Impounded buses not AirAsia's
S'pore businessman approached budget airline and offered to run shuttle service to Senai Airport, says CEO
By Khushwant Singh
AirAsia's CEO Tony Fernandes was not his usual chirpy self when Streats told him yesterday morning of a report that two buses ferrying AirAsia passengers between Johor's Senai Airport and Lavender MRT station was impounded on Tuesday evening.
He immediately asked for the newspaper article to be faxed over.
In a telephone conversation tha followed, he told Streats that AirAsia was not operating the two shuttle buses that were impounded by the Land Transport Authority (LTA).
He said: "A Singapore entrepreneur approached us some time ago and offered this service and when we asked, he said that all permits and insurance were in order and all necessary requirements fulfilled."
"We agreed to allow him to display the AirAsia logo on the buses and to feature the shuttle bus service in our advertisements and on our website."
"There was no contract, but AirAsia did pay him a fee." He would not name the entrepreneur.
The free shuttle service never got off the ground as LTA moved in on the day the service started.
It impounded a Malaysian-registered bus which had just arrived from Senai and a Singaporean-registered bus which was about to leave for Senai.
Passengers heading for Senai were asked to disembark.
Mr Fernandes said that AirAsia's Tuesday flights from Senai were not affected and neither were yesterday's flights.
According to LTA, the two impounded buses were authorised only to carry tourists between Singapore and Malaysia and were not licensed by LTA to operate scheduled services or ferry passengers between designated pick-up points.
Last December, LTA had turned down applications from Comfort Bus - a subsidiary of ComfortDelGro - and a Malaysian bus operator to ferry people between Singapore and Senai.
Mr Fernandes said: "Impounding the buses is an over-reaction. It's a sad day for entrepreneurship."
"Singapore must learn how to deal with entrepreneurs and ideas need to be fostered."
But irrepressible as ever, he added: "This is just a glitch and entrepreneurs are fighters who will bounce back."
In a more humorous vein, he said: "It was fortunate that our ad appeared yesterday on Page Two of The Straits Times and news of the shuttle buses being impounded came out on Page Three."
"Readers would immediately discover that there will be no more free bus service."
In a statement released on Tuesday, LTA warned that passengers on unlicensed buses risk not being covered by insurance if they were involved in an accident.
Operators of unlicensed bus services face a fine of up to $1,000 and a jail term of not exceeding three months.
Article published in Streats - Thursday Edition, 4th March 2004
