KC Sim

I remember the Fokker F50 of Pelangi Air ... the "aerodynamic Hibiscus" mentioned earlier came across to me as looking like the "trumpet" shaped portion of an antique record player. This used to operate from Changi Airport in Singapore to Malacca Airport. And I also remember Pelangi's DO228 ... with the rainbow livery. KC Sim

After a tiring trans-Pacific crossing ... it is nice to be back home. Especially when my first day back at spotting brought some nice planes. KLM started the ball rolling with its Skyteam liveried B77W and the rest rolling in ... My joy for the day was one of the three final B744s operating for Singapore Airlines ... 9V-SPJ returned from an air test minus its title and tail logo and will eventually go to Transaero Airlines. Qantas flight QF6 from Frankfurt finally did what I have hoped for a very very long time ... and brought in the Go Wallabies B747-400! I noted that there was a "biz-jet" registered N610G ... I did not bother to check what it was assuming that it must be another almost all-white bizjet ... and I was not wrong, except that it was a little larger but still all-white. I wish someone could definitely tell me what COMCO does ... A subject that we will only see for a short while ... actually, for just about another week from now ... Hong Kong Airlines has since 1 March replaced the A332 with a newly-delivered A320. I finally got it after many failed attempts - thanks to dual runway operation. The last one here is no special to most ... but for a TriJet worshipper, it is always special. I have long wondered why China Cargo's flightcode is CK ... I realised today that its ICAO callsign is "Cargo King" ... see, we learn something everyday. KC Sim

Hi all, N610G is the B757-200 in all white and COMCO livery ... I too have heard about its secretive background and have to date not known what that implies. It landed in Singapore this afternoon and took off before sundown ... probably to KUL. Will post a picture of it later .... KC Sim

I think they just released information about their three-tiered fare structures : Fly, FlyBag, FlyBagEat ... or something stupid-sounding along these lines. KC Sim

While spending some hours at KLIA earlier this week, I was contented with the brood of B737-800s in Malaysia Airlines' old and soon to be old new livery ... when suddenly a little movement caught my eye and I had to sprint across the entire length of the KLIA observation deck. I panted like an old tortoise ... but it was worth it. It was being towed to the hangar ... but did not pass in front of the observation deck and instead went a long long way around the satellite terminal building right in front of the MASkargo terminal. KC Sim

Does not such a machinery already exist? Does that not sound like Penerbangan Malaysia Berhad Mk II? I agree with flee that many past rumours have proven to be true ... a case of no smoke without fire. Even if the CCF is undone right now, AirAsia X is already happy as it was awarded the right to fly to Sydney! And it would be really crazy if any B737-800 or B737-400 ends up back in the Firefly fleet and operations! There certainly is a lot of to-ing and fro-ing, doing and un-doing and re-doing ... that is a complete waste of valuable resources and time, a source of confusion to both the public and the international travel industry ... I wonder if the politicians and management involved are confused too. KC Sim

Not painted yet ... but the first four aircraft have been identified and are being re-registered. 9V-SQA has already received new registration 9V-OTA and the same will happen to 9V-SQB, 9V-SQC and 9V-SQD ... no price for guessing the registrations for these three aircraft. 9V-OTA should be going indoors soon for cabin re-configuration, repainting and other works ... and soon, test flight and first opportunity to photograph!!! KC Sim

I have to differ on this point. QF is definitely not in it to extract a better deal from SIN ... because there was absolutely no deal here. I am sure it is no secret that SIA protested about letting Qantas establish a premium carrier in SIN ... after seeing how Jetstar took hold and many believe the local ownership was just a proxy for QF which have controlling interest. Actually, I am certain Qantas know from a very early stage that SIN was already out of the equation and used it in an attempt to extract better terms from Malaysia ... but perhaps Alan Joyce should have engaged a good con-Sultan on how to work things in Malaysia. I would like to borrow an opinion that TF expressed about SIA establishing Scoot : SIA is a confused puppy. I think in this instance, Alan Joyce is one confused puppy. KC Sim

