flee

Good to hear that the problem has been solved. Now you can enjoy your trip!

Malaysia Airports is pleased to announce the passenger, cargo and aircraft movements at airports operated by Malaysia Airports Group for the month of June 2010, Second Quarter 2010 and Half Year 2010, respectively, as attached therewith. June 2010 Statistics Second Quarter 2010 & First Half 2010 Statistics

Not quite Facebook, but this is from Tony Fernandes' Blog:

Thanks for posting the data Azizul. You are our undisputed statistician! At the rate that things are going at the LCCT, it would be a rather overcrowded travelling experience next year as it will be operating beyond its designed capacity. So during peak hours, it would resemble a refugee camp. I last travelled via LCCT in June and check in hall was really overcrowded and queues (even for baggage drop) can be extremely long!

Reyneo, Agree with Azizul. If it concerns D7, then write to Azran. He will get the investigation done and will keep you posted. He takes action and does not hide behind a PR web. That much I know. Sorry to hear about your problem and I hope it is resolved to your satisfaction.

Etihad Airways this month announced plans to introduce its first "all economy" class aircraft to its fleet in Oct-2010. This carrier will be the only non-LCC in the Middle East operating such a configuration, although the product bears some similarity to to the ‘Gulf Traveller’ product that CEO, James Hogan, introduced while heading Gulf Air. The purpose is mainly to tap into the high volume but low yielding markets more effectively. This segment is being addressed aggressively by neighbouring flydubai, based in Dubai and, a few kilometres further along the road in the UAE, the highly successful Sharjah-based Air Arabia. Other low cost airlines from outside the UAE are also targeting the UAE markets. Full service airlines around the world have long struggled with the decision whether to adopt a LCC subsidiary or to segment their operation in this way. In each case different considerations apply. Etihad, in treading the middle path, may have got it right in this market. 162-seat A320s to be utilised; to be one for the highest-density A320 configuration in the Middle East Etihad’s two A320s will be configured with 162 economy-class seats (with 32-inch pitch), an increase of 42 from the current economy capacity, meaning it will operate one of the highest-density A320 configurations in the region (with only a few seats fewer than LCC, Jazeera’s, A320 configuration, five seats fewer than nasair’s all-economy configuration, and the same number of seats as Bahrain Air's two-class A320 configuration). The all-economy Etihad aircraft will operate to short-haul destinations which have high demand for economy traffic and low demand for premium traffic. Initially these will be Alexandria, Calicut, Colombo, Damascus, Doha and Thiruvananthapuram. Plans are in place to expand the all-economy fleet to ten A320 aircraft, with the carrier stating this would enable the carrier to “launch new short haul destinations which have low demand for premium travel and also to existing Etihad destinations”. Etihad is currently only the tenth largest carrier operating between the Middle East and India, so this all economy product is likely to form part of the carrier’s efforts to build its presence in this market. Full report: http://www.centreforaviation.com/news/2010/08/11/etihad-airways-to-introduce-all-economy-services/page1

Contaminated fuel prime suspect in Cathay A330 throttle-jam Fuel contamination, causing the seizure of engine valves, has been identified as the prime suspect after a Cathay Pacific Airbus A330-300 suffered a double powerplant malfunction on approach to Hong Kong four months ago. The aircraft, operating flight CX780, landed at high speed on 13 April after its left-hand Rolls-Royce Trent 700 engine jammed at a high thrust setting while the right-hand engine remained at low thrust. No evidence has emerged of spurious command signals from the engine controls. But investigators discovered fine spherical particles - the nature of which is still being determined - inside the fuel tanks, fuel system and several engine components, including the fuel metering units and stator vane controls. Examination of the engine fuel components showed that both engines' main metering valves had jammed in positions consistent with the thrust levels experienced on the approach. "The abnormal engines performance during the flight was believed to have been caused by stiction, and eventual seizure, of the [valves]," says the Hong Kong Civil Aviation Department. It states that the spherical particles could not have been generated by the aircraft or its engine systems. While the inquiry has yet to reach any conclusions, suspicion has fallen on the uplifting of 24.4t of fuel to the A330 while it was parked at Surabaya's Juanda International Airport. The hydrant refuelling circuit serving 10 stands at the airport had undergone extension work as part of an apron extension project. "Subsequent investigation at [Juanda Airport] noted that some of the re-commissioning procedures of that hydrant extension work were not in line with the guidelines and practices commonly used by the aviation fuel industry," says the Civil Aviation Department. It adds that the refuelling system for several stands, including that used by the A330, was used before these re-commissioning procedures were completed. After the CX780 landing incident the refuelling circuit was isolated. Although the inquiry is continuing, the Civil Aviation Department is recommending that Juanda Airport's authorities review the procedures and ensure they are completed before the refuelling system is brought back into operation. Source: http://www.flightglobal.com/articles/2010/08/11/346045/contaminated-fuel-prime-suspect-in-cathay-a330-throttle-jam.html

