Mr. We Chun

Associate

Mr. We Chun specialises in the handling of analytical data into varying platforms (eg. Excel, TableMaster) to suit which data are in the best interest of the clients.

As such, the contributions include, but not limited to:

Operation Model and Air Traffic Statistics
Comparison of Civil Aviation Authorities and Governing Agencies
Comparison of Flight Information
Tabulation of both PARs into interactive graphs
Page ‘TEAM’
Formatting and Summarising of Survey

Click to Access Individual Reflection

Individual Report

A. Introduction

To me, Airport Access is how someone gets to the airport, the amount of effort and time taken for someone to travel to the airport from where they are, it also includes how someone is going to travel to their final destination from the airport. Airport Access is a crucial component to every airport in the world, no traveller will want to depart from/arrive at an airport that has poor accessibility to the city area and hard to get to. By having poor airport access, the airport will be ruining the passenger experience in the country or state as the passengers will already be tired or exhausted by the time they arrive at the airport. Airport Access will also require many stakeholders to collaborate together in order to provide the best accessibility to the airport, the stakeholders will include the Ministry of Transport for the country, the airport operator and even private transport operators.

Linking back to the Destination Airport of Flight SQ119, which we will be discussing in our portfolio, SQ119 departs from Singapore and its destination airport is Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) (IATA code: KUL, ICAO code: WMKK). Being the busiest and main international airport in Malaysia, it is even more important to ensure that the airport has good accessibility in order to ensure that passengers or travellers will not have a hard time trying to get to the airport and also ensuring that Kuala Lumpur, the capital of Malaysia, is accessible from the airport. Moreover, being the major gateway to Peninsular Malaysia, it will be even more crucial to ensure good accessibility to/from KLIA as it will also indirectly affect the travel industry in the country and the reputation of the airport. Having poor access modes in KLIA will result in late checks in, missing of flights and poor airport experience which will affect the airport reputation and airlines may not want to have flights from/to KLIA as they know that their passengers will get a hard time getting to the airport resulting in them having late check in or even missing their flights. It is even more crucial to Malaysia Airports Holdings Berhad, who is the airport operator of KLIA, as KLIA is currently a 3 star Airport rated by Skytrax and they will want to improve their rating in which a key component will be access to/from the airport. Hence, I feel that Airport Access will be a key aspect to KLIA and ensuring good accessibility will definitely benefit the country’s reputation as a travel hub and the country’s economy as a whole.

B. Access Modes

KLIA has 2 types of access modes which is road and rail access mode. Under the road access, KLIA is accessible by automobile, taxis and buses. As follow will be the list of access modes available:

Road Access (Automobile)

KLIA is accessible by private automobiles which also means cars owned by private owners and rented automobiles, the table below will show the companies which offer rented automobiles that can be found in KLIA.

Automobile may not be a good access mode to/from the airport when it comes to length of access time as there may be traffic jams or congestions on the roads which nobody can predict and this may result in a longer travelling time. A travelling time of 30 minutes can be delayed by even more than 2 hours due to traffic jam and this may cause passengers to miss their flights.
Automobile is always available if the passenger has rented a car or has his own car, and the passenger will be able to choose when he or she wants to make the trip to the airport. It will also be quite rare for the car to break down if proper maintenance has been given to the car.
If traveling by automobile, a good way will be to check in online, SQ has online check in, so as to ensure that even if there is a traffic jam and the passenger arrives at the airport late, he or she can go straight to the immigration given that the passenger has no baggage.

In conclusion, I feel that automobile will be a reliable and dependable access mode as the traveller can make his own choice on the time he wants to make his trip to the airport, however traffic jams which no can predict may cause a longer travelling time than expected especially when traveling to/from city centre of Kuala Lumpur as the traffic there can be quite hectic at times.

Road Access (Taxi)

KLIA is accessible by taxi. There are two types of taxi services available at KLIA, which are Airport Taxi and Metered City Taxi .

Airport taxi operates through a coupon system that must be purchased at counters at the airport. The service provider of the airport taxi has a variety of vehicles for the passengers to choose from family sedans to luxury cars. The charges of the airport taxi can be quite expensive as it starts from RM37 which is around S$12 and they are fixed depending on the destination.

Metered City Taxi are like the normal taxis, they charge according to distance and time travelled by the passenger, some companies include Comfort Radio Taxi, Public Cab-Radio Taxi, Sunlight Radio Taxi, UpTown Ace Super Cab.

There are also private hire cars that can be found in Malaysia eg: Grab, MyCAR which can be called upon on apps in mobile devices.

Taxi may also not be a good access mode to/from the airport when considering the length of access time as they are also using roads which are the same as automobiles. There might be unpredicted traffic jams and congestions and that may cause a huge increase in traveling time.
Taxis may be available at most times of the day and compared to automobile, passengers taking taxi may have to make their trip earlier to the airport as they have to consider the time taken to find a taxi on the road, unless they have made a booking for the taxi to arrive at their pick-up point at a certain time which may incur additional charges.
If traveling by taxi, a good way will also to check in online, SQ has online check in Kuala Lumpur, so as to ensure that even if there are congestions on the road, passengers can still head over straight to the immigration given that they do not have baggage.

