PSC helps level the playing field

PETALING JAYA: The announcement by Malaysian Aviation Commission (Mavcom) of the new passenger service charge (PSC) helps level the playing field.
Malaysia Airlines Berhad group chief executive Peter Bellew said it will play an important part in the turnaround of Malaysia Airlines.
He said it has been a tough job negotiating on getting the PSC equalised at KLIA and klia2.
He pointed out in a statement that the new charges will see a reduction of some RM30 per passenger for Asean passengers at KLIA which will be the same fee as klia2.
"The Kuala Lumpur airport charges will be equal for domestic and Asean flights from Jan 1 next year and the authorities plan full equalisation by Jan 1, 2018," Bellew said.
He said customers will have the freedom to choose whatever terminal they wish in Kuala Lumpur and to celebrate the equality, MAS will have a "Freedom Fares" sale from tomorrow to Nov 8 on selected Asean routes with fully inclusive fares from RM149 and domestic from RM99.
Bellew said MAS looks forward to working with Mavcom to implement full equalisation in 2018 for international flights.
He said carriers at klia2 will enjoy a saving in 2017 of RM23 on international flights which is worth around RM250 million per annum.
He added that the situation has improved for MAS after a tough battle to get equal PSC charges.
Yesterday, Mavcom announced the revised rates as RM11 for domestic flights (up from RM6 at klia2 and RM9 at all other airports), and RM35 for flights to Asean countries from all airports in Malaysia (currently RM32 at klia2 and RM65 at KLIA).
It said for flights to international destinations excluding Asean, the PSC is RM50 (up from RM32) for departures from klia2 and RM73 (up from RM65) for departures from KLIA and other airports.
Mavcom said Malaysia was the first Asean country to introduce a PSC tier for travel to Asean nations, which means cheaper Asean travel.
The commission said passengers who do not travel on a flight for which they have purchased their tickets are eligible for a full refund of the PSC.