KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd (MAHB) has hinted at resorting to legal action to keep the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) and Kuala Lumpur International Airport 2 (klia2) brand intact.
MAHB said yesterday it was reserving all its rights, including legal action, to protect the two airports’ brand and identity.
For now, the airport operator is hopeful that klia2’s name will remain as it is, in line with Transport Minister Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai’s statement on Wednesday.
“Since the transport minister has made the announcement that clearly states the government’s decision to retain klia2’s name, we trust that all parties will comply with it accordingly,” MAHB managing director Datuk Badlisham Ghazali told Business Times yesterday.
Liow, however, said AirAsia was allowed to market the terminal as low-cost carrier terminal-KL (LCCT-KL).
The decision was made after a two-hour meeting between Liow, Department of Civil Aviation director-general Datuk Seri Azharuddin Abdul Rahman, AirAsia Group chief executive officer (CEO) Tan Sri Tony Fernandes and AirAsia Bhd CEO Aireen Omar on Wednesday.
Fernandes said the meeting had led to the acknowledgement that klia2 was a low-cost hub.
“A few ideas were discussed. We are happy,” he said when contacted.
AirAsia had said it would spend US$5 million (RM20 million) to promote klia2 as a low-cost hub in other countries.
The carrier will also continue to refer to klia2 as LCCT.
On Monday, AirAsia started printing LCCT-klia2 (KUL) on its boarding passes.
The word “LCCT” is also used on the carrier’s website.
Its advertisement in local newspapers carried the words “Fly from LCCT KL, Asia’s low-cost hub”.
The move, however, has created confusion among some AirAsia guests who ended up going to the old LCCT terminal.
The old terminal is currently being used as AirAsia and AirAsia X Bhd’s headquarters.
Badlisham said the move would only serve to confuse the public.
“We understand that some passengers went to the old LCCT... it not only caused inconvenience but also stress,” he was quoted as saying on Wednesday.
He also said although it was the government’s right to change or retain klia2’s name, the KLIA brand had been synonymous with Malaysia since 18 years ago.