In conclusion, I feel that taxi may not a good access mode to travel with to KLIA, not only with the traffic jams, taxi drivers in Malaysia are deemed as ‘cheaters’. So why are they known as ‘cheaters’? Many foreigners who have travelled to Malaysia will know that lots of Malaysia taxi drivers are dishonest and they go to different extents just to cheat money off their passengers. An example will be if the passenger is travelling using a metered taxi, the taxi driver may go to the extent of going through a longer route just to earn more money from their passengers and this is a reason why travelling by taxis may not be a dependable way to travel to/from the airport.

Road Access (Bus)

KLIA is also accessible by bus. There are different kinds of bus services at KLIA that serves different destinations and for different purposes, the table (Scrollable) below will show the companies that offer different bus services and their destinations.

Buses may also not be a good access mode to/from the airport when considering the length of access time as they are using the same roads and highways as automobiles and taxis. There might be unpredictable traffic jams and congestions on the roads, more importantly there is no bus priority lane in Malaysia which also suggests that if there is a traffic jam, buses will be stuck there too. Buses will also take a longer time as compared to taxi and automobiles as buses speed tend to be slower and some buses they have to pass by some stops to pick up passengers which results in a longer time to/from the airport.
Depending on what time the passenger is going to the airport/arrives at the airport, the buses availability varies. An example will be if the passenger arrives after 12am at the airport, it will be pretty hard to get a bus ride anywhere as most of the bus services will have already stopped by then. For frequency it also depends on the bus company that the passenger is going to take. An example will be if the passenger is taking Express Coach from KLIA to KL Sentral, the frequency of the bus will be every 30minutes which is quite a decent waiting time, meanwhile another example will be if the passenger is taking Airport Coach from KLIA to Muar, the frequency of the bus service will be around 2.5hours to 3hours which is a very long waiting time for many people.
If travelling by bus, a good idea will also be checking in online as the bus stations in Malaysia do not provide the option to check in there. SQ has online check in Kuala Lumpur which will allow passengers to check in anywhere they want as long as they have internet access and they can head over to the immigration provided that they have no baggage.

In Conclusion, bus may not be a good option to choose if travelling from/to the airport as it will definitely take a longer time and the frequency of the buses may not be in favour of the passenger. For the dependability, based on research, there are several occasions whereby the bus breakdowns and the bus company does not really help the passengers even if they are rushing for time. An example will be in 2019, a passenger took a Starmart Express bus headed towards AmanJaya, and the bus broke down two times. After the second breakdown, the bus driver told the passengers that another bus will come in 40minutes however after 3hours no bus came, and they were stuck on the road. This also shows bus may not a dependable option to travel to/from the airport.

Rail Access

KLIA is also accessible by rail. There are two rail services available at KLIA, which are KLIA Ekspres and KLIA Transit. Both are considered as Dedicated Airport Link as it only has a few stops and it connects passengers to KL Sentral/KLIA. KLIA Ekspres will cost the passenger RM55 which is around S$18 to travel from KL Sentral to KLIA/KLIA2, it only has two stops which is KLIA and KLIA2. Meanwhile for KLIA Transit, there are a few more stops and the fare will depend on where you board the rail from.

Rail will be the best option when passengers are considering length of access time as when the passenger takes KLIA Ekspres from KL Sentral to KLIA it only takes 28minutes and unlike road access, there will be no traffic jams nor congestion. Even for KLIA Transit, with a few more stops, the time taken from KL Sentral to KLIA is only 35minutes meanwhile even by automobile, the fastest someone normally take is around 45minutes.
The KLIA Ekspres and KLIA Transit are available at most times of the day as it operates from around 0500 to 0100 and 0433 to 0103,respectively. The frequency for the KLIA Ekspres will be between 15-20minutes meanwhile for KLIA Transit, it is between 15-30minutes, which is a decent waiting time.
Passengers who are taking Malaysia Airlines, Cathay Dragon and Malindo Air will be able to check in at the KLIA Ekspress Departure Hall, which is in KL Sentral, provided that the passengers are taking KLIA Ekspress or KLIA Transit to KLIA. Passengers taking those airlines are allowed to check in their baggage and collect their boarding pass at the check in counter in KL Sentral. The minimum check in time is 2hours before the flight departure time, which means that passengers have to check in at least 2hours before the flight departure time at KL Sentral.

