reezal

Same old story..... Brahim's-MAS catering deal "remains intact" Posted on 10 October 2012 - 10:40pm sunbiz@thesundaily.com PETALING JAYA (Oct 10, 2012): Malaysia Airlines (MAS) has backed out of plans to renegotiate its 25-year catering agreement with Brahim's Holdings Bhd, a move some quarters view as aimed at avoiding a possible financial penalty. The airline is already bogged down by operating losses to the tune of RM408.8 million in the first half of this year. A termination of the contract, which runs from 2003 to 2028, between Brahim's and MAS would have entitled Brahim's to a financial compensation from MAS. In a statement today, Brahim's said its catering agreement with MAS "remains intact" following discussions with representatives from MAS, and will proceed to reconvene an EGM that was adjourned in September after MAS had indicated its intention to renegotiate the catering deal. Shareholders were to have voted on Brahim's proposed acquisition of a 49% interest in Brahim's-LSG Sky Chefs Holdings Sdn Bhd from LSG Asia GmbH for RM130 million at the EGM, but had decided to adjourn the meeting until there was "greater clarity" on the status of its catering agreement with MAS. About 92% of Brahim's revenue comes from its contract with MAS. "We wish to inform that any operational issues will be reviewed and resolved progressively within the framework of the existing catering agreement. Brahim's will proceed with the needful to reconvene the EGM to relay its clarification with MAS to Brahim's Holdings' shareholders, that the catering agreement remains intact," the company said. SOURCE: http://www.thesundaily.my/news/512599

Malaysia's AirAsia X to suspend Iran service Posted on 8 October 2012 - 06:40pm KUALA LUMPUR (Oct 8, 2012): The long-haul arm of budget carrier AirAsia said Monday it would suspend operations to Iran, citing currency "volatility" as the carrier mounts new profitable destinations across the Asia-Pacific. Malaysia-based AirAsia X said the current four times weekly flights between Kuala Lumpur and Tehran will be suspended with the last flight on 14 October. AirAsia X said "the suspension of its services to Tehran Imam Khomeini Airport" was due to challenging economic and business conditions including the "volatility of the Iranian currency". The statement did not say when services would be resumed. Iran, which has been ruled by an Islamic theocracy since the 1979 revolution, is locked in a diplomatic stand-off with the West over its nuclear activities, which Tehran insists are entirely peaceful. Western sanctions has resulted in the plunge of Iran's currency. In a bid to rationalise its operations AirAsia X this year axed its four-weekly flights to Christchurch. It has also ceased service to London, Paris and Delhi and Mumbai. Oil-rich Iran has good ties with Malaysia. Tehran and Kuala Lumpur have been trying to grow trade relations. The airline launched flights to Iran in 2010 since Malaysia was a popular tourists destination for Iranians. AirAsia X operates nine Airbus A330-300s to 12 destinations in six countries -- Japan, Korea, Australia, China, Nepal, and Taiwan. Former record industry executive Tony Fernandes plucked ailing AirAsia from its deathbed in 2001 and quickly turned it into one of the aviation sector's biggest successes. Fernandes established a successful template for AirAsia that included flying into secondary airports in major cities, with their lower landing costs. He launched AirAsia X in 2007, to concentrate on long-haul routes of over four hours while AirAsia and its regional subsidiaries handle shorter flights. AirAsia X, which carried 2.5 million passengers last year, has targeted seven million passengers by 2014 on the back of the additional capacity. It hopes to be listed soon. – AFP SOURCE: http://www.thesundaily.my/news/510215

