Tiang accuses AirAsia of unfair pricing for Sarawak, points out KL-Hong Kong airfare cheaper

SIBU (Nov 16): Deputy Minister of Public Health, Housing and Local Government Datuk Michael Tiang has accused AirAsia of treating Sarawak unfairly in terms of price.

He questioned how it fair for the airfare from Sibu to Kuala Lumpur to be more expensive than the airfare from Kuala Lumpur to Hong Kong.

Tiang pointed out the distance between Sibu and Kuala Lumpur is only about 1,100km, while the distance from Kuala Lumpur to Hong Kong is more than twice that at 2,450km.

According to the Pelawan assemblyman, at the time of checking today, the airfare for the 4.15pm Kuala Lumpur to Hong Kong flight was RM459, while the price for the 1.05pm flight was RM489.

Those prices were far lower than the 7.55am Sibu to Kuala Lumpur flight at RM529, RM739 for the 2.05pm flight, and RM819 for the 9.45pm flight.

“My point is, is it fair to the customers in Sarawak who have been supporting AirAsia from the very beginning? And do not forget that AirAsia started their business in Malaysia on domestic flights before expanding to international routes.

“What has Sibu done wrong to you that you have to punish us like that? We have a shorter route but a more expensive airfare,” he said.

Tiang said this in response to the cancelation of direct flights between Singapore and Sibu, as well as Singapore and Miri, which the airline attributed to insufficient passenger load.

He said while it is understood AirAsia is a business and cannot be forced to provide services which are not profitable, he could not accept how unfairly the company is treating Sarawakians when it comes to airfares.

“I have received numerous public complaints about unfair airfare compared to international routes.

“International routes should be more expensive to operate than the domestic flights. Do not tell me that the Sibu-KL passenger load is not there.

“If not there, how come we have three flights a day? It does not make sense for them to charge us that much,” he stated.

Tiang said it is time for the Unity Government and federal Ministry of Transport to act and monitor commercial airfare practices closely.

He also urged members of parliament from Sarawak to bring up the issue in Parliament.

“Sarawak government understands that our people are facing this unfair treatment, that is why the government is in the process of acquiring MASwings to establish our own airline,” he said.

He added the airline will not only provide domestic flights but also regional flight services with fare prices to ensure that Sarawak has better flight connectivity.

He pointed out that flight connectivity is crucial for the state to move forward in terms of development and entrepreneurship.