GWR
31-01-08, 10:57 AM
January 30, 2008 18:56 PM
Consumers Gain As Low Cost Carriers Set Off More Choices
SINGAPORE, Jan 30 (Bernama) -- What's your choice of transportation this time around? Do you want to take the bus again to Kuala Lumpur or go by an aeroplane which moves faster and at an increasingly lower cost?
This is likely to be the common question from now on among those who travel frequently between Singapore and Kuala Lumpur, be it for entertainment or business.
On Friday, a new chapter will be opened in the airline industry between the two neighbouring countries of Malaysia and Singapore as three low cost carriers begin their air travel services connecting the Lion city and Kuala Lumpur.
The three airlines, namely Tiger Airways and Jetstar Asia from Singapore and AirAsia from Malaysia will be offering in total, four daily flights between the Changi Airport here and the Low Cost Carrier Terminal (LCCT) at the KL International Airport in Sepang.
Tiger Airways and Jetstar Asia each will offer one flight daily while AirAsia two flights.
Tiger Airways will fly from Changi at 10.50 morning while Jetstar Asia's flight will be at three in the afternoon.
The AirAsia flights meanwhile will take off from the LCCT at 10 morning and 7.50 evening while the flights from Changi will be at 11.30 morning and 9.40 night.
Consumers are now spoilt for choices as the three LCCs are offering fares beginning as low as S$0.88 to S$168 for a one-way flight from Singapore to Kuala Lumpur.
Meanwhile, the one-way economy class airfare from Singapore to Kuala Lumpur offered either by Singapore Airlines or Malaysia Airlines is around S$221. The two national airlines of Singapore and Malaysia had control of the highly lucrative route for more than 30 years.
As for bus travel to Kuala Lumpur which offers luxurious seats similar to ones offered on a plane and fully equipped with food service, latest movies, newspapers as well as magazines, the fares range from only S$30 to S$60.
With just a little addition of cash, travellers can now also take a plane instead to Kuala Lumpur and arrive in style 55 minutes later.
However, this travel time does not include the waiting period and the time taken to travel from home to the airport.
At a glance, the airfares offered by the low cost carriers are very attractive but for a consumer who is careful, he or she will think twice before making any decision as the fares quoted do not include the surcharge and airport tax. When added, they could bring up the cost to three times that of a bus fare.
The airfares also do not include food on board which are actually sold in the plane and passengers would have to buy them, and they also do not include the cost of travelling to the airport from their homes.
The low cost airlines may not pose much of a competition to bus companies although the travel on land takes about five hours from Kuala Lumpur to Singapore.
Even the Chief Executive Officer of AirAsia Datuk Tony Fernandes, when promoting the new service in Singapore recently, said the low cost travel will not jeopardise anyone whether bus operators, or even MAS and SIA.
He said each service had its own market and infact the market was likely to expand as the passenger market was really huge and the routes not fully explored.
But for bus company, Aeroline, which is known for its two-deck yellow bus, is not so sure of the possible impact the low cost carriers could have on its service.
The Director of Tourism Malaysia Singapura Rafidah Idris said the Malaysian tourism agency was expecting 1.3 million visitors to use bus services to travel to Kuala Lumpur from Singapore.
It, however, plans to take advantage of the new LCC services to attract more visitors from Singapore to Malaysia.
Tourism Malaysia is confident of attracting 10.2 million visitors from Singapore this year and the figures have yet to account the number of daily visitors.
AirAsia is confident of carrying 500,000 passengers on its Singapore-Kuala Lumpur flights in six months.
The airline also expects the figures to go up to five to seven million passengers in five years following the Asean Open Sky Policy which will come into effect next January. The airline expects to offer 20 flights daily then.
Whatever the effects on existing transportation services, the low cost carrier service meanwhile has loosen up some knots that have been the stumbling block in a more open relationship between the two neighbouring countries.
For this development, the person to be garlanded should be Tony Fernandes who had in the last six years persistently lobbied with the Singapore and Malaysia governments until the successful opening up of the routes to the low cost airlines.
Chief executive of Jetstar Asia, Chong Phit Lian, said the company was happy to provide the alternative travel service for both business travellers and holiday makers in the two countries.
The chief executive officer of Tiger Airways, Tony Davis, said the new service was a significant development in the history of Asean airline industry and the first step towards liberalisation for air services in the region.
It will also raise the level of tourism and trade between the two cities, Davis added.
Jetstar Asia is a joint venture company by Australian airline company, Qantas which holds a 49 percent equity, a group of Singapore businessmen who hold 32 percent share and the Singapore Government's investment company, Temasek Holdings, which holds 19 percent share.
Tiger Airways is jointly owned by SIA (49 percent), Indigo Partners LLC (24 percent), Irelandia Investments Ltd (16 percent) and Temasek Holdings (11 percent).
So, let's wait and see which company gathers the most number of passengers beginning this Friday. Will it be the airline which carries the slogan "Now Everyone Can Fly', or the bus company that says "The Convenient Way To Fly."