Berjaya Air flies to Hua Hin BANGKOK, 5 October 2012: Malaysia’s Berjaya Air will commence three-weekly service between Subang Airport, (Kuala Lumpur) and Hua Hin, 8 November. It is the first regional airline service to fly direct to Hua Hin nd will require immigration and customs services that will have to be assigned from Bangkok and paid for by the airline. The airline has yet to finalise the schedule, but it will operate three weekly flights on Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday using a 70-seat ATR72 aircraft. The airline used to operate flights to Samui, but has halted the service since last March. Current destinations are Tioman Island, Redang Island, Pangkor, Langawi in Malaysia and Singapore from its base in Subang. It will also commence a new service to Kota Bharu, near Thai-Malaysia border 28 October. SOURCE: http://www.ttrweekly...ies-to-hua-hin/

In this article, there is a mention that the Lion Air Grup with fly to Johor Bahru, anyone knows any details about it? what route and which operator (Lion Air or wings air)? Malindo rising The newest airline Malindo Airways is set to change the low-cost carrier scene with plans to create routes to Asean, China, Hong Kong, India and Japan as well as further afield to Australia and Europe. CONSUMERS want low airfares, regular flights and new planes. If you thought flights between Malaysia and Indonesia couldn’t get cheaper and more frequent: think again. Last week, Rusdi Kirana, the owner of Lion Air, Indonesia’s largest low-cost airline inked a deal with Malaysia’s National Aerospace and Defence Industries (Nadi) to form Malindo Airways. Nadi will hold 51% and Lion 49%, with the latter managing the airline. Malindo will operate out of the soon-to-be-opened KLIA2 airport and start plying Indonesia-Malaysia routes from May, 2013. It will initially operate 12 Boeing 737-900ERs and then incorporate five of the American aerospace giant’s 787-8 Dream-liners from 2015, towards having 100 planes in 10 years. Indeed, there are plans to create routes to Asean, China, Hong Kong, India and Japan as well as further afield to Australia and Europe. First off, it’s always good to see Indonesian and Malaysian businesses collaborate. Our bilateral relationship might be uneven at times, but such business-to-business ties can only bring our two countries closer together and when consumers benefit, everyone’s happy. Indeed, Pak Rusdi’s initiative is part of a wider regional trend as national champions such as ThaiBev (the brewers of Chang beer), Filipino oil refiner and retailer Petron and our very own banks, CIMB and Maybank expand across Asean. Hitherto, Indonesian business giants have been preoccupied with their own vast and rapidly growing domestic market. With Lion Air’s bold move, we can see that corporate Indonesia is beginning to survey the region for opportunities. In the case of Pak Rusdi, it’s doubly intriguing that he chose Malaysia – and not Singapore – as the base for his regional expansion. Of course, a combination of language, cost and a large Indonesian expatriate community makes this decision seem almost inevitable now. Moreover, this suggests that Malaysia is fast-becoming a better economic and business “fit” for Indonesians despite the bilateral noise. But let’s get back to Pak Rusdi who is himself a very gutsy businessman. When he first started Lion back in 2000, flying a leased aircraft between Jakarta and Pontianak, no one took this travel agent turned upstart airline entrepreneur seriously. By the end of the year however, Lion was already flying to Singapore, Kuala Lumpur and Penang. When he placed his humungous order for 230 737s with Boeing for US$21.7bil (RM67.3bil) in November, 2011, Jakarta – if not the rest of the world – sat up and took notice, especially when the deal was witnessed by US President Barack Obama. Now with over 80 planes in service and 60 destinations, Pak Rusdi’s low-cost carrier has long since eclipsed Garuda to become Indonesia’s largest domestic carrier. Indeed, according to the Wall Street Journal in 2011, some 47.9% of Indonesia’s domestic travellers flew with Lion Air and this will rise to 30 million in 2012. Not bad for a man who hasn’t reached 50 yet! With the Nadi deal, it’s clear that Pak Rusdi has plans for the international market, a sector in which South-east Asian aviation behemoth, AirAsia has been particularly strong. Indeed AirAsia now controls a 40% share of Malaysia’s international air travel (not to mention 42% of Indonesia’s). AirAsia has since embedded itself even more deeply into Indonesia with its US$80mil (RM248mil) purchase of Batavia Air in July 2012 (although according to media reports it may be reconsidering this) and supremo Tony Fernandes’ moving to Jakarta. Pak Rusdi and Tony (who has welcomed the competition) will be going head-to-head though Malindo, unlike AirAsia, will offer frills like in-flight entertainment. The market, in fact, seems eager to fuel the rivalry: AirAsia’s market capitalisation fell by RM475mil at the end of Sept 12, 2012 (one day after the announcement of Malindo) and its share price fell 5.33%. As Citi analyst Rigan Wong was quoted in the Financial Times on Sept 13, Lion Air’s expansion may weaken AirAsia’s funding source for its Indonesian expansion, disrupting its plans to go regional. Of course, it remains to be seen if Malindo can deliver: aviation is an industry whose would-be players don’t always match the PR buzz. Another interesting aspect of the competition is that AirAsia and Lion Air represent a proxy war for aviation dominance in the South-east Asian market between Airbus (AirAsia) and Boeing (Lion/Malindo). I should add that I’m a little disappointed that Pak Rusdi isn’t using his own Lion Air brand in the Malindo joint venture. Lion Air – with flights to Kuala Lumpur, Penang and Malacca (and soon to Johor Baru) – is already pretty well-known in Malaysia. Still, this has the makings of a great business rivalry — on the scale of Apple vs Microsoft or Pepsi vs Coca-Cola. There’s a new player in Malaysian aviation and my itinerant heart is glad as long as airfares remain cheap and flights are regular. Having yet another regional airline to choose to fly with is always welcome for a frequent flyer like me. SOURCE: http://thestar.com.m...41053&sec=focus

