Andrew K

Something about the way you look tonight - Elton John.

Fill me up by Shawn Colvin All rise by blue For you I will by Teddy Geiger (some time ago) I can;t seem to remember the rest though. They're pretty familiar but I can't recall them

Thursday May 15, 2008 AirAsia raps MAS over deals KUALA LUMPUR: The battle between the two local carriers AirAsia and Malaysia Airlines has turned up a notch after waging their fare wars. Yesterday, AirAsia called on Malaysia Airlines to keep the competition fair and healthy and “not to take toys from its playground.” Its group chief executive officer Datuk Tony Fernandes also questioned yesterday why MAS was not promoting zero fares for non-AirAsia routes such as London and Sydney, to give more options to customers. He also challenged MAS managing director and chief executive officer Datuk Seri Idris Jala to publicly deny or accept allegations that subsidies for international flights were used to promote domestic low-fare promotions. “Idris has not denied this openly. You cannot take subsidies and use it to promote zero fares. “Subsidy, in any form, is dangerous if it causes predatory pricing. We also believe MAS received free subsidy to fund free trips to Europe,” he said. Fernandes said while it was difficult for an entrepreneur to go up against a government-linked airline like MAS, a level playing field would keep things fair and balanced. “Why are they only concentrating on our routes? MAS is turning into a low-cost carrier instead of being the premium airline it was set up to be. “This fighting is ridiculous. We should be competing against foreign airlines,” said Fernandes, who challenged Idris to a public debate on the matter. Later, MAS executive director and chief financial officer Tengku Datuk Azmil Zahruddin denied that international flight subsidies had been diverted to fund the national carrier’s Everyday Low Fares product. He said that “there was no such thing” and that the statements were baseless. “There is no such thing as diverting our international flight subsidies into funding our low fare product. “Each international and domestic route stands on its own and is subject to its respective profit and loss (P&L) mechanism,” he said. Tengku Azmil also acknowledged that AirAsia had accused the national carrier of “tying the hands” of the budget carrier, but stressed that MAS was not competing with them.

Lets see ScareAsia.... Baggage Fee** 3 0 You Pay RM 62.50 RM 76.00 *Applicable for domestic flights only ** For pre-booked check baggage online If i check in my bags in the terminal thats 5 bucks right? So the difference would be 11.50. I get to have a better terminal, a snackbox/drink and better seat pitch. Hmm....decisions decisions. for 10+ bucks more, I'd rather fly MH. Would you?

My bad. Stand corrected. Thank you uncle pieter

I really think the green kebaya (2nd from right) would be perfect for maswings as opposed to their currrent uniforms. The first kebaya on the right at first glance seems like a current kebaya after being washed out too many times!

Scenery on the interislander is stunning though. Wind was bloody strong too. Had a grand time standing on the viewing platform in winter. Wished the trip was slightly longer.

Royal brunei or as my friend would say "Lauya brunei". 1295.00 BND in August. He wasn;t very impressed by them.

Sydney! Gate 51. Is that the only gate MH uses? havent seen any other photo of an MH bird at a diff gate. If you can spot them, you can also find MH birds on google earth at Auckland and London.

Haha. Trust MH to wait till the very last moment to announce orders. Wonder if they would lease a few first.

Well they did say that they would announce the orders by the end of the first quarter right? Technically tomorrow would be the very last day of the first quarter. Its a monday too. Good day to announce orders, no?

They did serve deli like sandwiches on my Auckland to kl flight last year. Looked substantial too. If i wasn't so sick i would have snagged one ice cream was served too. However, that was the dessert, not a post dinner thing. Which airline had snackbags at the gate for taking during boarding? Have that plus a hot sandwich wrapped in foil served on board from a basket?

Well, MH is somewhat like a low cost carrier now with minimal fringes. Following the path of domestic Air New Zealand? Lcc inspired domestic services? Why not go all the way? Keep hot meals regionally and free tea/coffee and muffin or something with hot meals made purchaseable?

I tried a jewish meal on both my MH flights KUL Kuching return. Both meals were boxed in from brussels. Meals weren't as good as regular MH flights but they sure were better looking than the snackboxes. Watch out if you order it for a flight with breakfast. The pancake was rather gross. Finished half of it before going for the rest.

