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Craig

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Posts posted by Craig

  2. Posted · Edited by Craig · Report reply

     

    Just to update this, can redeem Enrich miles by calling American Airlines.

     

    They have 2 sectors avaible on my trip, KUL-LHR (35,000 miles) and JFK - LHR (25,000 miles) and some kind of ticket change fee of USD300.

     

    Good offer or better places to spend my points ?

    I am pretty sure you can't upgrade KUL-LHR on MH using AA miles. You can upgrade LHR-JFK-LHR on AA metal tho. You could either have someone donate you a systemwide upgrade or upgrade using miles + co-pay.

     

    And I am pretty sure you can't upgrade KUL-LHR-JFK using Enrich miles too (you mentioned in your earlier post) - it's AA code and MH can't change your booking class.

     

    JFK-LHR is an extremely short flight tho. My flight last month was only 5.45 hours!

  4. Posted · Report reply

    Thank you for your observation Mohd. Azizul. BA 33/34 is operated by WW crew (hence they are rather senior). The only SE Asia flight operated by the MF crew is BA 15/16 (LHR-SIN-SYD) and I usually feel really old compared to the MF crew :p.

     

    Like Suzanne said, it's Eid and peak summer ex-Europe - so it will be full regardless. And BA better be full - it's a hub to hub route! Even LH which at times struggle with LH 782/783 is full this week.


    By the way, seem like BA is starting B789 services to KUL earlier.

     

    From 05 DEC 2015 (06 DEC 2015 for BA 34):

    BA033 18:50 LHR - KUL 15:20+1 D 789

    BA034 23:45 KUL - LHR 05:25+1 D 789

  6. Posted · Report reply

    Its official now: 2 Route cuts

     

    KUL-BNE: Route axed from 09AUG

    KUL-MLE: Route axed from 23AUG

    Yikes. I was just checking GDS for BNE and was going to post this but you beat me to it. BNE is zeroed out. So is the 5 weekly KUL-PER (MH 127/128; 18:45 ex-KUL and 01:25 ex-PER).

  7. Posted · Report reply

    Latest leak from my spy at the MH Rumour Department:

     

    MH to downgrade flight MH72/73 from B772 to B738 from 2 August 2015. Frequency will not change. By 1 August 2015, all 4 daily flights to HKG will be on B738.

     

    Oy vey. This against CX 3-4 times daily on A333/B777 with 1-2 times on the 3-cabin A333/B77W (this is supposedly a hub to hub flight for MH and CX!).

     

    This has already been loaded into the GDS - 4 daily B738.

  9. Posted · Edited by Craig · Report reply

    It has a tag-on to CGK to give it a slight boost as well. KL had up to 10x weekly flights IIRC, but it's at least daily now. They're probably the European airline with the most confidence in KUL.

     

    I don't think LH's tag-on to CGK is making it more profitable for LH (and that's if KUL/CGK is profitable). It increases the cost - crew spends 2 extra nights in KUL because of the tag-on. I am not privy to KUL/CGK's route performance but LH's decision to reverse 744 back to 343 for NW15/16 says something.

     

     

    Or given the alliance between MH and KL... I trust many Americans would also fly on BA to KUL, now they they have choice with either BA, MH, CX and JL.

     

    I don't believe BA markets that much North America - South East Asia flights (I rarely see any marketing for North East US-South East Asia flights on BA or LH, AF, and KL for that matter).

  10. Posted · Report reply

    Is it confirmed that BA will switch to B789 from the current B772 next summer?

    No. BA has not announced any 789 routes yet although it could be one. It was rumored to have similar Y capacity but a slightly smaller premium cabin compared to the 772.

    Is it confirmed that BA will switch to B789 from the current B772 next summer?

    No. BA has not announced any 789 routes yet although it could be one. It was rumored to have similar Y capacity but a slightly smaller premium cabin compared to the 772.

  11. Posted · Report reply

    HKG is WW, whereas LAX is MF - so there are both MF and WW A380,744,777,767 crews.

     

    I generally prefer WW on average, the best and worst crews I have ever had are MF. Somewhat less consistent but when they are good - they are better than WW

     

    I wish LAX is still a MF. WW took over beginning NS2015 schedules. No more twinks inconsistent service for me. I've had some great MF crew on my LAX flights before but some of my European MF flights were just OK.

     

    MF took over SEA, DFW, SAN, and IAD whilst WW took over LAX and MIA for NS2015.

  12. Posted · Report reply

    This is quite startling for me:

     

    “Customers might book a business-class seat, but opt out of the miles or lounge access.”

     

    Business class opting out of miles or lounge access? Is this only applicable to MHUpgrade fares booked in I or does Z fares not come with miles and lounge too? Sky is falling for Suzanne without mileage accrual for MH Z :p

     

    As far as long-haul routes are concerned, I would consider SYD, MEL, NRT etc. "long-haul". (or medium-haul). They are definitely not regional. The only true long-haul routes left in MH are LHR, CDG, AMS, IST, and AKL. And since no expansion is planned until 2017, I would assume he meant the inclusion of Australia, north-east Asia, ME routes as well.

