Rise in airfares for flights to Malaysia during CNY period

Demand for cross-border land transport provided by some operators uneven so far

- Elaine Lee

In December 2023, Ms Jennifer Chee spent $1,300 on air tickets to go back to her home town in Sandakan, Sabah, during the Chinese New Year period about two months later.

In contrast, the same trip to the Malaysian city in mid-November 2024 costs as low as about $240, an online check showed.

To avoid paying too much of a premium for her trip back for Chinese New Year in 2025, the 33-year-old designer booked her outbound and inbound flights in February and June, respectively, paying $700.

She said she bought the tickets earlier because she was expecting the prices to go up later in the year.

This saved her about $600.

For the period of Jan 25 to 31, 2025, economy-class return tickets for flights to Penang and Kuala Lumpur range from $414 to $983, while a return flight to Kuching can go up to $967 in the same period, according to The Straits Times' checks online. Chinese New Year falls on Jan 29 and 30 in 2025.

Airlines that ST contacted said flights to Malaysian destinations during that festive period are popular.

A Malaysia Airlines spokesperson said demand for such flights has come earlier in 2024, with the carrier seeing a 30 per cent increase in demand so far compared with the same period in 2023.