Berjaya Air plans to expand its airline operations to the Philippines. I think Berjaya should strengthen its network in Malaysia FIRST before venturing into other countries. For an airline that was formed 22-23 years ago, their network and fleet are pretty pathetic don't you think? Malaysian conglomerate to expand ventures in Philippines Malaysian conglomerate Berjaya Group is looking at airline operations, infrastructure and more property and retail businesses in the Philippines as part of its ongoing expansion in the country. “We are looking for more businesses,” said Francis Lee, Berjaya director, at the sidelines of the announcement of Berjaya’s distributorship in the Philippines of Mazda vehicles where the group has budgeted $20 million. Berjaya is currently into gaming and hotel business in the Philippines. Lee said Berjaya Air sees prospects for joint venture with local airlines including flag carrier Philippine Airlines to code share and mount passenger and cargo flights from Kuala Lumpur to Manila or Cebu, non-stop. Lee said there is more room in the airline business in the Philippines given the good prospects of tourism. Another Malaysian airline, Air Asia, is now operating in the country. “Ours is a full license in Malaysia and we can do cargo as well. We have four planes flying to our own resort in Malaysia. If there is a market, like Cebu, we can fly direct to ferry passengers out on a few days of holiday, or go for a joint venture with PAL to fly to anywhere, Manila to Kuala Lumpur and code-share. There’s a lot of possibilities,” Lee said. He said the company has not discussed any of these plans with any Filipino airline. Lee said Berjaya is also looking for joint ventures for the development of hotels that can be managed by four- to five-star brands like Four Seasons and Ritz-Carlton. Lee said Berjaya is now looking at two properties in Manila. “Land is very expensive in the Philippines. As soon as land becomes available, we are ready anytime,” said Lee. Lee said Berjaya is also looking at resorts development given its expertise in this segment of the property sector but did not give details. Berjaya has one hotel in the country, located in Makati. In infrastructure, Lee said Berjaya can also offer its expertise in environment-friendly landfill development as well as in water projects. Lee said Berjaya is poised to bring back Cosway, a chain of stores selling consumer/household items in the Philippines under an innovative multi-level marketing concept. Known as eCosway in Malaysia and a big hit in Hong Kong, the concept has caught on in 35 countries. Unlike direct selling and franchise, Cosway operates company-owned stores -– either as a stall in a department store or stand-alone store -- but is managed independently by members. Cosway shoulders the costs of operations and stocks and the member only needs to pay a small deposit for managing the store and gets share on the margins. Berjaya also plans to expand its Papa John’s chain of pizza restaurants to 100 stores within a 10-year period that started two years ago. It now has 13 branches in the country. The Berjaya Group has been operating in the Philippines for 18 years, and currently has 800 employees engaged in food and beverage, hotels, gaming and lottery management businesses. The Malaysian company is partner of billionaire Andrew Tan in the gaming business. In 2013, it would handle the distribution of Mazda vehicles in the country. SOURCE: http://www.malaya.com.ph/index.php/business/business-news/13031-malaysian-conglomerate-to-expand-ventures-in-ph