Construction? If you're referring to project runway, its a reality show featuring budding fashion designers. Hope you're not thinking of airport runways.

Breakfast- yogurt, cereal, milk, fruit. Lunch- heated sandwich, say like subway or starbucks, in ovensafe bag with crisps and chocolate on the side, in a mini snackpack. Dinner-pita bread foldover with beef slices and such, cake slice and fruit. They could do a lot of stuff actually, seeing how many mini-items are available in the market for a quick snack. Maybe its time for real Malaysian Hospitality and not some hastily prepared Malaysian hostility packs. Incorporate local desserts? Kuih? Can they last?

A hot sandwich would be nice. Not very keen on cold sandwiches unless they're filled to the brim. A wrap perhaps? Or a salad with some meat inside. Warm or cold. Good enough.

The star. Just checked it out. Not very clear though.

Try thinking along the lines of a golden bird with a dark blue backdrop.

Looks like the classic with the bowtie from the songket jacket

27 Aug, 2007 Malaysia Airlines posts Q2 net profit of RM113 million Subang (27 August 2007): Malaysia Airlines reported a net profit of RM113 million for the second quarter ended 30 June 2007, improving its performance by RM290 million from RM177 million in losses a year earlier. This marks the airline’s 4th successive quarter of net profit since the launch of its Business Turnaround Plan (BTP) in February 2006, and tracks well for Malaysia Airlines to achieve its stretch profit target of RM300 to RM700 million this year. Malaysia Airlines made a huge improvement with sales increasing 17% to RM3.55 billion from RM3.03 billion a year ago. Revenues rose RM519 million, with passenger revenue increasing 20% to RM2.5 billion. Yield, the average fare per passenger per kilometer flown grew 13%, while seats filled or seat factor rose 1.2 percentage points to 70%. This enabled Malaysia Airlines to post an operating profit of RM48 million (before finance costs and exceptional items) from losses of RM163 million previously. Both yield and seat factor grew as the airline reaped the benefits of its revenue and sales enhancement initiatives which were implemented in January this year. International routes turned a profit of RM7 million (before finance costs and exceptional items) compared to losses of RM163 million a year ago while domestic operations made RM41 million (before finance costs and exceptional items). Managing Director/ Chief Executive Officer, Datuk Idris Jala said, “We made good progress, turning an operating profit of RM48 million in quarter 2 which traditionally has been the airlines’ worst financial period. But to sustain the airline’s profitability, we need to make radical changes. Malaysia Airlines must transform into a 5-star airline with LCC cost. “To achieve this goal, we must change – totally. Our services have to be top-class. Customer experience at all touch-points must be excellent. What we offer our customers must be different and compelling. Today, we have 312 initiatives to improve customer experience under our customer value proposition program and we have recently regained the World’s Best Cabin Staff Award. In addition, under our Malaysian Hospitality or MH program, we aim to treat passengers as guests in our homes. “We must be relentless in cutting costs, and the necessary structural changes will take place in due time. We must grow new businesses. There is strong potential in our Engineering & Maintenance (E&M) division, and Firefly. Prospects for E&M are bright as the robust demand in regional air travel, and the limited expertise available, will spur the demand for our services. Firefly has obtained Government approvals to fly from Johor Baru and Kota Kinabalu, in addition to Penang and Subang. We have also submitted requests to fly to more local and regional routes.” The E&M division is currently doing more than 30% third party maintenance, repair and overhaul work. By 2010, 50% of the business is expected to be third party work. For the first-half ended 30 June 2007, Malaysia Airlines reported a net profit of RM246 million, a substantial improvement over its RM480 million in losses previously. Sales rose 19% to RM7.19 billion from RM6.05 billion, with passenger revenue increasing 21%. Yield increased 14%, while seat factor rose 2 percentage points to 70.5%. In recognition of the excellent performance in the first-half of the year, Malaysia Airlines recently rewarded all staff with an interim half month bonus. Looking forward, Jala said, "I am upbeat about the second half of the year. It has been traditionally better as air travel peaks during this period. In addition, the Omega and Alpha projects (revenue and sales enhancement initiatives) will bear more fruit from July onwards. I am asking my team to go for record profits this year. We want 2007 to be the year where we make the highest profits in our corporate history. I have confidence in