AirAsia to raise Subang LCC hub idea again

[Naim 6]

I guess this is inevitable, but hey, I'm all for it!

 

+++

 

AirAsia to raise Subang LCC hub idea again

By Kang Siew Li

siewli@nstp.com.my

 

October 20 2007

 

THE government's decision to allow Malaysia Airlines' (MAS) low-cost carrier (LCC), Firefly, to fly out of Subang airport has rekindled debate on whether the airport should be turned into a low-cost hub.

 

Two years ago, budget carrier AirAsia Bhd failed to convince the government to allow it to turn the Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah Airport in Subang into an LCC hub. The authorities opted to build a new LCC terminal at the KL International Airport (KLIA) in Sepang.

 

AirAsia group chief executive officer Datuk Tony Fernandes (pic) said the government's latest move gave AirAsia the opportunity to present its views again.

 

"Maybe there's a warming to our initial idea that Subang should be reopened (for LCCs) and so we will certainly raise it with the government," he told Business Times yesterday.

 

"Most countries in the world are looking at (setting up) LCC airports. (Also,) the LCC terminal at KLIA is nearing its capacity, and this gives the government the opportunity to relook the plan to turn Subang airport into an LCC airport.

 

"It has become obvious that the low-cost market is now bigger than the premium market. So, maybe the low-cost market deserves an airport of its own. I think we (LCCs) have proven ourselves," he said.

 

Fernandes said he will also urge the government to open up the Kuala Lumpur-Singapore route now monopolised by MAS and Singapore Airlines.

 

"Firefly has been given (approval to operate out of) Subang and so AirAsia should be given (approval for) Singapore. If MAS can invest in something (Firefly) that wasn't in its Business Turnaround Plan, then they should not be protected anymore. Enough protection," he added.

 

Fernandes believes that Firefly's planned operations to fly 12 domestic and 13 regional routes out of Subang airport will not impact the bottom line and passenger load factor of AirAsia.

 

"Firstly, we are not big in Peninsular Malaysia. Secondly, Firefly's Fokker 50 can only carry up to 50 passengers compared with AirAsia's A320s, (which have a seat capacity of 180 seats)," he said.

 

Firefly currently operates two Fokker 50s, but will gradually replace them with 20 ATR72-500s.

 

Fernandes said AirAsia has no plans to operate turboprop or propeller-powered planes.

 

"If we had wanted to operate flights on turboprop planes, we will also be permitted to fly out of Subang airport. However, we don't believe the future of aviation is in turboprop planes. We are sticking to operating jet aircraft," he said.

 

"We remain focused on our (low-cost) brand and products. We will continue to operate one type of aircraft (A320) and have gone into bigger aircraft (A330) for our new long-haul carrier AirAsia X," he added.

 

"It would appear as if MAS has won this round of political lobbying given that the government's earlier decision was to allow it to fly out of Subang only to destinations not served by either MAS or AirAsia," OSK Research Sdn Bhd senior manager Chris Eng said in a note yesterday.

 

Eng believes that demand for Firefly flights from Subang will be strong from the Klang Valley passengers, "especially once it starts flying more routes to Johor Baru and the east coast states".

 

"Of course, not everyone will switch over to Firefly even if it flies out of Subang. The use of the turboprop planes and the general perception that such planes are noisier and bumpier will mean that some passengers will continue to fly out of KLIA, whether on MAS or AirAsia," he said, maintaining a "buy" call on MAS and "neutral" on AirAsia.

 

Aseambankers Malaysia Bhd senior analyst Khair Mirza said the latest move cements his view that MAS is on track to find new sources of growth from 2007 onwards.

 

"Firefly will add on capacity quite quickly from third quarter of 2008 when it begins receiving 20 72-seater ATRs up to 2011.

 

"Although we do not expect Firefly to immediately cannibalise MAS' core full-service offering, the ATR's considerably lower operating costs for flights of duration up to two hours would likely allow much lower pricing to cater for the most price-sensitive segment of passengers," said Khair.

 

"This could prove a signficant drag on AirAsia's average ticket prices," he added, reiterating his "buy" call on MAS and a "hold" call on AirAsia.

