Alex

I have heard they are getting -MGD from Fokker fleet. Alex.

http://www.jetphotos.net/viewphoto.php?id=6080829&nseq=0 http://www.jetphotos.net/viewphoto.php?id=6080677&nseq=1 I believe MPM does have the retrofit now. Just leaves 1 to get the retrofit if they still plan to use it. MPG is with Air India while MPA is long gone! Alex.

Over the peak season? HARD to book cheap fares. But I did manage to find a fare fo about 500 GBP for my sis in law's boyfriend. Flights are one stop to KL and yeah, he took it with open arms, since we managed to find him a return all inclusive fare from LHR to KL for less than $4000 MYR. Flights were with Etihad Airways via Abu Dhabi. You really have to look for the cheapest deal. Qatar was next cheapest and Gulf was the next one up. CX was the dearest in the grand scheme of things. Alex.

Hong Kong is the other hub, not Bangkok. Alex.

No probs Keith. Alex.

I haven't done a QF CBR - MEL in years... So I don't know what they offer. I do agree that at the right time, QF offers a decent hot meal in the flight. Definitely only a refreshment for Sydney to Canberra though. Keith am just trying (and not succeeding too well) to show that MAS aren't removing meals all together, merely they are 'downsizing' to try and save money. Apologies if any misinterpretations happened. I do know though that a cold meal 'snack box' style (Panini was served in a snack box) was given to me during Lunch on QF19 so it's really Breakfast and Dinner where Qantas offer hot meals. Maybe MAS are heading towards that direction. Like said, I do believe MAS are catching up wih other airlines in the region. Alex.

Point 1: On the early morning Sydney - Singapore flight you get two hot meals. One is a breakfast and one is a lunch style thing. On SQ232 which I took most recently, you get two meals. One lunch and one tea meal... Both hot, but I got stuck with western meals both times. I know that with SQ221 you get at least one very nice and one nice meal whereas with SQ231 you get average to really crap meals. Yes, cost savings are probably the reason behind it. Point 2: I never said Qantas doesn't serve meals on its services. I said they serve cold servings more than ever with drinks etc... on its services to keep costs low. The lunch you mentionted is actually a cold meal, hence saves money. I do agree that with dinners they serve nicer meals. Bacon and Egg Muffin is quite similar to what SQ serve on their continental breakfast style. Sydney - Darwin is nearly 3.5 - 4 hours, as is Sydney / Melbourne - Cairns and even the Perth services from Sydney / Melbourne and on those services, full meals etc... are served. But you can see Qantas does use meals and gives cold sandwiches etc... saving them a lot of money in the long run. Sentiment is high on change from MAS I can read... But the airline industry these days is all about trying to cut down dramatically on costs yet at the same time provide the high service and product it's renowned for. Malaysia Airlines are just trying to catch up and keep up. Alex.

OK... Calm down people... Firstly, my experience of travelling with Singapore Airlines, a well renowned 5 star airline most recently from Singapore to Sydney didn't really feel 5 star in terms of food. The midnight flight you get a supper, which either consisted of a hot roll or a cold salad roll and then Breakfast was the warm dish. The way I saw that was Singapore wanting to cut down on costs, so rather than serve 2 hot meals, still serve 2, but one hot and one cold. Heck I could even have a Mars Bar for supper if I wanted to. From Penang to Singapore I only got a hot roll. That's it. They used to serve a hot (somewhat hot) dish but now, a roll. Why? Probably to reduce operating costs but still maintain a 5 star status. Before the hot roll came, IIRC the passengers complained about no hot meals on a 5 star airline like Singapore, hence the reintroduction of a hot meal. MAS are trying to cut down on costs yes. I applaude them for doing that. But I don't think people realise that this is a necessity in order for it to survive well. Qantas only serves a snack box between Sydney and Canberra, heck it serves a snack box between Sydney and Brisbane. But yet they are highly regarded in Australian skies. In order for it to compete with the big boys... It needs to cut on costs. If it meals cutting inflight meals to a snack box then it's still providing you with a meal... But it may not be hot. Does the fact it has to be hot matter? Once MAS figures out the reduction in costs, it can return to quite a nice profitable airline. Until then, I believe MAS are merely catching up with the other players around the region... Alex.

