Ivan L.

I wonder, the accuracy of this thing. Points to be noted here: 1. Singapore never subsidized their own carrier, why should they start subsidizing foreign carriers? 2. Why on earth SQ would like to use AK as their feeder. People who can afford SQ will fly SQ from KUL or PEN. The cost difference to fly SQ on KUL-SIN-HKG and SIN-HKG is very little. It doesn't make sense for people to fly AK to SIN and continue with SQ somewhere else. SIN is also not known to have bargain fares like BKK or CMB. 3. Changi is a business venture. The only benefit that I can think of is AK getting special rates for bringing more passengers into Changi. More passengers, means higher revenue of the retail areas. Mind you, most of Changi's income is derived from its retail sectors, not landing and parking fees.

That is definitely a big misconception. I have flown SQ for many years since I was 1 year old and I don't ever recall them having preferential treatments towards the ang moh. I have flown them in business and first class too and I found they are just as friendly to everyone. MAS' cabin crews are quite okay, they just lacked the proper training, efficiency, and grace that SQ has. But in terms of friendliness, they may just as good as SQ.

This kind of merger will do more good for SQ than MH. If this happens, we may see KUL as domestic hub and a focus city, while SIN will become a bigger international hub. AF-KL can have their own separate entity and hubs, as both AMS and CDG are a very strong European hubs. KUL, on the other hand, is the weakest hub among SIN, BKK, and KUL.

Well, at least SQ's online booking is way better than MH. With AK and SQ, you can find cheapest tickets if you have flexible dates. You can't do this with MH. SQ also has a better integration of e-ticketing. I can buy my ticket at my travel agent and go to SQ's website to check my itinerary. Not to mention the online check in. They should have thought better ways of encouraging people to use their websites and travel agents.

Is this just an attempt to increase their share price? Anyway, MAS does have great potential but that depends on the management and people.

Despite what people said as great promotion by some people here, I beg to differ. This is just a poor attempt for MAS to increase their yield. When other airlines, like SQ command such a high premium price over their first class products and often there is waitlist in first class, MAS still has difficulties filling their premium cabins.

- Take the box out - Dump the box into the rubbish bin - Stuffed the content into IJ - Go to the mamak stall and order thousands of nasi lemak and roti paratha - Serve it with the legendary MH service

AMS, LHR, and SYD being the candidates here. MEL don't think so. They have downgraded MEL from 1 744 and 1 772ER per day to only 2 772ER per day. If they can't sustain first class or 744 in MEL, A380 seems to be unlikely.

Jetstar been facing complaint from consumer affairs here due to their promotion tactics. I personally not happy either with their promotional habit. They know that their websites are often swarmed by potential passengers causing it to crash, yet they never make an effort to have better server. Their promotional emails are known to arrive late as well. Some people has their emails arrived at 7 pm (when the sale starts), while mine arrives at 8.30pm (apparently seats have sold out at this time). This is ridiculous, if I really want to buy their 5 cents tickets, I would be sorely disappointed.

The key here is yield. 3x weekly will only likely be filled by leisure travelers and students, it will not be profitable. Business travelers prefers frequency and does this route has much business traffic, if any? KUL itself is already deemed low yield destinations by many airlines, PEN or KCH won't even stand a chance. The only thing that MH should do is strengthen their KUL hubs, Malaysia is simply too small to have more than 1 hub.

Thailand does have more to offer, although not much more. They are more interesting to visit though. I found that Thailand still maintain their cultural heritage very well. It is very thick and its in their daily life. Can you watch something like traditional performance in KL? In Bangkok, they have Siam Niramit, does KL offer something similar? Not to mention, they are very open to any other cultures. Women doesn't feel intimidated when they wear something minimalistic, something that you can't always do in Malaysia. No offense here, but I found that Malaysia is a bit too sterile. I found it more interesting to visit the temples or Jim Thompson House than Petronas or Putrajaya. I would rather ride the boat in stinky Chao Phraya than fake gondola in Putrajaya artificial lake. For many, being messy is an attraction by itself. Have you been to Singapore? Despite its economic success, I found that place is depressing. They are just too clean and everything just in order. Their aviation industry is also more liberal in comparison to Malaysia, hence there are more airlines using bangkok as a transit hub in comparison to KUL.

