New plans for Air Asia’s KL hub unveiled
Air Asia X A340 - courtesy of T.Y. Bob Lee (Airliners.net)
Update: 30th October 2009
The Malaysian government announced recently that groundwork for the new LCCT terminal will begin in November. The whole project is slated to cost about 2 billion Ringgit (EUR 400 million) and is scheduled for completion in the third quarter of 2011. In addition to the new terminal and apron space, the present KLIA Express train that links the Kuala Lumpur International Airport with the city centre will be extended 2 kilometers to the new LCCT. This is excellent news!
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I remember the words of an English expatriate in Malaysia whom I met on a flight to Cambodia last year. He remarked,”I enjoy flying with Air Asia, it’s just a huge pity they have the LCCT as their base.” He was referring to the Low Cost Carrier Terminal at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA). The LCCT is located adjacent to the airport’s cargo terminal, about 20 km from the main terminal used by legacy airlines. Opened in March 2006, the terminal currently has the capacity to handle 15 million passengers a year but the lack of additional space for expansion was always deemed a serious threat to Air Asia’s ambitious growth plans. One simple statistic is sufficient to illustrate the problem: the terminal was built with 32 parking bays and little room for further expansion. At the end of 2008, Air Asia already had 37 aircraft and by 2013, they’ll have 174 aircraft. In addition, the terminal’s limited floor space translates into overcrowded check-in, immigrations and customs counters and insufficient seats in the departure areas during peak hours. Passengers are also often faced with long queues at the handful of eateries within the terminal – probably as a consequence of the limited number of eateries, the LCCT McDonalds is one of the top performing branches in the region!
Feeling frustrated by Malaysia Airports’ (the airport operator) inadequate response, in late 2008, Air Asia unveiled its own plans to partner Sime Darby, a Malaysian conglomerate, and build and operate its very own low cost terminal, situated some 18km from the KLIA. This proposed terminal would have a capacity for 30 million passengers with the possibility to expand this number to 50 milion. After lengthy discussions, the proposal was rejected by the government but on the condition that Malaysia Airports identifies a suitable location and builds a low cost terminal adjacent to the KLIA, to be completed by the end of 2010 and in accordance with Air Asia’s requirements. A major coup indeed!
The plans for this proposed new LCCT were announced today by Malaysia Airports. The new terminal will be located 1.5km from KLIA and will have the capacity to handle 30 million passengers when it opens in the third quarter of 2010 (with the potential to expand to 45 million passengers per year). It will have more than four times the floor space of the current LCCT and more than double the number of parking bays for aircraft. In addition, plans for a new runway (the airport’s third) were also announced as well as a proposed extension of the KLIA Express train (which links KLIA to Kuala Lumpur’s city centre) to the new terminal. The current LCCT will eventually be converted into a cargo terminal.
This is fantastic news for Air Asia and its passengers. The airline gets a tailor-made terminal that can accommodate its growth plans, and passengers will have a more comfortable travel experience. Oh, and Malaysia Airports get to keep their biggest client.
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