Much has been said and written about AirAsia. In my opinion, the tourism minister has a point . Observer (' Jealous of AirAsia's success? ') is right in saying that he does not mind paying cheaper fares although he could not get hold of the RM1.99 tickets to Penang on offer.

The crux of the matter is that AirAsia cannot give what they are offering, which is something other airlines that AirAsia is supposedly copying are doing. Check it out yourself... try Ryanair , easyJet and Southwest Airlines .

For example, I tried to book an AirAsia flight from KLIA to Penang departing on Feb 28 and returning the next day. What did I get? A fare that was the same as the one I had tried to book departing Feb 6 and returning on Feb 7! Clearly something is not right here.

I say this because when getting a flight on Ryanair (which I have used numerous times during my student days last year), not only will I get a flight based on the advertised rate but a few of the rates were even cheaper than that advertised! For example, the rates advertised for a return flight from London Stansted to Biarritz, France was GBP9.99. The return flight was quoted at only GBP5.

Therefore, when AirAsia says that tickets at RM1.99 is available, travellers can safely assume that such tickets are available. The ball is in your court, Tony Fernandes !