Nik H.

Hilarious BC....... But seriously, this over the top coverage of trivial incidents which are also happening to other airlines on a daily basis make me sympathetic of the QF personel.

Hajj flights pax numbers are divided 50-50 between a Malaysian appointed operator ( MAS ) and the Saudi appointed operator ( SV ). In the case of Saudi, its business first then service. In the case of MH, I'd like to think that we put both on equal priority. As for the fun bit, I think the Hajj operation out of TGG will generate an air of Festivity during the flight period in TGG. The people going to and returning from the Hajj will be celebrated at their own doorstep. I advised the State Govt that there will be a small but significant economic contribution to the local traders during that period as 1 Hajj pax is normally sent off and recieved by 10 relatives at least. Everyone stands to benefit when we do these flights ex TGG. Then there are the savings in both time and money for those pilgrims who would otherwise have to travel to KL to catch their flights. For these kampong folks a saving of RM100 is a big deal, and I'm certain that it will not be RM 100 they will save, but much more. Then there's the intangibles.......

There's a long list of Widebody support equipment that's already drawn up, right down to the minutest details. Precision timings are already drawn up.

Fuel will be from Kerteh. 'Proper' fuelling facilities will be dependent on Petronas. There must be sufficient demand all year round to justify fuel supply to be stored and facilities Return of Investment for Petronas. Food will be ex Jeddah with contingency and dry supplies from TGG.

Fuel management and storage requirements for aviation is of a better standard I'd guess. A/C for TGG Hajj flights will be planned to be ex-JED to avoid wasteful ferry legs. No fuel for fuel will be carried ex JED as it will. Three tankers will be required to fill up a B744 for the JED run, and we were promised tankers with a trailer dolly to meet the fuelling requirements in the available time. It has to be really 'splash and dash'.

Bit too late I can see it already.... Success - " We did it " Fail - " Nik Screwed it up " C'est la vie....

When MASCharter took over the Hajj movement of Hajj flights in 2003, the movements were divided into regions; BKI for Sabah, KCH for Sarawak in East Malaysia. For Peninsula, PEN serves the North West, JHB serves the South and KUL the central and East Coast. With TGG online, the Regions are complete. TGG will serve Kelantan, Terengganu and Northern Pahang. All Hajj de2parture points in Peninsula Malaysia are within 2 1/2 hours driving radius and as such, there will eventually be no requirements for 'feeder' flights. More pilgrims will enjoy savings as there will be less expenditure for departures and arrivals. As for fuel,-TGG will not have a 'fuel farm' nor underground storage tanks. For the Hajj, Petronas promised a minimum of two tankers and I was led to understand they will also install 'skid' tanks at the airport. They have also guaranteed that the refuelling rate must be capable of filling up of at least 110 tons of fuel within 90 minutes.

BC, true about external influences at play, but the 'force' is strong and the airport MUST be ready in time to avoid catastrophic disruption to the National Hajj movement. It will be a nailbiter for my team but we have faith.... DCA has promised calibration will be done in time for the Hajj movement. AIC will be issued soon.

Correction. It should read; No. The B777 are not reserved for Tgg Hajj Ops. For this year's Hajj movement, the B777 are being used to supplement capacity for the KUL-JED VV sector only. Operating the Hajj ex TGG using B777 is not in line with Hajj business plan. There will also be slot capacity limitation into Jeddah.

They have to ensure its finished within the stipulated time as we've explicitly warned those involved ( JKR, MAHB & DCA primarily ) that if the TGG Hajj plans does not come through, the intergrity of the whole Hajj Operation will be jeapordised as all scheduling applications and aircraft / Crew rotation plans are based on TGG Opns after the commitment given by all parties in a recent meeting. 82 Days to the 1st Hajj Flight and counting.

No. The B777 are not reserved for TGG ops. The B777 are being used to supplement capacity ex KUL only. Its either the B747-400 or nothing. Operating the Hajj on B777 is not in line with hajj business plan and there will be slot capacity limitation into Jeddah. No. Option for refuelling at KUL or PEN will upset delicately planned financial margins apart from imposing restrictions on crew FTL. Total capacity will also be affected as rotation cycles will invariably be reduced.

9 B744 flights beginning 16 November 2008. 3195 Pilgrims to be carried. Subject To: a. Runway Extension Completion. b. Category 9 Upgrade c. Fuelling Facilities meeting MH specs. d. NavAids calibration. We've been promised completion by 15th August. We are targeting 15th Sept for actual completion, a 1 month buffer period. We are preparing for the worst but hoping for the best. We're keeping a close eye on the progress to ensure that no blame falls on MasCharters if the others fail to deliver. So far it looks good.

