Saturday, January 29, 2011

ANOTHER REGULATORY BODY ??

AirAsia Bhd group chief executive officer Datuk Seri Tony Fenandes said that it is time to set up an independent regulatory body to guide the airline industry’s development, said AirAsia Bhd group chief executive officer Datuk Seri Tony Fernandes.

When he said that a body akin to the Malaysia Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) was needed to help the airline industry grow one wonders what he really meant by that. Is the Ministry of Transport not doing enough ?

“An independent regulator is needed to decide on what is best for the Malaysian airline industry,” Fernandes said this when contacted in Bhutan. What is important here is not what he said, rather where is he saying that. Bhutan...then we can assume that Air Asia is flying there?

So, get ready guys, a new destination is up for grabs.

He said the body should also decide on standards for best practices in the industry to ensure that Malaysia remained competitive as a hub for the region.

Fernandes added that the regulator should comprise aviation experts and captains of the tourism and banking industries.

On the new KLIA2 to be completed in October 2012, Fernandes said AirAsia would move in only when the terminal is deemed “operationally safe.”A little bit "sombong" here.

He also urged Malaysia Airports Berhad (MAB) to maintain aiport taxes for low-cost carriers at RM6 and RM25 for domestic and international passengers respectively.

Transport Minister Datuk Seri Kong Cho Ha, at a press conference earlier, said the present LCCT was running at over-capacity, having handled 15.3 million passengers last year.

“They (low-cost carriers) have to move. The current LCCT was only a temporary LCCT. We also need it as a cargo terminal. KLIA2 will be a much nicer terminal than the current LCCT,” Kong said.

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