This is a big drop compared to fares as high as RM1,000 for a one-way ticket due to the low frequency of flights to Sarawak that have been highlighted recently.
In a statement, AirAsia said it had been in constant communication with Sarawak’s transport ministry about increasing flights to the state.
It had requested for extra flights during Christmas and Chinese New Year, and was aware of public concerns over recent high fares to Sarawak.
“The airline today received confirmation from Sarawak’s transport ministry and the Sarawak State Disaster Management Committee (SDMC) for an additional 42 weekly flights from Peninsular Malaysia and Sabah to the state for a limited period, from Dec 4 until Jan 5 next year.
“This has brought the fares down from around RM1,000 one way to below RM200 for a Kuala Lumpur to Kuching flight. These were very quickly snapped up.”
AirAsia Malaysia CEO Riad Asmat said as a low-cost carrier, they required high volume in order to spread costs over a wide number of travellers to keep individual fares low.
While he expressed appreciation for the increased flight frequency that had been agreed upon, he also appealed to Sarawak’s transport ministry and the SDMC to approve their request for additional flights during the Chinese New Year period.
He also requested the authorities to remove existing frequency restrictions entirely to enable the airline to better manage costs and provide lower fares to passengers.
Riad said it was clear there was a demand for flights but the carrier was unable to meet it due to the limits imposed.
“AirAsia’s pricing model is similar to other airlines the world over and is based on supply and demand.
“In abiding by the limited flight frequencies imposed by the SDMC, resulting in a reduced number of flight seats, AirAsia’s demand-based dynamic pricing mechanism has inevitably resulted in prices that are seen as unfavourable to buyers at this time,” Riad said.
“For the record, AirAsia used to fly over 300 weekly flights into Sarawak before the Covid-19 crisis, connecting Kuching, Sibu, Miri and Bintulu to Kuala Lumpur, Penang, Johor Bahru, Kota Kinabalu and other destinations in Malaysia.
“Just for the Kuala Lumpur-Kuching trips alone, we used to fly between 12 and 15 flights daily on this hugely popular route before Covid-19.
“With the latest approval today, AirAsia will be flying five daily flights between Kuala Lumpur and Kuching, which is a 67% reduction in our capacity due to the restrictions imposed by SDMC.
“The inability to scale up our supply to meet the demand, due to the flight restrictions, has hampered our ability to continue to offer lower and affordable fares.”
He said AirAsia would continue to offer its full commitment and support for the full reopening of Sarawak and resumption of travel and tourism activities in the state.
It looked forward to working with all the relevant regulators, the federal and state governments, civil aviation, health authorities and tourism bodies to ensure maximum SOP compliance during all its flights.