JuliusWong

Actually the list is pretty impressive: China Spring Airlines India Air-India Express Goair IndiGo JetLite Jet Konnect Kingfisher Red Spicejet Indonesia Batavia Air Citilink Indonesia AirAsia Lion Air Japan Air Next Hokkaido International Airlines (Air Do) JAL Express Skymark Airlines Skynet Asia Airways StarFlyer Republic of Korea Air Busan Eastar Jet Jeju Air Jin Air T'way Airlines Malaysia AirAsia AirAsia X Firefly Pakistan Air Blue Shaheen Air Philippines Airphil Express Cebu Pacific Spirit of Manila Airlines Zest Airways Sri Lanka Mihin Lanka Singapore Jetstar Asia Airways Tiger Airways Valuair Thailand Nok Air Orient Thai Airlines Thai AirAsia Vietnam Jetstar Pacific Australia Jetstar Airways Tiger Airways Australia Air Australia Lots of potential......

It would turn out to be one of the worst kept secret...similar to Virgin Australia's livery....(which I find delightful, btw).....Come on, QF, who do you want to marry?? MH-AK or Singapore? But isn't AirAsia Japan competing with QF's Jetstar Japan?? Wow, this aviation thing is getting too complicated. Don't think ANA and JAL are very happy their partner is jumping into bed with others.....

Another bite the dust.....

To be fair, you can't blame TF from pulling out certain route which were not making profit at all. Air Asia Group is a private entity that is answerable to all shareholders. Looking back on the list of terminated route ost of them are terminated due to commercial reasons. Below are the list and reasoning we had have heard. Asia East Asia People's Republic of China - Haikou, Xiamen- Haikou: limited freqency. XMN: High operating costs, limited load factor and a price war with Thai Airways International, shift aircraft to BKK-HCM and BKK-CGK, both have better economic propositions. South Asia Bangladesh - Dhaka- Yield was low due to intense competition. Worse off, AK fired their GSA as they didn't take their job seriously. AK searched for replacement but couldn't find any. Biman Bangladesh Airlines, GMG Airlines, Malaysia Airlines and United Airways all jostle with one another for a slice of the pie India - Hyderabad, Thiruvanthapuram- Turnaround time and flight duration are too long for sustainable profit Southeast Asia Indonesia - Batam, Manado- Frequency is too low for profits. Both dropped to focus on more high yielding routes Malaysia - Ipoh,Kuantan- Low yielding routes....who would go all the way to LCCT to take these flight? FY would be a better choice. KTMB or bus well. Thailand - Bangkok - Don Mueang, Khon Kaen, Ranong- Again low yielding routes, DMK closed down Southwest Asia United Arab Emirates - Abu Dhabi- Who can fight EK, EY and QR nowadays?? Europe United Kingdom - London-Stansted- Move over to Gatwick Air Asia rather spend the money of routes that are churning big profit for them rather than wasting money on unprofitable route or route with low yield. Mistaken learnt, action taken. Air Asia Group think fast, act fast....unlike MH, slow like garden snail...now dying a slow death.....even with Government bailing out time after time.

TF is starting a war..... Facebook status: Tony Fernandes To all Malaysians. Airasia has made flying affordable for all. Before it was just for the rich. We won't allow Malaysian airports to keep wasting money and increase charges for you. We will fight. Our campaign starts tomorrow. Like · · Share · 102 192 · 5 minutes ago via mobile ·

AMR posted $24.7 billion in assets and $29.6 billion in debt, so even though they have cash in the bank, their liabilities outweigh their assets. http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-1...york-as-talks-with-pilots-end.html Btw, the title is a bit misleading, its bankruptcy protection= Chapter 11. Immediate bankruptcy = direct liquidation is Chapter 7. Seems like OneWorld alliance is plagued with problems this year. Hope 2012 is a better year for them.

Malaysia 'should' purchase another batch of Russian jets, so that we can send another 'can-or-not' aka astronaut up to Moon this time~~~~

Thanks again and again Keith for your marvelous photos!