  13. Posted · Edited by Craig · Report reply

    To be fair I've seen other MH ground staff deal with difficult pax pretty well.

     

    An Australian guy was denied entry into the Golden Lounge for being a Qantas Club member traveling on 3K.

     

    I can't access QF lounges if I am flying 3K or JQ either. Or if I am flying MI as a non-SQ *G. It seems like he didn't know the rules (or was aware of it but pushing his luck anyway).

  15. Posted · Report reply

    For anyone who was wondering where MH will be sending its 737 from the regional/domestic consolidation, you win if you guessed PVG! MH will now fly 737s on certain MH 386/387 rotations! I thought it was bad enough that MH sends 737 to HKG/TPE/DEL etc., but 5 hour red-eye to PVG tho...

  16. Posted · Report reply

     

    In addition, QR will be increasing its flights to KUL to 24 weekly. New flights as below:

     

    QR856 DOH0200 – 1500KUL 332 246

    QR857 KUL1700 – 1930DOH 332 246

     

     

    Seems like QR is adding even more capacity to KUL this July. The additional QR 856/857 will be operated by 77L on most Tuesdays and 77W on Thursdays and Saturdays instead of the 332.

  18. Posted · Report reply

    What's going on with the 737s that week? Seems like the are consolidating flights (e.g. BKK went from 7 to 4 a day during that week with 2 737s consolidating into 1 777). Also some HKG 737s flights are canceled (from 4 daily to twice daily). Normal schedule the week before and after May 30 to June 6.

  20. Posted · Report reply

     

    Shame about the 419/420 though. Last i heard the crews actually didn't like it because it was minimum rest in KUL, and had to do a very short overnight without getting the chance to jalan jalan in KL town.

    Same as TG 401/402 on SIN turn - crew stays at the CP SIN. I believe MH has 2 set of crews overnighting in BKK - MH 776 crew does not turnaround for MH 797.

     

    Is TG pretty much relying on transfer traffic for its KUL-BKK flights? It's one of the most expensive carriers to fly between the two cities and it only has 2 flights a day now (compared to 7 for MH).

  21. Posted · Edited by Craig · Report reply

    I think our definitions of value must be quite different. The rates to destinations across the world are bad. But lets say we just look at Europe and use the rates you have illustrated above. AA is ofcourse the best and does not charge fuel except on BA. The UA rate also doesnt come with any fuel, delta will charge 80k and also won't charge fuel. Avalibility even in the summer is decent on their partner airlines. Even if we look at the other Asian FFP the rates return are lower than MAS and these airlines like Sq and TG offer better products than MAS does to Europe.

     

    I reiterate my point The MAS program is unrewarding especially when you consider the state MAS is in. They offer a product even on the soon to be extinct A380 that's is beneth their rivals and their load factors are way worse than their rivals. Therefore they should offer a program that is better than their rivals not even on par with them in order to garner business. However they have gone in the opposite direction and devalued their scheme makeing it worse than the competiton right at the point when delivering the benefits cost them even less as these seats will be flown empty anyway. To me this seems rather foolish.

     

    How long do you think AA/CX/SQ rates will last for? AA is just waiting for US/AA integration to go through before devaluing their miles. They have been giving away so many miles this year! UA/DL/MH devalued ahead of AA and the rest, but I would assume AA devaluation is coming soon. So is CX - there have been talks of limiting premium cabin to partners and increasing redemption as well. If it's anything, CX is taking cues from QF for Asiamiles. And if CX follows QF, goodbye F/J awards from partner members.

     

    How is it unrewarding when it is one of the, if not the only, airline that books its own saver award into a separate booking class compared to partners? I am not saying it's extremely competitive, but when you look at it whole, it's competitive.

     

     

    This is exactly my point. A well run and attractive program can be a huge asset and money spinner for an airline it also incentivizes people to fly and remain loyal!

     

    I said above mile represent a liability when they are redeemed the liability is reduced ofcourse another way to lower the liability is to devalue them, but that obviously would not be pleasing to members especially at time when you really need their goodwill.

     

    And no my point is you grant the upgrades on short haul to your most loyal customers in exchange for their loyalty there. By incentivizing them to fly with you. These upgrades will clear closer to travel so those who want a confirmed J seat will still buy it while and the most loyal travelers can enjoy a perk.

     

    And yes I do have a choice in airlines and seldom chose MAS this thread is not about my flying preference it's about the fact that MAS could run their program better to attract more customers and make money so that the poor Malaysian tax payer can stop subsidizing this POS

    I wouldn't call UA Mileage Plus a well run and attractive program. It used to be, but since the merger, it's downright awful. It is a money spinner, but when UA sold too many miles to Chase, they had to devalue their chart because there were too many unclaimed miles.

