KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia Airlines will only fly to 19 domestic
destinations, including all state capitals with airports except
Ipoh, under a scheme to share local flights with AirAsia.
Besides these 19 domestic destinations, AirAsia will also service
96 other local routes, which are now termed as non-trunk domestic
routes.
These flights are expected to commence on Aug 1.
MAS, however, is not allowed to sell its tickets at a discount and
the price must be not less than the full economy fare.
The Government said the definition of a domestic
trunk route was made after considering the joint report submitted
by the two airlines.
The definition of trunk routes is based on two criteria
international connectivity and business traffic, said a statement
issued by the Prime Ministers Office late yesterday.
The statement said that the KLIA, Kuching and Kota Kinabalu
airports would be the main hubs for the trunk routes.
The Government, as part of its rationalisation of the domestic air
services sector, had given the two airlines until yesterday to come
to an agreement on the definition.
On March 16, the Government announced that both MAS and AirAsia
would be allowed to fly major domestic routes.
The Prime Ministers Department reiterated yesterday that MAS would
provide the premium service and the budget airline, the low-cost
domestic trunk services.
The Government also decided that both companies would be given the
flexibility to decide on the frequency of flights, capacity
distribution, type of aircraft and airfare under the supervision of
the Transport Ministry.
MAS must restructure its domestic operations by then and AirAsia
must have built up capability to operate all domestic routes,
including ensuring connectivity where MAS does not fly to.
The Government will offer a fitting compensation for the domestic
business unbundling agreement between MAS and Penerbangan Malaysia
Berhad, the statement said, adding that profit and loss for MAS
domestic operations is now its own responsibility.
Stating that neither MAS nor AirAsia would be given a subsidy to
operate their domestic operations, the Government would, however,
pay the low-cost carrier to operate social routes like the rural
air services in Sabah and Sarawak.
The Prime Ministers Office also revealed that the two airlines
were negotiating an agreement for AirAsias entire fleet of
aircraft to be maintained by the MAS Engineering Unit.
At present, AirAsias planes are being serviced in Singapore.
The Government hopes that this rationalisation process will mean
greater cooperation between MAS and AirAsia not only on the
domestic sector but also on the regional and international
levels.
MAS managing director Idris Jala said the national carrier analysed
all its domestic routes and identified the 19 routes as key to
ensuring its future success.
We are confident that we will be able to work closely with AirAsia
to ensure that connectivity and interlinking issues are addressed
in a timely manner and that international passenger traffic in and
out of Kuala Lumpur will not be affected, he said.
AirAsia group chief executive officer Datuk Tony Fernandes said the
long-awaited decision would finally enable the two airlines to set
their differences aside and move forward to bring their services
closer to the people. - The Star, Malaysia, 28/03/06