Well remember during the first press conference MAHB CEO said: "We will see some delays here and there. but we will get there EVENTUALLY!!" Look like most of us who predicted major delays when KLIA2 idea was first mooted has finally come true~~~~ MAHB like any GLCs blame everyone but themselves, much like MH keeps blaming oil price and European financial turmoil!! Hello, your neighbours up North and South are recording profit although smaller than last year's. Worse still your neighbour across the Straits of Malacca is expanding as well... Others learn to cope with current issues, Malaysia's GLC push the blame to others, memang boleh lar.......

Wednesday, November 23, 2011 Biman adds another Boeing Thursday BSS, Dhaka The second Boeing 777-300ER aircraft joins the fleet of Biman Bangladesh Airlines Thursday as Boeing has completed preparation to deliver this fourth generation new aircraft. Boeing delivered the first to Biman in October under a $1.2 billion sales agreement signed in 2008. As per the agreement, the US aviation industry will supply ten brand-new aircrafts, including four Boeing 777-300ERs, four Boeing 787-8 and two Boeing 737-800 NG aircrafts. With the joining of this second Boeing airplane, Biman's fleet strength increases to 16. The deliveries of next two 777-300ERs are scheduled for 2013. Boeing 777-300ER has a capacity of carrying 419 passengers in two class configurations. With the advent of Boeing 777s, Biman's ageing DC-10s will be phased out gradually. "These two aircraft deliveries are a major milestone for Biman Bangladesh and Boeing and a sign of growing US-Bangladesh economic relationship, said a press release issued Wednesday by the US Embassy in Dhaka. "Boeing is supplying the aircraft as part of a long-term fleet renewal programme that aims to modernise Bangladesh's national carrier," it said. Delivery of new 777-300ER will usher in a new era of commercial aviation for the nation, according to the Biman Bangladesh Airlines. The state airline introduced non-stop services to London, Manchester, Rome, Milan and Kuala Lumpur with the newly procured Boeing 777 from November 2, 2011. The 777-300ER brings new twin-engine efficiency to the Biman's long-haul fleet. The airplane is powered by General Electric GE90-115BLs, the world's largest and most powerful commercial jet engines. According to Biman, the Boeing 777-300ER is 19 percent lighter than its closest competitor, greatly reducing its fuel requirement. It produces 22 percent less carbon dioxide per seat and costs 20 percent less to operate per seat. The airplane can seat up to 365 passengers in a three-class configuration and has a maximum range of 7,930 nautical miles (14,685 km). The 777 family is the world's most successful twin-engine, twin-aisle airplane. Source: http://www.thedailystar.net/newDesign/latest_news.php?nid=33896 BG is on good track to improving their fleet and on time performance. Sadly the one last airline to fly time-machine DC-10 is retiring theirs...a dark day for aviation enthusiasts...

Agree with Kenneth. The situation in Sarawak now is really____________(fill in the blank with most appropriate word as you like). Cebu Pacific forgot to mention Brunei. Can't believe 5J has expanded so much over the years from predominantly domestic carriers in early days. Now they covers most major cities of Asia.

Yeap, it went to Batavia Air after a short spell with Mafira Air. The full status of her is as below: Aircraft History REG OPB DATE COMMENTS PH-ZCC Fokker 1981-05-20 Re-registered N512 Altair Airlines 1981-05-22 N512 Empire Airlines 1983-06-01 N512 Piedmont Airlines 1986-05-01 Merged N495US USAir 1989-04-05 Merged PH-ZCC Southern Cross Aviation 1996-12 9M-AMZ Mafira Air Charter S 1997-09-13 9M-AMZ Pelangi Air 1999-03 Leased 9M-AMZ Mafira Air Charter S 2000-01 Returned PK-KFD Bali International Air Service 2000-06 PK-YCM Batavia Air Sadly, she was scrapped few years back after flying for 25 years. Radzi Desa caught her few years back when she did Jakarta-Pontianak-Kuching vv: http://www.airliners.net/photo/Batavia-Air/Fokker-F-28-4000-Fellowship/0484997/ Judging from the interior photo, it looks very spacious http://www.airliners.net/photo/Batavia-Air/Fokker-F-28-4000-Fellowship/0878464/&sid=b5eaeb0d750ba735f35b0573070b9506..gotta love those cushion seats, instead of padding nowadays!!

