KLIA Topics - Master thread needed?

[Robert 0]

Just wondering if we should have a master thread needed for all things KLIA related eg upgrades, Aerotrain, lounges etc etc. 

If the admin/mods agree then lets try and post so that topics are in one place.

Thoughts?

[jani 0]

Agreed. Easier to follow. Should all the other threads be renamed appropriately then? IE MH Privatization, AirAsia COVID, Batik rebrand etc to just MH thread, AirAsia thread, Batik thread etc etc.

[Robert 0]

18 minutes ago, jani said:

Agreed. Easier to follow. Should all the other threads be renamed appropriately then? IE MH Privatization, AirAsia COVID, Batik rebrand etc to just MH thread, AirAsia thread, Batik thread etc etc.

Might make sense to have a thread per airline and one for key topics. Lets see what others think 

 

[JuliusWong 0]

Let me get the ball rolling.....

Much has been said two weeks ago when the 2023 Skytrax ranking for the world's best airport was published. KLIA's ranking slipped to 67th, dropping five notches from the 62nd position in 2022.

Since the inception of the rankings in 1999, KLIA has emerged among the top 10 on four separate occasions — the second place in 2001, fifth in 2010, ninth in 2011, and eighth in 2012. 

After that, the airport’s ranking steadily declined year after year.

“KLIA’s maintenance and conditions have deteriorated in recent years,” Mr Loke said, noting that poor maintenance was partly due to the Covid-19 pandemic and lockdowns.

The major upgrade had been planned for since 2017 but was delayed by MAHB’s indecision, said industry sources

Problems

1. Long queues at passport control
2. Frequent breakdowns of its ageing aerotrains
3. “KLIA needs a total revamp – from the gate, the waiting at the immigration counter, which can be up to four hours, the aerotrain experience, and the baggage waiting time,” said Mr Faeez Fadhlillah, honorary secretary-general of the Malaysian Association of Tours and Travel Agents (MATTA)

Upgrade and improvement plans

1. New self-baggage drop-offs, a redesign of the check-in counters
2. New F&B outlets, with stores like the Hard Rock Cafe
3. Two new airport lounges opening by end-2023: Plaza Premium First and Plaza Premium Lounge
4. For shopping experience, there will also be new local and international brands opening by the end of this year
5. Will spend more than RM700 million (S$210 million) for the aerotrain replacement- Construction will start by mid-2023 and each track will take a year to be completed. KLIA is expected to have brand new trains by 2025
6. RM1.1 billion for the new baggage handling system
7. Plans to improve transfers between KLIA and budget terminal KLIA2 for passengers needing to switch between international and domestic flights: “We are ready for passengers to be transferred via airside shuttle buses from one terminal to another, but we are waiting for the airlines to sign agreements to improve the transit experience"

Source:

1. https://www.theedgemarkets.com/node/659562
2. https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/se-asia/malaysia-hopes-major-revamp-will-put-klia-back-among-world-s-top-10-airports-by-2028
3. https://www.theedgemarkets.com/node/659921#:~:text=KLIA was ranked 67th in,the 62nd position in 2022.

[Lim Kar Yong 0]

I wonder if the drop in ranking could be due to KLIA2, as I think both terminals are seen as one - that there is no airside connections between the terminals, etc?

[Robert 0]

MAHB needs to raise money quickly to restore KLIA to its glory days

https://www.theedgemarkets.com/node/662001

MALAYSIA Airports Holdings Bhd (MAHB) needs to raise money, and fast. The airport operator is under growing pressure to ramp up the Kuala Lumpur International Airport’s (KLIA) infrastructure to re-establish it as one of the world’s leading airports.

 

[flee 5]

I remember one of Changi Airport's managers say that they usually plan to improve the airport in anticipation of demand so that pax do not get the feeling that it is congested. I guess MAHB is like any Malaysian GLC - they only move when kicked. Kaizen is not in their DNA.

