KUALA LUMPUR: That time of the year has come once again, where flight ticket fares soar due to the upcoming Hari Raya Aidilfitri celebrations.
Local commercial airlines that provide flight routes from the capital city to Kota Kinabalu and Kuching offer tickets ranging from RM200 to RM300 for return flights during non-festive seasons.
However, Bernama's monitoring of commercial airline websites recently saw flight fares to Sabah and Sarawak ranging from a minimum of RM468 to a maximum of RM4,124 (return flights), nearing the Hari Raya Aidilfitri festive period (Apr 18 to 26), which is an increase of at least 156 per cent up to 1,374 per cent.
Universiti Utara Malaysia (UUM) undergraduate, Jennisey Sarafinx, 23, said she purchased flight tickets as early as Feb this year to secure a reasonable fare, as well as a precautionary measure of tickets selling out in advance.
"I bought my tickets with Malaysia Airlines which cost me nearly RM1,000 for a return journey between Alor Setar and Kuching," she said when contacted by Bernama today, while hoping that the government helps regulate flight fares, especially for students.
For online entrepreneur, Rohayu Nasir, 36, she had to pay around RM3,200 for a return flight (RM800 per person) between Kuala Lumpur and Kota Kinabalu for this round of the Hari Raya festivity.
"This was nearly double the amount I had to pay during a normal period, but it was expected as I bought the tickets only last month. For my family and I, the increased flight fare nearing the festive period does not matter too much as long as we get to spend the Hari Raya with our relatives in Sabah," she said.
Meanwhile, Bernama's observation at KL Sentral today (Apr 5) found, those who are returning to their hometowns in conjunction with the Aidilfitri celebration have purchased their public transport tickets much earlier to avoid last-minute inconveniences.
For private sector employee Qasmeena Abdul Rauf, 31, she and her husband took the initiative to take the Electric Train Service (ETS) to return to their hometown in Kampung Bagan Dalam, Pulau Pinang and had reserved the tickets on Mar 24.
Sharing her experience being stuck in traffic from the capital city to Pulau Pinang which resulted in her spending more than 10 hours on the road compared to the usual period, she said public transport has become her choice instead.
"At first, I was concerned because we surveyed the ETS tickets quite late in comparison to other people, but luckily the offers were still there at that time. I recommend others to plan their journeys as early as possible," she said.
On Mar 23, KTMB said the company will provide four additional ETS coaches in conjunction with this year's Aidilfitri and Labour Day (May 1).
International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM) undergraduate, Mohd Qushairy Abdullah, 23, said it has become his habit to take the bus back to Melaka during the Aidilfitri celebration and in fact, the festive mood is incomplete without the experience.
However, he raised concern over certain groups of people who exploit the opportunity to resell public transport tickets at high prices during peak timing right before the start of the Syawal month to reap personal gains.
"There are people who intentionally let go of their tickets at the last minute and sell them at unreasonable prices because they know there will be those who still want to purchase the tickets. I hope such situations do not happen because I pity the affected individuals," he said.
In the meantime, checks on social media platforms saw users resorting to Twitter to lament the price hike of flight tickets nearing the festive season.
Twitter user @irwansumadi said he felt mistreated by airline companies and opined that flight fares during the festive season are ridiculous and too extreme.
"I am one of the Sabahans who feel mistreated by the airlines every time I want to return to my hometown during festivals. Ticket prices during the festivals are ridiculous and extreme. KL to Sandakan for example, is like going to the North Pole," he tweeted.
Another Twitter user @caramelkaffe tweeted that there will be no money packets (angpao) for distribution as she spent more than RM800 on flight tickets.
"I just checked out flight tickets coming back from Raya. I spent more than RM800 on tickets alone. There's no angpao for the kids then," she said. – Bernama