As a Sarawakian, I feel d*** sad for my home state! Being the most resources-rich yet in terms of air connectivity and road, we are the among the poorest.

At this rate, QR will be par with EK soon..although the latter is expanding at the same rate as well. EK received two B777s in space of two/ three days few months back. Astonishing!!! Agree. MH used to fly to a lot of exotic destinations: Davao, Zamboanga City, Madrid, Busan, Honolulu(!!), Munich.....the list is long. Zagreb was more for prestigious reason. Mahathir was best friends of the ex PM of Croatia. Other reason was because of all the peacekeeping soldiers in post war Zagreb and there are a lot of Australians of Croatian ancestry thus O&D markets for MH.

I agree with Albert. Al Baker is the HOT honcho now in aviation aside from Tim Clark of EK. Slews of new orders and new airport@Doha.... Remember Singapore will do anything to defend its dominant position in competitive Asia airports, no matter what, even to extend of sacrificing SQ itself.....

Thanks for the update, nastar. He is back in his home country. Supposedly he will churn out more routes to China.

Not sure about the B777 engine painting. As for so many diverse airlines at Sydney Airport, since it is a flight restricted airport especially at night, a lot of airlines flew in early morning and will leave before midnight of the day. Usually most biggies airline dispatch more than an aircraft to uplift most numbers of pax it can. Also the some of the reasons why Qantas is now 'rapped' left, right and center for falling int'l pax numbers.

Thanks Keith for the pix. They better be fixing AirAsia A320 9M-AFM, this aircraft is falling apart, most things are holding together with duct tape last time I flew in it! Perhaps the rainstorm.......

From Skyliner-de: Airbus A320-214 4917 D-ABFX Air Berlin delivery 15nov11 XFW-VIE-AUH-XSP, all white, sold to Air Asia ex D-AVVP Man, this girl sure flew far....its an 214 same as the first five AF* series.

Thanks Albert for the update. Congrats on Peach Aviation. Very attractive livery! Japan aviation industry is certainly getting more competitive with many players. Airports in Japan were known to be one of the most expensive to operate from, especially HND and NRT. Skymark, Air Asia Japan and Jetstar Japan will also be using A320. Airbus can finally gain a foothold in Boeing-dominated Japan. There are many airlines in Japan, especially provincial airlines: LOW COST CARRIER Peach + Air Japan- Kansai International Airport, Izumisano, Japan- A320 Air Do- Sapporo, Hokkaidō, Japan- B737 and B767 AirAsia Japan- Narita International Airport- A320 and A330 JAL Express- Osaka International Airport- B737-800NG Skymark Airlines- Tokyo International Airport, Kobe Airport- B737-800NG and soon A380 Solaseed Air-Miyazaki, Miyazaki Prefecture Airport- B737-800NG StarFlyer- Kitakyushu Airport- A320 Jetstar Japan- Haneda/ Narita/ Kansai (unconfirmed)- A320, A330 and B787 DOMESTIC CARRIERS JAL: Hokkaido Air System- Okadama Airport-Saab 340B J-Air - Osaka International Airport, Bombardier CRJ-200, Embraer 170 Japan Air Commuter- Kagoshima Airport, Bombardier Dash 8, Saab 340B Japan Transocean Air-Naha Airport, B737-400 Ryukyu Air Commuter- Naha, Okinawa Prefecture- Bombardier Dash 8 ANA: Air Nippon- Tokyo International Airport- B737-500, B737-700, B737-800, Bombardier Dash 8 Air Nippon Network- Tokyo International Airport in Ōta- Bombardier Dash 8 ANA Wings- Tokyo International Airport- B737-500 and Bombardier Dash 8 Airtransse- Hakodate Airport- Raytheon Beech 1900D Airliner Amakusa Airlines- Amakusa Airfield-Bombardier Dash 8 and Eurocopter Dauphin Fuji Dream Airlines- Shizuoka Airport- Embraer 170 and Embraer 175 Ibex Airlines- Sendai Airport- Bombardier CRJ-100LR, Bombardier CRJ-200ER and Bombardier CRJ700 NextGen New Central Airlines- Ryūgasaki Airfield in Ryūgasaki, Ibaraki Prefecture- Britten-Norman BN2B-20 Islander and Dornier 228-212 Oriental Air Bridge- Nagasaki Airport and in Ōmura, Nagasaki Prefecture- Bombardier Dash 8 Q200 INTERNATIONAL CARRIERS JAL- Narita International Airport Tokyo International Airport (Haneda Airport) Kansai International Airport Osaka International Airport B737-800, B767-300, B767-300ER, B777-200, B777-200ER, B777-300, B777-300ER, B787-8 and MD-90-30 ANA- Narita International Airport Tokyo International Airport (Haneda Airport) Osaka International Airport (Itami Airport) Kansai International Airport A320-200, B737-700, B737-700ER, B747-400D, B767-300, B767-300ER, B777-200, B777-200ER, B777-300, B777-300ER, B787-8 and Mitsubishi MRJ90 Many airlines, many fleet types, spotters heaven...

