Quarantine-free bus, AirAsia tickets to Singapore sold out for weeks

 

Capacity has been halved to 48 bus trips daily with a total of about 2,300 passengers. (AP pic)

PETALING JAYA: All tickets for quarantine-free travel by bus at the Johor Causeway and by AirAsia are reported to have been sold out until March.

The two designated bus operators for the vaccinated travel lane, Transtar Travel and Causeway Link, have reported brisk sales, the Straits Times (ST) newspaper reported in Singapore.

Capacity has been halved to 48 bus trips daily with a total of about 2,300 passengers.

A check by ST showed that VTL flights for some airlines like SIA and low-cost carrier AirAsia have sold out for weeks.

“Our VTL flights have been fully booked since before the Chinese New Year holidays began all the way through to mid-March 2022,” said Riad Asmat, chief executive of AirAsia Malaysia.

Seats that are available from some airlines in the first two weeks of March cost up to RM1,500 one way to Singapore, while a return ticket is about RM2,200.

The daily said the high airfares under the quarantine-free travel scheme and the costs associated with numerous Covid-19 tests had discouraged travel.

A return VTL flight on Malaysia Airlines or Singapore Airlines over the Chinese New Year period cost RM1,600 (S$515) each. The antigen tests would cost extra at RM1,400 a person.

The high demand and 50% reduction in capacity quota on flights as part of SOPs had driven up the price of air tickets.

The daily said seats on carriers like AirAsia, Malindo Air and MAS were sold out during the festive period.

Currently, six carriers offer quarantine-free flights between both countries, namely SIA, MAS, AirAsia, Scoot, Malindo Air and Jetstar Asia.

Carriers that operate VTL flights between Malaysia and Singapore told the newspaper that they continued to see high demand.

“Malaysia Airlines’ VTL flight recorded 100% load factor within the capacity limit,” the national carrier said. “We have seen a moderate demand for non-VTL flights.”

A spokesman for SIA said airfares were determined by supply and demand, and therefore subject to change. - FMT