AirAsia calls for truly low-cost hub for Kota Kinabalu

[alberttky 0]

KOTA KINABALU: AirAsia group chief executive officer and director Tan Sri Tony Fernandes has urged the Government to build a truly low-cost airline hub in Kota Kinabalu, saying Sabah is strategically located in the Brunei Darussalam-Indonesia-Malaysia-Philippines East Asean Growth Area.

The city's centre was also a destination for backpackers, who would contribute to the growth of the hotel and tourism sectors in future, he said in his talk at the Sabah International Business Luncheon here yesterday. The event was graced by Chief Minister Datuk Seri Musa Aman.

Commenting on the Government's recent decision to get AirAsia to move its flight operations to Terminal 1 of the Kota Kinabalu International Airport (KKIA), Fernandes said: “If asked to move, I would be the last person to move the terminal because the airport tax will grow from RM3 to RM65.

“We don't pay but the passengers must pay,” he added.

It was previously reported that AirAsia had appealed to the Transport Minister to continue its operations at KKIA's Terminal 2 although it had given its commitment to move to Terminal 1 in mid-June last year.

Fernandes said the airline was hesitant about moving from Terminal 2 to Terminal 1 of KKIA because operational costs and airport tax would increase, which would burden the passengers.

Such a situation would lead to a reduction in the number of flights and ultimately cause a significant drop in the number of tourists to Sabah, he said. “In Sabah we have carried about three million passengers from 2009 to this year, and with a new route in the pipeline, we expect the passenger load to increase to six million.

“AirAsia's annual growth for Sabah is 20% per year,” he said.

Fernandes, who started his airline business in 1993 and began operations in 1996, said his secret formula included the three assets of low cost, brand and people.

“We started from zero with a special focus on the Asian market, but we need to think local first and regional next,” he said.

He also annnouced that AirAsia would start flying from Kota Kinabalu to Cebu in the Philippines in December.

Meanwhile, Musa advised local entrepreneurs to take advantage of the economic growth to emulate Fernandes, whom he described as a successful bussinessman who is “intelligent, sincere and genuine”. - Bernama

http://biz.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2012/9/21/business/12059601&sec=business

[BC Tam 2]

..... the airport tax will grow from RM3 to RM65.

and you think you've seen and heard it all

[Cheng Long 0]

Rm3 for airport tax is too cheap. Unfair advantage to air asia. The tax for the tiny airport in my hometown is higher.

[Isaac 0]

..... the airport tax will grow from RM3 to RM65.

and you think you've seen and heard it all

Is it really RM3 only ? I thought it's RM6 ? And much higher for international flights.

[Andi C 0]

Hey Tony! What about the RM35 taxi fare (or more) from T1 to T2 (vice versa) for those of us who are from ulu towns who need to fly other airlines to connect to your airline? And backpackers (since you mentioned them in your press conference) who are connecting to our ulu towns?

Edited September 21, 2012 by Andi C

[Pieter C. 5]

unfair competition with the rest using T1 (like MH)...

 

wasn't the upgrade of T1 made on the condition of AK moving from T2 to T1 ? why back-off now ?

[flee 5]

Not sure if it is fair or unfair - cos the cow shed LCCT in KUL charges half the airport tax of the MTB. Rationale is cow shed service, cow shed airport tax.

 

Interesting that Nagoya Airport is asking TF what airport tax he wants to pay and they will build the LCCT to that price!

http://www.tonyfernandesblog.com/main.php/2012/09/19/the-customer-is-always-right

[Waiping 12]

Put some porta cabin and an open air passenger terminal. Good for spotters too.

 

Also I am starting to question the term "low cost". Low cost to the airlines maybe, but low cost to you really depends.

Edited September 21, 2012 by Waiping

[BC Tam 2]

Interesting that Nagoya Airport is asking TF what airport tax he wants to pay and they will build the LCCT to that price!

Sounds remarkably similar to comments I once heard about certain drug manufacturers

[flee 5]

BTW, I did a quick check of Airport taxes ex-BKI on AK's website, since we know that Bernama and Malaysian media reports are not always facturally correct. Here are the screen shots:

 

Domestic Airport Tax:

 

International Airport Tax:

[zeqa 1]

air asia should move to T1- as it's under utilized IMO..

