When The Cost Of Wheelchair Services Can Fly You To BKK From KUL Return!
Emeritus Professor Tan Sri Dato' Dzulkifli Abdul Razak
Opinion - Bacalah Malaysia
September 21, 2024
The hype about local airline services has abounded since a few months back. Some are ongoing and worsening.
Many are concerned, calling on the relevant people, companies, and authorities to settle the case as soon as possible. Meanwhile, the usual finger-pointing exercises took off, leaving many frustrated as several of the issues remain unresolved.
Despite assurance after assurance, the debacle seems to persist due to skeptics with low trust deficiency that looms long after the pandemic is over.
In particular, flights and air transport being among the most sensitive saw the issues being “grounded” for a long time, and are now getting more expensive and riskier compared to the other modes of travel.
Yet some have made it well above the horizon, building the much-needed bonding as well as comfort, while turning it around post-pandemic.
In contrast, of late, some local entrepreneurs are getting restless when they raise transparency issues affecting the performance of the national airline. This ranges from the hiring of local talents by foreign competitors to decisions made to allow hangers in the country to be leased to them.
More so when “many local maintenance, repair and operations companies have applied to do the same”, but were unsuccessful.
Collectively, all these have led to lingering impacts on poor services like flight delays and cancellations, as well as technical problems leading to dwindling profits and revenues.
The last seems most crucial when employees are starting to move out in search for greener pastures elsewhere. Coupled with alleged “poaching” carried out by the more aggressive and well-endowed counterparts. Ours are struggling to recoup, instead.
This is where the heading of this article becomes relevant to “showcase” the mounting frustrations experienced by the lay public. One involved a budget airline with a “respectable” image, at least before Covid-19.
However, this is not the case anymore as illustrated by a real-life experience last week.
That the sky rides from KUL to BKK return is about RM500 plus seems reasonable; moreover, everything went smoothly as expected from past experiences (which is why it was the preferred choice!).
This changed when it came to requesting a wheelchair (WC) meant for a disabled, elderly woman passenger. Previously, this was also affordable, but not so this time around. The charges jumped from “low-cost” to “high-cost” to better fit the bill (no pun intended).
A WC push from the check-in counter to the gate costs as much as the KUL to BKK sector. Similarly, from BKK to KUL. RM250 a trip! Wow!
Considering that WC services are “supposedly” to lend humanitarian gestures to people who “need” such kindness – the cost is inhumane! Insensitivity and lack of conscience are the only reasons that could lead to such madness!
After all, passengers are no less captive to the amount charged – though through no fault of their own.
How the management itemizes and justifies the cost boggles the mind! It makes a mockery amidst the “low-cost” cliche like – Now everyone can fly – by charging it as a deceptive game that capitalizes on the unsuspected and innocent.
It may be still alright if airlines charge cut-throat prices for food and the like because the passengers can bring their own into the flight! But for WC?
It seems to imply a brutal “low-class” management style in profiteering regardless of the situation and who.
When relating this to the attending airline personnel, “good” advice was given, namely: it is better to take a regular flight. Or better still: create WCs with “wings” and fly to BKK. We once used to imagine a flying car! Maybe it is easier to begin with a WC!
How about it YB Transport Minister? It might just be the much-needed booster for the endlessly troubled industry! – BACALAHMALAYSIA.MY
- The writer is a former Rector of, International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM)