AirAsia appealed to offer more competitive fares for domestic, international flights

KOTA KINABALU: Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) Central Youth assistant leader Shim Tshin Choo has appealed to low-cost carrier AirAsia to offer more competitive fares for domestic and international flights from East Malaysia.

At times, he said the flight tickets sold by AirAsia were not cheap at all, particularly during peak seasons. In a statement yesterday, Shim said the airlines operating in Malaysia targeted different segments of the market.

“Malaysia Airlines normally offers full fares, with the occasional discounts as promotion.

“Meanwhile, AirAsia is renowned as a budget carrier, which makes the airline popular among many passengers.”

However, Shim said more and more passengers had complained that the flight tickets sold by AirAsia were getting less affordable, or that only a small percentage of cheap tickets were offered to passengers.

“Passengers who missed out on purchasing flight tickets during the promotional periods are forced to pay medium to high fares, particularly for travelling from the cities in East Malaysia to Kuala Lumpur and other destinations in Malaysia and overseas.

“During the Chinese New Year, Hari Raya and year-end holidays, a one-way ticket from Kota Kinabalu, Sandakan or Tawau to Kuala Lumpur costs more than RM1,000 per passenger, which has yet to include additional services such as check-in baggage and meals.

“This pricing is a huge burden to lower income passengers in Sabah.”

Shim said Sabahans working abroad or in West Malaysia may only had the opportunity to return home once or twice a year to celebrate Chinese New Year or Hari Raya, yet they had to pay expensive fares for their homecoming trip.

Similarly, he said Sabahan students who studied in West Malaysia and vice versa could not afford the pricey flight tickets during the holidays as well.

While profit-making is inevitably the prime consideration for a private corporation, he said a successful company should also practise corporate social responsibility (CSR) and give back to the community.

“AirAsia would not have become one of the best airlines in the region if it weren’t for the support of its passengers.

“Hence, I suggest AirAsia fix a ceiling price for the fares between East Malaysia and Kuala Lumpur, especially during the festive seasons, for the benefit of Sabahans and Sarawakians.”