Ministry of Transport has no mechanism in place to protect the interest of passengers who have purchased tickets in advance …
Soalan
Tuan Wee Choo Keong [Wangsa Maju] minta Menteri Kewangan menyatakan langkah-langkah yang akan diambil untuk melindungi kepentingan orang awam yang telah membeli tiket berbulan-bulan terdahulu akibat dipengaruhi oleh kempen pengiklanan Air Asia dalam suratkhabar, sekiranya syarikat Air Asia tidak dapat memenuhi obligasinya di masa hadapan?
Jawapan
Tuan Yang Di Pertua,
Bagi memastikan kepentingan orang awam yang membeli tiket jauh lebih awal dari tarikh penerbangan di jaga sekiranya AirAsia tidak dapat memenuhi obligasinya, AirAsia menyediakan alternatif seperti berikut:
(i) Bagi penerbangan yang dibatalkan oleh sebab faktor teknikal, penumpang akan diberi pilihan untuk menebus harga tiket (refund to credit card) atau
Since there is no mechanism to protect the public when they purchased air Asia tickets many months in advance then the Ministry of Transport should restrict Air Asia to sell tickets for only 2 to 3 months in advance. This is the only way members of the public can be protected to a certain extend only.
6 months in advance is far too long and anything can happen within the next 6 months. We don’t want to see the Government using the people money to bail out Air Asia or any other airlines.
Please take note when Ar Asia cannot even pay up the airport tax, which it has collected from the passengers, anything can happen. I will not buy any ticket more than a month in advance.
Air asia e-ticket also connot be 100% trusted, the services (for eg: luggage quantity) bought on the booking can be disappear while you are check in on departure or returning. I face it before.
Other airlines are scaling down their operations but Air Asia is expanding. This is great business acumen by Tony but Air Asia cannot pay airport tax, which has already been paid by the passengers. This is a dangerous trend and all members of the public must be careful when buying tickets too many months in advance.
I am surprised that the Ministry of Transport is not acting to control Air Asia model of business and also did not warn members of the public about it. Whatever it is, I do agree with YB Wee that at the end of the day the government must not use the rakyat money to bail out Air Asia.
Air Asia needs to sell tickets many months in advance in order to survive because it has no cash reserve but debts. It is for this specific reason that it can not pay the airport tax. I will not be surprised if the airport has been used up for their operations and to settle other important debts, which had to settle urgently.
I am also certain that the RM65 million airport tax has not been set aside in an interest bearing account in a bank. Potential travelers must take note that it is just a question of time that it will be in deep trouble.
Expansion is just a publicity stunts by Air Asia to fool the public. In a serious business no one with the right mind will expand when it cannot pay its debts.
From the Minister of Transport reply, it was clear that in the event that Air Asia collapses the public has no protection when they buy Air Asia tickets in advance. So we all must be cautious and must not be greedy because it is cheap. What is cheap does not necessarily be good and what is good is not cheap.
When Air Asia is on aggressive publicity campaigns, we must all be more cautious because it is in need of fund. By owing airport tax of RM65 millions is enough to show to us that Air Asia is not healthy financially. So anything can happen in the future. Many low cost carriers, who were of stronger financial footing, have collapsed in recent time. I cannot see Air Asia is exempted looking at its accounts and modus operandi.
Without proper control on the selling of Air Asia tickets in advance will definitely bring big disaster to the nation one day. With the attitude of the Ministry I am very certain that a bail out will be eminent in the foreseeable future. The reason being that Air Asia is not in the position to pay up the airport tax is very telling.
Members of the public please cautious when you buy tickets in advance.