flee

By Muin Abdul Majid DUBAI, May 6 (Bernama) -- Emirates Airline is supportive of a request for an increase in flights to Kuala Lumpur during Ramadan as Malaysia eyes more Arab visitors during the Muslim fasting month, Tourism Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ng Yen Yen said. She said the possibility of Emirates using the Airbus A380 superjumbo for the flights was mentioned in her talks with Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al-Maktoum, chairman and chief executive of Emirates Airline and Group here, Wednesday. "I requested Emirates to add flights to Malaysia during Ramadan...and he was very supportive," she told the Malaysian media after the meeting which took place at the ongoing Arabian Travel Market (ATM) 2010 here. Dr Ng is leading the Malaysian delegation at the Middle East's premiere travel fair which ends tomorrow. Emirates currently operates 21 weekly non-stop flights between its home base of Dubai and Kuala Lumpur, the Malaysian capital. The minister said the unique atmosphere of Ramadan in Malaysia should be enjoyed by outsiders. "In Malaysia, the length of your fasting time is quite constant. The whole religious aspects are well-catered for in Malaysia. "You can have your breakfast and sahur (early morning meal) at the hotels which offer buffet spreads, and perform tarawih prayers at the mosque," she said. Dr Ng said an interesting aspect of Ramadan in Malaysia was that non-Muslims would also wait for the azan (call to prayer) before eating with their Muslim friends at the breaking fast ritual. The minister said Tourism Malaysia would engage hospitality industry players in planning for the Ramadan tourism push. Dr Ng also said Sheikh Ahmed made an observation that many Middle Easterners were going to countries like Thailand for medical tourism despite Malaysia having facilities for this purpose. "I will go back and convey the message to the Malaysia Healthcare Travel Council," she said. On its part, she said, Tourism Malaysia would always extend any assistance needed in promoting medical tourism in Malaysia. Source: http://www.bernama.com/bernama/v5/newsgeneral.php?id=496024

I think D7 CEO, Azran, answered your question in his statement above!

More here too: http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/business/article/airasiax-rejects-mas-arguments-over-rights-to-sydney/

SQ's fleet management has long been the envy of many in the industry. However, even the best planning in the world can be frustrated by delivery delays of new generation aircraft. That is why we see some unusually "old" B777 and B747 aircraft in the SQ fleet.

Yes, they do indeed - and this extended delay in granting the rights for D7 to ply the KUL-SYD route is one of them! D7 was also "persuaded" to send their first leased A343(9M-XAB) to SZB for its livery to be painted when they originally intended to send it to SIN because it was cheaper to do it there. So D7 had to do "national service" sending their plane to a competitor for painting and paying more for the privilege. Fortunately for D7 the second A343 (Raiders livery) was done in SIN.

It is good that we are able to debate constructively and look at the pros and cons objectively. I am not anti-MH either - I am more pro Malaysia, want our airlines to do well and not only compete with each other but also with the best in the world. To do that, we need markets to be open and free so that anyone and everyone can have a go at any route they like to fly. The govt. should be a facilitator, not a manipulator. D7 is a new airline and currently its current priority is to build a network of core routes - a bit like having anchor tenants in a shopping malls. Once this is done, they can think of less profitable (but nevertheless makes business sense) routes. How can you invest if you do not have base level income and profits? Banks would not be so stupid to lend you money if you are not fundamentally profitable. MH has over 40 years of route investment behind them (if we ignore the pre-1972 days of MSA and its predecessors) - so they have already built up their core routes. In Singapore, a much smaller country, they have 4 scheduled airlines that can be considered to be Singaporean. Yet their govt does not protect one airline from the other from competition. All of them also have to compete on the open market with other airlines serving SIN. This is what Malaysia should do too. The govt. should not restrict any airline from flying any route. If Firely or MASWings want to fly to wherever AK or MH flies and sees a business sense to do it, they should be able to do so. Blocking them would be a foolish thing to do... MH is better organised today, RAS and govt. subsidised services are operated by a subsidiary (MASWings) so that their accounting is more transparent. RAS services have also improved a lot because of that. If there was no competition, do you think you would be enjoying better services at cheaper fares from MH. So let Malaysian skies be open - so that people like you and me have a greater choice of airlines and fares to suit our individual needs.