I am certain it is not a case of Qantas not wanting to invest but wants to take profits ... after everything is considered, they probably realised that the sums don't add up. Although the aircraft and staff / crew will most likely come from MAS, there must be some sort of formula that MAS is pushing for Qantas to accept ... a way of calculating how much Qantas should fork out. It could just be that Qantas found the formula to be unrealistic (and therefore too high a price for Qantas) or perhaps realised that the traffic / revenue / expenditure forecast do not make business sense. Qantas had previously ordered the A320 for deployment on the services of its Asia-based premium airline (aka RedQ ... which now sounds more like a road-kill). Like I said before ... establishing a joint venture with Qantas to operate unprofitable regional and/or domestic routes is advantageous mostly to MAS which suddenly has a "partner" to shoulder losses. There are many ways for a parent company to load losses / expenses onto a subsidiary (by way of creative accounting). I am not suggesting that this has been done or is going to happen ... just that it opens up such a possibility. Qantas' statement concerning its decision to break off talks included a statement about "focus on disciplined financial management". KC Sim

A surprise from Lion Airlines ... after having a special orange tail for its 50th B737-900ER, it brought its newly-delivered 60th B737-900ER PK-LJO to Singapore this morning. KC Sim

I marvel at how little corporate memory there is in an organisation such as Qantas. The failure to find "mutually agreeable commercial terms" is something that I am certain many have expected ... and was therefore not surprising. What is surprising is it took this long ... ironically, doing nothing about establishing an Asian subsidiary is probably the most that Alan Joyce has done for Qantas in recent times. Maybe, just for this and for saving Qantas from a potential bloodshed, he deserves another 71 percent pay rise next year. Some years back ... perhaps someone more into history could be more precise about it ... Qantas mulled the idea of "acquiring a stake" or "merging" with Malaysia Airlines ... that was after Qantas and BA have already pulled out of KUL citing poor yield ... and after much deliberations, it was established that there were irreconciliable differences between both companies. That was not such a long time ago actually ... so it is truly surprising that Qantas even attempted this latest joint venture talk. Back then, MAS was in far less dire situation financially ... right now, MAS really has to make real structural changes - and not just shifting the problem from the airline to its subsidiaries - and get itself back in shape and join oneworld. It must NOT be like Air India and Kingfisher whose alliance memberships have both been thrown off-course. While I am beginning to like the new corporate identity of Malaysia Airlines a lot more ... I shudder at the thought of the airline flying around for years to come with three different liveries ... not to mention service items, stationeries, marketing collaterals etc. Any move to immediately remove old items and replace with the updated corporate identity is going to incur a huge cost - one which MAS could ill-afford at this time. Glad that the sarong kebaya is being retained without change ... but the uniform for the fligh stewards really could do with the change. The present one really belong to some little corner of history ... that alone is one little improvement already. KC Sim

There are probably a whole basket of reasons why these talks faltered ... 1. Cultural divide ... the corporate culture in both Malaysia Airlines and Qantas are just far too different and through his own visits over the last few months, Alan Joyce probably got a whiff of what's to come if both parties sign on the dotted line. 2. Differing views on where this new airline should be heading ... 3. Lack of confidence in Malaysia Airlines' financial standing ... given that MH's management branded itself "an airline in crisis". 4. Conflict of interest ... this new airline (whether it is called Sapphire or RedQ) is going to also challenge Malaysia Airlines or its subsidiaries, not something MH would relish now that part of its profits will be repatriated to Australia if Qantas is a partner. More questions remain unanswered : what was / were the deal-breaker(s)? what happened to all that love and admiration for Tony Fernandes? what will happen to Qantas plans to co-operate more with Malaysia Airlines as a result of MH's entry into oneworld (sponsored by Qantas)? what indeed is the fate of MH's entry into oneworld ... granted that Qantas/BA do not operate to KUL? My personal take on this whole development is that Alan Joyce got cold feet after getting an education on how the folks at Malaysia Airlines operate, the situation with Malaysian politics, MH's true financial standing. He probably made the best decision in the last two years of his career by walking away while he could. With hindsight, this will likely turn out to be a blessing in disguise for Alan Joyce and Qantas. Bet you the unions have just let off a lot of fireworks like it is Australia Day. One now wonders if Alan Joyce will renew his love with Tony Fernandes and establish something along the lines of Caterham Jet ... maybe name it KangarooHam Jet. KC Sim