In conclusion, I feel that the rail access will be a good access mode to travel to/from KLIA/KLIA2. It is the fastest way to get to the airport and even though it is a little more expensive as compared to other options, it will definitely not have to face traffic jams and the waiting time for the rail is reasonable. Being able to check in at the railway station at KL Sentral also allows for more time allowance if the passengers want to do more shopping at the city centre. However, everything has its own pro and cons. For the KLIA Express and KLIA Transit, there might be breakdowns happening here and there and that might affect the passengers time. An example will be in 2018, the passengers taking KLIA Transit from KLIA2 to KL Sentral experienced a door malfunction at the Putrajaya/Cyberjaya station and the passengers were stuck there for an hour. There has also been many complaints that the both rails are always having frequent breakdowns now and then.

C.Parking Facilities

KLIA also offers different types of parking facilities which are short term parking, long term remote parking and valet parking/preferred parking. The tables below will show the different types of parking facilities available, their locations and their rates.

Short Term Parking at Short Term Car Park (Connected to Main Terminal KLIA)

Short Term Parking at KLIA2 (gateway@klia2 shopping mall)

For Short Term Parking, they are more for visitors to the airport and do not plan to stay in the airport for a long time, possible limitations and constraints will be the high cost of the amount of parking fee. The high cost may cause visitors to the airport to travel to the airports by other means such as bus, rail, etc. The advantage of short term parking at both KLIA/KLIA2 will be that it is connected to the terminals and it will be a short walk away.

Long Term Parking at Long Term Car Park (Near Malaysia Airports Training Centre, Free Shuttle Service from LTCP to terminals every 10 minutes)

Long Term Parking next to Sama Sama Hotel (10 minutes’ walk away from KLIA)

Long Term Parking is mainly for travellers who plan to park their cars/motorcycles at the airport and are travelling for a few days and when they return to the airport, they are able to drive their own vehicle to where they want to go. Possible constraints and limitations will be the distance to the terminal. Parking at the Long Term Car Park will require a shuttle service to bring the passenger to KLIA/KLIA2 Terminal and vice versa. Parking at the Long Term Car Park at Sama Sama Hotel will also require passengers to walk around 10minutes from KLIA Terminal and the price for the Long Term Car Park at Sama Sama Hotel is almost equivalent to the price of Short Term Parking which travellers might think it is not worth it.

Long Term Parking At Short Term Car Park (Connected to Main Terminal KLIA)

This is a special parking facility at KLIA, which is Long Term Parking at Short Term Car Park, which is the same location as where the short term parking is. Possible constraints and limitations will be the rate for the first 3 days which is RM46 each day which is the same rate as shorting parking, but if the traveller is going to leave KLIA for more than 6 days this special parking facility will be the best choice for him/her. 7 days at this parking facility will cost RM218, Long Term parking at the Long Term Car Park that requires a shuttle service to the terminals for 7 days will cost RM224, which also suggests that if a traveller is travelling away from KLIA or Malaysia, it will be advisable for him/her to park at this parking facility.

Valet Parking at KLIA

Valet Parking at KLIA2 (Level 3, gateway@klia2 shopping mall next to departure drop off area)

Preferred Parking at KLIA (Level 2, Block B and C of STCP, nearer access to Main Terminal building)

These 3 Parking facilities at KLIA/KLIA2 will be considered as other Parkings. Valet Parking are available at both KLIA and KLIA2. Possible constraints and limitations for Valet Parking will be the high price, the first hour already cost RM15-16 which can be used to parked at the Short Term Car Park for around 3hours. The advantage will be there is 24hours surveillance camera to ensure the safety of your car. For Preferred parking, it is also a special parking facility that is available at KLIA. Preferred Parking is meant for travellers who want to avoid the hassle of finding a parking lot in the Short Term Car Park and with a higher fee, they can enter the Preferred Parking facility. Possible Constraints will be it is very expensive and most travellers will prefer the Short Term Parking at Short Term Car Park, unless the traveller is really rushing for time and do not have the time to look for a parking lot.

In Conclusion, there are many different parking facilities at KLIA, and they are meant to cater to different travellers needs. The different parking facilities are each built for their own purpose and have their own pros and cons, depending on what the traveller is looking for.

D.References

Parking. (n.d.). Retrieved June 17, 2020, from http://www.klia.com.my/getting-around/transport/parking

Parking. (n.d.). Retrieved June 18, 2020, from http://www.klia.com.my/klia2-getting-around/transport/parking

Bhd, E. R. L. S. (n.d.). Flight Check-In at KL Sentral. Retrieved June 18, 2020, from https://www.kliaekspres.com/travel-with-us/flight-check-in-at-kl-sentral/

mauricios810. (2018, November 6). One more claim of Starmart Express - Malaysia Forum. Retrieved June 18, 2020, from https://www.tripadvisor.com.sg/ShowTopic-g293951-i7006-k12087888-One_more_claim_of_Starmart_Express-Malaysia.html

The Star Online. (2018, March 16). KLIA Transit train passengers stranded for an hour after door malfunction. Retrieved June 18, 2020, from https://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2018/03/16/klia-transit-train-passengers-stranded-for-an-hour-after-door-malfunction

Klia Airport Guide. (n.d.). Retrieved June 18, 2020, from http://www.klia.com.my/