Mr. Zhen Yu
Associate
Mr. Zhen Yu specialises in the evaluation of varying elements (eg. the differences between 2 airlines) to provide clients with insights of what a particular element is able to offer.
As such, the contributions include, but not limited to:
Comparison of Civil Aviation Authority, Air Traffic Service, Government Agencies
Comparison of Flight Information, Aircraft Type & Capacity, Location of Check-In
Page ‘TEAM’
Identifying Key Team Objectives for feedback
Individual Report
A. Introduction
My understanding of airport access is about how passengers can get to the airport from anywhere in the country or city. It plays an important role to the airports because if no one can reach the airport, the airport is useless as there will be no one to use it. It is also important that the methods for transporting people to the airport is effective to ensure that passengers are able to reach the airport and check-in to their flights on time and also for workers to start their various duties on time to ensure that the airport is running smoothly for flights to take off on time. In conclusion, I understand that airport access plays a big role in the smooth facilitation for airports. Impeccable airport access will bring about better facilitation, and therefore bring benefits to the economy of the country. In the context of the destination airport of Flight SQ119 which is Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA), it is especially crucial given the fact that the airport handled over 63 million passengers in the year 2019. This makes Kuala Lumpur International Airport the most used airport in Malaysia. Given the fact that most international tourists come to Malaysia using this airport, the airport access is crucial in providing tourists the first impression of the country. If the methods are slow and inefficient, it may portray a negative image of the country. The airport is also located far from the city center of Kuala Lumpur. While employees of the airport knows the estimated time taken to reach the airport using the different methods as they use it on a daily basis, tourists who are not familiar with the country do not know the duration to reach the airport, thus they might leave for the airport at a later time and therefore miss the flight.
The different modes of airport access at KLIA includes road access and rail access. Road access to the airport includes automobiles, taxis, buses and coaches. The modes of airport access will be assessed based on the 3 considerations of airport access which is the time taken to travel to the airport, the reliability of access mode, and the check-in requirements.
Road Access
Automobiles: The most common form of road access is cars or automobiles. These includes private cars and rented cars driven by yourself. The benefits of automobiles are that you can leave whenever you want and wherever you want without following a fixed schedule like buses and trains, giving you the freedom to organize your itinerary and schedule. Also, you do not have to squeeze with other commuters at peak hours.
However, the duration of travel of automobiles are easily influenced by traffic conditions, such as traffic congestion. Based on Google Maps, the distance between KLIA and the city center of Kuala Lumpur is around 58km, and the fastest route with minimal traffic will take around 45 minutes. Traffic congestions are particularly common in Kuala Lumpur, and the time taken to reach the airport in a traffic jam will increase massively. Tourists who rent their own cars will have to take note of traffic conditions at any time and plan their route to meet their check-in requirements and timing, especially tourists who are bound for international flights when they are required to check-in hours before the scheduled departure time. To counter the issue of being late for check-in, tourists can do online check-in so that they do not have to spend time queuing at the counters. Therefore, Automobiles are a good way of access to the airport, however, it can be easily affected by traffic.
Taxis: Taxis are widely available around Kuala Lumpur. There are several taxi companies that can provide you with a taxi 24 hours a day, anywhere you like. KLIA has metered taxis, couponed services, and private-hire vehicles. There are 2 types of metered taxis in Kuala Lumpur, Executive and budget taxis. Both taxis are run on meters that decides the price, with the Executive having a pricier rate as compared to the budget taxis. The couponed taxis provide a fixed rate to the destination that you are going to. There are different services for couponed taxis, such as budget, family, and premiere. Kuala Lumpur also has private hire vehicle companies, such as Grab and SOCAR which provides an alternative to taxis.
Thus, taxis are a versatile way of getting around the city due to the number of companies that provide such ride hailing services. Tourists should also beware of taxi scams in the city; however, those are relatively rare in Kuala Lumpur. Taxis are also subjected to the same duration and influence by traffic conditions as automobiles as they travel on the same roads. Similarly, tourists can do online check-in before they leave for the airport so that they can just arrive and drop off their baggage without having to queue at the counter. Therefore, the reliability, time taken to reach the airport and the check-in requirements are similar to those of the automobiles.
Buses and Coaches: Buses are a good way to travel to and from the airport. They help reduce carbon emissions by promoting mass transportation. There are 4 different services of buses, Dedicated airport coaches, Intercity coach lines, Shuttle services and public buses. Below is a list of bus companies and the routes they serve from KLIA and KLIA 2.
KLIA
Dedicated airport coaches
Intercity Coach Lines
Shuttle Service
Public Buses
KLIA 2
Dedicated airport coaches
Intercity Coach Lines
Shuttle service
Public Buses
Based on the 3 considerations of airport access, the duration of the journey by buses will differ with those of taxis and automobiles due to the fact that they have to depart from specific areas. Some of these areas might be far from the airport, therefore resulting in a longer journey.
Looking at public buses, they also have to follow a specific route which might not be as fast as the fastest route possible, and also have to stop at bus stops along the way. Buses also follow a schedule, and it is not widely available like the taxis. There is also a certain frequency at which buses depart a certain area from. For example, the buses from the company Airport Coach follows a schedule as shown in the picture below.
The frequency of these buses is once every 2.5 hours to 3 hours. In my opinion, the frequency of the buses is very few, which could cause a few problems for anyone trying to catch the bus. If they missed one, they would have to wait another 2 to 3hours for the next bus to arrive. Therefore, the frequency of the buses is very bad. The reliability of the buses are also known to be generally reliable, however it is not uncommon for bus breakdowns to occur on the highways of Malaysia.
There are no facilities at any of the bus terminals in Malaysia that allows you to check in to your flight, therefore tourists should use the online check in services to save time when they reach the airport.
