two airport rail service (ERL and KTM) as well hahaha. Correct me if I’m wrong.
*** *** ***
As for the airport, well, I ask MAHB to completely overhaul KLIA immediately!!! The following is my idea.
1. I suggest build a new cost-effetive Main Terminal (MTB2) at KLIA rather than to build a new permanent purpose-built LCCT. MTB2 will served as a “Regional Terminal” (no.3).
2. Separate International and Domestic terminals instead. Australia (most other countries) does that. Here’s the plan:
3. Ask Sime Darby or whoever (must go through open tender) to build a new SUPERBIG Domestic/Regional Terminal at KLIA (if insufficient land as claimed by Dato Tony, then please have land extension).
This new “Regional Terminal**” will be used to serve all AirAsia, Thai AirAsia, Indon AirAsia and MAS Domestic, Tiger Airways, Firefly* and other regional airline flights.
* Move Firefly to KLIA and it should not be a ‘bargaining chip’ for AirAsia to operate out of Subang in future.
** Perhaps in the future, we can renamed the Regional Terminal as “ASEAN-Malaysia Friendship Terminal” rather than just “Rakyat’s Terminal”.
Note: The Regional Terminal should include aerogates and sufficient gates and parking bays like the Labu proposal.
4. The present Satellite 1 and Main Terminal (MTB1) should be used for MAS Long Haul, AirAsia X and foreign national carriers like SIA, Emirates, Thai etc. Satellite 2 can be built if AirAsia X expands anytime soon.
Note: so eventually you’ll have MTB1 and S1 + S2 for International, while MTB2 for Domestic and Regional.
5. All terminals use common facilities like runaway and control tower. And all should be inter-linked with the present Aerotrain and inter-main-terminal buses. When you arrived by MAS from London at say S1, I beg you would rather travel internally via Aerotrain to MTB2 to catch an AirAsia flight to Penang, than to take the ERL to Labu!!!
6. Since domestic tickets by MAS and AirAsia are about the same nowadays, MAHB (or the government) should charge every domestic carriers roughly the same taxes.
Note: AirAsia should not manage its own airport because it’s completely out of their core business.
7. I believe no airline should “monopolized” a single terminal for their own interests.
8. At the end of the day, we would have a very MODERN and INTEGRATED airport to serve KL as a hub. When everything has traffic, do expect KLIA to compete with Changi and HK for the total passengers numbers!!!
If this can be done, I would call this CHANGE. Yes We Can!!! (but in reality, somehow I feel KLIA is too difficult to change already)
On the issue of KLIA as a regional hub:
As claimed by Dato Tony, KLIA is not “really” a hub rather the served city should be a hub.
My opinion is that I do not want KLIA to be a hub to go here and there, but I just want KLIA to be one of the world’s busiest airport with alot alot of passengers and aircrafts moving!!! What you see today is sad, and if AirAsia moves to Labu you could expect KLIA to be very lonely.
Godfather, otherwise UMNO won’t be what it is today! They planned and took step to ensure all those thinking Bumis are cast aside; otherwise their plans will be exposed long ago!
Believe me, all these grandeur constructions guarantee the proponents up-front cash, they are not interested in the management of any project that requires skills and competitive environment. Just compare the cost of our double-track railway cost against what many suppose to be ‘corrupted’ Chinese railway construction programmes, we are many times more expensive based on the speed the track has been designed for. Surely there are experts here who can provide better analysis on the actual comparative cost.
AirAsia’s success very much depends on enriching a few ministers to get fast approvals and funding. That’s what Tony is good at. AirAsia’s service and reliability as an airline is one of the worst. Skidding aircraft, flight delays and cancellations, poor or non-existent customer service are the order of the day still in AirAsia. Try calling the customer or sales hotline. Even if you’re lucky to get through, you’ll get someone speaking in some incomprehensible foreign accent, who puts you on hold for 1/2 an hour and then hangs up the line on you.
Let the big boys fight. We the rakyat will show them who’s king.
If the Labu terminal is too inconvenient & MAS is offering dirt cheap prices, we just go to KLIA & fly MAS. Air Asia will then slowly realise, but by that time too late.
But in the meantime, the construction of the new LCCT in Labu will create plenty of jobs for the rakyat during this downturn in the expense of Sime Darby & Air Asia.
I still fly MAS domestically because the service is still much better and the price is not much different. I would not risk my life flying an airline like AirAsia where the safety standard is questionable. Certainly life is more precious than a few dollars savings. If terrorists are planning to hijack a plane, AirAsia will be a piece of cake.