AIRLINES AND AIRPORTS MUST COOPERATE MORE TO REDUCE COSTS

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 3 (Bernama) -- Airports and airlines must have greater
cooperation to reduce overall operational costs rather than just look at
reducing air transport charges, Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd's managing
directer Bashir Ahmad said Tuesday.

He said it was not necessarily true that airlines would come to an airport
if the aeronautical charges were lower, but carriers would go to places where
there were markets for them to benefit.

"Heathrow charges are high but airlines still want to fly there. So,
government incentives and lower charges do not necessarily bring airlines to
airport," he said at a panel discussion entitled "Cash, Capacity, Crisis" at the
Airports Council International (ACI) World & Asia-Pacific Conference and
Exhibition here.

Bashir said there were many things that could be done such as having a
shorter turn-off or taxiway and giving airlines good slots.

"Discussions are needed on other issues in terms of total costs rather than
just airline charges," he said.

At the same event, Malaysia Airlines managing director and chief executive
officer Tengku Azmil Zahruddin also called for greater cooperation between
airlines and airports.

Although he and Bashir have scheduled bi-monthly meetings to discuss how
both parties could work together to reduce cost and enhance operation, Tengku
Azmil said airport charges was only one of many facets of business the airline
was looking at to reduce costs.

On the regional airport industry, ACI Asia-Pacific president Max
Moore-Wilton said the industry needed to resume its growth trajectory and
continued with infrastructure development to further develop the markets.

"The development of airports and markets in Asia-Pacific will lead the way
for the rest of the world," he said in his keynote address at the opening
session of the conference.

Moore-Wilton also said that the downturn for the industry may have
bottomed out, indicating the possibility of a moderate recovery next year.

"Growth may be delayed, but not stopped," he said, adding that airports
needed to have a strong commitment to services to be more innovative.

At the conference, ACI World chairman Jim Cherry in his keynote address said
that airports had lost 10 to 20 per cent revenue globally since the financial
crisis started.

Cherry said the airports which suffered the most were the ones with weak
carriers and capital expenditure underway, adding that airlines could react
quickly to financial crisis by adapting its business model to the scenario while
airports generally has a fixed business model.

"Airports don't have the atitude or flexibility like the airlines do. We are
more of a long-term model but we have been doing better following good
government support and low debt loads," he said.
-- BERNAMA