Fly for price of bus ticket!

01 Feb 2007

KUALA LUMPUR: Almost a million more passengers thronged the arrival and departure halls of the Kuala Lumpur International Airport last year than in 2005.

About 24.1 million passengers went through the KLIA and the Low Cost Carrier Terminal that it launched in March last year.

That’s a four per cent increase over the 23.2 million passengers it saw in 2005, according to a preliminary report by Malaysia Airports Holdings Berhad.

The LCCT alone saw 4.6 million passengers, about half of its capacity of 10 million.

"We never thought budget flying would become so big," said MAHB corporate communications general manager Norliza Kamaruddin.

"Low airfares spread like wildfire among travellers. Those who thought they would never be able to fly discovered that they could," she said.

So would a price war bring more flyers?

"Ten years ago, the majority of Malaysians travelled by bus, car or trains, those who had a little bit more money could fly with Malaysia Airlines," Norliza said.

"Now everyone can fly for the same price that they pay for a bus ticket. It all depends on how much you want to pay," she added.

That no-frill airlines are still the main draw is plain. MAHB is planning to expand the terminal’s capacity to 15 million passengers.

Source: NST