PUTRAJAYA: Malaysia Airlines is seeking an injunction to stop the airasia Super App from offering the national carrier's flight tickets for sale, says Anthony Loke.
The Transport Minister revealed this after discrepancies in airline ticket classification and prices for flights from Kuala Lumpur to Tawau became an issue recently.
"I was informed that Malaysia Airlines has never authorised (the airasia Super App) to sell their tickets on their behalf.
"That is why we asked to check multiple sources or the Malaysia Airlines (official) app. This is a dispute between the two companies," he said at a press conference on Monday (April 17).
He said that the request for an injunction had been filed with the courts and the case will be heard in the coming months.
He added that the airasia Super App was managed by a separate entity, AirAsia Digital.
On Sunday (April 16), former transport minister Datuk Seri Dr Wee Ka Siong said he had received complaints about the high price of a one-way flight ticket from Kuala Lumpur to Tawau on the airasia Super App.
The fare displayed on the app for an economy-class flight ticket on April 20 was RM3,138.
However, the Malaysia Airlines app listed it as a business-class ticket.
Loke said that the average ticket price for an economy class direct flight to Sabah ranged from RM200 and RM800, depending on when tickets are purchased.
"Those who purchased the tickets at RM3,138, please bring them to me.
"We will definitely investigate if that is the case," he said, adding that Malaysia Airlines tickets bought through the airasia Super App are still valid.
On airline tickets sold by third parties through online travel agents (OTA), Loke said this was done by several platforms.
However, he acknowledged that this could lead to confusion among consumers as these OTAs were selling flight tickets at a higher price.
"This is something the Malaysia Aviation Commission (Mavcom) and the Tourism Ministry will have to look into.
"This is to ensure that different applications do not take advantage and mark up the price," he said.
Loke thanked Dr Wee for highlighting the issue and said that consumers should have checked with multiple OTAs instead of just the airasia Super App.
He also invited Dr Wee to witness some 185 passengers who paid RM249 for direct flights from Kuala Lumpur to Tawau on April 20.
