KUALA LUMPUR (Nov 18): Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd (MAHB) will carry out a refurbishment of the retail area in the KL International Airport (KLIA) in Sepang next year, to remain competitive amid newer airports that have been built, said its senior general manager of commercial services Faizah Khairuddin.

In a statement today, Faizah revealed that the “retail rejuvenation of KLIA” will begin in 2015 and will be carried out in two phases, parallel to the airport’s capacity expansion plan.

“Now that MAHB has turned our dreams for klia2 into reality, it is time for us to expand our dream to KLIA.  KLIA is 16 years old and has reached its design and traffic capacity.

“To remain competitive amidst the many other newer airports that have been built, we need to refurbish it and make it exciting and relevant to today’s travellers,” she said.
 
In the same statement, MAHB managing director Datuk Badlisham Ghazali also urged concessionaires operating at KLIA and klia2 to strive towards a sales-service excellence culture.
 
“As the first and last point of contact for visitors entering and exiting Malaysia, concessionaires are the ‘guardians’ of the country’s premier gateways,” he said.

“Airport front-liners are the ones who give that crucial first impression and also the last group of people who will leave a lasting memory in the minds of those who pass through our airport gates.
 
“Establishing a sales-service excellence culture is not optional.  It is critical to our long-term success.  Sustaining a sales-service excellence Culture should be viewed as a positive achievement,” added Badlisham.
 
The airport operator recently hosted its Sixth Concessionaires Conference, which was attended by over 250 participants representing 90 companies.

At the conference, MAHB also recognised outstanding concessionaires by awarding them with the Malaysia Airports Champion Award 2014. The awards spanned 12 categories.