Experts and stakeholders told FMT Business the safety and well-being of passengers should also be on the list of priorities.
Public Transport Users Association president Ajit Johl said the challenge for low-cost carriers has always been to ensure that the needs of their customers are not sidelined.
He said the failure to do so has left their customers disgruntled.
“The new airline must learn from the mistakes of the established low-cost carriers. They must not confuse ‘low-cost’ with ‘cheap’,” he said.
MYAirline, which has been awarded a licence to operate by the Malaysian Aviation Commission, announced recently that it plans to begin commercial operations by the end of this year.
It also claimed that apart from ensuring that flights are punctual, it could charge lower fares and provide better real-time customer support than domestic rival AirAsia, which is also the leading low-cost carrier in the Asia-Pacific region.
It has styled itself as an “ultra-low-cost” carrier and plans to start with three secondhand Airbus A320s but aims to increase its fleet size to 50 within the next five years.
Once it takes to the skies, MYAirline will be the fourth low-cost carrier in Malaysia after AirAsia, Firefly and Malindo.
Malaysia Aerospace Industry Association president Naguib Mohd Nor said the new airline is taking advantage of potential gaps that have opened up in the market post-pandemic, as well as the emergence of opportunities that come with new business models.
He said many of the newcomers in the aviation industry are already investing in the new and more efficient aircraft from the outset to reap the benefits that it offers.
“However, they also have to take into account other factors, such as the rising demand to meet environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) requirements,” he said.
Former deputy transport minister Aziz Kaprawi said that apart from providing consumers with an alternative, the new airline can also create an “economic impetus” for the country.
However, he cautioned that the industry is very competitive and expressed hopes that MYAirline is prepared to tackle the challenges that lie ahead.
MIDF Research said the new airline could take advantage of a low gearing ratio and operate on a low-cost base.
“This could potentially force the more established low-cost carriers to carry out cost rationalisation and become more efficient to enable them to offer attractive fares. This will benefit customers and stimulate growth in passenger traffic,” it said.
Moreover, it said, the increase in connectivity could also benefit related industries such as airport operations, maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) as well as tourism.
MIDF said the problem of over-capacity could be mitigated if MYAirline focuses on under-served markets, as in the case of SKS Airways that primarily flies the routes to outlying areas.
Howver, it said, until MYAirlines achieves economies of scale, offering low fares might not be sustainable, especially if jet fuel prices remain high.
It added that AirAsia has only been able to partly offset the increase in fuel cost this year despite imposing a fuel surcharge.