flee

It isn't only the current management that failed to plan effectively as far as the fleet is concerned - fleet planning has been poor since 1972! Coupled to that is the interference from politicians and you have a classic recipe for fleet sub optimisation! MH has only two routes (longer than 10 hrs flight time) that really need the capability of the A350 - I think it is LHR and AKL. It is an expensive plane to operate if you don't make use of its capabilities. Starlux is a good example - their A350s are sent on long haul flights while their A330Neos are operating regional flights. Unless MH has plans to resume more long haul routes, the A330Neo is more suitable for its medium haul routes.

The A330neo is OK and it retains the 2-4-2 economy class seating that many pax like. Airlines like Delta, Virgin Atlantic and TAP seems to like this aircraft a lot. It may be less common in Asia as most of them have opted for A350 and B787 for their new wide bodies. Perhaps MAG chose it on cost grounds - delivery slots are also not as rare as that for the A350/B787. Early retirement is not a major issue because MAG is leasing all its aircraft to be "asset light".

I think HR practitioners in Malaysia are distinctively second rate and very inefficient. They probably only practice less than 25% in what they learnt in their training! MAG is deficient in all areas, from top to bottom. That is why it always takes so long to make any improvements, significant or not. They are like a supertanker, everything moves in slow motion. In boom times, like now, they get away with it because there are still enough customers. However, when there is a downturn, they will be the first to bring their begging bowls to Khazanah. Employees have also grown smarter - they know their bosses are still highly paid, no matter what. So if they don't get the rewards they want, they can go elsewhere. They are not going to sacrifice anything for their bosses these days.

I think that airlines that don't do fleet planning properly are suffering badly now. Those that planned are suffering less, but no one is not suffering. The supply chain issues are serious.

I suspect the Max will also suffer the same fate. So far, there have been no further deliveries and Q1 is coming to an end already. I wonder how many Max MH will now receive in 2024, given that Boeing is now in even deeper s#1t than last year.

It probably makes sense with a new aircraft type - AKL is a long way from home and if there are any problems, it will be a big strain on their operations. Perhaps, MH has improved their route planning and development department. Lets hope that they continue to improve!

In those days, airlines still issued those multipart tickets. If you want to change your bookings, you need to go to their office to get the amendment (sticker) done. How technology has moved along - now our tickets are on our mobile phones!

The first time I got on board a plane in 1969, I used the spiral ramp to the apron. It was an MSA B737 flight to SIN. Unfortunately, I was too young to know if it was a -100 or -200. I just hope that when they construct the new terminal, it will be simple and open plan like T4 in Changi or HKIA. Enclosed departure rooms are very old school and just look at how congested those rooms are, even for an A320 flight!

Nowadays, big screens are the norm - somehow, I think that 13.3 inch for economy is a bit small. I think it is good that the A339 and A359 share the same theme for product consistency.

Many years ago, I went to Lombok when AK launched that route. It is a far more relaxed island there but I gather that these days, it is also quite popular. If I go to DPS these days, it is for plane spotting only.

This was during the time when MH was a six continent airline, a far cry from today.

MAHB has come to the realisation that turboprop ops are dying and are now in panic stations. That is why they so hastily introduced jet operations this year, even without any serious major infrastructure work being done.

Subang Airport road is like a cancer spreading from time to time. There was no central planning for this road. Everytime a developer builds, the road gets widened, The section between Citta Mall and NKVE interchange was not widened and became a bottleneck. Past that, NKVE traffic pouring out of the highway caused congestion and the jam is there most times of the day - its only a question of how long the tailbacks are. Seriously, SZB's capacity must be compromised because of the transportation problems. KTM must really step up and provide a good, high frequency service from Sentral. Otherwise, the investment put into building that line is really wasted.

I think Airasia's revenue base is not just flights - I believe their Santan business is quite good too. Plus all the other ancillary and supporting activities, they might find it OK not to operate flights round the clock. IIRC Airasia disclosed some time ago that their average utlisation is around 12 to 14 hours per day - flying between 4-8 sectors. Not sure what the numbers are these days.

Flying at those hours increases aircraft utilisation - so the marginal cost of operating these flights is lower. Aircraft don't make money while they are on the ground.

MSA's breakup is inevitable as the Singapore government has always been outward looking (due to its reliance on international trade) and the differing objectives of the two governments will make MSA unworkable. I think the current CEO is probably the luckiest in terms of political interference - the demise of the BN government was good for him. MAG is privatised under Khazanah's wings and a lot of corporate data is now kept under wraps - so media sensationalism is also much reduced. So the CEO is more or less left to run MAG as a commercial enterprise, Of course, it will never be able to completely rid itself of the burden of being a government owned national airline, but this is as good as it gets. But MAG's wings are also severely clipped and its heavy dependence on the China and India markets is one of its weaknesses. China's economy is slowing down and India sees a resurgent Air India under new ownership. Fleet planning is also another weakness and Capt Izham stressed the need to reinvest in its products. Cabin refreshes and new, more efficient aircraft is all part and parcel of that. Just look at the cyclical replacements that go into the fleets of SQ, EK, etc. MAG is just barely replacing its fleet with the current 737 Max and A330 Neos. Any more narrow body orders will replace the remaining 737NGs plus maybe a little bit of growth. And new widebody orders may signal some network expansion. What would be more interesting would be to see if MAG is bold enough to operate longer range narrow body flights using the A321 Neo LR/XLR. The challenges MAG and its CEO are facing will be enormous and they also need the MoT and CAAM to step up and show better leadership of the industry. Lets see if they can succeed.....

What weed was he smoking? MH fought a race to the bottom with AK, bringing both airlines to their knees. And LCCs did not contribute to MH's decline? I think from 1972 to around 1990, they were progressing steadily. After asset stripper Idris Jala became CEO, the rapid decline began.

When I read that, I was highly sceptical - they have not received so many aircraft in a year before - right now, only AK and FD are capable of filling A321 Neos. If it is true that so many aircraft are coming from TLS, maybe the rest of the group will receive some - and old A320 Ceos may go to Cambodia or leave the fleet.

It was FD's HS-EAB on 31 Dec 2019. I believe they are expecting 5 factory fresh A321 Neos this year - but, as usual, supply chains will have to be reliable. Otherwise, deliveries will slip.

Very sad the Max is not fitted with appropriate cabins to conduct longer flights - I think that 6-7 hour flights will exploit their better fuel efficiency. It is a shame that they are using the Max in the same manner as the NG. Very unimaginative!

Looks like there is little to no demand for this destination - better to go Baku lah. At least there is a F1 GP event there each year.

As long as Malaysians need a visa to Turkmenistan, traffic from Malaysia will probably be for business. I don't foresee tourist traffic to be that great.

For factory fresh deliveries, I think Boeing will once again miss the delivery promises - they only delivered 2 of the Max 8s instead of 4. Airbus has also warned that deliveries may slow down later this year. So I think we will be lucky if we see the above numbers for factory fresh deliveries.