Sabah, Labuan to benefit most from move to cap air ticket prices: Senator
Published on: Wednesday, March 21, 2018
Kota Kinabalu: Sabahans and Labuanites will benefit the most from the move by the Government to impose price caps on air tickets of domestic flights, said Senator Datuk Abdul Ghani Yassin, Tuesday."The Government would not have stepped in if air ticket prices for domestic flights have not spiralled out of control, especially during festive seasons like Chinese New Year, Hari Raya, Christmas and school holidays where a study carried out by Mavcom showed a five-fold increase in airfares during this period," he said.Abdul Ghani, who is also Umno Pensiangan Divisional Chief, said since Sabah and Labuan are the furthest away from Kuala Lumpur, its people suffered the most, in term of cost, when the need to travel to the Federal Capital arises.
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"The air ticket price from KK to KL sometimes can cost more than RM1,000 one way and this is a burden to many, especially students and rural folks," he said.Abdul Ghani said he raised the issue on the need to cap the prices of domestic air travel last December after being appointed Senator and was pleased that the Government has taken the initiative to put a stop to the practice.He said the KK-KL flight is a lucrative route for the three domestic airlines operating where AirAsia is mounting 15 flights, Malaysian Airlines (20 flights) and Malindo (five flights) daily."From KK to KL alone these three airlines are mounting 40 flights daily and I believe it is almost the same number of flights for the KL-KK route, meaning that this route alone, they are mounting some 80 flights daily.
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And this does not include the Labuan-KL, Sandakan-KL, Tawau-KL, KK-Johor Baharu, KK-Penang and other routes out of the State to the peninsula," he said.Abdul Ghani said capping the prices of domestic air tickets will not only boost Sabah's tourism sector but also helped in national integration.
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"Many from the peninsula have yet to visit Sabah and for them as of now, flying off to Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia or the Philippines with their families is much cheaper than coming to Sabah. "If the air ticket prices are attractive to them, I believes they will not hesitate to visit Sabah," he said, adding that airlines should also do their part in promoting domestic tourism.Abdul Ghani was commenting on the statement by Deputy Transport Minister Datuk Ab Aziz Kaprawi in Parliament on Monday that the government is in the midst of drafting a ceiling price to control airfares for domestic flights.Ab Aziz Kaprawi had said it would be done through the Malaysian Aviation Commission (Mavcom) and this ceiling price plan would be completed before the middle of the year.Abdul Ghani hoped that the ceiling price to control airfares for domestic flights will be fair to all parties, including the airlines."Off course airlines have to make profits to make it viable for them to continue operating but it should not be seen as ripping off the people, especially Sabahans, and made them to pay through their nose.He said airlines are collecting millions of ringgit daily from advance online bookings and also benefiting from 'burnt' tickets due to late arrivals at the airport or last minute cancellation by passengers due to unforeseen circumstances."Those who missed their flight should be put on the next available flight instead of asking passengers to pay more and travel the next day. Those who do not have enough money to stay in the hotel will have to suffer hanging around the airport," he said.Meanwhile, Abdul Ghani welcomed Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak's plan to announce the Barisan Nasional (BN) candidates early."This is not only a brave move from our BN Chairman but also logical in view of the country's political scenario now. Some of those who are not selected as candidates may jump ship but with the early announcement of candidates, we will know who is with us and who is not and damage control can be implemented."Naming them just before nomination day like before will give us no time in case someone decides to cross the political divide as we have to start campaigning. We tried to cover as many areas as possible while campaigning and do not want to be bogged down by issue of unhappiness among certain individuals who are not selected as candidates," he said.Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
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