YOURSAY 'Tony, you supported Wanita Umno chief Shahrizat in the 2008 general election in Lembah Pantai. Now see...'

AirAsia defies bullying from airport authority

Onyourtoes: Of course, everybody would want to support AirAsia boss Tony Fernandes. Who wants to pay more taxes?

However, the cause of the problem is we built too many airports, the investment of which must be recouped. Even though LCCT (Low-Cost Carrier Terminal) is built with minimal cost, it is still cost.

The problem with us is we always do things in the hurry and without thinking. Tony wanted his LCCT without thinking much of the inconvenience and extra cost incurred by air passengers. He is only concerned with paying lower fee to MAHB (Malaysia Airports Holding Berhad).

MAHB should rightly look at the asset utilisation more holistically. They built without thinking, or thinking only to get more kickback perhaps.

Ask yourself how big is Changi Airport or Hong Kong Airport? They handled more cargo and passengers than us. The output of an airport system is not just linked to its size. It also involves the configuration, the interface and the expertise of its workforce.

We always think the airport is fully utilised when in actual fact it is due to gross inefficiency within the system. Have you ever asked why we spent millions on the luggage conveying system in KLIA but need the cheap looking plastic tub to make it work?

How many transport ministers or CEOs of MAHB should have been sacked for this?

Reborn: Onyourtoes, you have many good points to clarify, but allow me to clarify one.

Malaysia, being so much bigger than Singapore, has thousands of domestic flights and millions of travellers. Singapore, on the other hand, needs only one international airport.

AirAsia will grow and as such, Tony's initial plan of building his own terminal is so that he can have the cake and eat it too.

Kingfisher: It is heartening to witness a Malaysian CEO with an incredible track record of sterling successes through true grit and hard work challenge inefficiency, waste and ill-advised demonstration of monopoly arrogance.

Kannan Msakti: What goes around, comes around. This is the case for AirAsia. There are many new fees imposed by AirAsia on its passengers unlike two years ago. AirAsia keeps making money but it is no more a cheap airline.

They are charging for:

1. Standard baggage less than 15kg

2. Seats

3. Credit card payment processing fee RM16 per passenger

4. Compulsory insurance

5. Manual check-in

6. Helpline call - RM1.95 per minute

7. They don't allow cancellation of excess baggage booked, but allow excess baggage add in.

8. Service fees up to RM200 for change of schedule

Where is the money going, Tony? Where is your social obligation?

Kgen: AirAsia is not the white knight fighting for passengers it paints itself to be.

There are many unsavoury practices that AirAsia practices like combining unprofitable flights without regards to destroying passengers' schedules and inconveniencing passengers deeply. AirAsia can only get away with this because of weak consumer laws.

The joke is that AirAsia can sometimes be more expensive than regular airlines with all their extra charges unless you book very far ahead and pay upfront, or catch one of their gimmicky promotions.

Passengers should not assume that AirAsia is the cheapest without comparing prices. For KL-Melbourne-KL, Air Emirates can give you a very good deal without the hassle of a budget airline and having to pay one year ahead.

Pemerhati: Tony, the smart entrepreneur, used his business acumen to build a very profitable airline from scratch.

The Malaysian politicians and businessman bureaucrats, who earn easy money by being parasites and specialise in stealing money by siphoning off money from overpriced contracts, then slowly lured Tony into their embrace by getting his AirAsia to merge with MAS.

Now these parasites are going to make a bomb by siphoning off huge sums of money from the construction of an unnecessarily large airport and by sucking the blood of their newfound captive host.

Tired: I have one question for Airasia, which feels victimised by the airport tax increase.

Passengers pay for airport tax upfront when bookings are made but they normally do not travel immediately, sometimes for months. In the meantime, the money is held by Airasia as the tax is only payable to MAHB 45 days after passengers have used the airport.

So, Airasia earns a handsome interest from the airport tax. We are not talking about a few ringgit here but millions as the number of passengers is huge.

Shouldn't the interest money earn by Airasia be passed back to travellers? What say you, Airasia?

Armageddon: AirAsia has been boasting that they are the expert in running an airline and making tonnes of money and that is why they can afford to charge RM10 for some flights. Be a good citizen and give some of the money back to MAHB.

By the way, Tony, I am surprised that you just realised that Malaysia is a police state.

Socialist007: Tony, you supported Wanita Umno chief Shahrizat Abdul Jalil in the 2008 GE in Lembah Pantai. Now see what the Umno-BN dogs are doing to your business.

Kenneth_3486: Try calling AirAsia customer help line at RM1.95 per minute and you will begin to understand how frustrated we feel. Now AirAsia is feeling the same way.

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