There are only three toilets on B737-800 though....

Thanks for the updates guy. Been busy not follwing any news. This seems like second WAU to me. MH is moving their HQ again and again. like nomads. MH is finally cutting EZE, CPT, and JHB, an idea originally mooted in 2002 WAU. During that period, politicians were up in arms, saying MH will lose its 'prestigiousness'!! Remember NY episode? DXB is clearly a sad loss for MH, all thanks to EK's dominance. I presume tickets to DXB will shoot across the roof once MH pulls out of the market. Sadly, KK is yet being cut again. How many times MH needs to be "slapped" before they REALLY know that to use KK as a hub is not viable without any proper shot to long term plan?? Any job cut?? MH is too bloated...

ANA Boeing 787 Has Landing Gear Problem November 7, 2011 Boeing and All Nippon Airways (ANA) are investigating a landing gear problem on the 787 Dreamliner, the first technical glitch reported since the new jet entered service less than two weeks ago, the airline said on Monday. Pilots on the first of two aircraft delivered so far to ANA were forced to deploy the landing gear using a manual backup system, after an indicator lamp suggested the wheels were not properly down. They landed at Okayama at the second attempt following the incident which happened on Sunday, the airline said. "We are not yet sure what the problem was, but we are investigating," an airline spokesman said, adding that Boeing is also involved in the investigation. Kyodo news agency linked the problem to a hydraulic valve. A Boeing spokesman in Europe said: "We are aware of this matter and are on site in Japan with ANA offering whatever assistance they require." The 787 is a lightweight aircraft built mainly of carbon composites designed to save fuel. It was delivered in September after three years of production delays and made an inaugural flight on October 26 from Tokyo to Hong Kong followed by regular services from November 1. ANA has said it will fly the aircraft domestically on a trial basis before putting it on international routes. The incident comes days after a Boeing 767 landed on its belly in Warsaw after the landing gear failed to deploy. The wheels-up landing was hailed as a miraculous escape for 230 people on board, but aviation experts say such incidents are relatively rare. There are have been 10 accidents involving stuck landing gear since 2000, none of them fatal, according to a database run by the Flight Safety Foundation. The landing gear for the 787 is made by Messier-Dowty. Parent Safran declined to comment. (Reuters) Source: http://news.airwise.com/story/view/1320710182.html

Nice catch, Hon Kit! I think Thomas Cook is cutting three A330s from its fleet. All three are heading towards Canada's Air Transat. Skyliner.de reports: Airbus A330-243 309 OY-VKF Thomas Cook Scandinavia ferried 06nov11 MAN-SZB after summer-lease to TCX ex G-CSJS Another headed to Abu Dhabi: Airbus A330-243 427 G-OJMB Thomas Cook Airlines ferried 01nov11 LGW-AUH, for AirTransat ex F-WWYH

Adui~~ yea...just saw it recently. Thanks Keith. My brain is falling part day by day. Perhaps there is a chance of upgrading. Fingers crossed. Btw, all four ex-TH MD-11 are now back alive. I flew into SIN two weeks back. The maintenance area was chocked with FedEx MD-11 and A310s.