Come April 15, it may be a little more expensive affair
to be a wanderluster, traveling for an adventure from Malaysia. This is surely
bad news for me and those bitten by the travel bug one too many times. And, weird
to note the date, the 15th, on March 15 we saw The Malaysian Insider
shut down and April 15 may be when airlines pay ten times more in fees and possibly
also when frequent travelers have to fork out more for a getaway. Two of my favorite things, writing and traveling having to deal with the date!
Right now, like a lot of other things in Malaysia, I hope the hike does not take place next week and when it does, I sure hope it is reviewed to be lower than the 1,000% it is expected to be! So wait no more and make use of the AirAsia low fares right away! I'm glad I've booked a few trip and may be planning a few more before the promotion ends on April 17.
If you're a frequent traveler, or have a few holiday destinations in mind for 2016, read on to know what the hike talk is all about.
It was reported yesterday that all airlines in the country
(AirAsia, Malaysia Airlines and Malindo) will be charged 10 times more in deed
by the Department of Civil Aviation (DCA). The Star reported that for instance,
for a flight to Kota Kinabalu, an airline would be paying about RM1,700 a route
that currently cost some where around RM170. It was also understood that the
fees as for the usage of air space, air traffic facilities and others such as
the pilot’s flight license. It was also revealed that the bigger the
aircraft, the higher the imposed fees are expected to be.
How much more to fly away for a holiday?
Although it is not known how much an effect it will be
to a traveler at this point, when airlines have to pay more fees, the hike may
sooner or later result in higher flight ticket prices, as an airline will have
to think of ways to offset the the fees imposed by DCA.
How are the airlines taking it?
It was understood that some airlines were
surprised with the too drastic and too fast hike, as they thought it was still
at a proposal stage when they were briefed by DCA officials last Friday, but it
is learnt that the DCA wants to start charging the new fees next week. The rise
would lead up to a ten-fold increase in airlines’ monthly air navigation flight
charges (ANFC), which forms the biggest cost item for the usage of DCA
services.
The worst hit by the fee hike?
the worst hit by this new charges would be
airlines like AirAsia, as well as Malaysia Airlines and Malindo Air that have
several hundred domestic flights per week. With no doubt, this will potentially
lead to higher airfares. Airlines may also impose miscellaneous charges in a
bid to pass on the higher cost.
What are the fees and hike like?
Based on the briefing given to the airlines, the
ANFC charges will rise from five cent per nautical mile now to 50 cent for
lightweight aircraft. For the bigger birds (the A320/A330 and B737/B777), the
cost will rise from RM1-RM2.50 per nautical mile from 10-25 cent now, and the
super jumbo A380 will see charges swelling to RM3 from 30 cent now. The minimum
charges will be raised from RM5 to RM50 per nautical mile. (This means if an
airline is paying RM120,000 a month now in ANFC fees, its bill will rise to
RM1.2mil a month depending on aircraft type and frequency)
As for the AOC, which is a vital document for
airlines to fly, the initial approval fees will balloon to RM80,000 yearly from
RM400 now for mid-sized aircraft, and yearly renewals will rise from RM400 to
RM30,000. Pilots who have to be licensed to fly will have to fork out RM500 for
their initial flight crew licence and RM300 for yearly renewals from RM100 and
RM60 now.
DCA director-general Datuk Seri Azharuddin Abdul
Rahman as reported by StarBiz yesterday said airlines have
to understand that the DCA expenses for delivery of services is going up as
well. “We have to upgrade our systems, maintain and replace them as we want to
give them the best. Hence, we have to charge a bit. In any case, there has not
been a revision in the pricing since 1970 and it costs us money to provide the
services,” he said.
He added that the hike will still put fees lowest
in the world compaed to other countries in the region. The DCA he said spent
RM1.41bil to build infrastructure and systems to deliver an efficient air
traffic management system. The new KL air traffic control centre (ATCC),
expected to be operational by 2018/2019, is costing the DCA RM650mil. It was
informed that for future upgrades, the DCA needs about RM550mil to upgrade the
new Kota Kinabalu ATCC and for other system upgrades elsewhere in the country. It
was noted that yearly, the department spends about RM125mil just on
maintenance, which pushes a need to raise the rates.
0 comments