Calling me to send-off won't solve flight woes: Wee to Loke

 

Despite Transport Minister Anthony Loke’s response today, his predecessor Wee Ka Siong said the lack of affordable flights between East and West Malaysia remains unresolved.

This was after Loke invited Wee to send off a fixed-fare flight from Kuala Lumpur to Tawau, Sabah, this Thursday night, where each of its 185 passengers only paid RM249 for their tickets.

Wee said he raised the issue of airfare after a Tawau resident complained about the lack of flights and exorbitant ticket prices, and that tickets often exceed RM1,000 during festive seasons with insufficient seats to accommodate demand.

“Can the transport minister do more to lower the price and increase the number of seats so that more of our Malaysians can pay a lower price and have the chance to return home to celebrate the festivities?” Wee asked in a statement today.

The MCA president also thanked Loke for the invitation to send off the Thursday flight, but said, “It would be much better if I direct consumers seeking cheaper flights to contact him (Loke) for help.

“Then he can directly help secure cheaper tickets to fly back to Tawau.”

Business class vs economy

The ongoing row over flight tickets to Tawau - and East Malaysia more generally - started yesterday after Wee raised the issue about a ticket being sold for RM3,138.

Checks by Malaysiakini yesterday found Wee’s claims to be partially correct, that AirAsia’s Super App platform does indeed indicate that the price for a Malaysia Airlines (MAS) economy seat for a flight from Kuala Lumpur to Tawau on April 20 would cost RM3,138.

However, on MAS’ own website, the same flight was being sold with business class tickets starting from RM2,863.37, with no economy seats being offered.

According to Loke, all of MAS’ economy seats for the flight had been sold and the price shown on the Super App was actually for a business class ticket, and it was priced at RM2,863.40 rather than RM3,138.

He said Wee should have checked multiple sources and used MAS’ own platforms for purchasing tickets for MAS flights.

Loke also said the Malaysian Aviation Commission is looking for ways to ensure apps would not take advantage of marking up flight ticket prices, and MAS has filed for an injunction to stop AirAsia from selling MAS tickets on its app. The injunction was not granted.

Wee, meanwhile, pointed out that many unsuspecting consumers would use price aggregators like Super App, Agoda, and Booking.com to find the best deals for their travel plans, and questioned whether the government will take action against AirAsia for reselling MAS flights without authorisation.

“If there are allegations of unreasonable price hikes for certain airlines’ tickets on these apps, isn’t it the responsibility of the Transport Ministry and its agencies to check and make sure consumers are not being taken for a ride?” he said. - Mkini