Wee Ka Siong Wants Airlines to Start Lowering Fares During Festive Seasons By Adding More Flights

Business operators tend to increase prices during festive seasons. This, unfortunately, includes flight tickets which may sometimes cause some people to cancel plans to fly back to their respective hometowns.

Kinabatangan MP, Datuk Seri Bung Moktar Radin once slammed local airlines for the unaffordable flight tickets during festive seasons, but just today (December 27), the former Minister of Transport highlighted this issue in his Facebook post and suggested lower prices for all airlines in Malaysia.

“I hope that MAS, AirAsia, Batik Air (Malindo Airlines), and the newly launched MyAirline can offer lower prices to all customers during festive season,” Wee said in his statement.

Killing 2 birds with a stone

Wee said that a few months back, Malaysian Aviation Commission (MAVCOM) and Civil Aviation Authority of Malaysia (CAAM) discussed with local airline companies about increasing flight frequencies at night, and it was later agreed upon. 

According to the former Minister of Transport, additional number of flights will not only make lower fares possible but it is also an effective step to handle traffic congestion.

“This will definitely help flyers who wish to return home and celebrate festive seasons with their families.”

Wee also expressed his confidence in the execution of his plan, especially with the new Kuala Lumpur Air Traffic Control Complex (KLATCC), which will increase the movement of flights at KLIA and KLIA2 to 108 movements an hour with the simultaneous use of 3 lanes. Previously, there were only 2 lanes available with 84 movements an hour.

Done with MRO, and we’re good to go

In the meantime, the previous MCO during the peak of the Covid-19 pandemic had rendered all aircraft to be grounded, where a process called MRO (Maintenance, Repair, Operations) was needed before they were allowed to fly again when the borders were reopened.

“Now that many aircrafts have gone through MRO, I’m certain that they’ll be able to increase the number of flights at midnight with lower fares,” Wee said.

He also said that he’s confident that the unity government will work on this matter.

Fellow travelers who frequently fly during festive season, do you think this is a wise move that will help in the long run?

Also read: “Stop sucking rakyat’s blood!” – Bung Moktar Slams Airlines For The Ridiculously High Price of Tickets