Malaysian Airports for Upgrading

Badlisham Ghazali, managing director of Malaysian Airports Holdings Bhd (MAHB), announced the upgrading of airports in Malaysia in the next five years, with government allotting US$ 1 billion for the program.  Aside from Kuala Lumpur International Airport, upgrades will also be implemented at airports in Langkawi, Kota Kinabalu and Kota Baru, due to the presence of ponding and cracks on the taxiways.

KLIA2 is expected to reach annual capacity of 45 million passengers earlier than estimated but will not be part of the upgrading program since there were prior plans for the structure.

KLIA Expansion Discussed Between MAHB, Government and Airline Operators

MAHB managing director Datuk Badlisham Ghazali said that the proposed expansion of the Kuala Lumpur International Airport are in the works as they are discussing plans with the government and airline operators.  This was in response to requests by the operators for more parking bays as there is a rise in the frequency and the number of flights to and from KLIA.

As for KLIA2,  Badlisham is confident that it will meet its target of 30 million passengers earlier than expected.  Last year’s tourist traffic statistics reached 26 million with only two years’ operations and he added that the upward trend will continue because of domestic connectivity.

Malaysia Airlines Recovers Market Share

After two years of restructuring preceded by two air disasters, Malaysia Airlines Bhd is gradually gaining back its share in the airline business.  Peter Bellew, chief executive officer and group managing director, said that higher percentages were regained in the Kuala Lumpur-London route, among others.  He added that this improvement was due to several factors – aggressive sales push, increased advertising campaigns, continued partnerships with travel agents along with online bookings, operational revisions and organizational restructuring.

One area that they are looking into seriously is pushing the increase in passenger yield.  Although fierce competition is causing yields to slip globally, Bellew is still optimistic that the airline can go up 3 to 4 per cent higher this year by adjusting airfares even if it will entail close monitoring on an hourly and daily basis.

Bellew is also planning on adding new routes and frequencies to Japan, Korea, China and other Asean countries from Kuala Lumpur, Kota Kinabalu, Penang and Kuching airports, thus, optimizing the use of its fleet.