By: Prithpal Singh
First published: 23 June 04, TODAY

As a pilot, I am familiar with Senai Airport in Johor.

Over a period of 20 years, I have seen it grow from a little ramshackle terminal to a glass-and-marble one and the runway lengthened to accommodate B747 aircraft.

Mr Lars Gronsedt, the airport's chief commercial officer, is a former senior executive with shipping giant Maersk. He has lived in Singapore for five years, knows what Singaporeans want and is providing it.

This includes a large secured car-park complex, an executive coach transport service and a deluxe city terminal in Johor Baru.

The passenger terminal building at Senai Airport is being made more spacious with shopping at the "lowest guaranteed" duty free prices.

Mr Gronsedt is determined to improve on the number of Singaporeans using the airport, which represented 30 per cent of the total passengers who travelled through Senai last month. He is also busy putting the finishing touches to a new 38,000-sq-ft cargo hangar which will be able to cater to four wide-body freighter aircraft at any one time.

Normally, such ambitious plans would ring alarm bells in Singapore. But my recent visit to Senai Airport revealed that Singapore needs to be less defensive about the airport and look, instead, to working with Senai on opportunities for mutual benefit - of which there may be many.

Consider the following points:
• Senai is hoping to attract between six million and seven million passengers by 2020; Changi already handles 28 million passengers

• Senai's cargo capacity of 80,000 tonnes a year pales in comparison to Changi's six mammoth cargo terminals with the capacity to handle over 2 million tonnes

• Senai has only one runway and this needs to be lengthened and strengthened if it is to accommodate a fully-laden B747 freighter aircraft. Courier companies such as DHL and UPS will only hub out of airports with at least two runways - for quick arrivals and departures

• Senai has no aircraft maintenance facilities, while Changi has one of the best in Asia - even AirAsia's planes are maintained in Singapore!

So, why all the fuss over Senai?

Senai Airport is a privately-owned commercial venture which must produce a return on investment.

The Senai Airport Terminal Services (Seat) will not be reckless in wanting to go head-on with Changi.

Instead, it will concentrate on carving a certain niche for itself.

If we play this right, Changi Airport and Singapore could leverage on Senai to enhance our hub status.

Our success could be Senai's success and vice versa.

Make Senai our ally against the more aggressive and likely-to-succeed hubs such as Bangkok, a far more potent threat.

We should work with Senai to capitalise on two things it has that we do not - plenty of land and lower costs - and one thing we have that Senai does not - connectivity.

Inevitably, as more airlines fly into Senai, we should make travel between Senai and Singapore as easy and seamless as possible, so that we can get a share of their foreign arrivals.

Let's even be innovative and ask the Malaysians to allow Singapore customs and immigration to be located at Senai Airport, so that a Singapore-bound flight could use Senai and the passengers could travel on to Singapore in bonded buses - doing away with the double-clearance hassle.

Senai could become the low-cost airline airport for Singapore.

Our maintenance facilities at Changi are bursting at the seams and we are running out of land to build more cargo terminals. We could continue this expansion at Senai. Certain types of cargo, such as dairy and agricultural produce, may be better suited for handling at Senai, for example.

All this could be under Singapore ownership and management and in partnership with Senai.

Senai is a much more natural hub for all flights to Malaysian destinations than Changi could ever be. We cannot duplicate the potential network and lower airfares offered from Senai.

If the Government Investment Corporation of Singapore can buy into a shopping mall in Johor Baru, what is stopping the rest of Singapore from working with Senai?

The writer is an aviation consultant and vice-president of Hotel Properties Ltd.