Thai Airways International has finalised a firm order with Airbus for the purchase of seven Airbus A330-300s, following a memorandum of understanding signed at last month's Farnborough Air Show. Deliveries of the new aircraft will start from end-2011, says Airbus. "Thai has ordered the additional A330-300 aircraft to meet our medium haul requirement and enable us to continue to operate one of the most modern and efficient fleets in the region," says the airline's president Piyasvasti Amranand. "Our fleet strategy aims to improve efficiency and reduce carbon emissions by matching aircraft size to market demand, while working on fleet simplification in the long-term. The popular A330 remains an important part of that strategy." Thai has said it plans to use the new aircraft to replace its A300-600s. It already operates 20 A330-300s. "This latest order from Thai is another vote of confidence in the proven efficiency, low operating costs and wide passenger appeal of the A330," says Airbus' chief operating officer John Leahy. Source: http://www.flightglobal.com/articles/2010/08/11/346010/thai-firms-up-order-for-seven-a330s.html

MASKargo also have their B742F/B744F for very high demand cargo routes. And next year, they should also have the A332F cargo carrier. So they have lots of flexibility for their cargo ops.

We must not forget that although some routes may be thinner for pax, cargo demand may be high. That is why MH can still make those routes work - because total payload still makes sense for using the aircraft that they are using.

MH has said in the past that it intends to simplyfy the fleet to 3 aircraft types. So their next widebody order will have to replace the B744, B772 and A333. I think that the B787 family might be a bit too small for their needs. The A350 family looks more promising but that will mean that some of the current B744 routes will have to be upgraded to A380 and others will be downgraded (capacity wise) to the A350. MH might decide to get some A350-900s and some A350-1000s for the job. Decision is expected at the end of the year. However, with GLCs, these "deadlines" are immensely flexible!

No, because the minute you select the more expensive fares on the booking page, the A380 flights become available for booking.

Very bad reporting. They made a lot of statements but never disclosed the source. This kind of reporting will get more respect from me (source: Air Transport World http://atwonline.com/news/singapore-airshow-news-0309-0 ): I do not think the A380 should be compared to the B77W if an airline's route is able to support the higher pax loads of the A380. It is silly that the Malaysian media is comparing the A380 with the B77W just because MH says they are considering the B77W as an alternative. B77W has its own mission capabilities and is the best plane for those kinds of missions. Similarly the A380 has its own mission profile. If that is the case, MH should also be considering the C-Series based on a statement from Lufthansa: The Malaysian media (and Bernama in particular) has much to learn...

Yeah, somehow I feel there is some arm twisting by the Malaysian govt. - they might have told D7 that if they want Jeddah, Sydney, etc. they have to fly TEH first!

OK this is official from AirAsia X CEO Azran Osman Rani:

Seems to a characteristic of D7's A343's departures, whether in KUL or STN. They are either carrying full load or on fuel saving takeoff or both!

Maybe D7 can consider using this as the mid point in a one stop service for their Paris service.

Looks like you guys had a good time with Cummins Ng yesterday. I was just wondering if the Sepang town locals might find spotters to be a nuisance if more people "invade" their territory. Although they are friendly so far, it only takes one person to make a bulis report... Be vigilant, guys! Thanks for sharing the pix...

The might be using the sector for pilot training.

Not sure if it is any special deal but when I checked the KUL-SIN-SYD and KUL-SIN-HKG flights yesterday, the A380 flights are not available for booking on the lowest cost tickets.

Yes, that was a piece of very shrewd management by SQ. Instead of taking cash compensation (like MH did) from Airbus, they got something of greater value. It was a win-win situation too as for Airbus, the cost to them is much lower than if cash compensation was paid. And the A380 order was not cancelled. I wonder what kind of compensation SQ managed to extract out of Boeing for the B787 delays... Anyway, that is way OT and perhaps we can start another thread for that!

Problem with A333 leasing is that few are available due to the delays in the B787. That was why SQ had to order brand new A333s while waiting for their B787s. D7 could only find one creaky old A333 to lease. So leasing A333s is not so easy, especially newer ones (manufactured post 2000) and in the numbers that MH need them. Most airlines are still hanging on to their old A333s and not disposing of them yet.

I think CX carries a lot more belly cargo than MH. So that affects economics as well. They want aircraft that can balance range-payload so that the economics will work.

I think SQ is not too bothered with the B744 as they are all due to be retired. They are more interested in comparing it with the B77W. So far they are convinced that the A380 is the right way to go and they never sell A380 seats at their discount price levels. A380 Load factors are above fleet average too. Of course, if your airline is in a healthy state (which MH isn't), they can think of the finer points. But right now they are trying to get their basic products updated and they need to do it rather urgently as most of their fleet consists of creaky old aircraft. Hence they need aircraft with fast delivery times. They cannot afford to wait too long as passengers, like you said, will choose to fly with other airlines. As the CEO has already said, they will look at more widebodies and make a further decision by year's end.

Yes, I was also surprised to see Tehran becoming bookable when I checked for the Seoul fares. But there are no promo fares. AirAsia website did promote it for a while and then dropped that when India and Korea routes were launched. I am of the opinion that D7 is forced to fly Tehran because MH does not want it. D7 might be required to fly Tehran if it wants the more juicy Jeddah rights...