Agreed! There are many airlines operating A380 in small numbers, but does it make economical sense? Isn't it rather expensive just to maintain a handful of A380, training all the engineers, crews, and pilots? SQ seems to benefit from low operating cost due to large number of 777. If MAS can have more frequency, it may be able to attract more business travelers to fill their premium cabins. By the way, anyone knows if PMB actually makes money? Sometimes, I'm just wondering if PMB leased aircrafts at a loss. So MH can reduce its expenses and be profitable, as MH is the one who face public scrutiny.

Well probably not snackbox, but please the catering in long haul is no better either. I took MH not so long ago from KUL to MEL and they gave one lunch and snacks. The snacks consist of cold hard sandwich and the lunch consist of nasi lemak. The nasi lemak wasn't great though, even AK made better nasi lemak. There's no menu either, it's displayed on the TV screen. Their hot towel is really crap too, it's paper towel. SQ gave me menu in economy class and no cold hard sandwich. They usually have good, if not great, meal for economy class. Not to mention a real towel. A380 can provide lower CASM and higher revenue given that it is filled with passengers. If MH can't fill it in, then it will be pretty much useless.

Most economy class passengers do not know which aircraft they fly in or how old are they. For most of them, the right pricing and service is more important than the type of aircrafts, hence the popularity of AirAsia. If Idris Jala is smart, he would defer the A380 and use their resources to improve the services and keep their loyal passengers at their bay. There's no point having huge passenger plane if you can't fill it up. Having smaller aircrafts is easier to fill up and cost less to maintain, hence profitability is easier to achieve. A380 is a necessity in some airlines and markets, but we are yet to see if it has a place in MH.

It would be interesting to see BA back at KUL, great for competition. It would also be interesting to find out how they will differentiate the service offered for F and C class passengers at this route.

To compete with SQ, A380 alone is not enough. MAS has to try to target the right market and adjust its level of services. CX, for example, has yet to order the A380 and they found other ways to compete with other airlines. Do you prefer to fly A380 with a snackbox or B77W with hot meals and free playing cards?

LOL!!! Great idea. Since the LCCT is bursting, maybe they should just set up temporary open air tents or shields and get the pasar malam idea for the commercial space. It should be quite "exotic", although not as pretty as Koh Samui's airport. I would definitely come for supper to watch the planes engine roaring above me....

I do realised that, but there's a limit to double digit growth. You can't expect the company to keep growing 20% per year indefinitely. With QR and EY also planning for world domination, I can't help but to think that one or more of these airlines are bound to fail and end up like GF, which is the former shadow of its past self.

Well.. they didn't order 100 Boeing 747 or 777 at the same time, do they?

I used to think that EK growth is amazing, but not anymore. Their growth are just scary. I know they have large growth in passenger numbers, but I doubt it will be sustainable. What they gonna do with all these aircrafts? and 60 billions dollars worth of order? It's more than the budget of some countries out there. I used to love EK for providing good service at decent prices. However, they will get no love from me once they start killing off their competitors.

Apparently the awards come from world travel awards.. Here is their website... http://www.worldtravelawards.com/ However, the awards lack credibility. Look at their sponsors, Etihad and Emirates Palace. The travel partners is Jumeirah Essex House NYC Now go to the middle east section and find the middle east's leading airline. No prize for guessing correctly. You got it, it's Etihad! Middle East Leading resort? No surprises either, it's emirates palace! For north america, the leading hotel is well... guess what... it's Jumeirah Essex House What a load of crap!!!

Not to mention 10 millions of those passengers belong to AK and LCCT terminal. What a waste of space of MTB and Satellite Terminal.

Definitely not skytrax, they listed SQ as best business class for 2007. Please don't tell me they win best business class award for Malaysian region

My scary experience: - Hitting air pocket on flights between PER-DPS on AN A320 - Crosswind landing, almost crash disaster in SUB (on the same day when Adam Air went missing)

Geoff Dixon probably forgot that he has lobbied so hard against SQ flying US-Australia routes. Unfortunately, many politicians do not know how to run an airline, that is why Singapore leave it to the expert. What mission does MAS have to fly to EZE? or even EWR? when they know its not profitable. It's time to move on, prestige and Malaysia boleh needs to be look on the context as well. The taxpayers money are better spent on education, health, and welfare of Malaysians. Although, I do believe certain domestic flights are still needed to connect the rural towns.