Why have PEN and LGK not 'opened up' ?

[MAN Flyer]

Reading that latest press release from Changi about the new flights to KUL, BKI & KCH, I have just realised LGK and PEN seem to have been left out. Why ?.

Why open up KUL, BKI and KCH but not PEN and LGK ?. Is there some particular reason for this or is it just another bizarre situation similar to the one that kept the other routes ridiculously restricted for all these years ?.

I would imagine when PEN opens up MI will probably end up taking over on that route as well.

[flyguy]

suppose penang n langkawi will be opened up soon by early next year - but traffic may not be there ex-SIN - as even SQ is cutting back flights to PEN - and besides fares to this 2 places are cheaper than from SIN-KUL by SQ/MH

[inkoherent]

I'm not fully au fait with this, but I believe there is a specific timeline for the opening up of flights within ASEAN, starting with those between the capitals, which was supposed to be in Dec 08 or Jan 09.

I THINK the early opening up of flights to KUL, BKI and KCH (compared to the ASEAN-wide timeline) were bilaterally agreed upon; for BKI and KCH it would probably have to do with the Malaysian federal or Sabah/Sarawak state governments wanting to bring tourists in to those 2 places in particular.

But for PEN and elsewhere, there might be other factors at play behind the later liberalisation - lobbying by MH could be one.

[huaiwei]

but traffic may not be there ex-SIN - as even SQ is cutting back flights to PEN

It may be not so simple to conclude thus. If I were to attempt to fly to Penang, I can consider flying to Penang via KL on AirAsia at a fraction of what SQ is charging, even if I have to buy two separate tickets.

[flyguy]

i meant for direct non-stop flights from sin to pen. Yes one can fly to KUL on AA and take another flight to continue to pen but the time taken will be pretty long then.

[milehighj]

Malaysia Airlines (MAS) has become the first to throw down the gauntlet, with its 'One Price, All Seats, All Flights' online promotion offering one-way, economy-class fare on its flights from Singapore to Kuala Lumpur for $89 nett.

MAS also dropped its fares for flights from Singapore to Penang, Langkawi, Kota Kinabalu and Kuching, offering similar $89 nett one-way, economy-class fares to these destinations. This represents a reduction of up to 78 per cent of the lowest normal online fares on these routes.

http://travel.asiaone.com/Travel/New...16-100892.html

[huaiwei]

i meant for direct non-stop flights from sin to pen. Yes one can fly to KUL on AA and take another flight to continue to pen but the time taken will be pretty long then.

True, but there certainly are people who are prepared to waste some hours just to save over 50% on their airfare. And I think this is the additional "hidden" market helping to fuel the SIN-KUL flights and onwards at the expense of direct flights which cost alot more.

Meanwhile, I am fairly surprised to discover the ready availability of SIN-KUL tickets on Tiger even in the first weeks of December. Either the demand has not picked up yet or people are just not going to spend extra for the privilege to pick their seats, but there were only six pre-selected seats on my outbound flight on 2 December. It is still S$29 (each way) tickets aplenty for most of December, so take advantage of a quick trip to KL just for the heck of it!

[flyguy]

but do beware of MH's $89 promotion as have done a few bookings while checking it out and even for travel a few mths down the road - the search sill ended up with indicating that the promo fare is "sold out" - in fact MH's so-called promotions since few mths back one is hardly able to get at their said promo "all-in" fares. There have been few complaints in fact over in malaysia on this MH claimed promotion. It seems that MH promotion fares is severely limited to just a handful of seats only - and its more like a ploy than anything else. At least for Air Asia and Tiger, one can get their promo fares fairly easil if booked for flights ahead.