TODAYonline

Maiden voyage across S'pore-KL's open skies

Leong Wee Keat and Ansley Ng
weekeat@mediacorp.com.sg

The three budget airlines took off and landed on Feb 1 with much fanfare: National flags were unfurled, passengers were given a rousing send-off by marching bands and water cannons showered the planes for good luck.

After six years of lobbying by budget airlines and travellers on both sides of the Causeway, three low-fare carriers — Malaysia's AirAsia and Singapore's Jetstar Asia and Tiger Airways — took to the skies on Friday, ending more than 30 years of fare-fixing by the two national carriers.

The pomp, however, failed to rub off on passengers, who just wanted to get to their destinations quickly and cheaply.

Many passengers travelling on the three flights did not even know it was the first day of the budget flights between Singapore and Kuala Lumpur, and those who did were not awed by the fanfare.

For Malaysian sales coordinator L J Goh, who was on board Tiger Airways TR148 from Singapore to Kuala Lumpur, her flight was a quicker way to travel compared to taking a bus and cheaper compared to a full-service airline.

"Taking a bus is troublesome," said Ms Goh, 28. "You have to alight and board many times and there are a lot of stops in between. I just want to get home quickly."

Drivers Today spoke to said they generally preferred to stick to taking the North-South highway. Medical representative Vania Cheong, who drives to Malaysia to meet her boyfriend once a month, took the Tiger Airways flight only to avoid traffic jams that might arise during this festive period. But the 26-year-old said she still preferred to stick to her own set of wheels, when she's not "bound by time".

Business travellers said budget air- lines served as a welcome change from full-service airlines, which charge, on average, almost twice as much. Singaporean businessman Don Chia said: "I have tried taking buses. A plane trip is faster and more comfortable."

Before Friday, Singapore Airlines (SIA) and Malaysia Airlines (MAS) had been charging almost $450, including taxes, for a round trip that lasts just 45 minutes each way.

Experts said the impact of the partial KL-Singapore liberalisation would be far-reaching.

The Centre for Asia-Pacific Aviation said in a report on Friday that the opening of the Singapore-KL route "represents a remarkable policy shift on what has been the most restrictive entry regime in the region".

Friday's first flight also marked the end of a six-year journey for AirAsia, which had numerous run-ins with the authorities here before it finally broke into the market.

"It is a watershed in aviation history," AirAsia's chief executive Tony Fernandes told reporters after landing at Changi Airport. "It will change the way countries look at route rights and there will be much more liberalisation."

Mr Fernandes was aboard AirAsia AK123, the first budget carrier to fly the route at 10am on Friday. Addressing some 500 Air- Asia employees in Kuala Lumpur before the flight took to the skies, he paid tribute to his staff and gave out hongbao containing between RM10 ($4.40) and RM100 each.

Donning the black attire of a football referee, the flamboyant AirAsia chief had a red patch resembling a red card stitched onto his left shirt pocket with the initials of MAS and SIA on it. He then led a marching band to the Singapore-bound plane.

Touching down in Changi 40 minutes later and 10 minutes ahead of schedule, the beaming Mr Fernandes announced over the plane's intercom: "Welcome to Singapore."

He told Today: "The flight was so quick that you never had time to soak it in.

"But finally, it's no more words but a reality."