flee

Good catches - yes AI is light since it is only carrying VIP payload! Well done!

They have a monopoly on this route - so their market share is 100% Perhaps you meant that pax who do not wish to travel by MH for various reasons might fly on other airlines via SIN or BKK?

They will introduce BKI-PER flights in January 2011. I guess that is when MXB will join the fleet. But I am not sure if that will increase aircraft utilisation. Anyway, MH is not a LCC, so they may just be planning on a longer term basis and the spare capacity may be used as and when the need arises in future.

Perhaps they could not dish out the portable units on the return flight because the batteries are flat?

Malaysia Airlines is offering a special fare from A$599 to Kuala Lumpur to mark the start of double daily direct flights from Sydney. The sales, from Oct 25, offers flexible travel dates from March 1 to June 15. Malaysia Airlines Regional Senior Vice President, Australia and New Zealand Ignatius Ong said: "To date, we have seen a 17 per cent increase in the number of customers from Sydney travelling to Kuala Lumpur. "In line with the increase in demand, we are offering double daily flights from Nov 1." He said the flights have been timed to enable passengers arriving in Kuala Lumpur, to connect easily to Europe and other destinations. "We will continue to promote Australia in Malaysia and globally," Ong said. The mid-day flight departs Sydney at 3.40pm and arrives in Kuala Lumpur at 8.50pm. The night service from Sydney departs at 9.55pm and arrives in Kuala Lumpur at 3.20am the following day. Malaysia Airlines operates 47 weekly flights from Australia to Kuala Lumpur. From Jan 15, MAS will introduce three weekly direct flights from Perth to Kota Kinabalu.

Singapore based airlines are withdrawing from KCH simply because there are not enough people using the services. Even AK has to stop regional flights to destinations like MFM for similar reasons. Unless KCH and Sarawak has better infrastructure to support tourism, it would be difficult to encourage people to travel there.

KCH cannot even support A320 loads on their regional routes (that was why they were cancelled). D7 would be committing suicide if they deploy their A333's there!

AirAsia has the data as to how many of their pax use web check in and how many don't. They also have the age profile info of their customers. So I think that this is a calculated risk to reduce their airport operating costs. Lets see if they will lose pax as a result of this change.

Tony Fernandes Tweeting:

From the Bangkok Post: And here is Tiger's response: Looks like Tony Fernandes is a bit off with his comments. I thought that he "welcomes competition". But now, it looks like he has changed his mind somewhat.

MH has taken delivery of its latest Boeing 737-8FZ(WL), 9M-MLH on 15 October 2010. Should be on its delivery flight by now.

I like this new livery. Now waiting to see what it will be like on their new A333's, A332F's and A380's. Congratulations MH! New aircraft, new livery, new interior!

Nope, the B738s based in BKI are for regional flights (e.g. BKI-HND), not MASwings destinations.

I read somewhere on the net that this dance safety demo is in addition to the normal one. So they get two for the price of one!

Runway length should not be a problem. In its heyday it could take jets like the Comet 4 or B737. However today's planes are heavier and carry more passengers. So it will probably be safe for jets up to maybe the A318's to use that runway. Yes, it is easy to connect Sg Besi to the KLIA Express - just build a station there! The only other upgrades needed would be a decent terminal building and an access road to that new terminal. Come to think of it, the KLIA Ekspress and terminal building could be one building! Anyway, this is not going to happen. The govt. has set aside the land for KLIA to have 4 runways and a capacity of over 100m pax. So KLIA will be our only airport for the Klang Valley for the foreseeable future.

Boeing has secured orders for 1,100 737s with the airframer's new Sky Interior, accounting for more than half of its single-aisle backlog. The company says that 45 airlines and leasing companies have selected the Sky Interior, up from 37 in late June. FlyDubai is expected to take delivery of the first 737 with the Sky Interior in late October, an -800 model, before being slated for hand over for final completion and installation of the Lumexis fiber optic in-flight entertainment system. The new weight-neutral interior includes 787-style overhead bins, LED lighting, revised passenger service unit and sculpted windows and sidewalls. Existing customers have the option to keep the existing 737 Next Generation interior or move to the new Sky Interior. New customers have been required to select the new interior. Boeing is currently evaluating the feasibility of providing a retrofit option to existing 737s, though early indications demonstrated such an installation would be extremely costly. Of those 45 customers, only FlyDubai, Continental Airlines, Norwegian Air Shuttle, Malaysia Airlines, TUI Travel PLC, GOL Airlines, Lion Air and American Airlines have announced their intention to introduce Sky Interior 737s. The new interior is part of a package of enhancements for the 737 family, which also include a 2% fuel burn improvement culled from aerodynamic refinements and the updated CFM56-7BE engine, which was jointly certified by FAA and EASA in August. Source: http://www.flightglobal.com/articles/2010/10/13/348423/boeing-signs-up-45-customers-for-737-sky-interior.html

