PETALING JAYA, Malaysia - Bus operators and
airlines are bracing for the rush of travellers taking advantage of the long
holidays ahead, with indications of a bigger exodus than in previous years.
With Chinese New Year holidays falling on
Monday and Tuesday, many city folk will visit their hometowns or go on vacation
over the four-day stretch beginning Jan 21.
And with public holidays like Federal
Territory Day in Kuala Lumpur (Feb 1), Thaipusam (Feb 7) in several states, and
the national holiday for Prophet Muhammad's Birthday (Feb 5) lined up, some
employees need only apply for seven days leave in between to enjoy an 18-day
break from work.
Malaysia Airlines is increasing its flights to
meet additional demand from customers while bus operators are providing extra
services to cater for Chinese New Year travellers three weeks ahead of the Jan
23 celebrations.
A check at the Pudu Sentral (previously
Puduraya) and Hentian Putra bus terminals in Kuala Lumpur revealed that most
tickets for popular travel times for the festive season were already limited or
sold out.
While tickets for morning buses for the
weekend preceding Chinese New Year were still available, a limited number
remained for night buses departing the Klang Valley between Jan 20 and the eve
of the celebrations.
"Bus tickets this year are selling a lot
faster than in previous years.
"Tickets for most night buses to the east
coast on Friday night (Jan 20) sold out last week," a cashier at Hentian
Putra said, adding that there were only a few tickets left for the extra buses.
"The tickets for several routes were sold
out earlier because many people bought well in advance," he said.
To meet the increased demand, interstate bus
operator Transnasional will increase the number of trips by about 20%.
However, the Kelantan-based bus operator
Mutiara Express still has tickets for many of its routes between the east coast
and Kuala Lumpur, Penang and Kuantan during the weekend of Chinese New Year.
"But we expect the tickets to finish
quickly within the next two weeks," said operations officer Mohammad
Anuar.
"We have no plans as of now to add buses
for the Chinese New Year celebrations but are prepared to do so should the need
arises," he added.
Malaysia Airlines, meanwhile, said it would
operate 32 extra flights from Jan 17 to Feb 1.
These comprise 14 Kuala Lumpur-Sibu return
flights, seven Kuala Lumpur-Kota Kinabalu return flights, six Kuala
Lumpur-Taipei return flights, three Kuala Lumpur-Hong Kong return flights and
two Kuala Lumpur-Kunming flights.
"Malaysia Airlines will continue to
monitor the situation and add more capacity on sectors where there is further
demand," it said in a statement.
A source said community airline Firefly has
been experiencing good ticket sales for the season, with routes to beach
destinations like Krabi and Phuket in Thailand and Langkawi being the most
popular.
The airline has also announced its launch of
seven online holiday packages from Jan 16 until the end of the month.
AirAsia still has tickets for flights during
the Chinese New Year weekend, according to its website.
Ilm Wey Wen
The Star/Asia News Network
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