     

    Mileage is a liability to an airline. As I've mentioned above, MH will have to pay partners when MH members redeem an award. When MH issue miles, it is a future cost to MH (and when they devalue their chart, it indirectly reduces their liabilities).

  22. Posted · Edited by Craig · Report reply

    Nowhere have I suggested that MAS start nickel and dimeing their passengers with buy on board and inflight ads. If you read in proposing the opposite I think they should reward their customers more so as to cut them a break. MAS has plenty of empty seats it should extract value from them via the FFP.

     

    Also to clear your confusion the lack of avalibity I'm reffering to is when spending partner miles. I think the avalibity for Enrich members is alright it's just the pricing that's nuts. MAS is a below industry airline they should charge below industry rates to fill these seats and build customer loyaltyso that people might even choose to travel on them when they aren't the cheapest option.

    I don't think MH's Enrich pricing is nuts.

     

    Saver level award points required for KUL-Europe one-way in J (without discounts of any sort):

     

    MH: 75k

    CX: 70k (or 120k for RT)

    SQ: 60-80k depending on destination, but mostly 80k

    TG: 89k (or 130k for RT)

    BA: 75k off-peak or 90k peak

    AA: 52.5k

    UA: 85k

    DL: whatever computer spits out

     

    If you ask me, they are competitive. And Enrich award on MH metal doesn't depend whether there is U or I available. Sure, MH seats might lose out to CX or SQ, but if I want to redeem a seat for travel in July/August on MH, I know I will be able to get one. Good luck getting U on CX or I on SQ in the summer.

  23. Posted · Report reply

     

    1. Mas redemption prices are now higher than industry standard while the airline itself offers a product that is below industry standard there for to compensate for this could offer a more generous FFP in order to actually compete.

     

    2 You are incorrect here mile represent a liability on a company balance sheet when they are redeemed that liability is released and has a positive effect on the bottom line. However in this case im not even talking about mileage upgrades, im talking about the US style system where domestic upgrades are free for the most frequent flyers. MAS is offers 737's on most of its regional network these planes are flying shorter routes and for the most part people are not willing to pay to fly these routes on MAS in business. To draw in some more pax why not offer upgrades for loyal members on these flights. The only cost of this upgrade is the catering which would likely be loaded anyway.

     

    3 Mas does not have a shortage of empty seats they should try and monetize them by whatever means.

     

    1) Like others have mentioned, Enrich redemption is pretty competitive. It's only 63,750 miles oneway in J to Europe. It's a slightly higher than SQ/AA but none of them allows you to book into a revenue bucket, so you are at the mercy of the IM. I would say MH is extremely generous.

     

    2) Miles are a liability to an airline. MH will have to pay partners for their seats when they redeem an award seat, hence it's a liability. When they devalue their miles, it reduces the liability of the airline because more miles is required to redeem a seat.

     

    You might be alone that most people are not willing to pay for MH J short haul. When you start giving it away for free ala US carriers, then no one would want to pay for it. For now, people still want to pay for it because there are values added to it.

     

    3) Well let's see if Christoph Mueller will introduce HBO (hand-baggage only) fares, pay for seat assignments even in Business Class like BA, monetize entertainment, power outlets, removing lounge access for OWS/OWE, buy-on-board, peddling their credit cards on board, advertisement on the tray table etc.

     

     

     

    I would disagree with both of your points. MAS does not make miles super easy to earn when flying so to push the price up especially when seats are going out empty and the airline needs its (few) loyal customers more than ever is foolish. Today I could redeem 51K SQ miles for a one way flight to Europe, or 52.5K AA miles on CX, QR or even MAS its self with no fuel charge to boot! So the current Enrich levels are usurious.

     

     

    Im not sure what routes you are looking for but. Ive never seen more than 1 MH F seat open on BA and often see no J seats on empty flights to NRT among other destinations.

     

    I am confused. If you are redeeming Enrich miles on MH, it doesn't come out from the P, U, X bucket, but rather as Suzanne said, a revenue bucket. So there is *a lot* of award redemptions available for Enrich members on MH metal.

     

    Whilst MH doesn't make it super easy to earn whilst flying in discounted Economy, it is competitive in premium cabins. It's pretty much the industry standard now. And if you are using partner miles for redemption, you have a choice of other airlines, since as you say "MH is a POS".

  25. Posted · Edited by Craig · Report reply

     

    ooh tak boleh lho... Concierge Key needs some unpublished spending. I think @craig knows more how much. I have no idea, and will never get anywhere near

     

    CK is a myth, like fairies and dragons. I have yet to see one of them :p

     

    But if they do exist, I believe they are a small group of people who are either:

    - travel controller for a large corporation

    - spend a minimum of $50k USD a year (which I don't think is really that high)

    - A-list celebrities (maybe) since AA is still the contract carrier for SAG

     

    Suzanne - which category do you fall into for the CK invitation (I was thinking A-list celebrity).

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