PSC should be reviewed as and when necessary - many airports even collect extra for building runways and terminals in addition to the PSC. Some governments even levy duties (e.g. APD in the UK)! So why can't MAHB add a "aerotrain and baggage handling replacement"  fee?

The IT and aerotrain issues show that MAHB management has been sleeping all these years - these failures can be easily predicted as maintenance/replacement was not properly managed.

MAHB should wake up and be more competitive and competent at airport management.

 

Edited April 12, 2023 by flee

[jani 0]

 

Considering how much international traffic is intra-ASEAN vs otherwise, KLIA's PSC is surely too low to compete.

They should definitely raise it. I don't think anyone makes a decision whether to travel or not because the PSC is too high.

Edited April 12, 2023 by jani

[JuliusWong 0]

44 minutes ago, jani said:

Considering how much international traffic is intra-ASEAN vs otherwise, KLIA's PSC is surely too low to compete.

They should definitely raise it. I don't think anyone makes a decision whether to travel or not because the PSC is too high.

The amt of pax doing revenge travelling after the borders reopened gave us a rough idea any price hike in PSC is nothing to them, especially those travelling to overseas destinations. USD16.54 to maintain a 20-50million category airport is definitely low. They may grunt for few days or weeks, thereafter it will be all forgotten.

Edited April 12, 2023 by JuliusWong

[Alif A. F. 0]

I flew into LHR few years back (before COVID). Before that I was looking at the flight itinerary and saw the ticket price breakdown, and LHR authorities alone charged me around RM800 in airport charges and taxes!  And compared that with KLIA, if I'm not mistaken was only RM72.00...

How on earth MAHB survives all these years?

[JuliusWong 0]

1 hour ago, Alif A. F. said:

I flew into LHR few years back (before COVID). Before that I was looking at the flight itinerary and saw the ticket price breakdown, and LHR authorities alone charged me around RM800 in airport charges and taxes!  And compared that with KLIA, if I'm not mistaken was only RM72.00...

How on earth MAHB survives all these years?

LHR has one of the highest, if not, the highest airport fee in the world. Even the government or consumer/competition watchdogs have often criticized LHR management for the high fee, but they DAF but have the guts to further increase it, but it was shoot down. https://thepointsguy.co.uk/news/heathrow-reduce-passenger-charges/

[Chris Tan 0]

12 hours ago, jani said:

Considering how much international traffic is intra-ASEAN vs otherwise, KLIA's PSC is surely too low to compete.

They should definitely raise it. I don't think anyone makes a decision whether to travel or not because the PSC is too high.

People seem to forget about the departure levy, which ranges from RM8 to RM150 depending on destination and cabin. Basically analogous to the UK APD.

But the way Malaysia goes about it is absurd. They charge based on the immediate destination outside Malaysia rather than the ticketed destination. This means someone flying KUL-SIN-SYD on SQ will pay less in Malaysian taxes than KUL-SYD on MH.

If they're going to raise the PSC/levy, they should target the premium cabin flyers more. For starters, most people who fly J/F don't even pay for their own travel, and it's a lot more politically acceptable to tax the rich.

Taking a one-size-fits-all approach like SIN is painful to those flying regionally on LCCs, where the taxes will be felt most. But then again, Singapore means business when it comes to things like that. Even Uncle Tony understands it.

8 hours ago, JuliusWong said:

LHR has one of the highest, if not, the highest airport fee in the world. Even the government or consumer/competition watchdogs have often criticized LHR management for the high fee, but they DAF but have the guts to further increase it, but it was shoot down. https://thepointsguy.co.uk/news/heathrow-reduce-passenger-charges/

Those are landing fees. Quite different from PSC/departure taxes. The bulk of what many passengers pay is the UK APD which is levied on almost all UK departures, not just LHR.

