Thursday, April 10, 2008

Low-cost carrier terminal plan for Kuching


KUCHING: AirAsia Berhad is in talks with the state government to build a local low-cost carrier terminal (LCCT) here which imposes lower airport tax and utilises simpler facilities.

Its group chief executive officer Datuk Tony Fernandes said this was crucial in developing Kuching as its regional hub especially with the introduction of it new international flights.

He also told reporters yesterday that this matter had been brought to the attention of Chief Minister Pehin Sri Abdul Taib Mahmud and he was hopeful of an encouraging response from the state government.

“The airport tax on the Kuching main terminal is too high, RM51 or RM52. At the Kuala Lumpur low cost carrier terminal, it is only RM25. For (a low-cost carrier) like us, the key is to have low fares. We also need simpler facilities because we’re different from a full service airline,” he said after the official launch of AirAsia’s Jakarta-Kuching route at a leading hotel here yesterday.

He said the low-cost terminal was also crucial as AirAsia estimated that in the next three years, it would handle five million passengers just out of its regional hub here.

At present, the local hub serves seven domestic routes to Penang, Kuala Lumpur, Johor Bahru, Kota Kinabalu, Miri, Bintulu, Sibu and two international flights to Macau and Jakarta.

Continue reading at: Low-cost carrier terminal plan for Kuching

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