Aviation shifts into new era with opening of S'pore-KL
route
SINGAPORE: The Singapore-Kuala Lumpur route is opening up
fully on Monday, with new services to East Malaysia. Passengers
will finally be able to enjoy a slew of new flights and
free-falling fares as airlines compete for business.
Low-cost carriers got one foot in the door in February with a
partial opening up of the market after decades of domination by
flag carriers Singapore Airlines (SIA) and Malaysia Airlines (MAS),
with fares as high as S$400 for a half-hour flight.
But such a limited opening quickly became both a boon and
bane.
Tony Davis, CEO of Tiger Aviation, said: "Many people like going to
KL for a day trip or short break where they can go in the morning
and come back in the evening. That hasn't been very easy with just
one flight a day.
"Now we can increase frequency up to five flights a day. It will
take a bit of time for people to get used to the fact that they can
fly for the price of a bus ticket."
With daily flights set to double, more choices and frequency may
well encourage people to plan for more short trips, despite the
economic downturn.
Chong Phit Lian, CEO, Jetstar Asia, said: "We think that with the
school holidays and the disruption in Bangkok, more people will go
to KL for short breaks or a shopping and makan trip."
New destinations like Kuching and Kota Kinabalu have been added,
with carriers eyeing lucrative locations like Penang next.
The opening up of the market comes at a good time, during the
festive period of Christmas and New Year. However, analysts have
cautioned that it could be a challenging time for carriers after
the first quarter of 2009.
Shukor Yusof, aviation analyst, Standard & Poor's, said: "The
only negative would be that right now, people are scaling back on
travel. What we can see is even a full-service airline like MAS has
jumped onto the low-cost model and they've been pushed into that
position."
As the number of passengers scales down globally, fares may well
make the crucial difference as carriers battle it out.
- CNA/so