GOOD news for those who travel to Kuala Lumpur frequently - luxury coach companies plan to offer cheaper fares and better services.
The move comes after news that Malaysian budget airline AirAsia could launch two daily flights on the Singapore-KL route next year.
The lucrative route is now exclusive to national carriers Singapore Airlines (SIA) and Malaysian Airlines (MAS).
A typical one-way ticket is $216 now, and return is $434.
But AirAsia CEO Tony Fernandes said the airline plans to charge less than a third of that, RM150 ($65), including taxes, for a one-way ticket.
A road trip to KL costs between $29 and $72, depending on the type of coach. This works out to between $60 and $150 for a return ticket, including fuel charges.
COMPETITIVE FARES
Said Ms Lotus Ooi, assistant general manager of Konsortium Express & Tours, which offers more than 20 daily trips to KL: "The coach prices will possibly get more competitive.
"We have introduced cheaper fares. Under the promotion, we are offering a 50 per cent discount for senior citizens aged 60 and above and children under 11 for the Singapore-KL express routes at $14.50.
"The budget airline may affect the coach business when travellers are lured by the cheap fares and short flight time."
One bus operator at Golden Mile Complex said he has plans to introduce one-way trips to KL for under $45 on luxury coaches, now going for $47.
Some bus operators like Luxury Tours & Travel with three daily services to KL, plan to upgrade the entertainment system with more movies and expand the food menu.
ONE-WAY FARES TO KL
SIA, MAS $216 AirAsia $65 Coach $29-$72
BETTER GUIDES
Its business development director, Mr Dominic Soh, said: "To stay competitive, we will further train our tourism guide on board to have better knowledge of the two cities."
AirAsia can also offer very low promotion fares. When it launched the KL-Johor Baru route in 2003, it offered 10,000 seats for just RM19.99.
A recent check on AirAsia's website showed that a return trip between JB and KL based on a RM9.99 promotion fare would come to RM108.98, and a single trip RM81.99, including taxes.
Mr Johnny Lim, director of the 17-year-old Five Stars Tours, said the long-term threat would come when the frequency of the flights increases. "We will look into our pricing," he said.
Once the Asean Open Skies policy comes into play in 2009, opening all flights between the region's capital cities, the budget airline aims to put out 20 flights a day to Singapore.
Even before that, one Singapore budget airline will also be allowed to operate two flights in a reciprocal agreement between Singapore and Malaysia. Tiger Airways is a likely contender for the route, which has been a duopoly for SIA and MAS for 35years. The two operate 182 flights a week between the two cities.
The Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) said more than 1.75million passengers were carried on the route in 2005 and 1.69 million last year.
The Express Bus Agencies Association (EBAA) noted that out of 9.6 million Singapore visitors to Malaysia in 2005, close to 3.2 million took express buses and excursion coaches. Another 1.1 million passengers, including Malaysian workers and tourists, arrived here from Malaysia by coach.
Mr John Lim, president of EBAA, believes coaches will still remain a popular mode of transport for many travellers despite stiff competition.
He told The New Paper on Sunday: "The five-hour coach takes you straight to the city area or the hotel.
"Even if you take a one-hour flight to KL, you have to catch a cab or bus from the airport to the city. This takes another 45 minutes, depending on the traffic. It also costs another $30 to travel downtown by cab."
But for travellers like Madam Cheryl Lim, 38, the cheap airfare to KL is a draw. "I used to go by road to JB's Senai Airport to catch an AirAsia flight," she said.