 

http://www.btimes.com.my/Current_News/BT/S...icle/index_html

[S V Choong 4]

It is inevitable when there is a double standard somewhere in the system.

[miroslav zinoviy 0]

no..no.. subang can't be a LCC hub..it will be too crowded.. by the way, gov's plan for Subang is to be a MRO hub... small props, i think can operate from subang such as firefly n berjaya air.. juz for small regional airlines n small private aircrafts.. not suitable for hundreds of airbuses!! hoho..

[Ivan L. 0]

If Subang does become LCC hub, MH will surely scream like nobody business. With AK pricing and the convenience of being very close to KL downtown, everyone will definitely flock to Subang. I hate KLIA for being very far from KL and travelling to the airport can be more expensive than your AK ticket.

[M. Sofian H. 0]

"It would appear as if MAS has won this round of political lobbying given that the government's earlier decision was to allow it to fly out of Subang only to destinations not served by either MAS or AirAsia," OSK Research Sdn Bhd senior manager Chris Eng said in a note yesterday.

 

Mr Tony jgn menangguk air keruh, i know u also same, I am Pemuda UMNO Kepala Batas,

I know who u are!! I have the story between u, kj dan kalimullah.

 

Paku Dulang Paku Serpih

Mengata Orang Tony Yg Lebih....

[Radzi 2]

No problem for AK to operate out of SZB as long as the use turboprops for the service.

[M. Sofian H. 0]

No problem for AK to operate out of SZB as long as the use turboprops for the service

 

Yes i aggre... A320 bising... kacau orag nak tido

[Imran K. 0]

Mr Tony jgn menangguk air keruh, i know u also same, I am Pemuda UMNO Kepala Batas,

I know who u are!! I have the story between u, kj dan kalimullah.

 

Paku Dulang Paku Serpih

Mengata Orang Tony Yg Lebih....

 

I thought the new forum guidelines stated that politics should be left at the front door before entering? :angry:

 

 

[Loh Wilson 0]

Yes i aggre... A320 bising... kacau orag nak tido

 

I thought prop is worst ? I stay quite near to PEN airport, usually prop plane's noise caught my attention to look outside the window. I feel the reverse thrust is even louder than take-off.

 

 

 

[PC Yuen 0]

Oh I wish more props operating from szb! Love to ride on them again. Jets can keep away from szb. Szb should remain a MRO and GA hub.

[Wai Hung 0]

Yes i aggre... A320 bising... kacau orag nak tido

the a320 is a very quiet aircraft compared to props.

moreover, i dont think there is any flight going on in the middle of the night.

if ur intentions are just to fire airasia, pls come out with better excuses next time.

[Andy 1]

the a320 is a very quiet aircraft compared to props.

moreover, i dont think there is any flight going on in the middle of the night.

if ur intentions are just to fire airasia, pls come out with better excuses next time.

 

 

 

i 100% agree with you Wai Huang

Edited October 20, 2007 by Andy

[S V Choong 4]

I thought the new forum guidelines stated that politics should be left at the front door before entering?

 

Imran, yet another UMNO Commando?

 

 

[Naim 6]

the a320 is a very quiet aircraft compared to props.

moreover, i dont think there is any flight going on in the middle of the night.

if ur intentions are just to fire airasia, pls come out with better excuses next time.

 

When arguing try to come up with data.

 

A little surfing yields ...

 

Source: Dresden Airport

 

And to be more precise, see ...

Source: http://www.solihull.gov.uk/akssolihull/images/att643.pdf

 

So, props cannot be louder than A320.

 

+++

Edited October 20, 2007 by Naim

[Andy 1]

 

So, F27 cannot be louder than A320.

 

 

 

if you guys complain its going to be noisy then, what can we say about transmile air MD 11 which operates in SZB?? and thier 727 which is extreemly noisier compare to our 320..

Edited October 20, 2007 by Andy

[Hon Kit 3]

If SZB became an AK LCCT , i will be flying more then. Near my house. Beside, im kinda missing those airplane engine sound nowadays since KUL opened.

