Craig

And I thought Malaysians are relatively non-violent citizens 🙄 You do realize that you just made a death threat right?

MAVCOM approved the following route applications from MH (April 2019): KUL-PDG - 2.2 units (what is a "unit"?) BKI-SDK - 7 weekly KUL-KTJ - 3.3 units (where's KTJ? Google says Kenya ) KUL-LBU - 1 weekly KUL-MYY - 2 weekly KUL-PKU - 4.4 units KUL-SOC - 4.4 units KUL-BTU - 1 weekly KUL-JHB - 2 weekly KUL-KCH - 4 weekly KUL-PEN - 4 weekly KUL-SDK - 3 weekly Other notable approved applications: OD: BKI-SDK - 14 weekly SZB-XSP - 42 weekly!!! AK: KUL-CGK - 7 weekly KUL-MNL - 7 weekly KUL-PKU - 5 units D7: KUL-NGO - 4 weekly More info here: MAVCOM April 2019 Air Traffic Rights

I always thought MAHB is a non-profit company that solely collects revenue from PSC and it's used to provide rent free agreements to retailers so passengers would choose to KUL over the likes of SIN and BKK. *shrugs*

Sounds good. I wonder if they'll expand it to cover US/Canada/South Asia in the future. Basically means both airlines share costs and revenue for the market they want a JV in. They can coordinate schedules and fares without anti-competitive agencies scrutinizing at them. I also saw "metal neutral" mentioned in the application - this means pax can choose to fly either on JL or MH on any fare without much restrictions (that's how it should work theoretically but cheaper tickets usually have a rule that says "Flights must be on MH operated by MH" etc.).

Yes. But Some heads-up will be appreciated. If it weren't for this thread, I wouldn't have known MH *AND* OD has introduced HBO fares. For domestic/regional flights, I usually just go for the cheapest fare family unless I have a reason to buy J. Well their Maths is wrong. 100% increase from 0kg is still 0kg. So the sweet spot is Gold/OWS for domestic flights In all seriousness, this is much better than EU HBO or US Basic Y fares. Elites still get some baggage allowance

Well this could have been implemented better. How about some heads-up instead of immediate effect? And what if pax has elite status (either with MH/OW) - are they still given the extra baggage allowance for Y Lite fares? Btw, why do people need that much baggage allowance (I get it if you are moving or if you are traveling to temperate countries etc.) but for a holiday, 20kg is a lot. PS: Can we have a separate thread instead of getting buried in here?

Perfect. Guess I need to make my way there this year before they shut down Komodo in 2020 (because you know people are smuggling carnivorous reptiles out of the island!).

Sure. The average flying time on AK is ~18 mins for PEN-LGK and slightly longer for LGK-PEN (~20 mins) and QR's flight is blocked at 40 mins. You can dine either 30s or 45s later. I think QR has a service on all their flights no matter how short it is, but I think this is their shortest flight (coming in at 129km or 80miles, compared to KUL-SIN at 296km / 184miles) BTW, does anyone know why AK schedules 2 PEN-LGK-PEN almost back to back (leaving within 15-20 minutes of each other)?

QR will launch LGK beginning 15 October 2019. QR plans to serve LGK 4 weekly A332 initially before increasing to 5 weekly B788 a few weeks later (when Winter 19/20 schedule begins). Routing will be DOH-PEN-LGK both ways (no traffic rights between PEN and LGK obviously).

Qatar will begin Q-Suites equipped A359 on QR 844/845 services to KUL wef 15JUL19 per airlineroute. Also seems like QR848/849 will be flown with Q-Suites 77W at some point too (shows daily for July). As with all things QR, don't trust their aircraft schedule until you see it at your gate

Maybe from your perspective. A lot of people pay more to be on a nonstop flight. What did MH promised you but didn't deliver? Convenience of a nonstop flight? ME3 is competitively priced because it requires you to transfer at their hub. Have you seen EK's prices ex-DXB, QR's prices ex-DOH and especially CX's prices ex-HKG (or even a nonstop KUL-DXB on EK)?

SQ/EK/QR etc. adds time and this is especially noticeable for regional destinations. Say you need to fly up to PVG for a meeting and you need to connect via HKG (chances are you'll be delayed a few hours especially in the summer) or SIN (SQ/MI doesn't even offer an early enough morning flight from KUL that'll get you at PVG by 2-3 PM - I know because I just flew this recently and I had to overnight in SG)? A 5 hour journey just became 7-8 hours. FM's schedule certainly doesn't cater for ex-MY business travel (MH388/389 is the ideal time for ex-MY market). What about other cities like MEL, SYD (D7 will be reducing their flights soon), AKL, BOM (OD doesn't have morning flights ex-KUL). You are right that airline business is not limited to O&D, hence I said KUL will lose a lot of connectivity when MH is gone. You do realize that MH doesn't only connects MH passengers right? DE, WY, KL, QR, BA, JL, EY, EK etc. sends their pax on MH flights once they arrive at KUL.

Do you want MH to serve only profitable routes? A lot of other carriers have the luxury of cherry picking more profitable routes so they can better allocate their resources. I don't think GA, TG, MH have that luxury when they operate in a relatively low-income base. AK and to a certain extent OD have relatively easy access and exit to a new market (STB doing way below expectations? just drop it after a few months) where as a FSC understands that a new route is usually not profitable for the first 1-2 years and give it a go for the medium to long term. It will survive, but only to/from certain markets. KL is surviving (the Netherlands is the biggest EU investor in Malaysia with lots of inbound demand) plus others like NH, CZ, WY etc. KUL is caught between a traveler/mass tourism hub to the north (BKK) with lots of A380s from around the world to the financial hub of southeast Asia to the south (SIN). The inbound traffic demand to KUL is not as high as BKK or SIN (Malaysia lags behind Indonesia and Vietnam for Japan-SEA traffic) coupled with a rather price sensitive and weak currency for outbound traffic for foreign carriers. From reading the forums here, people want MAB to provide SQ service at AK prices - how are they going to make money?