Actually, once having decided whether the logo should point left, or right ... the airline should consistently enforce that. Singapore Airlines always ensures that the golden bird is pointing in the "right" direction. KC Sim

Hahaha, I love the humour here! But its premium regional carrier (formerly Sapphire / MAS) is fully in the red! The parent company may be "out of the red" but will be having "the blues" forever for as long as it maintains the new new livery. Does anyone know who designed the new new livery? I hope it is not yet another worker in the hangar ... or someone with a little deft hand at working with Photoshop ... there must be loads of great and artistic designers in Malaysia - just look at all the amazing marketing collaterals produced by Tourism Malaysia and others in the tourism industry. KC Sim

Not certain how much I like the new new livery ... but I know for sure that I liked it better than the current new a-la-Philippine flag livery. I wish that MH had thought of incorporating a "swoosh" of gold (since MAS means gold) which would have given the new new livery a lift. In the little pictures on the ad, it seems very much like a subsidiary of Egyptair. The ribbon-like portion of the livery at the rear of the fuselage seems extremely stiff and straight, unlike what you expect a ribbon to be ... once again, the lines are rendered on the ad and alludes to the stiffness of those lines. Does any know if the yet-to-be-named-previously-known-as-MAS-and-first-known-as-Sapphire premium regional airline is the same outfit that will involve Qantas as a joint venture partner ... or are we to expect yet another subsidiary airline? KC Sim

The Australians are so in love with TF, AirAsia, AirAsia X and Malaysia Airlines that they may not see it coming. During courtship, I don't think they are able to see things objectively ... That is what makes this entire episode between MH/QF/oneworld so interesting. KC Sim

Summer spotting in Singapore just got better with news that Air France is deploying its Airbus A380 to Singapore on three days a week starting 2 April 2012. AF had previously announced that it will add three flights per week to its current daily schedule but suddenly, it has decided not to add those three flights and instead upsize three existing flights to A380! Now that is what I call good planning ... now my right index finger is itching. KC Sim

When you consider that each flight (SQ747 SIN-HKG and SQ748 HKG-SIN) is going to fly an hour longer than the usual ... just to extend your enjoyment of the celebration onboard ... it represents even greater value. And the goodie bag being promised should include a flight certificate ... and a coffee-table book on the B747! Besides a special menu onboard this flight, there will also be a pre-flight party at the gate hold room in SIN and HKG. I will be flying on both flights in economy class ... and look forward to this amazing celebration. This for the record is the first time that SIA has done anything to commemorate the retirement of any aircraft type ... which speaks volume about the Jumbo Jet's contribution to SIA's transformation from a new airline (resulting from the split-up of MSA) to an established international carrier. The first commercial flight I have ever taken was in September 1981 when I flew on B747-212B 9V-SQH operating as SQ24 from Singapore to Zurich via Colombo and Dubai. After Zurich, the flight proceeded to Amsterdam. It was therefore imperative that I should also be on the commemorative flight more than 38 years later. KC Sim

