Increasing international flights to curb price hike

Increasing international flights was an option to controlling ticket prices, said Anthony Loke Siew Fook.

He explained that the government cannot regulate air ticket prices, which are subject to dynamic pricing, except for domestic travel during festive seasons.

“We already have a policy during the festive season whereby there is a cap in terms of pricing and the government subsidises it, but in terms of international travel, there is no such (subsidy) mechanism.

“The way to resolve the issue of high airfares is to provide more supply… so when there is more competition there will be more supply in the market, then definitely the market will adjust itself,” he said, reported Bernama.

He said this after witnessing the signing of a memorandum of understanding between Batik Air and Kia, aimed at offering private terminal transfer services.

“So I am pleased to hear that Batik Air is increasing its fleet. They are (adding) another 20 aircraft in the next six months so by the end of this year they will have 50 aircraft servicing the Malaysian market,” he said in response to concerns that current high airfares are here to stay post-pandemic as travel booms.

Loke said that the government supports any efforts by local airlines to expand their fleets, as this would result in more competitive airfares.

Today, Batik Air entered into a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with South Korean automaker Kia to introduce a new private terminal transfer service exclusively for its business class passengers.

This service aims to elevate the travel experience for Business Class and Flexi passengers by providing a premium transfer between the Main Terminal Building and the Satellite Building of KLIA Terminal 1.