[flee 5]

Also I am starting to question the term "low cost". Low cost to the airlines maybe, but low cost to you really depends.

Yes, LCCs are focussed on costs so that they can keep boasting about their "zero" fares!

[Isaac 0]

wasn't the upgrade of T1 made on the condition of AK moving from T2 to T1 ? why back-off now ?

Not really so. When they first unveiled the plan to upgrade the present T2, it was meant to be a permanent LCCT for BKI. And if my memory serves me correctly, the final plan was to extend the apron so that T2 can handle 12 A320 at any one time.

[BC Tam 2]

After this they will say "we dont want move to KLIA2, plz upgrade lcct"

Never say never

 

Not really so. When they first unveiled the plan to upgrade the present T2, it was meant to be a permanent LCCT for BKI. And if my memory serves me correctly, the final plan was to extend the apron so that T2 can handle 12 A320 at any one time.

You should refer to the master plan for BKI redevelopment as a whole instead, not just the bit that refers solely to BKI's T2

Edited September 21, 2012 by BC Tam

[Isaac 0]

You should refer to the master plan for BKI redevelopment as a whole instead, not just the bit that refers solely to BKI's T2

Haha. Yeah. And I remember there were even talks about building a shuttle train linking T1 and T2 and some information provided then suggested that it could be an underground train. There were hoo and haa saying that BKI will be the second city in this country to have a dedicated LCCT.

[Cheng Long 0]

I also remember Air Asia had initially agreed to move to T1 as part of the master plan. They even signed some documents of some sorts. However, when T1 upgrade was near completion, they turned around and said no, as competition with Firefly Jet was getting heated up. They needed every single advantage they could get.

[BC Tam 2]

..... they turned around and said no, as competition with Firefly Jet was getting heated up. They needed every single advantage they could get.

Well, that particular competitor has since been neutralized, gone

Still they won't budge

Hence that excuse was likely a smokescreen for other motive(s)

[Cheng Long 0]

Well, that particular competitor has since been neutralized, gone

Still they won't budge

Hence that excuse was likely a smokescreen for other motive(s)

anyt

Now they are hooked on low airport tax, it's hard to give it away. When you have good thing for a long time, it's hard to simply give it up. Similarly, it's hard for Malaysians to let go of petrol subsidies.

 

The low tax really give them a headstart and an unfair advantage. For us passengers, it's the total fare that matters. Before anything else considered, Air Asia is already cheaper by a good RM30 something. That's almost a week worth of kolo mee in Sarawak.

[Waiping 12]

So, low cost me or low cost you?

[flee 5]

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 21 (Bernama) -- Malaysia Airports has clarified that the Passenger Service Charge (PSC) for domestic destinations at Kota Kinabalu International Airport (KKIA) is RM6 for Terminal 2, and RM9 for Terminal 1.

 

The PSC for international destinations from the KKIA is RM32 for Terminal 2 and RM65 for Terminal 1, it said in a statement in clarifying the charges.

 

Passengers to the Brunei Darussalam-Indonesia-Malaysia-the Philippines East ASEAN Growth Area (BIMP-EAGA) destinations pay only RM26 irrespective of the terminals they use, it added. Malaysia Airports made the clarification after AirAsia Bhd's Group Chief Executive Officer Tan Sri Tony Fernandes said: "If asked to move, I would be the last person to move to the terminal (Terminal 1) because the airport tax will be increased from RM30 to RM65. We don't pay it, the customers will."

 

Malaysia Airports said for the KKIA, domestic passengers constitute 78 per cent of the total passenger movement, while international passengers make up 22 per cent.

 

The PSC or commonly known as 'Airport Tax', is paid by departing passengers and collected by the airlines upon purchase of tickets. It is only paid to Malaysia Airports upon completion of the flight.

 

Passengers who do not travel on a flight for which they have purchased the ticket are eligible for a full refund for the PSC.

