KC Sim

Great stuff ... keep them coming! And I know why the group shot from Norman had the SilkAir A319 landing ... because that is the one subject everyone could agree is of no interest!!! Hahahaha ... we would have done the same here! KC Sim

While Mwingers celebrate this site's 6th anniversary, we were having a mixed day in Singapore. It began sunny and full of promise and then midway through the morning, the storm skirted past - gave us a drenching plus some dark skies moments - and slowly but surely, the afternoon improved. These images represent a selection of the day's subjects ... starting with Air Hongkong's B744BCF. Although this is a daily flight, it is only on Saturday morning when we have a decent chance go photograph it. On all other mornings, it arrives before sunrise at 0655hrs. For some unexplained reason(s), it is scheduled for 0805 hrs on Saturday ... no complaints here for sure. Yet another new subject for us is Singapore Airlines Cargo's latest fleet addition - its first B747-412BCF. Formerly 9V-SPA, it surprised us when it was re-registered as 9V-SCA and mostly operates to Shanghai. And when the storm descended on Changi Airport, we were lucky to have stayed rooted to our position ... to catch this Air Mauritius A340 arriving from Mauritius and Kuala Lumpur (where I am certain Mwingers celebrating the 6th anniversary must have photographed it from the lakeside). The dark skies did not last long - but long enough for two more subjects ... this Airbus A320 of Thai AirAsia in "Carabao" livery and this Gulfstream G550 of Gf Management. The afternoon's nice sunshine made it possible to continue photographing all the way to sundown ... and we sure were glad that Vietnam Airlines now has a flight at this golden hour. Air Niugini's four weekly flights are now timed to arrive at 1835hrs and this greatly improved our chances of photographing it too. Dedicate this shot to Liew Hon Kit who stayed late to photographed it earlier in the week but the presence of clouds spoilt his plans. Airphil Express' Airbus A320 was the final subject for us before the sun dipped beneath the horizon - and the airspace was also closed for the formation of RSAF F15s to do their National Day flypast rehersals. During the afternoon, one of the stream of bizjets arriving in Changi was this Embraer 135 from Indonesia - PK-OME. Garuda recently launched flights between Makassar and Singapore, and deploys the B737-500s on this route. In the new livery, these B735s are really really cute, with the tail colours taking up about 1/3 of the overall fuselage. And our highlight for the entire day is this B737-300 of Our Airline - from the tiny phosphate-rich island of Nauru. Arriving from Perth, it looked deceptively similar to Garuda Indonesia! It is great to learn that many Mwingers are enjoying the "airshow" that we provide on this thread ... and we will continue to provide a steady stream of images. Happy Birthday Malaysianwings! KC Sim

Happy 6th Anniversary Malaysianwings!!! Great turnout and how did you guys even manage to time it with an aircraft delivery! Henceforth, 9M-MTD should be an MWings mascot! Glad to see that Norman has found his long lost twin and Kwek's successor has emerged ... otherwise, who can effectively show us the art of applying lotion on the face. Hope to see more photos once everybody overcomes the need for rest and sleep. KC Sim

Love the special livery on the first two B787 Dreamliners ... although there is a hint of Thai or UPS, the lines and shading makes them very dynamic and the overall effect is very stunning. Suzuki-san, could you please keep us informed if there is any news of the very first B787 flight? I am certain that there are some who are still contemplating being on that very first commercial flight. Thank you in advance and thanks for the links. KC Sim

Yes, I can see the Jade Cargo B744Fs ... and they are beautifully captured. Mongolian Airlines B737-800 landed in Singapore today at about 1820hrs from Ulan Bator and Hanoi. This is the second flight in two weeks. Wonder if this will continue. KC Sim

Hi Tuan Khiem, thanks for the wonderful pictures - but for some reason, some of the pictures don't show on my screen. Am I the only person with this problem? Secondly, we seem to have a Mongolian B738 coming from Ulan Bator via Hanoi ... one came last week and one is coming later today. Do you see it in Hanoi now? Is this a scheduled flight from now on ... or is it some kind of charter? KC Sim

Love at first flight ... and end up with a love bite! KC Sim

Does this not sound familiar? In 2007, a similar incident happened when the wingtip of the A380 struck the hangar of Thai Airways International at Suvarnabhumi Airport just before a demonstration flight for VIPs to Chiangmai. The then-President of Thai Airways International quickly declared that the staff towing the A380 were not to be blamed - huh??? - and the plane was just too big. Le Bourget is just a housefly's scream away from Toulouse, and you would have thought Airbus could either send in a different A380 or fly out a wingtip to replace the damaged one. Instead, it chooses to ground the aircraft! If the A380 could eventually fly without one wingtip to Chiangmai, why could this one not fly during the airshow - minus a wingtip - and proving how resilient the aircraft is to hard knocks. An opportunity lost by Airbus here. KC Sim