But for long term , i dont think SZE can tahan the expending capacity of AK .

[Victor A. 2]

i don't think people who live around SZB would agree with the idea of TF wanting to operate his A320 from LTSAAS. for AK to operate from SZB, there's hell a lot of work to be done to the terminal itself (upgrading the facilities etc.) and who's going to pay for it? TF should have let go of this matter and let MASWings and FireFly operate from SZB. he's making a lot of noise nowadays and most of it are really, unnecessary remarks. judging from the way he's acting at the moment, he's really trying to show to the whole world how powerful he is in the aviation industry in M'sia and being the champion of LCC concept.

 

p/s: AK really sucks in term of flight departure no matter from where they operate.

Edited October 20, 2007 by Victor A.

[Naim 6]

p/s: AK really sucks in term of flight departure no matter from where they operate.

 

How about this?

 

 

From AK homepage, so cannot tipu-tipu one.

 

+++

 

[Andy 1]

How about this?From AK homepage, so cannot tipu-tipu one.+++

how can you just blame ak for the delays?? weather also plays a factor brothers

i don't think people who live around SZB would agree with the idea of TF wanting to operate his A320 from LTSAAS. for AK to operate from SZB, there's hell a lot of work to be done to the terminal itself (upgrading the facilities etc.) and who's going to pay for it? TF should have let go of this matter and let MASWings and FireFly operate from SZB. he's making a lot of noise nowadays and most of it are really, unnecessary remarks. judging from the way he's acting at the moment, he's really trying to show to the whole world how powerful he is in the aviation industry in M'sia and being the champion of LCC concept. p/s: AK really sucks in term of flight departure no matter from where they operate.

 

 

Mr victor it will be more convenient for all of us if we have a airport in subang..why we need to go so far just to bord a plane? Mr TF has his facts to. it,s not he wants to show he is very power full he wants the same rites as other lcc airliners.

Edited October 20, 2007 by Andy

[izhar 0]

I don't think the government would approve SZB to be turned into an LCC Hub and allow AK to fly out from there. Not after having built the LCCT at KLIA with plans to expand the terminal in the future. It would kill firefly if AirAsia were to operate at Subang. Nobody would want to fly on a propeller aircraft (Firefly) if a jet aircraft (AirAsia) flies to the same destination. This would contradict the government's stated desire for both MAS and AirAsia to improve and grow in a healthy competition instead of one growing at the expense of the other (this is difficult if not impossible). However, anything can happen in the future, especially here in Malaysia a.k.a 'bolehland'.

[Rozhan 0]

Bring more services to Subang, including AK. I'm all for it, as it used to be. It is not about TF or IJ or other personalities. It is about passenger convinience.

[Kevin Teh 0]

Opening SZB as a props / domestic airport should be fine, maybe they can allow AK to operate limited flight there (but i am sure TF wouldn't want it) and let those community airline operate there.

 

The best example i can think of is the Taipei City Shung Shan Airport and the Taoyuan Int'l, where domestic props and jets can choose to operate from there. With that not much traffic will be drew over from the current under ocupied KLIA

 

MY 2 cen

Edited October 20, 2007 by Kevin Teh

[Naim 6]

For fun, let's just compare head-2-head: 9M-MGK vs 9M-AFQ, say. And use official noise figures from http://www.easa.eu.int/

 

9M-MGK is F27 Mark 050, using engine PW125B (props I dunno). Here are the noise numbers.

 

9M-AFQ is A320-216, using engine CFM56-5B6/P. Here are the numbers.

 

So:

 

a ) Taking off, AFQ very much noisier than MGK.

b ) Flyover, AFQ still very much noiser than MGK.

c ) Approach, MGK is minimally noisier (just noticeable), i.e. +1dB difference.

 

+++

 

 

[Imran K. 0]

Imran, yet another UMNO Commando?

 

Looks like it...

 

Gavin + Mods wont be pleased... <_>

[Andy 1]

Bring more services to Subang, including AK. I'm all for it, as it used to be. It is not about TF or IJ or other personalities. It is about passenger convinience.

 

 

exectly rozhan