KUALA LUMPUR – Airlines should offer promotional prices for voters looking to return to their hometowns to vote in the 15th general election (GE15), PKR lawmaker Sim Tze Tzin said.
The incumbent Bayan Baru MP said this as the price of air tickets began spiking almost as soon as the polling date for GE15 was announced earlier today.
In a tweet, Sim chided airlines for the hike in flight fares, urging them not to take advantage of an important event to make a profit.
Flight tickets has doubled. #PRU15 is not the time to make excessive profits.
— SimTzeTzin 沈志勤 ?? (@simtzetzin) October 20, 2022
I urge @airasia MAS @FireflyAirlines @malindoair to offer #GE15 PROMO price for voters.
If u can do it in PRU14, why can't now? pic.twitter.com/p6nIHzS1VC
“Flight tickets have doubled. GE15 is not the time to make excessive profits,” he said, attaching a photo of a tweet by user @IcedNyior who had complained of AirAsia flight ticket prices soaring by about RM370 after payment errors.
The user’s flight itinerary, scheduled to depart from Johor on November 18 and return from Kuching on November 20, was initially priced at RM359.42 before being raised to RM727.44.
WOI @airasia WHY was an error (code 999) when paying for election flight tickets then the price was then DOUBLED???
— Iced Nyior (@IcedNyior) October 20, 2022
From RM360 to RM 730 from Johor to Kuching. tak masuk akal betul pic.twitter.com/hcUyu3AMSA
Another Twitter user by the name of @FaizuddinZukri lamented an equally vexing experience with AirAsia, claiming that the price displayed during his search of available flights did not tally with the billed figure.
Harey punya AirAsia masa search tulis RM83/way. Nak bayar jadi RM202.65/way. Anjirrrr pic.twitter.com/K9MItU4mBw
— Faizuddin Zukri (@FaizuddinZukri) October 20, 2022
According to screenshots provided by the user, the flight from Kuala Lumpur to Terengganu on November 19 was charged as RM202.65 for a one-way trip, a stark difference from the RM83 price tag it was originally promoted with.
Another social media user @Mohd_Rajja vented his frustrations about his attempt to purchase an AirAsia flight from Kuala Lumpur to Sandakan, Sabah.
sbb tu ckp mengundi tiada masalah yg jd masalah tiket flight hrga mcm ni ? one way @airasia @MOTMalaysia pic.twitter.com/swyUMEmkgG
— Mohammad Rajja (@Mohd_Rajja) October 20, 2022
“(This is why people say) there is no problem with casting your vote, but flight ticket prices like these become an issue,” he said, sharing a screenshot of flights – also on polling day – costing RM484 for a one-way trip.
Similarly, user @konn_mufc claimed that the fares currently displayed by the airline are a drastic increase from when the EC had not yet made its announcement on GE15 dates.
woi @airasia semalam aku check tak smpai 1200. lepas umum undi da jadi mcm ni pulak. pic.twitter.com/JNsjZcHNv2
— koti rosong (@konn_mufc) October 20, 2022
He also attached a flight itinerary showing a trip for one child and one adult from Sandakan to Kota Kinabalu and then to Johor totalling at a staggering RM2,920. He said this price was significantly higher from yesterday when the same itinerary was priced at RM1,200.
His return flight from Kota Kinabalu to Johor Baru on November 20 was priced at RM1,460.46.
Checks by The Vibes on AirAsia’s booking site showed that a return trip for one person from Kuala Lumpur to Kota Kinabalu cost nearly RM1,000, after additional charges have been calculated.
In comparison, the same journey under Malaysia Airlines costs RM823.21. – The Vibes, October 20, 2022
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