Berjaya Air used to fly to Krabi & Koh Samui. They withdrew from Samui recently, probably losing to Firefly. I think they should fly to Hua Hin since it's a new destination and no airlines from Malaysia has served this destination before.

Malindo Airways? euww...Prefer they use the name Lion AIr Malaysia.

Firefly may revive jet ops next year GEORGE TOWN: Firefly, a subsidiary of Malaysian Airline System Bhd (MAS), is believed to be returning to its jet operations as early as next year. It had to abandon its money-making routes to Sabah and Sarawak following the nowaborted MAS-AirAsia strategic collaboration exercise. Business Times has learnt that Firefly is considering Canadian aircraft maker Bombardier Aerospace as a potential aircraft supplier to diversify from its current fleet of French- Italian-made turbo-propeller planes ATR. “It is not known if Firefly will reinstate the East Malaysia routes, but other routes being considered when the community airline expands into jets are Myanmar and Vietnam,” aviation sources said. Responding to Business Times’ query, MAS Sdn Bhd (formerly known as FlyFirely Sdn Bhd) chief executive officer Ignatius Ong said: “We are looking at all turboprop options on the table which can cater to our existing network for increases in frequencies, as well as a longer range within Asean to give us more potential destinations. “I will not focus on any specific manufacturer for now until we are more finalised in our approach,” he added. MAS had, since early 2011, used Firefly to compete against AirAsia by launching competitively-priced flights from Kuala Lumpur to Sabah and Sarawak. In October last year, the national carrier said the Boeing 737-800 aircraft operated by Firefly will be redeployed into the parent company’s operations, effective December 4 2011. MAS had, at the time, cited heavy losses being incurred by Firefly’s jet operations, although the community airline’s financials such as profit and loss statements have never been disclosed by the parent company. Bombardier has been in the aerospace industry for 25 years and is touted as the world’s third largest civil aircraft manufacturer. In recent years, the aircraft maker has won more new contracts around the world after it moved beyond the production of executive jets and entered the regional jet market. SOURCE: http://www.btimes.co...icle/index_html

is this a joke or what?

