I REFER to the report "Ong to look into price war" (NST, May 16).

The price war between Malaysia Airlines and AirAsia should be allowed to continue. This is what competition in the aviation industry is all about.

AirAsia should not cry for help each time it wants a particular route or feels the effects of competition from another airline.

This is a free market and it should be ready for competition.

MAS has been open with its offers. Like AirAsia, it offers a certain percentage of its seats for zero fare for the early birds booking online. Not all AirAsia seats are low fares all the time.
Try booking a seat on any low-cost carrier (LCC) two days before departure and the fare would be either that of a full-service airline's or even higher. Don't expect low fares on LCCs during holidays, weekends and peak season like festivals.

Any interference by the authorities to tell MAS to stop its offers on low fares would not only take the aviation industry a step backwards but also make a mockery of the whole issue. It would also affect the local tourism industry.

Airlines should be left to structure their fares according to market conditions and demand.

So the authorities should view the low fares offered by the two airlines positively.

The collapse of LCC Oasis Hong Kong Airlines recently shows how quickly the tide is going out for full-service airlines and LCCs, as they struggle with surging fuel prices and slow economic growth.

Like other airlines, MAS needs to stay afloat.

Come June 1, MAS and Singapore Airlines will scrap their 30-year pact on the Kuala Lumpur-Singapore route, thus enabling the two carriers to be more flexible with their fare offering in the wake of competition from Tiger Airways, Jetstar Asia and AirAsia.

SIA and MAS have remodelled their operations on the route to fight the competition and not by complaining to their governments.