[Craig 0]

16 hours ago, Alif A. F. said:

I flew into LHR few years back (before COVID). Before that I was looking at the flight itinerary and saw the ticket price breakdown, and LHR authorities alone charged me around RM800 in airport charges and taxes!  And compared that with KLIA, if I'm not mistaken was only RM72.00...

How on earth MAHB survives all these years?

UK charges £200 APD (same as our departure levy and that goes to the government) for all premium cabin passengers >2,000 miles flight based on your final destination with a few exemptions. In addition, Heathrow charges £55,81 as PSC (PSC varies for different airports in UK, e.g. Manchester charges £27.37; both prices for long-haul fights).

And MAHB made about RM187k net profit for FY ending 12/2022 so beats me how they survive on low PSC 🤣 Or maybe it's the price you pay for low PSC - trains breaking down and long baggage delivery.

6 hours ago, Chris Tan said:

People seem to forget about the departure levy, which ranges from RM8 to RM150 depending on destination and cabin. Basically analogous to the UK APD.

But the way Malaysia goes about it is absurd. They charge based on the immediate destination outside Malaysia rather than the ticketed destination. This means someone flying KUL-SIN-SYD on SQ will pay less in Malaysian taxes than KUL-SYD on MH.

If they're going to raise the PSC/levy, they should target the premium cabin flyers more. For starters, most people who fly J/F don't even pay for their own travel, and it's a lot more politically acceptable to tax the rich.

The departure levy is based on final destination (same as UK's APD), so it's RM150 for a KUL-SIN-SYD on SQ in J/F in your example. Departure levy is charged for any connections >12 hours in Malaysia e.g. SIN-KUL-SYD will get the full RM150 levy if your connection is over 12 hours but RM0 if it's less than 12 hours. However, the departure levy is charged per your final destination if your connection at the ASEAN connecting city is less than 24 hours. Malaysia's government is having the cake and eating it as well 😅

PSC on the other hand is charged based on first city (connecting or otherwise) out of Malaysia (ASEAN is RM35 and non-ASEAN is RM73).

[JuliusWong 0]

Both APD and landing fees are among the highest for LHR, this ultimately translate to the expensive ticket flying out of LHR, not sure what is the dispute all about, but yet the world is transiting there. Hmmm.......

[Chris Tan 0]

1 hour ago, Craig said:

PSC on the other hand is charged based on first city (connecting or otherwise) out of Malaysia (ASEAN is RM35 and non-ASEAN is RM73).

Malaysia is so pro-ASEAN they're basically incentivizing connections through SIN/BKK

1 hour ago, JuliusWong said:

Both APD and landing fees are among the highest for LHR, this ultimately translate to the expensive ticket flying out of LHR, not sure what is the dispute all about, but yet the world is transiting there. Hmmm.......

Not sure what you're on about. APD out of LHR is basically the same as any other major airport in the UK.

[Robert 0]

23 hours ago, Robert said:

MAHB needs to raise money quickly to restore KLIA to its glory days

https://www.theedgemarkets.com/node/662001

MALAYSIA Airports Holdings Bhd (MAHB) needs to raise money, and fast. The airport operator is under growing pressure to ramp up the Kuala Lumpur International Airport’s (KLIA) infrastructure to re-establish it as one of the world’s leading airports.

 

Just seen that this also appeared on the official Malaysia Airports Facebook page. 
Seems a little strange that they would share it.

[jani 0]

2 hours ago, Robert said:

Just seen that this also appeared on the official Malaysia Airports Facebook page. 
Seems a little strange that they would share it.

haha I thought so too. It's also not as if the article was entirely pro-MAHB. Weird indeed.

[JuliusWong 0]

All the blame go to Bashir and his previous management team who at on the role for far too long and got complacent. Sekarang sudah terhantuk baru tengadah......😫

[flee 5]

I have not looked at the financials of MAHB for a long time. But are they still an oil palm plantation operator? If so, they should have some income derived from their oil palm estates.

