Firefly CEO Ignatius Ong said there was no justification for aligning the PSC across the board based on destination when the facilities and services available in airports differ by far.
“I think the PSC needs to be aligned. Let’s make sure that the categories of the airports are clearly spelled out.
“KLIA and klia2 have aerobridges and walkalators. In fact, klia2 is like a shopping centre, they have Village Grocer there. They are at a different level,” he was quoted as saying by theSun daily, calling for a classification system for the airports.
Last October, the aviation regulator revised the PSCs for airports in Malaysia, introducing a new tier for travel to Asean countries of RM35 per passenger from the previous RM65.
The PSC for international trips excluding Asean countries was raised to RM73 for KLIA from RM65 previously, RM50 for klia2 from RM32, and RM73 for other airports from RM65.
The PSC for domestic trips meanwhile was set at RM11 for all airports, from RM9 (KLIA), RM6 (klia2) and RM9 (other airports).
On Aug 15, Malaysian Aviation Commission (Mavcom) said it was reviewing the PSC again to standardise it for both KLIA and klia2.
Mavcom chief operating officer Azmir Zain was reported to have said that the new PSC for both airports would likely be implemented in January 2018.
Referring to the main hub for Firefly – the Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah Airport, also known as Subang Airport – Ong said it has no walkalators or aerobridges.
“It is a basic airport where things move fast. You may need to have a Starbucks and eateries, and make sure the toilets and air-conditioning work.
“Today, the issue is that the toilets and air-conditioning always break down. I’ve written many complaints and even customers have complained to me. The airport operator should ensure that everything works,” he was quoted as saying in the report.
He also called for MAHB to introduce airport categories, to differentiate the facilities and services available.
“Class 1 could be for KLIA and klia2, and Class 2 for Subang Airport.
“And a Class 3 category could be for smaller airports, such as Sultan Abdul Halim Airport in Alor Star, with the PSC being even lower considering that the facilities are even more basic.
“In Alor Star, they don’t even have a ‘kopitiam’. Then maybe, you could have a lower PSC. If you do that kind of rationalisation, then it makes sense,” Ong told theSun.
Aside from Firefly, the other two airlines using Subang Airport are Malindo and Batik Air Malaysia.