Singapore, Airlines & the free market

Economics and business. Two of my favourite subjects. However I didn't write that much in the blog for some rather "interesting" reasons. Among them I've discussed/write about it in some other forumn(s) and also I don't want some characters come in here and start a whole debate on it and waste my space and time. However this one I absolutely have to share. Of course I didn't include the boring proper economic stuff. But interesting nonetheles.

Read on!

SINGAPORE (Reuters) -- An Indonesia-based budget airline has dropped
plans for flights between Indonesia and Singapore after failing to secure
landing rights from the wealthy city-state.

AWAir, a unit of Malaysia's AirAsia, was last month forced to cancel its
maiden flight to Singapore when the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore
(CAAS) rejected its application for landing rights.

The regulator said the airline had failed to file proper documents.

In a statement on Friday, AWAir said it would shelve plans for the route,
having waited more than two weeks after it filed the additional documents
requested by the regulator.

The cancellation comes nearly two months after its first application to
CAAS on Dec. 15.

"We are very disappointed and puzzled over the lack of response from the
CAAS," Sendjaja Widjaja, AWAir's President Director said in a statement,
adding that there was no indication of a resolution.

Passengers who had made bookings for the route could obtain a refund from
the airline, he said.

A CAAS spokeswoman had no immediate comment.

Singapore, Asia's sixth-biggest air hub, is seeking a slice of the fast-
growing low-cost carrier market in the region and is constructing a new
terminal dedicated to budget airlines to position itself as Southeast
Asia's hub for short-haul flights.

Singapore budget carrier Valuair also cancelled its maiden fight to
Jakarta last year after Indonesian authorities denied it landing rights,
forcing the airline to transfer passengers to another carrier.

The Singapore government, which controls flag carrier Singapore Airlines
Ltd, also has equity in two budget airlines.

Its state investment agency, Temasek Holdings, holds 19 percent of Qantas
Airways Ltd.'s JetStar Asia and 11 percent of Tiger Airways, set up with
the founder of Irish discount carrier Ryanair.

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My Comment :

Singapore's licking its own spit (on the ground no less) by doing this. HAH!! So much for "free market" champion eh?