It is said that many travellers favour low-cost carriers (LCC) not only because of cheap fares but also because they get to their destinations on time more often than their full-service competitors. But after my experience last week, I have to rethink my future flights in or out of Kuala Lumpur on a budget airline.
This was my first international flight on an LCC, and not by choice as the trip was on short notice and I couldn’t find a suitable time on a full-service carrier. In any case, I hoped it would save my company some money and earn me some brownie points (it’s performance evaluation season, after all).
As it turns out, my hopes were not rewarded.
People who travel regularly to the Malaysian capital on full-service carriers know that Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) is in Sepang, around 70 kilometres from the city. Visitors can get into the city by taxis, buses or high-speed trains. But if they fly with a budget airline, they have to arrive and depart from the low-cost carrier terminal (LCCT), which is 20 kilometres from KLIA. Getting to the nearest train station takes another 15 to 20 minutes. You can get a bus for just 8 ringgit but it takes forever, or taxi which could cost you as much as 100 to 150 ringgit.
If you want to take the train from KLIA to the city, you can take a cab from the LCC terminal for 42 ringgit, add 35 ringgit for the train to Central Station, and then change to another train or take a taxi from there.
And the return trip? I was on a business trip, my meeting ended late and there was very limited time for me and my colleague to make it back to the AirAsia flight we had booked. Aware of evening traffic jams, we decided to take the train to KLIA and then a taxi to the LCC terminal.
After we arrived the KLIA, we realised we would have to take a bus to the LCC terminal, but the buses are infrequent, leaving every half an hour. Factoring in the 20-minute ride to the LCC terminal, it could be as long as 50 minutes before we got there and we’d miss our flight. There are no trains linking the two terminals.
In short, we felt as though we were in Bangkok, where there is no proper transport between Suvarnabhumi Airport, which took 40 years to plan and build, and Don Mueang. But that is Thailand, where governments change every few years if not months. Malaysia has had one-party rule for decades; how could its government overlook something so basic?
And to make things worse, the taxi from KLIA has a fixed fare of 42.20 ringgit although it should not be much more than 10 ringgit. What a rip-off.
Finally, we made our flight and flew safely to Bangkok. Airfare aside, we paid a total of 112.20 ringgit for transport. That’s about 1,125 baht — more than a lot of short-haul air tickets cost on an LCC.
All ground transport methods take a similar amount of time: around one hour to arrive at the LCC terminal. But the fares range from 8 ringgit for a bus, to 100-150 for a cab, and 37.50 ringgit for an express train with bus transit to the LCCT, or 77.20 ringgit for an express train plus taxi per person.
I have to say that the design of the transport system between the LCC terminal and the city is all wrong. Budget airline passengers should not have to trade off convenience for low airfares. The amounts I paid were very expensive compared with the cost of travelling to and from Suvarnabhumi or Don Mueang in Bangkok.
When it comes to proper planning, Changi Airport in Singapore sets the standard. It has three terminals for full-service airlines and one budget terminal separately, but all in the same area, making it perfectly fair and convenient for passengers no matter how much they paid for their plane tickets. The different levels of service should be limited to the airline types they choose.
Malaysia is well known as the home of AirAsia, which pioneered low-cost flights and still leads a market that has grown to include many other carriers. It’s been said that low-cost airlines don’t see other airlines as their competitors. The real competition is the bus and the train. Maybe that explains why the inside of the LCC terminal in KL reminds me of the Mor Chit provincial bus terminal in Bangkok — but don’t get me started on that.
This seems a pity since the Malaysian government is promoting tourism in the country aggressively (admit it: you know the song from the incessant ‘Malaysia Truly Asia’ TV commercials by heart).
Whatever types of airlines tourists choose, flying to Malaysia for leisure or business would be perfect if travellers were greeted by a well-planned transport system that would leave them impressed with their journeys.