I have previously mentioned my flight from KUL to LHR (early 2011) on MAS and how tiny the nasi lemak breakfast was. Last week, I flew with MAS from KUL to LAX in J-class ... and while the food quality was good, its portion is still miniscule. From KUL to TPE, a light meal was served ... the operative word here is "light". I elected to try the "Stir fried prawn with dry chilli and cashewnut". The amount of rice served probably amounted to five spoonfuls ... almost disappearing under the swirl of pak choy. There was absolutely no hint - either in taste or in form - of the dry chilli. Out of TPE, dinner was served and I elected for "Wok fried chicken in spicy lemongrass sauce" ... and unsurprisingly, there was no hint of lemongrass ... instead, the sauce that the entire dish was cooked in was very salty. I was left gulping water like a dugong. Prior to landing in LAX, brunch was served ... and again, I chose the Asian option of "Stir fried chicken thigh in ginger and spring onion with egg noodle and seasonal vegetables". Thank goodness I could taste the ginger but I gulped even more water as it was once again very very salty. I gather the generous quantity of salt is the perhaps the doing of the caterer in TPE. The catering aside - and I gather this area took the brunt of the cost cutting at MAS, I must compliment the crew from TPE to LAX for the fantastic service. And I felt so positive not because the crew on the KUL-TPE sector was so rough at the edges (and I saw a cabin attendant trying to settle a seating situation in J-class and bungling it big time. Not only did she admit that although a passenger failed to get seat 4J - this was confirmed in his booking, she ended up infuriating two other passengers) ... the crew out of TPE consisted of a very happy team of cabin attendants. They were very attentative, very warm and one of them - Gina Yap - was particularly superb. People like her are the reasons why MAS cabin crew are voted the best for several years. I must also mention the excellent staff member who checked me in at KLIA ... he has managed to change my perception of MAS check-in staff (a perception from a previous experience around the time MAS rolled out the "Hibiscus" B744). That is how long a bad impression stayed ... While MAS seems to have cut costs in many areas impacting on the passengers' flying experience (certainly something it learnt from AirAsia even before the Comprehensive Collaborative Framework), it probably did not cut costs elsewhere ... I still wonder what accounted for the 50% increase in non-fuel costs. It does not matter where MAS' management draws its lessons from ... and certainly it would be a bad idea for anyone in the corridors of power to suggest learning from SIA ... what matters is the grim fact that MAS must stop the bleeding that has taken place for several quarters already. The introduction of the A380 is going to suddenly spike the level of spendings ... long before any spike in revenue can be realised ... so I shudder to imagine what MAS' financial reports will look like in the next two quarters. Hopefully as most expect, the economic situation in Europe and the rest of the world rebounds in the later part of 2012. The accountants will do well to find ways to divert losses at MAS to the new "premium airline" that is being established with Qantas ... that way, there are more shoulders to bear the financial burden. KC Sim

I think Mohd Suhaimi Fariz has the answer ... even as some of us are still trying to come to terms with the "swoosh", it is already almost history. There is very definite talk in reliable quarters of a new new livery which draws inspiration from the "Heliconia" livery. And I cannot wait to see this ... keep your eyes trained on the paint-shop in Finkenwerder! KC Sim

Thanks for the replies. KC Sim

I think quite a lot of us will be onboard the flight rather than spotting at the airport - I am on both sectors. This is one flight we all have to be on ... and SIA is extending the flying time of each sector by almost an hour to maximise the enjoyment onboard this commemorative flight. So far I understand that SIA is doing something special about the food that will be served ... along with champagne to send off the Queen. There will of course be giveaways ... and I think the aviation enthusiasts onboard will clear away the safety cards - not that these are going to be missed after 9V-SPQ lands back in Singapore at the end of the commemorative flight. If I may dream, I would like it to do a low level flypast over Changi Airport or downtown Singapore (like the B787 did). Are any of our Malaysian friends booked to fly on SQ747 (SIN-HKG) and / or SQ748 (HKG-SIN) on 6 April? KC Sim

A pity that Jackie Chan could not have kept his toy at the show for another two days ... I am certain many were disappointed as the presence of this private jet was highly publicised. You may read more about this visit at my blog at : http://livelifelovelife-kc.blogspot.com/ KC Sim

I have test-uploaded a short video clip taken onboard the Boeing 787 Dreamliner during its recent demonstration flight on 14 February 2012 ... You may watch it at : and I will soon upload an even longer video showing the scene out of the window when the Dreamliner made two passes over the Marina Bay area of Singapore. KC Sim

When so many aviation greats rub shoulder in one place ... right there among some of the most beautiful planes in the world, you can be sure that many find just the inspiration they need. One such inspired soul is Mwinger KS Ong ... standing under the Royal Australian Air Force's C-130J, he was sufficiently inspired to dump the "Kangaroo Hop" and instead adopt an "I can fly" pose. The next day, I was sure I have found KS Ong's soulmate ... who was similarly inclined to take to the skies in her "I oso can fly" pose. KS Ong ... the search for a soulmate ends here. KC Sim