Isn't traffic congestion going to be massive as well at SZB? Have you ever traveled from SZB at around 7.30-9.00 am and the evening rush hour? In any case, Sg Besi would only be able to accommodate small aircraft like the ATR-72, unlike SZB which can take jumbos. So pax volume would not be huge. Although it is in the city centre, it is less populated than the area around SZB. There are some seriously high population density developments around SZB.

I think Sungei Besi actually makes a better city airport - it is so near to KLCC and it is just like London City airport. It is unlikely that SZB will deviate from its current role. It may have to take on additional duties when the RMAF vacate Sungei Besi.

Some people think that EK may be booking the delivery slots to prevent other airlines from getting the A380, thus making it a rare plane on other airlines. They may sell off their early A380's once they receive the newer versions - this will give them the chance to update and reconfigure the cabins to what is required by the market. They may also convert these orders to the A380-900 when that is launched.

Emirates eyes 120 A380s, works with Boeing on 777 Oct 12 (Reuters) - Dubai carrier Emirates [EMIRA.UL], the Arab world's largest airline, aims to have 120 Airbus (EAD.PA) A380s when new airport space is available and is working with Boeing (BA.N) on the next generation of 777 jets. Emirates, whose passengers are growing at 20 percent annually and expects to maintain this level for the next five years, will fulfill all its 90 orders so far for the A380 superjumbo, President Tim Clark told Reuters in an interview. "We would like some more but we are going to run short of space," he said. "120 was the baseline figure that the planners worked to get where we needed to be, but we couldn't order that amount because it was too many for here so 90 was a compromise." The carrier will order more when it gets additional space at its home base in Dubai, he added. The target implies a future Emirates order for 30 of the world's largest airliner, worth $10 billion at list prices, at an unspecified date. If the airline went ahead with its growth plans it would have an A380 fleet worth over $40 billion. Emirates, already by far the biggest customer for A380, announced a record $11 billion order for 32 superjumbos at the Berlin Air Show in June. At July's Farnborough Air Show, Emirates also ordered 30 Boeing (BA.N) 777-300ER wide-body planes, a deal worth potentially more than $9 billion. [iD:nWEA0008] Clark said the airline is collaborating with Boeing to find a solution for the manufacturer's wide-body 777 aircraft, but said he could not share more details. "We are working with Boeing on the next generation of 777. We are still very interested in a replacement," he said. Boeing has said it is looking at the future of the aircraft which faces competition from the future Airbus A350-1000. Source: http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSWEA194920101012

AirAsia Group has pushed a lot of its new aircraft deliveries to Thai and Indonesia AirAsia, in addition to outright postponement of this and next years' deliveries to 2013-2015. And if LCCT construction falls further behind schedule (most likely), they may have to postpone 2012 aircraft deliveries too. So maybe you will see more AK aircraft sent to KCH and BKI next year. But what about D7? At the last count, LCCT can accommodate a max of 3 A330 sized aircraft at any one time. They may also need to postpone their aircraft deliveries next year, especially if the new routes that they have applied for are not approved. I just can't understand the attitude of MAHB and the govt. Here we have a private company wanting to invest and bring more tourists and other travellers to Malaysia. And guess who is frustrating their plans? Their own government and civil aviation partner! Countries like Australia, India, China, etc. welcome them with open arms because the economic impact they bring along is far greater than the amount paid for air fares.

I believe that Pieter has set it as 25 June. I am planning a trip to Paris airshow that week - so it is unlikely I will make it next year.

But B737's ply those routes - so it is not a major inconvenience. AK's A320's are also doing the same thing now - being parked away from LCCT at their other hubs. D7 does not fly to AUH anymore - so their plans for a virtual hub did not materialise. As such, parking is a potential problem as they now have 10 aircraft in the fleet now, 11 soon.

This is the statement in the article that I totally disagree with - it will take substantial investment in infrastructure (road, rail and airport) to sustain SZB for the long term. If we start using it as a city airport now, the govt. must be committed to spending large sums of money in improving the infrastructure. This has to be done almost immediately if SZB's future as a city airport is the be secured.

From KUL-BKK, RM 200+ tickets are available...