Frequent flier weighs in on MAS

IT is heartening to note that despite all the brickbats it has received, our flag carrier, Malaysia Airlines, was crowned the Best Airline in Asia (at the International Council of Pacific Area Travel Writers Association’s International Travel Awards on March 11).

Nevertheless, MAS’s financial performance is a cause for concern.

Let me share some of my observations as a frequent MAS traveller who clocked more than 100 flights in 2018, both local and international.

I travel out of Penang Airport and notice MAS had drastically reduced their flights, giving enough room to their competitors to increase their flight frequency and capture passenger volume.

Ticket pricing is also prohibitive and unrealistic. A one-way economy ticket on the Penang-Kuala Lumpur sector can range from RM400 to RM600. Business class tickets can go up to RM1,600. No one in their sane mind would pay such a prohibitive fare for a onehour flight when there are four other flight options landing in three Klang Valley airports.

Also, on both local and international flights, the business class seats are not always full. In my recent travels overseas, I noticed not even half were occupied. MAS could easily earn extra income by giving last-minute upgrade options even upon boarding with drastically reduced rates to those who wish to travel with extra comfort. Never mind the food. This will certainly add to MAS’s coffers with very little effort.

Finally, apart from access to their lounges, frequent fliers are not treated well for supporting MAS. In times past, for a local sector, sometimes I was upgraded to an empty business class seat but have not had the privilege in the last three years. On the other hand, code sharing partner airlines are generous in upgrading, and that happens quite often whenever there are empty seats available.

I hope my observations are helpful.

MH 011961386 Penang