Yet another airline to ply the KTM-KUL route soon. BB Airways shortens Nepal-Japan distance to seven hours KATHMANDU: BB Airways — promoted by treasurer of Non-Resident Nepalis Association Bhawan Bhatta — will start direct flights to Japan from October 13, shortening the distance between the two friendly nations to seven hours. “The airlines will fly twice a week — on Wednesdays and Saturdays — to Narita airport from Kathmandu,” said chairman of the airlines Bhatta, adding that a two-way ticket will cost around Rs 120,000. Addressing tour operators in Japan yesterday, he also urged friends of Nepal to promote the airlines as it will not only promote tourism but also open many avenues for development in Nepal. Nepal Airlines, then Royal Nepal Airlines, used to fly directly to Japan almost a decade back, but after the ailing national flag carrier stopped its direct flights to Tokyo, Japanese tourists have to travel to Nepal through a longer route that is expensive and time consuming too. Lately, the country has seen an increased flow of Japanese tourists to Nepal as Nepal is the birth place of Lord Buddha and Japanese people want to visit Nepal once in their lifetime, also due to Mt Everest, the highest mountain in the world. From January to June this year, some 11,265 Japanese — which was an increment of 18.3 per cent as compared to the same period of 2011 — visited Nepal by air. Japanese tourists shared 3.6 per cent of the total tourist arrivals to Nepal in the last six months by air. “The 202-seater 757-200 ER Boeing — that has ICAO code ‘BBW’ and IATA code ‘BO’ — with eight business class seats will start its first flight on September 13 to Kuala Lumpur from Kathmandu,” said Bhatta, adding that the airlines will also start Hong Kong and Taiwan flights in September. BB Airways has received permission to fly to Kuala Lumpur, Hong Kong, Bangkok, New Delhi, Doha, Singapore and Japan. SOURCE: http://ghalegroup.co...to-seven-hours/ BB Air to start chartered flights KATHMANDU: BB Airways –– a new Nepali international carrier –– will be starting its chartered flights from September 13 –– a month prior to the launch of their scheduled flights. The airline will commence its chartered flights to Seam Reap, Cambodia from September 13 and to Tokyo from October, informed BB Airways’ chief executive officer Hari Bhakta Shrestha during a press conference organised by the airline today. The company will start its scheduled flights to Kuala Lumpur and Hong Kong from October 11, with four flights a week to Kuala Lumpur and three to Hong Kong, he added. The fares start from Rs 36,000 for a trip from Kathmandu to Kuala Lumpur and return, and the fares from Kathmandu to Hong Kong and return starts from Rs 48,000, the company said. “We are a full-fledged carrier and have to compete with budget airlines in providing the most competitive air fares to our valued passengers,” said chairman of BB Airways Bhaban Bhatta. BB Airways will commence its flights with one Boeing 757-200, followed soon by another B757. With the arrival of our second aircraft, it will be expanding its services to Bangkok, Singapore, New Delhi and Doha. At present, it has permission to operate flights to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; Hong Kong, China; New Delhi, India; Tokyo, Japan; Doha, Qatar; Bangkok, Thailand and Singapore. SOURCE: http://www.thehimalayantimes.com/fullNews.php?headline=BB+Air+to+start+chartered+flights&NewsID=346564

I hope this THIRD attempt by Lion Air will bear fruit. I'm longing to see a new (successful) Malaysian airline which is not owned by either MAS or AirAsia. Will be cool to see Lion Air fleet at KLIA 2 soon. Wish them luck!

Maybe they should name it Tune Air Europe.

AirAsia Eyes Serbian Airline as Foothold in Europe, Novosti Says AirAsia Bhd. (AIRA), Asia’s biggest discount airline, may take over JAT Airways, Serbia’s state- owned flag carrier, Vecernje Novosti newspaper reported, citing an unidentified Serbian government official. AirAsia representatives are meeting with Serbian officials in Belgrade this week and may bid for the unprofitable airline as it may choose the Serbian capital as a regional hub for flights to Asia, the report said. SOURCE: http://www.businessw...pe-novosti-says This is somewhat interesting news, never thought they would venture into European market again!

Yet another airline (after Ethiopian & Uzbekistan Airways) to ply BKK-KUL. Iran Air W12 South East Asia Operation Changes Update at 1020GMT 31AUG12 As per 31AUG12 GDS timetable display, Iran Air in Winter 2012/13 season is changing operations to South East Asia, from 28OCT12. The airline has temporary suspended twice weekly service to Bangkok, which is currently due to resume from 28OCT12. Upon service resumption, it will extend to Bangkok service to Kuala Lumpur. Operations to the Malaysian capital will see overall 5 weekly service (3 weekly nonstop, 2 weekly 1-stop). Schedule: Tehran – Bangkok – Kuala Lumpur IR840 IKA0030 – 1040BKK1245 – 1605KUL 74L 26 IR841 KUL1750 – 1920BKK2050 – 0105+1IKA 74L 26 IR does not have local traffic rights on BKK KUL Tehran – Kuala Lumpur IR840 IKA1930 – 0750+1BKK 74L 347 IR841 KUL1120 – 1520IKA 74L 145 SOURCE: http://airlineroute..../ir-bkkkul-w12/