Does the small enterprise have a duty to: - provide connectivity to the areas in Malaysia where air travel is the only possible way - provide a reasonable means of transportation You know when was MH profitable? When MH/SQ had a join shuttle service between KUL and SIN and it costs RM400-500 one way and a KUL-BKI ticket cost RM800 (in 1990s MYR) one way. Managing a 100 employees company is not the same as managing a 10,000 employees company. Just think about the severance package - MAB will need to sell all their assets to pay creditors and staff and then you want the Malaysia Govt. to start a new airline from scratch?

For those who still wants MH to shut down, you do realize that MH is providing a lot of connectivity that AK Group or OD doesn't right? If MH is gone, you'll probably see the likes of DE, WY, EY reducing or quitting KUL altogether. You can forget about attracting foreign carriers like AY (not saying that they are planning to fly to KUL, but if they do, I bet a lot of it is due to MH's connections).

I don't think the hate for AK Group has escalated to calls for shutting it down. Do I like AK? Of course and I have flown them numerous times. Here are the reasons why I like AK Group:- promotes competition between AK, MH, OD and keeps each other in check - serves destinations that aren't feasible either by MH or OD (e.g. KBV, PQC, MLE, REP, CNX etc.) - opens up the opportunity for many people (including lots of Malaysians) to travel and see the world where they previously couldnt afford to - brings lots of tourists to Malaysia - connect lots of secondary cities in Malaysia without passing through KUL (not really applicable to me, but great for others) - provides employment for 17,000 people (and from what I hear, TF treats his employees really well) What I dislike (not hate) about AK Group is their disingenuous marketing and: - KLIA2 fees (no other airline charges RM2) - PSC for non-ASEAN destinations - Pedantic complaints about KLIA2 - Unpaid fees (not only to MAHB but also to other companies/countries, e.g. Nepal) - Leave others to take care of their mess (e.g. when they suspended LGW) Do you think this is limited to MAB?

Australia's CASA just announced that they too are banning 737 Max into their airspace (like CAAS did). This will only affect FJ as MI is already grounded. Seems like the dominoes are falling - really puts pressure on the FAA and EASA now.

Well everybody can't fly then if there's only 1 major airline in Malaysia But in all seriousness, as much as it's some people's fantasy to shut down MH and start fresh, it's much much easier said than done. You'd need to reapply for routes/rights/authorities/certifications etc., plus pay creditors, staff, alliance fees etc. And all the corporate contracts that you'll lose as well as connectivity to some business cities (e.g. MEL - only MH serves MEL nonstop). I seriously don't understand why the hatred for MAB when there are bigger fish to fry. As Suzanne mentioned, you can get your tax money's worth and it's a tangible benefit.

QR seems to be taking up a minority ownership in a few OW carriers. I wouldn't mind QR service at MH prices

That's true. Whilst we don't have all the facts in regards to ET302, it looks eerily similar to JT610. And if you have a few large CAAs grounding the jet, it just makes the FAA looks negligent. Grounding the 7M8 or not, I am not going to step foot on this plane (it's pretty easy to avoid for most Malaysians) until a fix is proposed (plus a few more months). And this is coming from a guy who flew MH after the twin tragedies. Caveat: this is coming from a regular pax, not a pilot nor a person who knows much about engines, MCAS etc, but I am aware that air travel is still safer than driving, but when I am given a choice of a self-drive holiday in say Germany or Thailand, I'd choose Germany in a heartbeat.

It doesn't make the EASA and especially the FAA look good if CAAs around the world start grounding the fleet whilst they let theirs in the air. I imagine they'd succumb to "peer pressure" (sorry for the lack of better word) soon. And AFAIK, only CA, CZ, and MI currently flies the Max 8 to KUL.

CA will substitute their PEK-KUL 7M8 with A330 (currently showing operating 4 weekly flights) and CZ will substitute their CAN-KUL 7M8 with 738NG It's a little more than that. CAAS is forbidding Max 8 into their airspace If you like to see the internet's reaction, visit WN and AA (as in American Airlines) social media. Interns are going to be up all night (and poor UA have to tell pax that theirs is Max 9, not Max .

QR announced at ITB that they will fly 3 weekly flights to Langkawi beginning 15OCT2019 using 787. As with all QR announcements, take it with a grain of salt until QR finally lands in LGK. Other destinations: Izmir, Turkey Malta Rabat, Morocco Davao, Phillipines Lisbon, Portugal Mogadishu, Somalia

Lovely addition Is it seasonal?

That to me is the biggest problem at KLIA2. Paradigm Mall *sucks* big time layout wise and it's designed to make sure that there are longer walks than necessary (1 Utama is doing the same thing with escalators now, you can't go straight from B1 to Level 3, you have to turn a few times so you'll pass by more shops). And of course Paradigm's floor numeration is a huge problem too. WCT gets partial blamed, and of course some invisible hands that made them the architect for KLIA2 too I don't know about MAHB/KUL, but most airports charge more for gates closer to the security area (e.g. SQ almost always depart from gate 11-19 at HKG where as MH departs from gates 200+, and carriers like UA, BA, AA, TG depart from 40+). If you believe the entire RM 5B goes towards KLIA2's construction, I've got a bridge to sell to you ^^