[Isaac 0]

Sabah can be 'Dubai' of BIMP-EAGA - Fernandes

 

Read the whole story > http://www.theborneopost.com/2014/02/20/sabah-can-be-dubaiin-bimp-eaga-fernandes/#ixzz2tp1H4XxD

 

Air Asia still refuse to move to T1 and now suggest the current T2 to be expanded or build a new terminal for T2. And apparently Air Asia was given RM1 million loan from the Sabah government.

[Waiping 12]

Here is a map of BKI T2.

 

 

On the north there is a school while south of the terminal you have hangar for Sabah Flying Club, Sabah Air and PDRM. They might consider tearing down the whole terminal and move it backward towards Jalan Selangor. Lorong Nilam will be completely gone then. Jalan Selangor have to be widen to accommodate more vehicles as the current Jalan Lapangan Terbang (Lama) can hardly accommodate during peak hours. That should be within the "terminal project side".

 

After that they should also consider widening the Jalan Mat Salleh as, again, hardly can accommodate the traffic during office rush hour. This might be another project to milk money. If this is not provided there is no guarantee the airline owner will not complaint, but then again...

 

For me T1 is still the best. Plenty of parking space. On any normal day maybe only 5 - 10% parking space being taken up? 4 lanes heading into the airport with 2 each going to departure on level 3 and arrival on level 1. Upon exiting the airport you can head towards KK City using 6 lane Jalan Kepayan (3 each direction), over the Kepayan flyover and reach Sutera Harbor Resort with just 1 traffic lights near the IPK. In fact the highway can still be widen due to generous road reserves on the side.

 

T2 should still be maintained for cargo and private jets.

Edited February 20, 2014 by Waiping

[BC Tam 2]

For me T1 is still the best. Plenty of parking space. On any normal day maybe only 5 - 10% parking space being taken up?

My theory on that - because the other 95-90% are double/triple parked at kerbside at levels 1 & 3, never mind that departing/arriving pax have to manage to struggle through that mess with luggage in tow

Plus the unofficial "not blocking anyone, so it's ok" parking at various strategic spots - you just need to employ a bit of imagination here and there

 

Going back on track, yes I too share that making further use of T1 is still the most sensible option, still

MAHB and gahmen need to own up to fact that AK (and potentially D7) has grown much more rapidly than anyone's wildest imagination from the previous decade when they first drew up BKI's redevelopment plans. So, redraw for the future based not on what we know now, instead on what the operators hope to be at, say ten twenty years ahead

 

TSTF need to realize there is more of Sabah (as we know it currently anyway) that would be of more benefit to his growing 'empire' than he sort of egoistic headlines we get to read over here

Kota Kinabalu: AirAsia founder Tan Sri Tony Fernandes has threatened to take his business somewhere else if the low cost airline is forced to shift its operations at Terminal Two of the Kota Kinabalu International Airport (KKIA) to Terminal One.

http://www.dailyexpress.com.my/news.cfm?NewsID=88442

I'm sure TSTF is nowhere as naïve as to assume others are not there at the ready to take up the slack the moment that 'threat' of his materializes

 

If only gahmen, state tourism people, TSTF/AK/D7, MAHB can get past pride and prejudices and come to some compromise (for surely, someone's pride may take a dent or two along the way) that will allow BKI to progress from the uncompleted mess that it currently is

Edited February 20, 2014 by BC Tam

[Eddy Liew 0]

They (?MAHB ?politicians?) need to have some good research and planning for the airport... which I am afraid as a nation this isn't something we take pride on. Only can wait and see... having XAX at WBKK would be fantastic however. I wonder when will that become reality and whether it would be sustainable?

 

On another note, when I was at T1 yesterday, I saw the check in counters closest to McDonalds have been labelled 'Reserved for Air Asia'. They can't force AA to T1 right?

Edited February 20, 2014 by eddy liew

[BC Tam 2]

Not sure if 'force' is the right term, but in view of AK's boss visit here and all that was reported in local press, it is likely something is coming to boil from that simmering 'illegal' occupation of T2 by AK from years back