Are they really? Economics is what is driving AirAsia - they want lower costs for everything. If they used the MTB, it would cost more in airport charges. The LCCT has paid for itself over and over again already as passenger traffic is so much higher. Do you think the govt. and MAHB will authorise the construction of the permanent LCCT (PLCCT) if the current LCCT isn't making money for MAHB? I am not sure if taxpayer's money is used for PLCCT construction. However, we do know that MH was bailed out with taxpayers' funds when TR turned MH upside down. That was why MH had to sell its building. All its aircraft were then sold to another govt. body, Penerbangan Malaysia so that the govt. has an excuse to bail them out.

I think AirAsia is prepared to build its own airport @Labu but the govt. also blocked that idea. The govt. has forced AirAsia to continue using KLIA/LCCT. Does it matter if KLIA or LCCT is the hub? They both belong to MAHB. If you look at the Malaysian banking industry, it is a shining example (in Malaysia) of competition improving the industry as a whole. Bank Negara removed protection and opened up the market. As such, we now have so many different banks offering good service and we are leaders in Islamic banking. MH has also improved itself as a result of competition from AK/D7. That is why we say that competition is good because it challenges businesses to do better. If MH is unable to compete in the business, then they might as well shut down. Taxpayers should not have to bail them out.

It could be that most of MH's KUL-SYD pax are transit pax on the kangaroo route - so if D7 is allowed on the same route, it would also lose out on the KUL-LHR route. MH is just lazy, rather than work to improve its own product and be competitive, it is trying to take the easy way out since it is a GLC. This is too much hard work! It is easier to ask the govt. to block D7!

Yes, they are leaving the fleet as more A333s arrive to join the SQ fleet. Some of their 9V-SQ* series are 1997 vintage (13 years).

Why not? Its just a matter of $$$ and whether the new owners have enough of that!

They probably needed to close it so that the airport vehicles can inspect the whole runway to assess the damage.

KUALA LUMPUR: The Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah Airport in Subang was closed for more than one hour today after lightning struck the runway during a thunderstorm. Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd senior general manager (operations) Datuk Azmi Murad said lightning struck the runway at 4.40pm, creating two potholes about 2 feet wide. "We carried out emergency patchwork and were able to open up the runway by 6pm," he said. Three flights waiting to land were redirected, one from Terengganu, one from Penang, and the third from Kota Baharu. Operations at the airport returned to normal at 6pm. Source: http://www.nst.com.my/Current_News/NST/articles/20100504201329/Article/index_html

Singapore Airlines (SIA) has finalised a deal with Russian carrier Transaero for the sale of four Boeing 777-200ERs and other carriers such as Royal Brunei Airlines and Portugal's EuroAtlantic Airways are also speaking to SIA about acquiring 777s. "We have now finalised an agreement with Transaero covering the sale of four 777-200s, manufacturing serial numbers 28998, 28999, 28514 and 28523," says a SIA spokesman. Flightglobal's ACAS database says these are all -200ERs and three were built in 1998 while 28523 was built in 1999. These aircraft are all in a two-class configuration, the spokesman adds. Transaero announced late last month it would be getting 14 ex-SIA 777s but the SIA spokesman says "at that point [last month] it was a letter-of-intent" only whereas now the deal has been finalised. SIA's spokesman declines to comment on whether Royal Brunei and EuroAtlantic Airways will be getting ex-SIA 777s as well. But a Royal Brunei spokeswoman says the carrier does plan to add 777s in June and is working to finalise a deal in the coming days. "It is no secret that the party we are speaking to is SIA," says the spokeswoman. Royal Brunei's CEO, Robert Yang, is SIA's former VP for eastern USA and South America. Royal Brunei's online booking engine shows that it plans to replace its Boeing 767s on the Bandar Seri Begawan-London Heathrow route starting 24 June but the service will continue to have a stop-over in Dubai. Its non-stop Bandar Seri Begawan-Brisbane service will switch from 767s to 777s effective 25 June, it says. National carrier Biman Bangladesh Airlines, meanwhile, has added an ex-SIA 777-200ER and this aircraft is leased from Portugal's EuroAtlantic Airways. "We have one [ex-SIA 777-200ER] in the fleet with another 777-200ER in the process," says the spokesman, adding that the second aircraft will also be an ex-SIA aircraft on lease from EuroAtlantic. He says the carrier is also talking to EuroAtlantic about adding a third and fourth 777-200ER. Source: http://www.flightglobal.com/articles/2010/05/04/341472/sias-move-to-phase-out-777-200ers-gathers-pace.html