Rail Access
Rail access provides an alternative route to road access. While the other modes of access travel on the roads, trains travel on rails which can be elevated above the ground or on the ground away from the roads. They are not affected by congestion and can help reduce pollution in the environment. In KLIA, there is a KLIA Ekspres service, which is a non-stop metro service that brings passengers from the airport to the centre of Kuala Lumpur in just 28 minutes. There is also a transit train service with 3 stops along the journey at Bandar Tasik Selatan, Putrajaya/Cyberjaya, and Salak Tinggi. The transit train service will take 35 minutes.
Based on the 3 considerations of airport access, the trains travel on rails at certain frequencies, therefore there will be little to no congestion, allowing tourists to travel to and from the airport in the 28 minutes as stated, which is faster than automobiles. However, like buses, trains are also vulnerable to breakdowns, which could cripple the whole rail system and cause delays for further departing trains. Trains also follow a schedule like buses; however, the frequency of the trains are much faster as compared to the buses: Every 15 minutes during peak hours and every 20 minutes during off-peak hours.
For the check-in requirements, there is a check-in facility at KL Sentral exclusively for KLIA Ekspress passengers flying with Malaysia Airlines, Cathay Dragon, and Malindo Air. These passengers can arrive a minimum of 2 hours before their flight and check-in at KL Sentral before proceeding to the airport. This will save them a lot of time as they do not have to deal with crowds at the airport.
In conclusion, rail access is the best airport access mode for KLIA as compared to the road access due to its shorter travel time, reliability, and the presence of an off-airport check-in facility.
Parking
Parking is important as it provides a safe area for visitors who drove to the airport to park their cars. There are 4 types of parking facilities, short-term and long-term parking, long term remote parking and other parking such as valet parking. KLIA has short term and long-term parking, long term remote parking and valet parking, while KLIA 2 only has short term, long term, and valet parking.
KLIA
KLIA has 5,700 parking bays for short term parking. The short-term carpark is located adjacent and is connected to the main terminal building. The rates of the short-term carpark are as listed below. Visitors may also choose to park at Sama-Sama Hotel, which is located a few minutes away from KLIA. However, the short-term parking for Sama-Sama Hotel has a different rate compared to the parking at KLIA.
Short term parking
Sama Sama hotel
The long-term parking uses the same carpark as the short-term parking, however the rates calculated differently as shown below.
The short-term carpark also holds 300 parking slots for preferred parking intended for people who do not want to waste time finding a parking slot. The preferred parking slots are located nearer to the main terminal; however, the rates of parking are slightly higher than those of the normal short term parking. The higher rates of parking at these slots allows these slots to be empty as most people would rather park at the other slots with a lower rate.
The short-term carpark also has valet service, for people who do not wish to spend time in the carpark looking for a slot and parking their cars. The rates for the premium service is much higher as compared to the rates of the normal parking and preferred parking.
The long-term remote parking is located near Malaysia Airport Training Centre, and a shuttle service to the main terminal is provided once every 10 minutes. The rates for the long-term remote parking is listed as shown below.
KLIA 2
KLIA 2 has 5800 short term parking slots at gateway@klia2 shopping mall. The main terminal of KLIA can be easily accessed through the shopping mall. The rates for the short-term parking at KLIA 2 are listed as shown below.
For long term parking, a flat RM20.00 fee will be charged per day after the initial RM46.00 per day for the first 3 days.
The valet parking at KLIA 2 is slightly cheaper than that in KLIA. The rates are listed as shown below.
Constraints
Some constraints of the parking at KLIA would be space constraints. KLIA and KLIA 2 have a total of 16000 parking slots. KLIA handled 63 million passengers in 2019, and that is an average of about 172,600 passengers per day. Using a survey done by IATA on 38 different airports, it is revealed that about 50% of the passengers take an automobile to the airport. If 50% of the 172,600 passengers are people arriving to the airport, that brings us to 86,300 passengers arriving at the airport on a daily basis. Using the results from the survey, it is estimated that 43,150 passengers, or 50% pf surveyed passengers, drive to the airport on a daily basis. This means that only 37.1% of people who drove to the airport can park at the airport carparks.
Another constraint would be the distance between the long-term remote parking and the terminal. While there are shuttle buses provided at a good frequency, the long-term remote parking is located far from the main terminal. That means drivers must spend the extra time to drive to the remote parking bay, find a parking slot, and take the shuttle bus to the airport. This hassle would be easily saved by taking another mode of transport to the airport. Therefore, the long-term remote parking is not a very practical idea.
References
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Bhd, E. R. (n.d.). Flight Check-In at KL Sentral. Retrieved June 20, 2020, from https://www.kliaekspres.com/travel-with-us/flight-check-in-at-kl-sentral/
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Kuala Lumpur International Airport. (n.d.). Retrieved June 20, 2020, from https://centreforaviation.com/data/profiles/airports/kuala-lumpur-international-airport-kul/traffic
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Parking. (n.d.). Retrieved June 20, 2020, from https://airports.malaysiaairports.com.my/getting-around/transport/parking
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Public Transport. (n.d.). Retrieved June 20, 2020, from http://www.klia.com.my/getting-around/transport/public-transport
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Metered Taxi. (n.d.). Retrieved June 20, 2020, from https://airports.malaysiaairports.com.my/getting-around-transport-car/taxi/metered-taxi
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Parking KLIA2. (n.d.). Retrieved June 20, 2020, from https://airports.malaysiaairports.com.my/klia2-getting-around/transport/parking
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Public Transport KLIA2. (n.d.). Retrieved June 20, 2020, from http://www.klia.com.my/klia2-getting-around/transport/public-transport
