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Changi-Senai twin airport proposal

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JOHOR BARU: Iskandar Malaysia is planning to propose the twin-airport concept to Singapore in a bid to boost the aviation industry in the republic and south Johor.



Iskandar Regional Development Authority (Irda) chief executive officer Datuk Ismail Ibrahim said it would further complement the two major transportation projects already in the planning stages between the two countries.



The projects are the High-Speed Rail (HSR) linking Kuala Lumpur and Singapore in just 90 minutes and the Rapid Transit System link (RTS) to improve connectivity and accessibility between Johor Baru and Singapore.



Ismail said with the two projects already on the drawing block, it was only logical for Malaysia and Singapore to start looking at ways to improve air travel in both countries.



“We should capitalise on each other's strengths and capabilities to make the twin-airport project a reality for mutual benefit,'' he said in an interview with StarBiz.



Ismail said with the shorter travelling time between Kuala Lumpur and Singapore via the HSR, it was only logical to undertake the project “the sooner the better.”



Malaysia and Singapore had on Feb 19 jointly announced their agreement to build the HSR between the republic and Kuala Lumpur, expected to be completed in 2020.



The proposed project would cut travel time between the two capitals to just 90 minutes from the present five hours of driving and seven hours by rail.



On the other hand, the RTS link is expected to be up and operational by 2018 and have a co-located Customs, Immigration and Quarantine (CIQ) facility in Singapore and CIQ facility here so that commuters need to clear immigration only once for each way of travel.



“Iskandar's close proximity to Singapore justifies us looking at ourselves as a single economic node and the point that Johor and Singapore cannot grow on their own,'' he said.



Ismail said Singapore and Iskandar would be a force to be reckoned with within the next 10 years, and both would be one huge economic corridor in the region and the envy of others in Asean.



He said Malaysia had to accept the fact that Singapore had positioned Changi Airport as one of the major hubs in the world for long-haul flights in the commercial aviation sector.



Ismail said Singapore was years ahead compared with Malaysia in the running of the airport; on how it managed to get the airlines to fly into Changi and the incentives given to them.



He said the odd thing about the aviation industry was that while it grew from the economic point of view, it would also create new demand at the same time.


“While Changi is serving the long-haul flight segment, it is creating a gap which is growing wider and wider that of the regional and medium-haul services segment,'' said Ismail.



He said while Singapore might want to develop the regional and medium-haul flight segment out of Changi, the airport faced a major problem of space constraint.



Ismail said Changi would reach the limit whereby it could no longer expand to cater to the growing demand for the regional and medium-haul services segment.



“This is where Senai Airport comes in it would serve as the airport for the regional and the medium-haul services segment, while Changi continued to reaffirm its position in the long-haul flight segment,'' he explained.



Ismail said regional flights referred to a three to four-hour timeframe, where the same plane could fly to one destination and return home the same day by dropping off passengers and ferrying in new ones.



He said it would result in lower operating costs, as the flight crew would not have to stay overnight and the plane would not have to pay airport charges.



“If Singapore does not start thinking about the twin-airport project and capitalise on it, then Changi might lose its position as a leading regional aviation hub,'' Ismail pointed out.



He said other cities in the region such as Bangkok, Jakarta, Manila or even Kuala Lumpur would eventually overtake Singapore.



Ismail said the twin-airport project was not something new, as major cities in Europe and North America have always had twin airports operating as one.



He said London had the Gatwick, Heathrow and Stansted Airports, Paris the Charles de Gaulle and Orly Airports, while Amsterdam had Schipol International Airport and Lelystad Airport.



http://biz.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2013/3/18/business/12833427&sec=business

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Ultimately SG would rejoin MY, and they both would live happily ever after ... :D

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Ismail said Changi would reach the limit whereby it could no longer expand to cater to the growing demand for the regional and medium-haul services segment.

 

This is where Senai Airport comes in it would serve as the airport for the regional and the medium-haul services segment, while Changi continued to reaffirm its position in the long-haul flight segment,'' he explained.

If Singapore does not start thinking about the twin-airport project and capitalise on it, then Changi might lose its position as a leading regional aviation hub,'' Ismail pointed out.

I hate to burst his bubble, but Changi just announced the opening of its 3rd runway by 2020, the addition of a 5th Mega terminal by the middle of the next decade, and has started long term planning for a forth runway likely to be parallel to the current 3.

Changi to serve only long haul while senai does short? Changi needs to partner senai or it'll loose out? Sorry, no offence but this guy is just delusional... twin airports do not operate in 2 separate countries, and changi has enough land to expand to more than twice its current size & capacity.

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not sure what this guy is smoking, but I think hell would freeze over before this happened. Political issues aside its just not practical how would one connect in a situation like this?? Even in cities with multiple airports people dont connect across them unless they are masochistic NRT-HND, LHR-LGW??? I think not!

 

Senai has been a nice screw up Singapore responded aggressively to the threat and now has its own healthy stable of LCC's and a good market for them.

 

Im not sure if there is much of a market to be had in stealing Singaporeans across the boarder, especially given the current hassle of bus and border crossing that one must endure. One Idea that knocked around my mind was if they could have have high speed rail link built to Senai and utilizing the current set up at woodlands. In and ideal world it would work something like checking in a KL Sentral where the airlines would have desks at woodlands. You would check you luggage in at woodlands and then clear Singapore exit Immigration, however they could wave the entry immigration requirement to Malaysia to speed things up. Then you board the train (which ought to run every 20 odd mins) and the train takes you to the airport. However when you get off at the airport you are already in the sterile zone of the terminal (like where the aerotrain drops you at the KUL Satellite) so all you have to do is proceed to the gate to board you flight. This all hinges on a high speed train to Senai, however its the only way I see to lower the inconvenience factor to a tolerable level to make Senai and attractive options for Singaporeans (you would have to add some pretty attractive destinations and fares out of Senai too)

 

Thoughts?

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