Nothing sinister nor suspicious......I have not known a Pilot who simply lands with no regard to Pax comfort. Everyone of them aim for a good smooth landing and in the best of circumstances will mostly achieve it. There could be a reason or two why you experienced what in your judgement were hard landings...

Nice recovery statement. Another knock at MH. And the aircraft was accepted by QF and flew all the way to OZland and thereafter 95 defects surfaced following line operations? Scary QF, scary.... Radzi, you too must be flying B737s with 95 defects daily as well eh...and the girls should be geting electric shocks all the time then.... Anyway the effects of the undercarriage door not being fully flushed on the B737 will manifest in high cabin noise level especially in the front, not so much at the rear cabin. Aircraft with such problem cannot fly at normal cruising speed as it is limited by gear extension speed. On the B737 Gear extension and gear extended speed are quite different.

Adrian, i did not mean you in the last statement about generalisation. I was referring to the general tone of some of the others who alluded to such on this thread. I quoted you to clarify your highlights about the 'high standards' of aviation there. Back to topic, Ian Woods is the Pilot Union/Association President and his statement has undertones of a typical Unionist. I was there before and walked the same path 10 years ago.

In all fairness, Australian Aviation standards ARE higher than the required minimum standards for Airline compliance globally. But then again, so it is in Malaysia. At least for MH, our standards also far exceed the minimum required as laid out by our DCA, which is in itself higher than ICAO. The variable is in the self enforcement of these standards. While I do not appreciate what was said by the 'Senior QF Pilot' I do not think it is fair to generalise all Aussies as such. He is probably a poor uninformed lackey.

Aaaaaaah....keyboard warriors......no wonder so daring wan.....

The plane meant for the Chelsea flight this evening is delayed out of AMS just now so the replacement aircraft will only sport a Chelsea Logo behind door 1 and wil be landing KLIA around 1800hrs Sunday 27th July 2008. The B777 for Moscow will have a full Asia Tour livery but dep is at 0100 July 30th. Thanks for the well wishes. I'm just an instrument of the Charter Staff and Cabin Crew. THEY deserve the accolades, not me.

I surely hope the Senior QF pilot was not misquoted about him mentioning Malaysia in his statement. If he really said that, I'd like to sue his pants off. Our planes and Pilots are good enough for Households of Saudi Royalty, Our own PM, and even the top Football teams of the World and many other top High Net worth individuals. Even the Financial big wigs of the Singapore Government usde Mh Charter Services riding on Malaysian planes. Ex President Clinton too flew on our old B737-400 three years ago from SIN to BWN when he chartered our planes. If the planes are in such state, Real Madrid, Barcelona, Man Utd and now Chelsea would not dare put their whole team on board. Especially Manchester Utd after their accident in Munich where half the team were decimated. While we do the maintenance, the planes were subjected to QF quality control when it was signed off after work completion. I hope this is not typical of Aussies as I have great respect for them. In fact, many were my F/Os when they lost their job in the great strike of 89 and flew for MH. Most wrer good pilots, almost as good as the Malaysian F/Os that I flew with then. How BLOODY shallow.

The Girls insisted they try Satay, our signiture dish...... They all loved it...... Crew Pax Report : " Disciplined, Undemanding, Friendly and Charming...... " Happy Passenger the Senior Chief Purser with the Manager/Coach GO CHELSEA

The Plane Boarding at Gatwick for Guangzhou Meeting the Pilots This Player has a License and is a Plane Buff Settling In Change into Customised Pyjamas, ready for Satay.......

Sidetrack; the girls are all from Charters. I was one of those who thought the colors were too loud and ugh when it was shown to me during the the 'think tank' process. But on second thoughts, I have to say it did not end up too bad. So far comments were based on 2d pictures of the totally unoccupied cabin. With the passengers on board, sitting on the seat, the loud colors are muted by the random colors of passenger clothes, and the result is actually better than before. So in that sense, in my humble opinion, it is a change for the better at minimal expenditure.

Steve, I understand how you feel. But I think your statement (bold) belongs to a Pilot forum and not this aviation forum as only a few here are those with real cockpit experience, and hence can never relate to the environment Pilots work in.

I thought the Gahmen oredi get a discount on MH from before. Anyway, the preferred route of travel by the Gahmen is via their Travel Agents, and not direct to MH. There's more to the story than just what meets the eye.

Malaysian spoken english, or English Malaysian style. Or Mangled English.