-- BERNAMA
Non-specific link:
http://www.bernama.com.my/
Consumers Gain As Low Cost Carriers Set Off More Choices
SINGAPORE, Jan 30 (Bernama) -- What's your choice of transportation this time around? Do you want to take the bus again to Kuala Lumpur or go by an aeroplane which moves faster and at an increasingly lower cost?
This is likely to be the common question from now on among those who travel frequently between Singapore and Kuala Lumpur, be it for entertainment or business.
On Friday, a new chapter will be opened in the airline industry between the two neighbouring countries of Malaysia and Singapore as three low cost carriers begin their air travel services connecting the Lion city and Kuala Lumpur.
The three airlines, namely Tiger Airways and Jetstar Asia from Singapore and AirAsia from Malaysia will be offering in total, four daily flights between the Changi Airport here and the Low Cost Carrier Terminal (LCCT) at the KL International Airport in Sepang.
Tiger Airways and Jetstar Asia each will offer one flight daily while AirAsia two flights.
Tiger Airways will fly from Changi at 10.50 morning while Jetstar Asia's flight will be at three in the afternoon.
The AirAsia flights meanwhile will take off from the LCCT at 10 morning and 7.50 evening while the flights from Changi will be at 11.30 morning and 9.40 night.
Consumers are now spoilt for choices as the three LCCs are offering fares beginning as low as S$0.88 to S$168 for a one-way flight from Singapore to Kuala Lumpur.
Meanwhile, the one-way economy class airfare from Singapore to Kuala Lumpur offered either by Singapore Airlines or Malaysia Airlines is around S$221. The two national airlines of Singapore and Malaysia had control of the highly lucrative route for more than 30 years.
As for bus travel to Kuala Lumpur which offers luxurious seats similar to ones offered on a plane and fully equipped with food service, latest movies, newspapers as well as magazines, the fares range from only S$30 to S$60.
With just a little addition of cash, travellers can now also take a plane instead to Kuala Lumpur and arrive in style 55 minutes later.
However, this travel time does not include the waiting period and the time taken to travel from home to the airport.
At a glance, the airfares offered by the low cost carriers are very attractive but for a consumer who is careful, he or she will think twice before making any decision as the fares quoted do not include the surcharge and airport tax. When added, they could bring up the cost to three times that of a bus fare.
The airfares also do not include food on board which are actually sold in the plane and passengers would have to buy them, and they also do not include the cost of travelling to the airport from their homes.
The low cost airlines may not pose much of a competition to bus companies although the travel on land takes about five hours from Kuala Lumpur to Singapore.
Even the Chief Executive Officer of AirAsia Datuk Tony Fernandes, when promoting the new service in Singapore recently, said the low cost travel will not jeopardise anyone whether bus operators, or even MAS and SIA.
He said each service had its own market and infact the market was likely to expand as the passenger market was really huge and the routes not fully explored.
But for bus company, Aeroline, which is known for its two-deck yellow bus, is not so sure of the possible impact the low cost carriers could have on its service.
The Director of Tourism Malaysia Singapura Rafidah Idris said the Malaysian tourism agency was expecting 1.3 million visitors to use bus services to travel to Kuala Lumpur from Singapore.
It, however, plans to take advantage of the new LCC services to attract more visitors from Singapore to Malaysia.
Tourism Malaysia is confident of attracting 10.2 million visitors from Singapore this year and the figures have yet to account the number of daily visitors.
AirAsia is confident of carrying 500,000 passengers on its Singapore-Kuala Lumpur flights in six months.
The airline also expects the figures to go up to five to seven million passengers in five years following the Asean Open Sky Policy which will come into effect next January. The airline expects to offer 20 flights daily then.
Whatever the effects on existing transportation services, the low cost carrier service meanwhile has loosen up some knots that have been the stumbling block in a more open relationship between the two neighbouring countries.
For this development, the person to be garlanded should be Tony Fernandes who had in the last six years persistently lobbied with the Singapore and Malaysia governments until the successful opening up of the routes to the low cost airlines.
Chief executive of Jetstar Asia, Chong Phit Lian, said the company was happy to provide the alternative travel service for both business travellers and holiday makers in the two countries.
The chief executive officer of Tiger Airways, Tony Davis, said the new service was a significant development in the history of Asean airline industry and the first step towards liberalisation for air services in the region.
It will also raise the level of tourism and trade between the two cities, Davis added.
Jetstar Asia is a joint venture company by Australian airline company, Qantas which holds a 49 percent equity, a group of Singapore businessmen who hold 32 percent share and the Singapore Government's investment company, Temasek Holdings, which holds 19 percent share.
Tiger Airways is jointly owned by SIA (49 percent), Indigo Partners LLC (24 percent), Irelandia Investments Ltd (16 percent) and Temasek Holdings (11 percent).
So, let's wait and see which company gathers the most number of passengers beginning this Friday. Will it be the airline which carries the slogan "Now Everyone Can Fly', or the bus company that says "The Convenient Way To Fly."
-- BERNAMA
Non-specific link:
http://www.bernama.com.my/