KUCHING, May 4 (Bernama) -- Melaka wants low-cost carrier AirAsia to introduce direct flights from the Melaka International Airport (MIA) to Kuching and Kota Kinabalu to boost joint capacity in the tourism sector. Melaka Chief Minister Datuk Seri Mohd Ali Rustam said the proposal for the direct flights was made to AirAsia chief executive officer (CEO) Datuk Seri Tony Fernandes last year and the airline was now in the process of reviewing its domestic routes. "I hope there will be at least one direct flight each week to the two destinations. For example, the direct flight departs in the morning and returns in the afternoon or the next day," he told reporters after handing out an official invitation to attend the 13th Malaysia Games (Sukma) to be held in Melaka from June 10 to 19 to Sarawak Chief Minister Tan Sri Abdul Taib Mahmud at Wisma Bapa Malaysia, here Tuesday. Mohd Ali said AirAsia had the capability to provide the direct flights as the MIA now had the capacity to receive the Boeing 737 and Airbus 320 aircraft. He said Melaka was also keen to develop the education sector with Sarawak in view of the great potential which could be exploited jointly. Source: http://www.bernama.com/bernama/v5/newsgeneral.php?id=495570

Dun play play, that P&S has RAW!

The A350 will have a new cockpit and it is more likely to be a development of the A380's.

From Business Times: War of words flares up over KL-Sydney route By Jeeva Arulampalam TWO Malaysian international carriers are once again preparing for a dogfight over profitable air routes. Over the weekend, Malaysia Airlines (MAS) (3786) openly questioned through the media AirAsia X's insistence on wanting the rights to fly the Kuala Lumpur-Sydney route when the latter could opt to ply other international routes it has already received approvals for. MAS managing director and chief executive officer Tengku Datuk Azmil Zahruddin has come out to say that AirAsia X was not keen to operate new destinations such as Manchester, Vienna and Moscow, as it realises it takes years of investment to make a route profitable. "It's not fair for another airline to want to ride on the investments made by us. Instead, they need to be able to develop their own routes," he told Business Times last week. For MAS, it may take up to five years before any new route is profitable as it must create awareness about that destination. The airline spends money on marketing and carries out familiarisation exercises by bringing travel agents from Malaysia to the new destinations, and vice versa. For instance, MAS invests some RM100 million annually in marketing costs alone in Australia, said Tengku Azmil. The debate over the KL-Sydney route began when AirAsia X, the long-haul affiliate of budget carrier AirAsia, claimed the government was protecting the national carrier's interest by not allowing it to ply that route. "One of the (unofficial) reasons cited was since MAS was forced to buy the A380 (superjumbo) jets by the government, they need the Sydney route to be protected," AirAsia X chief executive officer Azran Osman-Rani told Business Times in April. While MAS plans to use two out of its six A380s for the KL-Sydney route, aviation analysts have expressed concern that MAS will face yield pressure if it utilises the A380 for this route. MAS had expected to take delivery of its first A380 in August 2011, but announced last Friday that Airbus has requested that the delivery be postponed once again to the first half of 2012. AirAsia X's argument for wanting the KL-Sydney route against flying to other further destinations such as Vienna or Zurich was its lack of suitable aircraft and the lower number of tourists from the latter destinations. Azran has said that a daily AirAsia X flight to Sydney would bring in 110,000 passengers yearly. Instead, AirAsia could only do three flights a week to Vienna as it lacked the right aircraft, bringing in some 44,000 passengers yearly. "This also results in the poor use of aircraft capacity when you fly to a destination with limited tourist appeal," he said, adding that it takes roughly one to one-and-a-half years for AirAsia X to turn a route profitable. While both airlines publicly justify their arguments, air travel passengers/customers are essentially only interested in two key points. One is the passenger's ability to purchase the best priced airfare to a given destination, which typically only happens when there is competition among several players and not a blanket monopoly. And secondly, it is the sustainability of a route. A passenger wants to feel assured that the airline will still be flying to a given destination, having purchased the ticket six months prior to the departure date. Therefore, it is important for an airline, when fighting for the rights of a route, to know that it has the ability to sustain the route despite the route's initial lack of profitability due to intense competition or need for marketing investments.