But Zurich never really made money for MAS. 3x weekly is not enough to compete with TG or SQ who both have pretty much a daily presence. It is a wise move by MAS to cut unprofitable routes so that it can really focus on the more profitable routes, like AMS, CDG and even LHR. I mean, take QF for example, they cut CDG because they couldn't get daily slots and I believe they cut FCO because it just wasn't profitable. I mean, they are back at Rome now, albeit with a CX codeshare but QF make profit, doing what MAS are wanting to do, fly into a port and use a codeshare partner to reach more destinations. MAS turning bigger and better profits is possible... I just think they are heading towards a similar idea that QF is using. Hub and Spoke. QF hub out of LAX and LHR and reach a LOT of destinations. I can see MAS doing something similar, with AMS and CDG, potentially even with EWR (on CO). With that idea in mind, I can see IST, ARN and even FRA getting the chop if they want to cut more routes, leaving CDG, FCO, AMS and LHR. The first 3 are Skyteam hubs and potentially with their entry, could ensure it's survival. LHR is more there because of the Flagship status. That and also the fact that MH have a slice of the Kangaroo Route, why would they risk losing it? Don't get me wrong, MAS is a great airline to fly (I have flown them on a number of occassions), but with a fleet of what 11x 744's, 17x 772's, 14x A330s there's only so much it can do. TG have what 9x A340's, 18x 744's, 17x 777's and 12x A330s. SQ have a fleet of over 65x 777s, 20x 744s, 5x A340s. CX has 22x 744s, 28x A330s, 15x A340s and a fleet of new 77W's coming in. Fleetwise, there's no way MAS could compete with their neighbours if it did destinations 2x or 3x weekly. Hence, it's wise to cut and run before the bleeding becomes too bad. My two cents, but I can see what MAS are doing and I applaude them for doing it. As for Air Asia into Zurich... Maybe in the distant future. Not just now. Alex.

I reckon the fixed back Economy seat would be similar to Cathay's new product maybe...?? The A340 would definitely be a lease as it would be hard generating a profit with such low fares if it went direct from KL to London or Manchester. Potentially it could be the A340-300. Alex.

I have a 1:200 scale of the A380... It's huge the thing! Alex.

I'm in 6 I think... VS Flying Club - I have never used this one as yet. Virgin America's - I plan to head to the states next year Asia Miles - Cathay and One World, though this one isn't that great because not all classes of QF or even CX will get you miles. Gotta be careful when booking I have noticed with this. But it's my main One World Link. Enrich - I travel to Malaysia frequently and also internally I try and take MAS over Air Asia. It's better to get miles than not to in the end I see it as. KrisFlyer - The Bulk of my points have gone in here. Recently used an upgrade reward to go Penang - Sydney in Raffles and boy was that unforgettable Velocity Rewards - My preferred carrier (except Sydney - Canberra... QF is fastest) inside Australia and New Zealand, since they have EK as a member. I would use Velocity over Enrich when I travel MAS international (which should be soon) but Enrich internally because the lower classes don't get miles on Velocity. I'm thinking of joining the Frequent Flyer one from Qantas as I take them more than I do Virgin. I have bank points that I can use to redeem the fee... I have found out it's nicer dealing with Krisflyer over Asia Miles as they have a log of the actual ticket. With Asia Miles I had to send in the thing and still they didn't believe me. Alex.

That should be A330-300, MSN 054, their first A330. Don't know where the picture is from but that should be the aircraft's info. Alex.

Just thought I should also state for the record that with the addition of -MPE into the SIA fleet, SIA would have the 999th and 1000th B747 built... Who's got 1001?? Any chance SIA may take that one too? Alex.

It's a cold day here so why not! Ansett Australia - B747-300, B737-300, A320-200, Singapore Airlines - B777-300, B777-200, B747-400 Air New Zealand - B767-300, B767-200 Malaysia Airlines - B777-200, A330-300, A330-200, B737-400 Cathay Pacific - B777-300, A330-300, B747-400, China Eastern - A340-300, A319-100, A320-200 Air Asia - B737-300 Qantas - B747-400, B767-200, B767-300, B737-400, B737-800, DH8-300, Virgin Blue - B737-700, B737-800 To Come (Confirmed): DH8-400 With QantasLink Alex.