Cancellation of SibuKK route upsets locals

SIBU: The cancellation of the Sibu-Kota Kinabalu (KK) route by MASwings next year will be a blow to Sibu folk.

On Wednesday, Transport Minister Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai announced that MASwings would cease operations for six routes in Sabah and Sarawak by next year to make way for commercial airlines.

These routes are Kota Kinabalu - Sandakan, Kota Kinabalu Tawau, Kota Kinabalu - Miri, Kuching - Miri, Kuching - Kota Kinabalu and Kuching - Sibu.

President of Sibu Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCCI), Dr Hii Sui Cheng believed that Sibu people will be disappointed when the Sibu-KK route cease.

“The decision makers don’t see what we see. MASwings’ poor quality of service and costly ticket price have slowly destroyed their market for this sector.

“Fewer people use MASwings because of frequent flight delays and costly tickets,” he said yesterday when commenting on Liow’s statement.

Liow was also reported as saying the decision had come after a study by the Malaysian Aviation Commission (Mavcom) on rural air services (RAS).

“The government is ready to consider applications by commercial airlines to operate RAS, subject to conditions, but if we open up RAS to commercial airlines, we cannot subsidise MASwings anymore,” Liow said.

Hii responded: “It is erroneous to base a decision just on MASwings’ data. We will continue to ask the decision makers not to impose ‘the exclusivity clause for Sibu-KK sector’ to allow other airlines to fly if it makes business sense.

“At the same time, I take the liberty to make proposals for MASwings to help improve its service-RM120 for one way SibuKK, compensation of RM60 for delay of more than 30 minutes excluding bad weather, zero flight cancellation or refund of ticket price plus RM100.

“I am optimistic that passenger volume will increase under this new scenario for the benefit of the public and MASwings,” he added.

He also pointed out that Sibu Airport is serving the whole of the central region of Sarawak including Kapit, Sarikei Bintangor, Mukah and Selangau.

“Therefore, a Boeing flight connectivity between Sibu and KK is important for tourism as well as business development,” he reasoned.

Meanwhile, Sarawak Central Region Hotels Association chairman Johnny Wong Sie Lee noted that if two airlines are plying the same route, definitely not all flights will be full.

“MASwings is flying with smaller aircrafts which cannot accommodate big groups which affect foreign visitors to Sibu,” Wong said.

Former travel agent Robert Tan opined the Sibu-KK is a very important sector and if MASwings cannot service this sector it is a good idea to open it up to other commercial airlines.

“Look at Sibu-KL and SibuKuching; the load is 80 per cent. Also look at Sibu-JB. AirAsia monopolises this sector and yet, they offer good timing and good pricing,” he noted.

Tan reckoned that MASwings should improve its service and compete with other commercial airlines, saying depending on subsidy from the government is not an alternative.

If MASwings cannot sustain their business, they should give it up to other commercial airlines especially the low cost carriers like AirAsia, he said.

Tan claimed that it was commonplace for MASwings to delay or even cancel flights at the last minute.

For the record, AirAsia discontinued the Sibu-KK route in August 2009 after operating for four months, as MASwings had been given exclusive rights by the government to service the rural air routes.