I flew on Air China from Beijing to London-LHR in April ... and six seats at the rear of the A330-200 were designated crew seats. The curtain that could be drawn around the seats managed to protect the sleeping crew members from public eyes, but it could not have been comfortable. From time to time, passengers going to the washroom would pry open the curtains to curiously find out what behind - and shockingly, even a Caucasian passenger did it. I was seated right next to these seats ... and did my best not to bother them or make any noise, knowing they needed the rest. Requiring the crew to sleep in passenger seats is not the best solution but if that is all that is available, then let's give them some privacy and not try to photograph them - and worse still, post it online. We expect good service from them and so should also give them the chance to have some decent rest. These crew members have my utmost sympathy ... and respect. The Air China crew emerged from their rest in this curtained "cocoon" looking like a million bucks, all smiles and ready to serve again. So next time you see crew members resting among you, give them some privacy and understand how tough it must be for them ... especially. KC Sim

The past week has been driven by expectations of two Russian types - the more common IL-76 of Volga Dnepr and the less common Ilyushin IL-62M of KAPO Aviakompania (S7/KAO). Both were eventually delayed by a day and two respectively ... but they eventually arrived. The rest of the week, my biggest regret is not being able to photograph the SIA B747-412 sold to Transaero Airlines ... but at least Kian Hong and Bob shot it. Here's my line-up of more common subjects from the past week. This is Air Hongkong's B744-444BCF returning from its crew-training sortie to Penang. Over the week, AirAsia gave me plenty to smile about when she sent her specials ... and here's just two of them. Here's a pair of A340s that are more common these days. Finnair A340 is a daily sighting while Philippine's A340 are quite often despatched to SIN in the morning. And of course, lots more Airbuses of various types and operators... And not to be outdone, here are a crop of Boeings ... UPS' B763Fs are often deployed from Shenzhen. This B737-700 of China Eastern has additional stickers from its Kunming-based Yunan unit. Love the B772Ers of Saudi Arabian Airlines, but I miss the B747-300s already. Good old Fedex finally helped me realise my wish, and sent its B757-200F on an air-test. Garuda's retro livery B737-800 are less common these days but when they do come to Singapore, they tend to do a few flights within that day. Glad to see Qatar's B772LR again ... thought we lost it for good. Two B777s that I was happy to get - Air France B77W in new colours and Korean Air's B772 with the "New Horizons in Korea" livery. And I always liked the new livery of Biman Bangladesh Airlines ... looks great on this babyBoeing but would love to see it on a DC-10! And finally, RSAF's KC-135 has since the weeks before the recent Open House begin to sport a band on the top of its tail fin. KC Sim

With a start-up capital of just S$1, it sure is a low cost carrier indeed. But New Aviation is definitely not the name of the airline that will be established - perhaps just a holding company from where everything else associated with the new LCC will be formulated without being linked to Singapore Airlines. Could not have been a more unimaginative name though. KC Sim

Glad that 9V-SPN was captured ... both in great light and even when shot against the light by Bob, it turned out beautifully. 9V-SPN apparently was re-registered N747NP (probably because it was returned to the bank or some financial institution that now owns it) and will become EI-XLL when it operates for Transaero Airlines. Great shots Kian Hong ... I especially love the Vietnam Airlines shot. This is the only VN flight that arrives at an interesting time for photography - for the rest of the flights, the sun is still rather high. Also Finnair's tail logo almost missing in this beautiful angle. KC Sim

Singapore Airlines received its 12th A380 (9V-SKL) this morning at Changi Airport ... landed at 0635hrs. This aircraft has only 409 seats - 12 Suites, 86 Business Class seats and 311 Economy Class seats - and will be deployed on the SIN-SYD route on 20 Jun. KC

Basing crew in Singapore is quite different from basing two A330s in Singapore. United Airlines and Finnair are airlines that have Singapore-based crew but you certainly don't hear them claiming to base aircraft here. And just because one flight is operated with a 3K flightcode also does not mean basing an aircraft in SIN. It merely uses the traffic rights that has been granted to Jetstar Asia but the aircraft maintain its base in Australia/NZ. KC Sim

Jetstar does not based two A330s in SIN. One comes in from Auckland and the other comes in from Melbourne and both turn around the same day. KC Sim

Seems like Malaysia Airports Berhad has expectation of a major Air France presence at Penang Airport in the near future. Since this video was uploaded in May 2011, I wish they had taken the additional trouble to update the MAS livery depicted - not doing so immediately makes the video dated. And that MAS A380 seems to be taking off rather close to the terminal building ... nice and sleek video though. KC Sim

Great images on this thread ... Whatever Vietnam Airlines does regarding painting of its aircraft, please DO NOT send them to the Philippines. The paintwork on the A332 with Skyteam livery was bad right from the very beginning and has since gotten worse. Love the Vietnam Airlines colours but it is very difficult to photograph it nicely unless the lighting conditions are good. In various places where I have seen VN planes arrive, it is near midday when the sun is too high. When the sun is setting and is orange, it too is quite tricky. My first shot of the VN A321 in good light was in April when it was being delivered from Hamburg-Finkenwerder via Toulouse. Keep those great images from Vietnam coming ... love them. KC Sim

