Caretaker Transport Minister, Datuk Seri Wee Ka Siong has reassured that the prices of flight tickets will be regulated by the Malaysian Aviation Commission (MAVCOM) so that they are not hiked up arbitrarily by airlines ahead of the 15^th general election (GE15).

Datuk Seri Wee explained that it is not out of the ordinary for flight ticket prices to increase if there is a sudden surge of demand among passengers due to an event or occasion, as the dynamic price mechanism is in play. “Based on the dynamic pricing mechanism for any airlines in the world, the earlier it (the ticket) is booked, the cheaper it is and the closer to a date or event, the price will be higher,” he said.

However, if airlines were found to have raised prices indiscriminately outside of the conditions set by this mechanism, then MAVCOM will be in its right to act against them.

Datuk Seri Wee’s comments were in response to the latest public outcry over the massive surge in flight ticket prices for the election weekend. Many individuals noted that the hike happened just minutes after the Election Commission’s announcement of the polling dates.

Direct economy flights between Singapore and Kuala Lumpur during the election weekend, for instance, cost RM2,376 on AirAsia and RM744 on Malaysia Airlines when checked yesterday. Meanwhile, the cost of flight tickets between Kuala Lumpur and Johor Bahru came up to RM495.92 and RM647.22 for AirAsia and Malaysia Airlines, respectively.

Twitter user @IcedNyior also reported being met with an error when purchasing her flight ticket from Johor Bahru to Kuching, which originally was priced at RM359.42. After the error code, she was redirected to a new price of RM727.44.

WOI @airasia WHY was an error (code 999) when paying for election flight tickets then the price was then DOUBLED???

From RM360 to RM 730 from Johor to Kuching. tak masuk akal betul pic.twitter.com/hcUyu3AMSA

— Iced Nyior (@IcedNyior) October 20, 2022

Meanwhile, Malaysia Airlines, MASWings, and Firefly have announced discounted airfares to cater to the needs of GE15 voters. Malaysia Airlines’ Jom Balik Mengundi campaign offers as much as 20% discount on flight fares for passengers who book their tickets between today to 19 November 2022, for travel between 11 to 27 November. MASWings – a regional airline for East Malaysia, and the sister company of Malaysia Airlines – is also offering flights to selected destinations at prices starting from RM135 (one-way, all-in fares).

For passengers opting to fly with Firefly, there will be 24% and 10% discounted fares for jet and ATR-operated flights, respectively. This promotion is available for bookings made from today until 24 October, for travel between 1 November 2022 to 30 June 2023.

Prior to this, the Transport Ministry had been requested to advise MAVCOM on setting a ceiling price for airline tickets to ensure that voters can exercise their democratic right without having to pay exorbitant amounts. Malaysia is set to hold GE15 on 19 November 2022, with early voting to begin on 15 November 2022.  

(Source: Malay Mail [1, 2])

• TAGS:
• Datuk Seri Dr Wee Ka Siong
• Firefly
• Flight Tickets
• Flights
• GE15
• General Election
• Malaysia Airlines
• Malaysia Airlines Berhad
• MASwings
• Mavcom