CEBU PACIFIC TO START CEBU-KUALA LUMPUR IN DECEMBER, this is good news indeed for KUL. CEB starts Bangkok, KL services from Cebu hub CEBU AIR Inc., operator of Cebu Pacific (CEB), will start servicing routes to Bangkok and Kuala Lumpur out of Cebu in December. In a statement yesterday, the budget airline said that starting December 8 it will launch twice weekly flights from Cebu to Bangkok, Thailand. On December 9, CEB will also launch twice weekly flights from Cebu to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Cebu Pacific currently operates four international services from Cebu--Hong Kong, Incheon and Pusan in Sout Korea and Singapore. CEB also operates 20 direct domestic flights from it Visayan hub to Manila, Bacolod, Busuanga, Cagayan de Oro, Caticlan, Clark, Davao, Dipolog, Dumaguete, General Santos, Iloilo, Legazpi, Ozamiz, Pagadian, Puerto Princesa, Siargao, Surigao, Tacloban and Zamboanga. “We are proud to launch two new international services from our Cebu hub. We look forward to providing our services to foreign tourists and overseas Filipino workers and ultimately boosting trade and tourism between Cebu, Thailand, and Malaysia,” said Candice Iyog, vice president for marketing and distribution. The airline will hold a seat sale until September 2 or until seats last. Passengers can buy P888 seats from Cebu to Bangkok or Kuala Lumpur. This is for travel from December 8 to February 28, 2013. Backpacker challenge Iyog and Clark International Airport Corp. president and CEO Victor Jose Luciano yesterday led the send-off ceremony in Clark, Pampanga 15 college students from all over the country who are participating in a travel contest. Iyog said the first leg of the contest involved tasting Pampanga’s exotic dishes—ginataang kuhol (snail), betutang palaka (frog) and spicy camaro (crickets). “They will not know what their next challenges are or their next destination,” said Iyog, who joined the teams’ next destination challenge to Cebu City, who said the contest aims to remind their passengers that travel “is fun and affordable.” The teams will also go to Ilolio, Davao City, Cagayan De Oro and Manila. CEB gave P30,000 per team and a primary objective of accomplishing the most number of fun activities in the six destinations with the least amount of money spent. The winning team will get 12 CEB tickets to any domestic or international destinations, three hotel accommodation packages and three Canon S100 cameras. SOURCE: http://businessmirro...s-from-cebu-hub

AirAsia's new Johor Bahru-Surabaya route KUALA LUMPUR: Low cost carrier, AirAsia, has unveiled a new international route from Johor Bahru to Surabaya, Indonesia with the first flight to start this October. In a statement today, the airline said the new route marked another enhancement to its extensive route network. In conjunction with the launch of the new route, AirAsia said it will offer promotional fares from as low as RM129 one way from Johor Bahru to Surabaya. There will be four flights a week on the route -- on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays. Booking period is from tomorrow, August 29 until September 4, with the travel period from October 19 this year to May 22 next year. The airline also operates low fare domestic flights from Johor Bahru to Kuala Lumpur (two times daily), Penang (two times daily), Kota Kinabalu (11 times weekly), Kuching (two times daily), Sibu (four times weekly) and Miri (three times weekly). -- BERNAMA SOURCE: http://www.nst.com.m...route-1.130475# Anyone knows who would operate this route, AK or QZ?

They already demolished the International Terminal (Terminal 1) many years ago, and built some modern aerospace exhibition building or something. Did you mean terminal 2?