In true Thai fashion, this latest purchase / lease arrangement will ensure that Thai Airways International will have a hugely diverse fleet. KC Sim

Great idea to have this thread!!! Thanks Mohd Azizul Ramli for this initiative ... now I wish we have a similar thread for the SIA fleet. Many of them have gone to all parts of the world ... Will any of the MH B744 be converted to B744BCF for MASkargo? KC Sim

Isn't it amazing that when the volcano at the top end of the world in Iceland went silent, the one down south decides to have its own fun. Both with similarly disruptive effects on aviation. Somehow other volcanic eruptions in between the top and bottom end of the world don't seem this disruptive ... or has the aviation industry become more nervous? According to Channelnewsasia, flights to Melbourne by Qatar Airways, Emirates, Etihad and Singapore Airlines and some others continue unaffected except for a different routing and flying at a lower level. Discussions elsewhere seem to suggest that the ash cloud had actually gone round the other way via the South Atlantic, across the southern end of the Indian Ocean before reaching Australia and if this goes on, it might just get back to where it came from - South America! You can imagine the ash cloud chanting "Around the world in 80 days ... or hours". Glad I am not travelling in the Southern Hemisphere now ... but our carpark aunty Kwek is in Melbourne. KC Sim

During the IATA Annual General Meeting in Singapore last week, it was stressed how crucial it is that airlines increase the utilisation rate of their fleet to achieve better profitability ... and in this area, MAS may perhaps be constrained or faces challenges. Its regional fleet is beginning to see the introduction of newer aircraft but the same cannot be said of its longhaul fleet. The B777s and B747-400s have already been around for quite a while and with age comes a need for maintenance - which might result in more downtime. These older aircraft are also less fuel-efficient - at a time when the price of oil hits USD120 per barrel. Frequent travellers who are familiar with MAS' inflight product onboard these aircraft are well placed to compare these with that onboard its competitors - and if they deem the competitor better, they will have no qualms migrating over. And these are the kind of customers whose loyalty any airline will want to capture and retain. MAS will also need to market its branding a lot harder - I cannot remember when I last saw an MH television ad or even a print ad - other than those advertising low fares. With its new corporate identity, I am surprise it is not doing more ads. Perhaps with rumours that Air India may have difficulties adding new B787 Dreamliners in these troubled times, MAS might consider leasing these aircraft until such time it could replace them with those it orders for the longhaul (either B787s or A350s or even B777-300ERs). I just hope the arrival of the A380s allow MAS to get better yield on the routes it deploys these giants on ... and not the reason to embark on further fare-slashing to fill up the aircraft. KC Sim

Isn't it interesting that 12 years after MAS failed to gain membership at oneworld, it took a 12-hour marathon negotiation session to finally do so. This must be a world record of some sort - I don't think any airline has gained in-principle entry into any alliance in such a short time. Perhaps Qantas got wind in advance of the long-term partnership between SIA and Virgin Australia. This would be funny when I recalled that the lady reporter from the New Straits Times asked Goh Choon Phong (of SIA) and John Borghetti (of Virgin Australia) if their partnership was in response to MAS joining oneworld (technically, MAS has not joined oneworld but will do so at the end of 2012). The Star's reporter has somehow referred to a geography book published in a different era when the tectonic plates on which Japan and the Korean peninsula sit was shifted out of sight. As such, her list of Asian airline members in the alliances have notable absentees such as ANA in Star Alliance and Korean Air in Skyteam. KC Sim

Looks like the B737-500s of Garuda Indonesia are now regular visitors ... should photograph it more before these are up-sized to B737-800s. Nice bunch of images Kian Hong. Love the Air Hongkong B744BCF. KC Sim

The codeshare arrangement between Air France and Qantas is working so well ... I am not certain Qantas is going to jeopardise it just because MH is in oneworld. Only time will tell, but it will not simply be Qantas to decide if this codeshare with Air France carries on. Her customers who have grown accustomed to this arrangement will have a big say. A lot still depends on whether Qantas launches flights to Kuala Lumpur ... if it does not, then Qantas passengers will have to fly to Singapore or Bangkok before transfering to a KUL-bound MH flight before connecting on a Europe-bound MH flight. Similar situation applies for MH and BA to harvest any potential synergy. It remains for Malaysia to convince QF/JQ and BA to fly directly into KUL ... bearing in mind both QF and BA left because of yield shortfalls. If yield was a problem then, it is a bigger problem now - especially with staff and fuel cost escalating. KC Sim

Departed SIN at 1047hrs and so should be over Penang in less than half an hour. Good luck and hope to see some great pictures soon. KC Sim