Which company does not go into business for profit? Even GLCs like MH are chasing profits. The difference is that they can hide behind the government's skirt for protection. So they don't need to work so hard...

In the case if MH, it is a GLC. It is financially guaranteed. Therefore MH can invest with confidence - the govt. guarantees its survival.. For D7 to invest it needs some bread and butter routes - the cash cows. A steady stream of income will ensure that it has money to invest in the new and thinner destinations. It cannot depend on govt grants and taxpayer bail outs. It cannot be expected to invest in new routes, offer low fares, and other goodies if it does not have a main line of income and profits from lucrative trunk routes. As for as the govt. is concerned, it should not be a barrier to MH or D7 when it comes to allowing them to fly any route they like. Let them try (as in the case of Abu Dhabi with D7) their destinations. Let them succeed or fail, but do not stop them from trying. If SYD cannot accommodate both airlines, one of them is bound to quit the route altogether. But as Perth and Melbourne has shown, this isn't the case - the market has expanded and even MH is increasing its flights to Perth and Emirates has joined the KUL-MEL route competition. That is the fundamental difference between MH and D7 - D7 does not have the govt to support it nor bail it out. If it fails, it dies. Is that good for the Malaysian economy?

I suspect that Azran really wants his kangaroo route STN-KUL-SYD. That is the big picture he is looking at. I am sure MH is also aware of that. However, MH will have a big trump card to play - the A380. In Australia, research has shown that pax prefer to fly on the A380 and actively seek out flights and airlines which operate their routes on the A380. Azran has quoted some statistics to support his case for more flights into SYD. However, he neglected to mention that some of these additional pax may have come to Malaysia indirectly via SIN:

Now Tony Fernandes weighs in with his Tweets:

Since when is the Malaysian govt. good at doing such things? They have screwed our automotive industry and now most car manufacturers have made Thailand and Indonesia their production hubs instead of Malaysia, which they have originally earmarked. Our banking industry is a different story - because of its dynamic governor. By opening the industry up to competition (even from foreign banks), merging Malaysian banks to make them stronger, etc. the Malaysian financial services industry is now thriving. We are even in the lead in Islamic banking! The MH CEO seems to want to focus on FAX's debacle in East Malaysia. Even that has a happy ending because consumers ended up getting a better service with MASWings - the govt. bought new and better planes (ATR-72s) because FAX's tenure highlighted how bad the situation is with those old F-50s. So MH had the excuse to ask for new planes for MASWings. In the end our East Malaysia services are now better than ever - so the outcome of FAX's miserable flop was still positive for consumers. So a comprehensive aviation masterplan will definitely be better than none. But has the govt. moved on this matter since the MH proposal? Or is it still sitting on OTK's in-tray?