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SINGAPORE'S two low-cost carriers, Tiger Airways and Jetstar Asia, will get to fly to Kuala Lumpur when the route is liberalised in February, the Transport Ministry announced yesterday.
Round-trip fares, excluding taxes and other surcharges, will start at $56, Jetstar said several hours after the news became official.
Tiger will offer fares 'comparable to coach travel on a consistent basis' its spokesman said.
It costs under $100 for a return ticket to KL on a luxury bus with about 16 seats.
The fares are up to 80 per cent less than what travellers now pay.
Tiger and Jetstar will each fly once a day between the two capitals, the Transport Ministry said in announcing the decision of the Singapore Air Traffic Rights Committee, which doles out flying rights.
Singapore Airlines (SIA) and Malaysia Airlines (MAS), which dominate the market, charge about $300 for a round-trip ticket, excluding taxes and other surcharges.
Jetstar chief executive officer Chong Phit Lian said that she was 'most delighted with the approval'.
The airline which operates out of Terminal 1 at Changi Airport, offers free online seat selection, pre-assigned seating and a 20kg baggage allowance, she said.
Tiger, which flies out of the Budget Terminal, has a free seating policy and a 15kg luggage allowance. An assigned seat costs $5 more per traveller.
The opening of the Singapore-KL route to budget carriers comes after years of lobbying from travellers and airlines on both sides of the Causeway.
A breakthrough came when Singapore and Malaysia announced late last month that at least one low-cost carrier from each side will be allowed to operate two daily flights.
AirAsia is expected to get the Malaysian rights.
All restrictions on the lucrative route have been lifted. Airlines on both sides are now able to fly as often as they want.
This is in line with an Asean drive to free up air links between capital cities of the 10-member bloc by December next year.
The Singapore-Malaysia pact that regulates air travel was last expanded in 1980.
A separate deal between SIA and MAS, which together operate about 85 per cent of the over 200 flights a week between Singapore and KL, allows them to set fares, plan schedules and split revenues equally.
A handful of other carriers including Japan Airlines and Air Mauritius, fly via Singapore to KL under rules that allow foreign airlines to pick up passengers in transit.
karam@sph.com.sg
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