[KK Lee 5]

On 4/12/2023 at 2:49 PM, JuliusWong said:

The amt of pax doing revenge travelling after the borders reopened gave us a rough idea any price hike in PSC is nothing to them, especially those travelling to overseas destinations. USD16.54 to maintain a 20-50million category airport is definitely low. They may grunt for few days or weeks, thereafter it will be all forgotten.

Whenever glc or gomen wanted to raise price would publish comparison with asean. when come to bloated head count, would claimed mys labour cost is 3 times cheaper than sg. Hence, justify to have many more head count.

mahb remuneration to top management is excessive, taken stakeholders to a ride. 

[Craig 0]

21 hours ago, Robert said:

Just seen that this also appeared on the official Malaysia Airports Facebook page. 
Seems a little strange that they would share it.

Indeed. It was on a few of their social media. The article didn't exactly paint MAHB in a bright light but yet an intern decided to publish it on their social media. Maybe they are expecting donations (e.g. "Tabung Aerotrain") 🤣

10 hours ago, flee said:

I have not looked at the financials of MAHB for a long time. But are they still an oil palm plantation operator? If so, they should have some income derived from their oil palm estates.

I have no idea that they owned/operated palm oil estates but the report is out there. They are a public company.

[JuliusWong 0]

First phase of KLIA rejuvenation has commenced:

"EZBagz, our newest Self Service Bag Drop facility is finally here at KLIA T1! Save time by checking in your luggage easily & conveniently. All domestic passengers travelling with Malaysia Airlines can start using this facility at Check-in Counter B3 to B8 from today onwards. The earliest bag drop is 24 hours before departure whereas the cut-off time for the baggage drop is 1 hour before departure.

#MYairportsfacility #ssbd #ezbagz"

https://www.facebook.com/MalaysiaAirportsOfficial/posts/278506607841610

[Craig 0]

Just passed by the Plaza Premium Lounge. It’s…..crowded. They closed the one in satellite permanently so I am not sure how they’ll be able to handle everything at the new main concourse lounge. 
 

In addition to pretty much half of credit card users worldwide, it also serves SQ, QR, TG, CZ, BR, CI, TK amongst others that uses this lounge. TK, QR, CZ, BR, CI premium pax apparently get to use Plaza Premium First tho. 
 

I heard there’s a new lounge opened in the satellite concourse - The Travel Club. Not sure which airline that caters to. I am curious if there are plans for other consolidated lounge(s) at satélite since it’s quite a trek from main to satellite with the bus (and even when the trains were running). 

[Chris Tan 0]

1 hour ago, Craig said:

Just passed by the Plaza Premium Lounge. It’s…..crowded. They closed the one in satellite permanently so I am not sure how they’ll be able to handle everything at the new main concourse lounge. 
 

In addition to pretty much half of credit card users worldwide, it also serves SQ, QR, TG, CZ, BR, CI, TK amongst others that uses this lounge. TK, QR, CZ, BR, CI premium pax apparently get to use Plaza Premium First tho. 
 

I heard there’s a new lounge opened in the satellite concourse - The Travel Club. Not sure which airline that caters to. I am curious if there are plans for other consolidated lounge(s) at satélite since it’s quite a trek from main to satellite with the bus (and even when the trains were running). 

The lack of foreign airline-branded lounges is really unfortunate. A bit surprised even SQ threw in the towel, especially now that they get a lot more *G-eligible pax after absorbing MI.

[Robert 0]

9 minutes ago, Chris Tan said:

The lack of foreign airline-branded lounges is really unfortunate. A bit surprised even SQ threw in the towel, especially now that they get a lot more *G-eligible pax after absorbing MI.

Same here and the SQ "Cult" are none too pleased about it.

Was at the Satellite terminal a few weeks ago on a Sunday morning and it seemed pretty quiet and the many closed lounges and shops makes it a shadow of its former self.