30 August 2019
News of the reduced Passenger Service Charge (PSC) for destinations beyond Asean countries at other airports other than the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) is a victory for AirAsia Group Bhd, said its chief executive officer Tan Sri Tony Fernandes.
Earlier today, Transport Minister Anthony Loke announced that the new PSC charges has been set at RM50, a reduction from RM73, and will come into effect on October 1.
Loke said KLIA is a “premium airport” and should not be considered the same as other domestic airports.
Responding to the announcement, Fernandez said that with everyone charged “appropriately”, airport operator Malaysia Airport Holdings Berhad (MAHB) stands to benefit too.
“The whole AirAsia team has been fighting this for the longest time. The most important thing is the minister’s comment that not all airports are the same.
“What you charge a six-star hotel, you can’t charge the same rate for a budget hotel and airports should support our model which help us reduce cost, reduce airfare, grow more volume and they win as well.
“We are Malaysia Airport’s (MAHB) largest customer, yet they never really try to understand our model so it’s a huge day for us.
“It’s a victory for people that now they are being charged appropriately,’’ he said.
Fernandes was speaking at a press conference after signing two major agreements with Airbus, covering the order of an additional A330neo and 30 A321XLR aircraft along with a memorandum of agreement to support the local aerospace industry.
The signing today was witnessed by Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.
However, Fernandes said he does not agree with the Departure Levy or “exit tax” that will come into effect this September 1.
“Of course, we don’t agree with the exit tax but that is for another day and another battle,’’ he said.
The Departure Levy was introduced by the government as a means to add to their revenue and is not the same as the PSC.
Fernandes added that the new PSC imposed on klia2 could possibly ease tensions between AirAsia and MAHB.
He said the company will not seek action against MAHB following the systems disruption at KLIA last week as AirAsia was not overtly affected by it, as it operated in klia2.
Source: malaymail.com
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