Mahan Air Starts Tehran – Kuala Lumpur Service by JL Update at 1020GMT 17AUG12 Iran’s Mahan Air on 14AUG12 has launched Tehran – Kuala Lumpur service, on board Airbus A310 aircraft. This is the carrier’s third route to Kuala Lumpur, with twice weekly flights, although the airline’s website is only displaying one weekly service. Schedule: W5083 IKA2355 – 1200+1KUL 310 2 W5082 KUL1400 – 1930IKA 310 3 SOURCE:http://airlineroute.net/2012/08/17/w5-ikakul-aug12/

Found this article in an indonesian portal news sites. It seems CZ is ready to fly scheduled services to BKI from CAN, twice weekly starting October 31st. Not sure which type of B737 a/c. CHINA SOUTHERN TO START SCHEDULED SERVICES TO KOTA KINABALU Maskapai penerbangan China Southern kemarin (16/8) mengumumkan rencana untuk membuka jalur penerbangan langsung dari Guangzhou ke Kinabalu, negara bagian Sabah, Malaysia. Sementara itu China Southern juga akan menambah penerbangan ke Kuala Lumpur. Penerbangan ke Guangzhou-Sabah dari China Southern itu akan mulai beroperasi pada 31 Oktober mendatang, dengan frekuensi dua penerbangan seminggu menggunakan pesawat Boeing-737. Mulai dari 21 September, China Southern akan menambah frekuensi penerbangan antara Guangzhou dan Kuala Lumpur menjadi tiga kali sehari. SOURCE: http://indonesian.cri.cn/201/2012/08/17/1s130501.htm

Firefly may revive jet operations Turboprop operator Firefly could revive plans to bring jets back to its fleet, says its chief executive officer Ignatius Ong. He adds that the carrier will definitely consider going back to jet operations but is currently working with MAS to decide on the best strategy for the whole group. Firefly had briefly operated Boeing 737s but its parent Malaysia Airlines (MAS) took over last year as part of a plan to "realign the group's businesses". The decision came after a share swap agreement made with AirAsia last August to stop almost 10 years of acrimonious competition. The deal, however, was terminated in April this year. There have also been talks to convert Firefly into a true low-cost carrier to take on competition in the market segment, but any decision will only be made after MAS returns to profitability, says Ong. Firefly, which operates a fleet of 12 ATR72-500s from its bases in Subang and Penang, will focus on growing its network and increasing its load factor for now. Ong's aim is for the carrier's load factor to hit 95%. He hopes that the carrier will dominate short-haul point-to-point routes popular with businessmen and tourists. It launched new services on the Kota Bahru-Singapore and Penang-Koh Samui routes this month, and is also increasing frequencies on several others. He believes there is room to grow in Malaysia, especially in Johor, where the Iskandar development project is expected to bring much traffic with it. When asked about competitors like AirAsia, Ong says Firefly offers "a different product proposition". He adds: "Malaysia has a population of 27 million. We can accommodate a couple more airlines if we need to. We will face up to the challenge." The carrier is keen to be a launch customer for ATR's new generation 90-seater turboprop, which is still in works, and is in talks with the manufacturer now. "We'll need to make an order within the next two to three years. The larger aircraft will also allow us to add capacity without adding frequency, which is good for services to destinations like Singapore where slots are limited," says Ong. SOURCE:http://www.flightglo...rations-375450/

AIR CHINA TO DROP KUALA LUMPUR After Gulf Air and Jet Airways, now Air China's turn to drop KLIA. I'm intrigued why these airlines couldn't make KUL work. I wonder who's next. Lufthansa? Air China South East Asia Routes Cancellations Aug/Oct 2012 by JL Update at 0700GMT 01AUG12 Air China in between August 2012 and October 2012 will cancel 2 routes to South East Asia. From 27AUG12, the Star Alliance member will cancel Xiamen – Singapore (originates to/from Beijing) andBeijing – Kuala Lumpur service will be cancelled from 09OCT12. Existing schedules: Beijing – Xiamen – Singapore CA957 PEK1400 – 1635XMN1745 – 2200SIN 738 x136 CA958 SIN0815 – 1220XMN1330 – 1605PEK 738 x247 CA operated Xiamen – Singapore sector for over 20 years Beijing – Kuala Lumpur CA971 PEK1545 – 2200KUL 757 x146 CA972 KUL2340 – 0600+1PEK 757 x146 SOURCE:http://airlineroute....08/01/ca-aug12/

