MALAYSIA’S domestic airline industry has never seen such intense competition which, if it could be possibly sustained over a long period of time , might and indeed would bring considerable benefits to the travelling public in many ways, given the country’s physical divide between the peninsula and the large states of Sarawak and Sabah.

While the peninsular states are inter-connected by a good road network system, few people there (and here as well) have ever travelled across the South China Sea albeit for very obvious reasons — fast passenger boats or passenger ferry services linking the peninsula with Sarawak and Sabah are practically non-existent save for the occasion visits by cruise vessels.

Therefore, air travel remains the primary, and up till now, practically the only means of conveyance for the ordinary Malaysians between the three geographical parts of the country. Hence, improvements to passenger air travel that are reasonably comfortable, adequate, punctual and affordable are always welcomed by the common people.

For this reason, the arrival of the so-called no-frills budget airline AirAsia couldn’t have been more timely not only for the aforementioned reasons but also to give travellers, both local and foreign, a choice which has hitherto been absent.

What we have seen over the period of time since AirAsia came on board is really opening up the skies in ways that many more people could now afford to fly because of the very nature of the business of a budget airline in the truest sense of the word. Inevitably, it is providing strong competition to the regular airline operator MAS.

The national carrier itself had been reeling from the effects of poor operational and financial management, and it was not until a management restructuring was undertaken — at the behest of the government — with a new CEO in the person of Idris Jala, a former Shell International top executive and a Kelabit from Baram, Sarawak, being brought in to help, that the airline company started to make a turnaround.

The national carrier’s accounts have been turned from red to black — thanks in no small measure to Idris’ astute management — but new challenges are looming with mounting pressures, especially from the energy sector, signalling turbulent times ahead not only for the nation’s air travel industry but also globally, given the escalating costs of operations due principally to wage and fuel increases.

One big difference between the two airlines in the country is that one is privately owned and the other largely state-owned but even so, the national carrier’s detractors should not forget it doesn’t mean the airline management can be given to reckless spending just because someone may come round to bail it out, if necessary.

A good airline management is one that is able to forecast reasonably accurately what the future holds for the industry regionally and globally. One main concern is, of course, rising fuel cost. With oil already hovering over US$130 per barrel, some economists and analysts are bracing for a future price of as high as US$400 per barrel, and if this were to happen, say, in 10 years, the consequences are easily predictable not only for the airline industry but also the global economy as a whole.

It is, therefore, a matter of long-term viability for MAS to innovate and create, and its recent decision to compete against the budget airline in the domestic sector is perhaps to signal the necessary change airlines everywhere must consider to stay in the skies.

The unsavoury alternative is getting grounded or worst, closing shop, with predictable impact on the travelling public who rely, to a considerable extent, on air travel for business or pleasure or both. Staying competitive is the trend in the airline industry that is evolving everywhere but because people still need to fly, most are ready to pay although airlines must attempt to keep costs down without compromising on standards, especially the safety factor.

Perhaps, when turbulence is brewing over the horizon, airline managements must have the fortitude to face tough challenges such as keeping costs down and running a tight schedule to ensure no unnecessarily fuel is burnt that cannot bring in the revenue to keep cashflow going.

It is timely too for the government to step in to prevent what appears to be a senseless price war on the domestic sector. Generally, with a fare price system available on the Internet, cheaper domestic travel can still be had. But to drop fare to zero and offer all the services normally available on board a regular airline does appear somewhat over the top.

What Malaysians need are lower average fares on all domestic sectors not only between, say, KL and Kuching and KL and Kota Kinabalu and within the busy domestic sectors such as between Kuching and Miri and Kota Kinabalu and Sandakan and Tawau. Such fares must also be made easily available no matter when they are booked or purchased.

This is where the government could step in and advise the airlines concerned on what they ought to do for their own benefit and survival and in the interest of the travelling public.