Ruiz Razy

Typical of MH! , Tho' they've decided to change, the fact remains , since the inception of MH, the replacement wud be done once these birds r really old and antique ( 732s, F27s, D10... after 20 years!) . Unlike .... ( u know who) every 5 - 7 years tukar! better still, they managed to sell at higher price when these birds r still in demand. To add further to the injury, this time is worse: 738s n 33Es after for so long of thinking. Those days MH 734s ( got theirs about 3 years after the 1st 734 rolled out), MH 735s ( got theirs about 1 1/2 years after the 1st 735 rolled out) , MH 330s ( got theirs within 1 year after the 1st rolled out), MH 772ERs ( got theirs within 1 year after the 1st 772ERs introduced) and MH 744s ( got theirs within 1 year after the 1st delivered to SQ) and these were basically the first few out of the factories , in some cases as launching customers. effectively the WOW factor were there. My concern wud b when MH got their 33Es, others begin to have 788s and maybe within 2 -3 years after 738s being introduced the new code C narrow body replacement wud be rolled out by the two giant makers. Unless of course MH intends to use these new aircraft for just 4 - 5 years. ....I don't think this wud easily be translated as having the edge over the others.

Yeah.... We could have SZB ala KLIA only if the decision makers controlled the surroundings of SZB like KLIA. i.e. No Tropicana, Saujana ,....etc. Lets hope that we shall not make such errors at KLIA , otherwise another airport for KUL by 2050?

Malaysia, Thailand , Indonesia and Vietnam R in for the Reds...what's next? Philippines will be the next logical move .

looks more like a cover up . Wud think more of low demand as the main reason. Not surprised! Basic maths , 5 flights with say 300 - 400 seater aircraft for a population base of AUH ( say just over 1 million ) with 2 markets of rich locals and workers ( remember large of them from the Sub Indian Continent) ...... would obviously translate ...almost no market perhaps?

MH better take note! IMHO this would be the minimum expectations on MH new 388 and 333E. However, realisticly from business experience; Malaysians expect first class for the price of low cost or FOC ! If this products are implemented , acheiving good yield would still remain difficult.

IMHO, I think D7's CHC plan is a spontaneuos response to MH intention's to open 2 city in NZ.

Excellent, Now the WAU is expending again . Of course the hardware and software must remain comparable and better than others to attrach better yields and market share. BTW, any plans to reinstate MFM, NGO, DRW ....etc.

The last reference to KPI is an interesting issue. IMHO, it is sad to c the present KPI's r financially driven and centred to the "present P & L performances" and does not support the "what ifs"...such as long term implications such as CSR, Environment , long term planning and growth ...etc. ....this obviously includes purchasing of equipment ( like aircraft, vassels or building) , which may be obsolute / outdated by the time they r ready in operation..... for the sake of saving some current $$$$ with hefty discounts. Is just like buying a car for yourself. Would u buy say a Honda Civic or BMW 325 at the end of production or wait for the next model .... even if it's slightly expensive,but u know that u the newer models r better products and more attractive? Mind u aircraft purchase is worse as airlines r in stiff competition n the one with simply the best products wins.

"Great, but...the 738s are for MH, a commercial entity. Not 738s for Brunei's Sultan's Flight or the UAE's royal fleet." The problem here if it's purely "commercial" and in Malaysian context, ... we will most likely end up with "those awfull J seats on leased MH738!"- AK style single class economy seats; furthermore these 17 minimum have been in placed on several leading airlines today. Y can't MH lead and b innovative? or are they just "pak turut" ? FYI, MH used to be innovative and were the leaders in the 1980s n 1990s. 34" EYCL seats plus let us not forget that MH was the first to introduce IFE ( initially at premier cabins) in the far East ( of course this were shortly overshadowed by SQ when they introduce IFE at all classes). Typically "Pak Turut" comes in later n by then standards n innovation have changed n further upgraded, by then, MH is back to square one ...... which is .... out of date! R MH n Malaysians willing to pay for such price and pride? Effectively, no doubt Return on Investment (ROI) needs to be calculated and not forgetting upgrades are essential say every 5 - 7 years of those seats ( not just cover change) and this translates to at least a change ( upgrade) if MH intends to keep for say 10 - 15 years of these 738s. Therefore, these ROI n upgrades must be calculated commercially n the potential returns for having innovative n superior products do bring in higher demand, which may translate to higher yields ( if it's done rightfully). At the end of the day, customers do want good products n may don't mind paying a little bit more for something that is really worth it.

As a frequent traveller, minimum expactations for the baby 738s would be: - 01 GCCL Flat bed seats, don't mind angle if its used 4 hours n below 02 "noise concealed" earphones @ GCCL 03 Good Wall seperation between GCCL n EYCL , not just curtains. If possible Insulated wall preferred , to avoid nosies of children crying nuissance being heard at GCCL from 1st few rows of EYCL. 04 Minimum pitch no less than 34" in EYCL 05 AVOD at least 200 channel options in both classes 06 LIVE sports TV and local news channels for FREE for both classes 07 Silent Movies ( without earphones required ) for flights less than 1:15 hours for ALL 08 GCCL toilet be equipped with Bidet facility ( similar to 744s/772s) 09 Magazine racks to be retained in GCCL and to include EYCL as well. 10 No need for phones at every seat , but equipped with transmitter for ordinary mobile phones capability during flights. 11 I-phone / I pod hook ups to IFE for ALL classes. 12 laptop hookups to internet n power facilities , at least in GCCL 13 Mini fridge at every GCCL seats 14 Mineral water storage at every seats in GCCL n EYCL 15 Uptodate info on destination ( currency , climate, road traffic...etc.) embedded within IFE, not just baggage carousel or flight transfers. 16 Temptations on line orders embedded within IFE 17 Online MH booking / reservation tracking system within IFE, including meal requests , seat requests ...etc. The above r not x'mas / new year wishes, but I would say the minimum needed to ensure that MH remains a true 5 star n comparable to u know who....

