KUALA LUMPUR: A “different Kuala Lumpur” has brought British Airways plc (BA) back to Malaysia’s capital after a 14-year absence, and it is here to stay as the premier airline looks to continue its route expansion in Asia-Pacific.
“BA started flying to Malaysia in the 1930s. We suspended flights [to Malaysia] in 2001 at the time of the Asian financial crisis but almost immediately after, the Malaysian airport authority [began] asking us to come back,” BA area general manager for Asia-Pacific, the Middle East and Africa Jamie Cassidy told The Edge Financial Daily in an interview.
Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd continued to woo BA over the years to reinstate its flights to Kuala Lumpur, but the low yields on the route reportedly had held it back until now.
“If you think about where Malaysia or Kuala Lumpur was in 2001 versus where it is today, it is a very different place. Over the last decade, the Malaysian economy has grown rapidly. There are a lot more British companies now investing in Malaysia.
“Also, what you have got now which you have not seen before is lots of investments from Malaysians have gone to the United Kingdom (UK). That would never have happened 10 years ago,” Cassidy said.
He said BA’s return to Malaysia with a daily flight to and from London’s Heathrow Airport is also part of the airline’s intention to tap the potential of the fast-growing Asia-Pacific market.
“We would not be flying here if we did not think it would be successful at some point in the future. The future looks good,” he said.
In the last four years, BA has launched four new routes in the Asia-Pacific region to capture passengers from what Cassidy calls “the centre of gravity” for the aviation industry and to address the airline’s network which has been lopsided towards the North Atlantic market.
Tokyo, Seoul, Chengdu and from May 28 Kuala Lumpur feature as BA’s latest Asian destinations.
For Kuala Lumpur, BA is offering passengers a “double overnight service”, its regional commercial manager for Southeast Asia Robert Williams said, adding that the direct flights will be filled by a mix of business and leisure passengers.
However, it will not be drawn into a price war with other full-service carriers currently serving the same route despite the competition. BA’s success factor over competitors has been the segmentation of its customers and offering “something for everyone and something for every wallet”, said Williams.
“Price is a component and we welcome competition in the market … but so are our products and services. We are investing in new aircraft, new cabins and we are in the process of a £5 billion (RM28.71 billion) investment till 2017. This means that we are able to offer the latest things to our passengers,” he said.
Mounting a Boeing 777-200ER on the Kuala Lumpur-London route, BA offers a choice of four cabins — 12 First Class cabin seats, 48 Club World business seats, 32 World Traveller Plus premium economy seats and 127 World Traveller economy seats.
“We have normally been one of the leaders in looking at our markets and segmenting our markets.
“Our business model is that our configurations are very premium and we absolutely focus on that, hence our four cabins. We believe that for the long-haul flights, that is the right configuration for us, particularly flying out of London,” said Cassidy.
He also dismissed the potential of long-haul, low-cost carriers, arguing that “nobody has succeeded doing it”.
“I think it is because the business models are very different from short-haul and long-haul flights. In short hauls, people’s needs are relatively contained. In long-haul [flights], when you are flying some 13 to 14 hours, people demand a level of comfort,” said Cassidy.
BA is owned by International Airlines Group (IAG), which also owns Spain’s Iberia.
This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily, on June 8, 2015.