Government tells MAS, AirAsia: Pipe down
KUALA UMPUR – Malaysia’s Transport Minister Datuk Seri Ong Tee Keat has told Malaysia Airlines and AirAsia to stop bickering over access to popular routes and get on with the job of making their airlines more efficient.
Low-cost AirAsia – which launched Kuala Lumpur-Mumbai services yesterday – has accused the national carrier of working behind the scenes to ensure it did not get traffic rights to certain destinations, including Sydney.
“I see no reason why our home-grown airlines need to engage in this kind of verbal exchange,†Ong said.
“We (government) know what we are doing, and have been handling this (the award of traffic rights), through our rules and regulations. We have been even-handed enough in catering to their needs,” Ong told reporters.
The national carrier feels that some routes should not be given to the budget carrier, while AirAsia insists that it should not be blocked from getting any routes it wants.
Both airlines, however, called for a definitive aviation policy framework, which clearly states the direction of the local aviation industry.
Ong said both MAS and AirAsia should stay focused on enhancing their level of on-time performance and quality of their services.
He said sometimes he gets a lot of complaints from the public about on-time performance of the airlines.
“I have been monitoring on-time performance almost every month. We have issued our concern (on the matter) in writing to the (airline) operators,” Ong said.
Ian Jarrett
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