MH's 15+10 for A330 plus another 25+25 ( correct me if I'm wrong) for AK's would make Malaysia the largest A330 operator in the world with the US. ....interesting. BTW, a bit dissapointed as MH livery looks far more sexier on the Dreamliner Then again , perhaps the commercial terms like delivery dates, discounts ... plus other things negotiated may have influenced the decision.

90% of my tickets ( including official trips) r internet purchased, however as high as 15% of the time were either changed/ rerouted as to meet work commitments. ...and almost 65% of the time were CHK IN via the net. From experience there's no consistent correllation in Enrich being credited from these tkts.

I do agree, there has been some good improvements within Enrich compared to say 6 months to 2 years back. However, 3 out of 7 of my trips recently ( full fare GCCL and EYCL tickets over the past 2 months) were not credited yet and does not seemed to work when submited via the internet. In all , there are still room for improvements.

....ideally , would be nice to c all the 3 coloured traffic lights uniforms to succeed ( i.e. Green - MH , Yellow/ Orange - FY and Red AK/D7). The only worry here is that if one kills the other amongst the three of them !

...ummmmm must be back to sleep since the last wakeup call by the "reds" , that explains y nothing much on new hardware upgrades and improvements. Can someone here wake them up please; otherwise rescue package may need to come in at our $$$$ !

.... and if they reactivate and selected KUL as the Hub , it will be another wake up call for u know who.

Those Orang kaya's may likely stick to GA if the refurbished A332 /3 being deployed on this sector. Unless that 5star airline could counter offer with more superior products and reintroduce the superb inflight catering as we used to have years ago. The only think that one really looks forward on that carrier is the satay; and that is only for the selected few infront. Even the amenity kits infront today are not as impressive as those day, the brand is there, but the basic things are either compromised or no longer available, one fine example is the toothbrush given is so cheap and can easily get spoilt , u can't even used once!; combs are flimsy and shavers are no longer available. Economy now is so "compromised" that even that beloved Skytrax rated that 5 star airline as 4 star in economy; but even so, I think it is overated as other economy 4 stars like BA and EK are much better. Not to mentioned that we don't even know what is being served inflight and what are the beverages are available as they think that we need not have to know what are the options available until the very last minute. Frankly, what I really need is that 5 star airline deliver the 5 star service and products.

Looks more like fast food! Truly a laughing stock! They claimed 5 star and yet produces budget products. Let's now compare with Hotel's Fine dining restaurants, I've not seen say the 6 star Park Hyatt or 5 star Grand Hyatt serves Mcdonnalds Food. I suppose it's time to forward this to Skytax and recommend that their rating be reviewed lower!

I think this topic should now be rephrased as "MAS Chopping list, Where next?" So any predictions after EWR and ARN folks?

FYI, had the opportunity to fly MH to EWR when it was via DXB ( circa. 1999 and pre EK JFK service and b4 9/11); was informed by MH crew and particularly by DXB agents, the load was really good and there's good demand. Perhaps it was that short time that MH did make money to EWR ; especially being the only carrier to offer the excellent 5 star service between Mid East and US East Coast. Mind u GCCL and EY was almost full then.

I'm not surprised. It's rather strange that EWR is out; if one considers: - EWR has good popualtion base , slightly more than LON and not forgetting it could have been a gateway / hub to the East Coast of more than 100 million population ( that is if the hub and spoke really works beyond EWR to IAD / YYZ / ORD and many more.) Not forgetting the above has one of the highest middle income groups in the world. NYC and New Jersey area has the highest Malaysian Population and most of them are Executives with decent pay and definately can afford to fly home at least once a year. That it is one of the main financial centre's in the world with most of the funds are most likely may have transacted via NY. Wouldn't regular air services would help international trade and finance to Malaysia? ZRH is already out; what's next? However, on the otherside, the failure of this route ..... Stiff competition from Middle East Carriers and the Neightbour down south. Irregular frequencies and used to have irregular schedules of flights, created great inconveniences ; particularly to Business Community. MH 772 may be too big for the route under current Economic Slowdown; Perhaps , 332 / 763 / 764 would have been perfect. Flying via Secondary cities ( ARN) does not give good fifth freedom volume and yield. High operating costs for such minimal ( 2 - 3 weekly ) flights on longhaul flights would be a real challenge. Wonder how does MH perform on the EZE route? Too long flight, difficult to promote exotic tropical holiday ; when Mexico , Carribean is just 3-4 hours away. As a consequence to this decision , the one down south will gain ( just like ZRH ) . Won't be surprise if daily A345 is resumed and 388 services being launched to JFK. The argument of "connecting" via AMS or LAX for NYC ; is not attractive at this moment as .. Would translate to at least 2 hours extra for the hassle of connecting. Would rather take the nonstop 345 from down south and overall travelling time still reduced; despite 2 hours for connection down there. Frequent Flyer is not properly streamline with the "partner" airlines ; No enrich Tier Bonus In the end ; it is sad to c the Wau flying away from another major airport gateway ( although it is just EWR and not JFK).

It is the combination of all of the above. and someone here has been bragging too much on one item category , yet has failed other categories!

Indeed there's a light at the end of tunnel; but u need to beg first! Had enjoyed free upgrades and companion redemptions. But need to always check that the right amount of miles are credited / debited most of the times.

What value? ; many empty promises and yet nothing or slow in getting the miles that we righfully deserve.

I'm not surprised.