PETALING JAYA: The Malaysian Aviation Commission (Mavcom) needs to be more involved in the interests of flight passengers and penalise airlines that do not deliver on their services, said Federation of Malaysian Consumers Associations (Fomca) CEO Saravanan Thambirajah.
He said such firms, especially budget airlines, often sell domestic flight tickets at unreasonable prices and do not place much emphasis on issues such as missing baggage, delays and over-booking.
“This is the modus operandi of most budget airlines in Malaysia. They always over-promise. Some may do a promotion for cheap flight tickets but do not take care of the welfare of their passengers.
“Flight overbooked? They won’t refund your money. Flight delayed? They will never explain or reveal the reason for it, and there are no blankets and pillows to keep passengers who are stranded at terminals comfortable while waiting for their flights. That is against customer protection standards. It’s a never-ending story,” Saravanan said.
“It is high time that Mavcom really do something about it, if it wants our airline industry to be at a respectable level. Their role is very important. When complaints are received from passengers, Mavcom should investigate and if the airline is found responsible, penalise them. This can keep them in check and not take their passengers for granted.”
Saravanan said Mavcom should set up complaint centres at airports nationwide.
“Mavcom currently has an online complaint form and direct hotline. Those are okay but not when issues have to be resolved swiftly, on the spot. They should be present at the airports themselves. This can greatly reduce the number and extent of unhappy passengers and ensure everything is in order.”
On ticket prices, Saravanan said Mavcom should release data to compare ticket prices from time to time, to show if any airline is unreasonably raising fare prices.
“Fomca advocates affordable flight tickets, especially for domestic flights. With affordable tickets, we can boost our own economy by flying to all corners of the country. The airlines can say they sell at high prices due to demand-and-supply, but if the data show the tickets are deliberately sold at unreasonable prices, then Mavcom should penalise them.
“Airlines can’t do that, as it will have an adverse effect in the long run, like people preferring to take alternative modes of transport
to avoid spending ridiculous amounts of money, not to mention the risks too.”
Saravanan also commended the government for highlighting people’s issues and swiftly taking action on airlines that neglect their passengers.
“We have seen Transport Minister Anthony Loke (take action) in a recent incident where a budget airline delayed its flight and left passengers stranded.
“I believe we are in good hands. We hope for more of the same from industry players,” he said.
Loke said on Dec 28 that Mavcom, and not his ministry, is the right option for disgruntled air passengers to lodge complaints on issues such as refunds for delayed or cancelled flights.
He said using the right channel would allow the relevant authority to look into complaints immediately.
Loke also mentioned that the government has no plans to fix prices for flight tickets, since it is confident the aviation industry will pick up in 2023 following the reopening of China’s borders.
“If you put a price ceiling, there will be negative implications. For example, airlines may cut down on capacity. No airline will want to operate if it’s a losing concern.”
Loke said prices have traditionally increased during festive seasons, and encouraged airlines to increase their flight frequency.
However, he conceded that not all airlines have large fleets that can accommodate increases in demand.