How to get cheaper Hari Raya flight tickets

High flight tickets for Hari Raya? If the government can fix prices for various foods, petrol and even bus fares, why can’t it control air ticket prices?

This has become a political issue, with a very public spat between the former and current transport ministers (from MCA and DAP respectively). Even though MCA is part of the unity government, its president Wee Ka Siong seems to be behaving more like an opposition politician.

This is what you call political “frenemies”, or to use the more colourful Malay phrase - musuh dalam selimut (the enemy in the blanket).

Transport Minister Anthony Loke pointed out that those who booked their flight tickets earlier paid cheaper prices, while those looking at last minute tickets (as Wee did) would, of course, see sky high prices. Was the MCA man so ignorant of this?

There was a further dispute as Wee used the AirAsia super app to check prices on Malaysia Airlines (MAS), instead of the national airline’s own portal, where they were RM275 cheaper.

This led Loke to joke, “If you wish to check MAS tickets, why (go to) the AirAsia app? It’s like wanting to buy KFC, but going to McDonald’s.”

Was the MCA head honcho trying to score some cheap political points with dubious tactics? Wee may have a “wee bit” of amnesia, as the same problem of costly air tickets during Hari Raya happened just a year ago when he was the transport minister.

At that time, he said his ministry was “committed” to reducing flight ticket prices.

Wee added that he had instructed the Malaysian Aviation Commission (Mavcom) and the airlines “to conduct a detailed investigation regarding the increase in flight ticket prices during festive seasons."

So, what happened to this “investigation”? Well, the MCA president already gave it a premature kiss of death back then when he said that air ticket prices are “fully determined” by the market and that his ministry could not impose ceiling prices as it would “only cause prices during normal periods to increase”.

In other words, when he was the transport minister, he allowed airlines to make maximum festive season profits, even if this caused hardship to passengers. So why is he now complaining?

Transport Minister Anthony Loke (left) and MCA president Wee Ka Siong

Fast forward one year and Loke now says, “The government remains committed to ensuring that airfares… will be kept affordable during the holiday season. This (issue of costly flight ticket prices) is not a new problem; every year it happens during the festive season.”

Hmmm… why does that sound familiar?

Don’t get me wrong, I think Loke has been a very hardworking minister who has bothered to turun padang (go to the ground) to check out transport problems first hand, such as going incognito on the LRT without the VIP fanfare.

But to break through this problem of high airfares during festivals may require something more – government intervention – rather than letting market forces rule. Here are some suggestions:

Consider ceiling prices

Firstly, what is so wrong with imposing ceiling prices for flight tickets?

The government controls prices for essential food – rice, cooking oil, chicken, eggs etc. The government controls prices for essential energy sources – petrol, diesel and electricity.

The government controls prices for essential transport – buses, trains and LRT/MRT.

But are we saying the government cannot control ceiling prices for domestic air tickets? Which are essential to connect West and East Malaysia?

Furthermore, MAS parent company Malaysia Aviation Group (MAG) had a record net profit of RM1.15 billion in the fourth quarter of 2022. I am glad that our national airline is now soaring again.

But with such bumper profits, how about lowering festive season flight prices? At least for economy class?

Charter foreign planes

Another old argument is that supply (seats on planes) is limited for the huge demand during festive periods, so it’s only “natural” for prices to rise.

But what happened when there were not enough eggs locally? The government decided to boost supply by importing eggs from India as a “temporary measure”.

This, by the way, became a political issue also thanks to Wee, when he slammed Agriculture and Food Security Minister Mohamad Sabu for the imports. Wow, perhaps the MCA president should consider applying for the post of “in-house opposition leader”?

But I digress. The point is that the government can choose to increase the supply of things when there are shortages – to lower prices.

Therefore, the government can also charter some planes from other countries “as a temporary measure” during Hari Raya.

By increasing available seats, local flights will “naturally” become cheaper. And please, don’t forget Gawai, Kaamatan and Chinese New Year too!

Air force planes?

If the government does not want to charter foreign private planes, perhaps it can make use of aircraft that it already has – in the Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF). After all, our armed forces do help out civilians in times of crisis, such as floods.

During the Covid crisis, the air force ferried home 159 Malaysians (from overseas) to Labuan, Sabah and Sarawak on A400M transport aircraft.

Perhaps, high flight prices during festivals can be considered a type of crisis too? At least in terms of national integration between West and East Malaysia?

In addition, bringing people home for Hari Raya (or Gawai and Kaamatan) will be a huge propaganda boost for the unity government. Air force transport planes may not be the most comfortable, but they get the job done. Anyway, it’s only a two or three-hour flight to Sarawak or Sabah.

To be fair to local airlines, the flights should not be free. Instead, reasonably priced “tickets” can be sold as “donations” for various local charities.

How about ferries?

Our neighbours Indonesia and the Philippines have lots of passenger ferries. But we don't have even one between West and East Malaysia. Are we a maritime nation or what?

There used to be Feri Malaysia from 1986 to 1989, run by the government-linked company (GLC) Perbadanan Nasional Shipping Line (PNSL). In 1987, a fire broke out in the engine room. Was it the usual poor maintenance culture? The project was eventually abandoned in 1989 due to "high costs" it seems.

Perhaps a new ferry service can be studied? It can connect either Kuantan, Pahang or Mersing, Johor to Kuching, with the remaining journey done by bus on the new Pan Borneo Highway.

To be economically viable, it can be used for passengers during peak festival periods, and (mostly) for cargo during off-peak seasons. Or perhaps a high-speed passenger-only ferry, like the one between Mersing and Tioman Island, can be considered.

And please let an efficient private company run it, not a GLC. Subsidies may be required, but if this is the price to pay to connect both sides of the country, it’s worth it.

I myself have enjoyed many amazing ferry rides, within the Greek islands, from Greece to Italy, Spain to Morocco and even Sabah to Mindanao. So maybe it's time to revive Feri Malaysia?

Conclusion

I believe there are solutions to the recurrent problem of expensive flights during festivals. I’ve given some suggestions here, and am sure smarter brains in the government can think of others. The only obstacle that I can see is lobbying by local airlines to protect their profits.

But I hope we can think out of the box and come up with innovative ideas. Otherwise, future transport ministers will be singing the same old tunes on this issue. - Mkini

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ANDREW SIA is a veteran journalist who likes teh tarik khau kurang manis. You are welcome to give him ideas to brew at tehtarik@gmail.com.

The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of MMKtT.