by Karen Arukesamy

KUALA LUMPUR (Jan 25, 2010): For those wishing to join the exodus home for the Chinese New Year celebration on Feb 14, public transport seats are moving fast and may be sold out by this week.

Keretapi Tanah Melayu Bhd (KTMB) train seats however were sold out in December for trips beginning early February till a week after the festival.

An officer on duty at the KTMB call centre told theSun the tickets were sold out since 30 days ago and there are no additional train services during the festive season.

A check at the city’s main bus terminal counters at Puduraya showed that express bus seats are still available but are selling fast.

Travellers who wish to buy their tickets must do so before end of this month to avoid disappointment. However, an official for Transnasional Bhd, one of the main express bus companies in the city, said tickets sales have been quite slow and there are many seats still available.

“People always tend to buy last minute because of their busy work schedule. So we started opening ticket sales for our additional bus services,” he said. He said nevertheless it is better for those who want to go back before the Chinese New Year to pre-book their seats or purchase the tickets earlier.

AirAsia spokesperson told theSun most of the east-coast flights are almost fully booked and that there is a surge in sales for destinations in Miri, Sandakan, Kota Kinabalu, Tawau and Kuching. “The sales have been good for the east-coast destinations. As for the Peninsular destinations, there are still many seats available,” he said.

Firefly marketing and communications head Angelina Fernandez said flights for the Chinese New Year period have been booked since October when Firefly announced its festive season promotion. “We have opened seven additional flights, which are also almost fully booked for the Singapore-Ipoh route and also have opened one additional flight for the Subang-Alor Setar sector,” she said. — theSun