MAS must not inconvenience travellers with its cost cutting – Ong Hean Teik

My wife and I will be touring Cyprus and we are flying Emirates which has good connections to the island.

Since we are departing from Penang, the first leg of our flight to Kuala Lumpur is with MAS.

To our surprise, the travel agent informed us that we have to collect our check-in bags at KLIA, and then recheck them again at the departure gate of the outgoing Emirates flight.

For a long distance flight lasting nearly 24 hours, such inconvenience is added stress and an experience to avoid. We did not have to collect our check-in luggage on long distance flights when we transited Hong Kong with Cathay Pacific, or Singapore with Silkair from Penang.

The agent mentioned that MAS discontinued the luggage onward check-in for transit flights as part of its cost cutting measure.

As Malaysians, we are supportive of our national carrier and keen to see it return to profitability. However, cutting down on a service which then causes inconvenience cannot be a viable long-term strategy.

Furthermore, MAS has just announced code-sharing with Emirates, and not to allow through bag check-in for a code-sharing partner seems most illogical.

If MAS makes Kuala Lumpur an inconvenient transit destination, not only will the company become more unprofitable, Malaysia’s reputation and standing as a viable air hub will be adversely affected.

We write in the hope that MAS can reconsider this policy which will lead to long-term adverse consequences for itself, for KLIA and for Malaysia. – December 18, 2015.

* Dr Ong Hean Teik reads The Malaysian Insider.

* This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insider.