the MAS people, we are seeing the results and above all, we know what it takes to win.” Issued by: Media Relations, Communications Division Malaysia Airlines, Subang And....from The Star, Jala keen to see MAS post record full-year profit By B.K. SIDHU PETALING JAYA: After four straight quarters of profits, it is Malaysia Airlines (MAS) managing director Datuk Idris Jala’s dream for the airline to report a record net profit for full year 2007 (FY07). For its second quarter second quarter ended June 30, higher ticketing and asset sales helped bring in RM113mil in net profit compared with a net loss of RM177mil in the previous corresponding quarter. Revenue rose 17% to RM3.5bil from RM3.03bil before. Speaking to reporters after releasing the company’s results yesterday, Jala said: “There is a tremendous swing from a year ago and we are seeing yields and seat factor rising at the same time. Even if you strip out the asset sales (proceeds), there is growth.” Malaysia Airlines managing director Datuk Idris Jala on Monday while speaking to reporters For the first half, MAS reported RM246mil in net profit from a net loss of RM498mil in the previous corresponding period. Revenue also rose 19% to RM7.18bil from RM6.04bil. MAS recorded yields of 25.9 sen (inclusive of surcharges and administrative fees) per revenue passenger kilometre for the first half versus 22.7 sen a year earlier. Seat factor improved from 68.7% to 70.5% in the period. However, maintenance and staff cost in the first half had gone up to RM705mil and RM945mil respectively from a year earlier. Fuel cost was higher but was offset by lower hedging gain. MAS executive director/chief financial officer Tengku Datuk Azmil Zahruddin said MAS had restructured some of its short-term loans to a mix of long- and short-term borrowings. As at end-June, MAS had RM2.6bil in its coffers compared with RM1.5bil a year earlier. For FY07, Jala said he hoped the airline would report higher than the RM460mil net profit in FY03. ”We have understood how to run the business and are now focusing on recording the highest profit in our corporate history,” Jala said. He said the target of RM50mil net profit for FY07 as per the business turnaround plan (BTP) had been stretched to between RM300mil and RM700mil as the airline had reported RM246mil in the first half and the second half was seasonally better than the first. That aside, he was also wary that the threats of liberalising the marketplace by Jan 1, 2009 would have serious consequences on the airline if nothing was done to chart its future path since the BTP would only last until 2008. Jala said he believed MAS needed a new business plan for it to brace for the competition and, at the same time, maintain profitability growth from 2009 and beyond. He said the thrust forward was for the airline to maintain a superior five-star service but operate on a low-cost model. For now, he said, MAS' cost structure per available seat kilometre was four US cents, which is similar to Ryanair’s cost structure, but that had to be brought down so that MAS could compete effectively in a liberalised environment where competition would intensify, frequencies increased, and fares remained competitive. “We have had so many discussions and ideas about MAS' future and we want to leave no stone unturned when competition sets in 2009. We consider 2009 as the Olympics for the airlines in the region and we are going to turn up for the race and have only this and next year to get ready,” Jala said. He is expected to unveil a new business plan by January 2008 and Asean capital cities will open their skies to competition on Jan 1, 2009. He did not discount the fact that MAS' low-cost carrier, Firefly, would use bigger-body aircraft instead of its current turboprop to fly to both local and regional destinations to compete with rivals in that sector. MAS is also looking to revamp its existing fleet with wide and narrow-body aircraft but no firm decision has thus far been made on the model, type, numbers or the financing structure. MAS had experienced a spate of flight delays in July due to several factors and, asked on the status of on-time performance, Jala said it was about 80% currently. I've always thought that international routes would be the real breadwinner for MH. Looks like its EY. Looks like they might hit the 500 mil mark this year. Good on them. I didn't know that Firefly would have a base in KK either. BIMP-EAGA routes perhaps? If they decide to buy jet aircraft I'm wistfully hoping it would be Embraer. Looks pretty good. So whats next MH? 737NGs and A320 slots are pretty tight now.

I got mine today. Passed my enrich card to my dad. One tag per pax. We got different designs. This is mine. Its a lil blurry cause I used my cellphone cam.

That door is really tiny. Pretty cool vid tho, blast from the past. Thanks for sharing. Even petronas has changed its logo aye?

Whoops. Looks like I got it wrong. Apologies captain.