1 million zero fares for travel in Malaysia

Subang: Malaysia Airlines today launched Everyday Low Fares, offering 1 million zero fares for all its domestic destinations to enable Malaysians to keep traveling, and to boost tourism.

Managing Director/ Chief Executive Officer, Dato’ Sri Idris Jala said, “We recently declared that Malaysia Airlines is transforming into the World’s Five Star Value Carrier (FSVC) and we promised that customers will be able to enjoy 5 Star Services at low prices.

“We have successfully maintained our excellent products and services, and significantly reduced our cost by over RM1.3 billion over the last 2 years. At the same time, we have improved our pricing and inventory systems, and returned the company to profitability. We are now delighted to launch Everyday Low Fares, which offers competitive fares daily.”

To enjoy Everyday Low Fares, customers must purchase the tickets online and at least 30 days before flight departure. These tickets are non-refundable and the flight dates cannot be changed. All fares exclude airport tax and surcharges, RM76 (one way) for domestic travels and RM120 (one way) for travel between West and East Malaysia.

Customers will enjoy Malaysia Airline’s 5 Star services including refreshments on board, convenient schedules, on time departures, 20kg baggage allowance, allocated seats and many other benefits.
“This is a win-win situation for all; our customers enjoy low fares and 5 Star services while we fill up our planes. We are not losing any revenue from this as the seats represent 30% of surplus seats which would otherwise be unsold.

“This also provides us with the ability to recover some of the fuel costs which would otherwise be lost as the seats are perishable. At the time, we are providing a boost to the Malaysian economy. A study done by Khazanah and Bain Consulting shows that aviation has a multiplier effect of 12.5 to the Malaysian economy (i.e. every ringgit spent on aviation generates RM12.5 in the economy),” Jala also said.

To prevent dilution, Everyday Low Fares are only offered on lean flights and stringent terms and conditions have been put in place.
He added, “We are the first full service airline to do this in a big way. If we are successful, we will redefine the rules in the travel industry.”

Low fares for ASEAN routes will be rolled out soon. The routes include Kuala Lumpur to Jakarta, Bangkok, Manila and Surabaya. Low fares from Penang to Singapore, Kota Kinabalu to Singapore, Langkawi to Singapore and Kuching to Singapore will also be offered.

With Everyday Low Fares, Malaysia Airlines also aims to change customers’ booking behaviour.

“We have studied our customers’ booking profiles very carefully, on a route-by-route and flight-by-flight basis. We know passengers usually book their tickets only within the last 30 days before the flight departs. With Everyday Low Fares, we want them to plan their travels and book early.”

The booking period for Malaysia Airlines’ zero fares is from 5 to 19 May 2008, and travel period between 10 June and 14 December 2008. To book, log on to malaysiaairlines.com.

Terms and conditions for Everyday Low Fares are very restrictive (please refer to the attachment). However, mixed fare is allowed. For example, if a customer enjoys zero fares for his flight departing Kuala Lumpur to Langkawi and there is no zero fare available on the return leg, he can have a combination of zero fare one way and RM89 return.

Malaysia Airline’s subsidiary, Firefly is also offering zero fares for its routes. For more information, log on to www.fireflyz.com.my.