Air India’s pilots roster to be reviewed next week NEW DELHI, JULY 28: The Ministry of Civil Aviation will review Air India’s need for pilots next week. The Union Minister for Civil Aviation, Mr Ajit Singh, has asked the airline to update the Ministry on how many pilots they would require, both in the near as well as long term, official sources said. “The Government is keen to find out how many pilots of the erstwhile Indian (Airlines) will be flying the Boeing 787 aircraft and whether the vacancy created by flying these big jets will be filled by other pilots in the airline, or hired Indian or expatriate pilots. All these issues are likely to be flagged at the review meeting,” a senior Government official said. Three planes — of the 27 Boeing 787 aircraft that the airline had ordered — are expected to join its fleet by mid-August. The induction of the aircraft, which has been delayed by over four years, is expected soon after the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs gives it nod to the compensation that Air India is seeking from Boeing for delayed deliveries. The compensation package has already been approved by a Group of Ministers headed by the Home Minister, Mr P Chidambaram. The airline plans to utilise the Boeing 787 aircraft to expand its international operations. For the first eight weeks after its arrival, the Boeing 787 aircraft will be utilised on domestic routes. But, from October end, the airline plans to utilise the Boeing 787 to launch a daily flight on the Delhi-Melbourne-Sydney sector. This will be a new route for Air India. The airline also plans to use the aircraft to launch a daily flight to Kuala Lumpur. ashwini.phadnis@thehindu.co.in SOURCE: http://www.thehindub...rue&ref=wl_home According to this article, Air India would utilize B787 for the planned DEL-KUL flight. I guess AI would be the first carrier to operate the dreamliner to KLIA. Cool.

Firefly is such a good, known and recognizable brand, and why would you kill a good brand? Only MORONS would do that, where we have A LOT in MAS management now.

Didn't see this coming but this news is quite interesting... AirAsia to Buy Control of Batavia AirAsia, the region’s biggest budget carrier, is set to buy control of Indonesia’s Batavia Air as it moves to boost its business in the country, which has the largest population in Southeast Asia. Audrey Progastama Petriny, the communication manager of Malaysia-based AirAsia, said AirAsia and Batavia Air would sign the acquisition deal in Jakarta today. “This is serious. Friends in media are all invited to cover the signing of the agreement,” she said in a text message. The signing is scheduled to take place on the eighth floor of the Ritz-Carlton Jakarta, Pacific Place, Audrey said without providing any further details, including the value of the deal. Dharmadi, the president director of Indonesia AirAsia, will announce the details of the deal today, Audrey said. Yudiawan Tansari, the owner of Batavia Air, confirmed that AirAsia was buying control of his airline. “This is a purely business to business transaction,” he said in a text message. Yudiawan, though, said the acquisition would go through several steps. “The first step will the signing,” he said, declining to elaborate on the other steps. Batavia Air currently has 33 aircraft in its fleet, consisting of 15 Boeing B737-300s, nine Boeing B737-400s, one Boeing B737-500s, one Airbus A321, five Airbus A320s and two Airbus 330s. Batavia Air owns 18 of the planes, while the remainder are leased by the carrier. AirAsia has grown rapidly since former record industry executive Tony Fernandes bought the failing airline in 2001. SOURCE: http://www.thejakart...-batavia/532660

Read somewhere online, PAL (with a new owner and management team) is keen on resuming flights to KLIA in the near future, though not sure this year or next year. I think SEAir will also add Kuala Lumpur next year when they receive new aircraft.