AirAsia hopes govt nod for new routes to S'pore in March

SINGAPORE: Low-cost carrier AirAsia Bhd hopes to get the Malaysian Government's approval to open up air routes from Penang, Kuching, Kota Kinabalu and Langkawi to Singapore in March.
Group chief executive officer Datuk Tony Fernandes said he did not know when AirAsia could start the new flight routes to Singapore “but we have asked for it already, and we hope we can get that soon”.
He was speaking to reporters after AirAsia’s inaugural flight to the island republic with 180 guests on Feb 1. Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) airport management director Foo Sek Min said AirAsia was its 82nd scheduled airline and it has expected passenger volume on the Kuala Lumpur-Singapore route to increase with the two AirAsia flights. “We have some 2.5 million passengers travelling between the two cities per annum and this figure is likely to grow as it would be stimulated by AirAsia,” Foo said.
Asked if a possible US slowdown could have adverse effects on the aviation industry, Fernandes replied: “Travel is here and they are not going away. If you look at history, low-cost carriers have benefited from a recession because people who were not prepared (not to travel) will trade down.” "The key for us to manage in a slowdown is low fares," he added. On whether AirAsia would move to Changi's budget termninal, Fernandes said he was concerned with the the terminal's ability to cater to its passengers capacity.
“Although the CAAS said they would expand it, in terms of financial incentives it is not really worth moving now,” he said. Asked whether the Kuala Lumpur International Airport’s low-cost carrier terminal would be able to cater to increase in passengers, Fernandes said:
“LCCT has a capacity for 10 million and we are bursting. MAHB (Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd) is now rushing to expand it to 15 million, and then a terminal for 30 million passengers.” “If they are building a terminal of this scale, they have to look at the potential of this (budget airlines) market. Airports have to be ahead of the game, and they are too slow at the moment," he said. “I think this is the challenge for us, for the airports to keep up with us,” Fernandes said. -www.theedgedaily.com