Goodbye Jet Airways, ‘mabuhay’ Philippine airlines

KUALA LUMPUR: India’s Jet Airways, after seven
long years, has called it a day in Malaysia and is set to fly its final
Kuala Lumpur to Chennai route on July 1.



While no official announcement has been made on the impending cessation, travel agents and passengers checking in at Kuala
Lumpur International Airport have been notified of its final flights.

At
least two travel agents contacted by Business Times said that they had
been told that the yield was not attractive enough to continue
operating the route.

As at press time, Business Times had yet to receive an official response from Jet Airways.

Jet
Airways flies the Chennai-Kuala Lumpur-Chennai route once daily. Travel
agents expect the Jet Airways move to result in higher fares by other
operators.





Other airlines plying the route include Malaysia Airlines (once a
day), AirAsia (twice daily) and Air India Express on alternate days.

Last year, a total of 693,056 Indian tourists came to Malaysia
from Chennai and other cities in India.

On
a positive note, it is understood that up to three Philippines based
airlines could start flights into Malaysia, with the first scheduled
this Thursday.

Airphil Express will ply the Manila-Kuala Lumpur route thrice weekly to the lowcost carrier terminal (LCCT) starting Thursday.

Zest
Air, in the meantime, is understood to be holding discussion with
Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd on its plan to fly the Manila-Kuala
Lumpur route too.

However, it is unclear if Zest Air will use
the LCCT or the KLIA’s main terminal.A news report said the airlines
will start flights in October this year.

Another airline that
may start mounting flights between Manila and Kuala Lumpur without a
code share pact is Philippine Airlines, sources said.

According
to Philippine Airlines’ website, it now flies between Manila and Kuala
Lumpur nine times a week and between Cebu and Kuala Lumpur twice a week
on Malaysia Airlinesoperated
flights under a code share agreement.

According
to Standard Today, a Philippinesbased publication, local airlines had
received more seat entitlements between Manila and Kuala Lumpur after
talks with the Malaysian
government on June 6 this year.

It
quoted its Civil Aeronautics Board executive director Carmelo Arcilla
as saying that the air talk panel had agreed to an additional 2,520
seats weekly, on top of the current 2,300.

The 2,300 seats between Manila and Kuala Lumpur were fully used by Cebu Pacific, Philippine Airlines and Malaysia Airlines.

Cebu Pacific, which flies into the LCCT, plans to increase flights route.

Cebu Pacific was authorised to mount 720 more seats per week from the
current 10 weekly flights representing 1,800 seats a week.

Airphil is said to have been allotted 1,260 weekly seat entitlements and 540 weekly seats for Zest Air.

In February, Tourism Minister Datuk Seri Ng Yen Yen said that Malaysia
is targeting 400,000 tourist arrivals from the Philippines in 2012.

Last year, 362,101 Filipinos visited Malaysia, down from 486,790 in 2010.