flee

Do bear in mind that this decision is made mainly because their current A330s are in urgent need of replacement. A further decision will be needed to replace the B747/B777s soon, perhaps an order for the B787/A350 will be made once MH sees some operational statistics of these aircraft. That means it may be another 1 or 2 years before MH makes its next order. The A350 is scheduled to enter commercial service in 2013, if everything goes well. Yes, MH needs to buy proven aircraft with short delivery lead times. It cannot risk any delivery delays (like those seen on the A380) as their current A330s are rather old and tired.

Agree! I know many here are aviation enthusiasts and are disappointed. But from a business point of view, MH did the right thing by not ordering planes that are yet to be in the market. The total cost of ownership should be far lower than those paper aeroplanes that have yet to enter airline service. More importantly MH will get the planes ASAP. Unlike other airlines, MH cannot afford to wait till after 2016 for its new planes.

From: http://www.flightglobal.com/articles/2009/12/23/336556/kingston-weather-poor-at-time-of-american-737-overrun.html While details on the American Airlines Boeing 737-800 overrun at Kingston remain sketchy, meteorological data shows poor weather conditions during arrival. American's timetable shows flight AA331's scheduled arrival time is 21:10, but the carrier says the aircraft landed at 21:22CST, equating to 22:22 local. Meteorological information from Norman Manley International Airport indicated heavy rain and possible thunderstorm activity at this time. The airport has a single runway, designated 12/30, which has a length of 2,716m (8,910ft) but its virtually-offshore location - on a thin strip of land south of Jamaica - leaves little overrun margin at either end. There is no confirmation of which runway the aircraft was using. While there is an instrument landing system for runway 12, the weather data indicates that this would have required landing with a tail wind. NOTAM information, dated today, shows that the airport has restated the runway distances available to aircraft, and introduced a displaced threshold on runway 30. American states that two of the 148 passengers were admitted to hospital for observation, but all others have been released. The jet, arriving from Miami, was also carrying a crew of six. Damage to the 737 is substantial. Its fuselage has fractured aft of the wing, its right-hand CFM International CFM56 engine has separated and the left wing-tip has snapped.

Looking at the pictures on the BBC, the B738 looks broken to me! http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/8427628.stm

Second Boeing 787 Dreamliner Completes First Flight EVERETT, Wash., Dec. 22 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- The second Boeing (NYSE: BA) 787 Dreamliner, ZA002, completed its first flight today. The all-new airplane, which features the livery of the Dreamliner's launch customer, ANA (All Nippon Airways) of Japan, took off from Paine Field in Everett, completed a two-hour flight and landed at Boeing Field in Seattle. "We are delighted that the second Dreamliner is in the livery of our launch customer, ANA," said Scott Fancher, vice president and general manager of the 787 program. "We are honored by the airline's support and look forward to delivering ANA the first production airplane next year." Captain Randy Neville was at the controls for the flight, with Chief Pilot Mike Carriker operating as co-pilot. Neville and Carriker took the airplane to an altitude of 13,000 feet (3,962 m) and an airspeed of 200 knots, or about 230 miles (370 km) per hour. The airplane took off at 9:09 a.m. PST and landed at 11:10 a.m. PST. This is the second of six 787s being used in the airplane's flight-test program. Each of the airplanes will be used for a specific set of tests, with this airplane focusing on systems performance. Like its predecessor, ZA001, the airplane is powered by two Rolls-Royce Trent 1000 engines. "We would like to convey our sincere congratulations to the Boeing team for its achievement of this milestone, and we look forward to the delivery into our fleet next year," said Shinichiro Ito, president and CEO of ANA. Source: http://boeing.mediaroom.com/index.php?s=43&item=1010

I think that MH has already stated why it is not considering the B787 for this order - it needs the planes to be delivered very soon due to their tardy decision making process. Their old A332/A333 are in urgent need of replacement. The other reason is that MH has MRO expertise in handling this plane - so maintenance will not be a big issue as they will be familiar with this aircraft type. If they choose the RR Trent 700EP engine (SQ is using this engine), MTOW will be higher than their old planes too. This is, at best, a stop gap decision. I am sure more orders will be dished out soon and don't discount orders for the B747-8I!

The smart money would be on Rolls Royce Trent 700, the engine of choice on the A330 with a 53% market share. More info: http://www.rolls-royce.com/civil/products/largeaircraft/trent_700/index.jsp

The A350 will replace the A330/A340. So the A333 is now on its last legs. However, as many airlines have found out with brand new aircraft (e.g. A380 and B787), delays can cause havoc to their fleet replacement plans. I dare say that MAS will be using the 15 aircraft to replace their current fleet. The 10 options might be converted to A350's if the plane comes out on time.

Steve Creedy, Aviation writer JETSTAR and AirAsia are about to announce an operational joint venture that could save hundreds of millions of dollars by enabling them to jointly buy aircraft, parts and other goods. The two airlines would still compete for passengers and the deal does not involve equity. It aims to cut costs through economies of scale. A Qantas Group spokesman confirmed yesterday that the two airlines were talking but declined to comment further. It is understood the region's two biggest low-cost carriers have been talking for some time and are working out final details of the deal. Areas expected to be included in the agreement are procurement and ground handling, with costs savings in the order of 5-10 per cent. Kuala Lumpur-based AirAsia is the Asia-Pacific region's biggest low-cost carrier. It is headed by flamboyant entrepreneur and former musician Tony Fernandes. At the end of last month it had a fleet of 64 180-seat Airbus A320 aircraft and 18 Boeing 737s. It operates more than 400 flights daily to domestic and international destinations and has offshoots in Thailand and Indonesia as well as a stake in long-haul carrier AirAsiaX, which serves Australia. Airlines flying under the Jetstar brand operate 46 A320 and and A321 aircraft. Combining procurement for the two fleets will give the carriers more clout to cut deals with suppliers. The two airlines also plan to share ground handlers in ports where one partner faces higher costs because it does not have enough flights. They are considering pooling parts, giving them wider coverage at lower cost. The deal is understood to minimise the need for regulatory approval but that might be unavoidable in some areas. Engineering work will still be done separately and the agreement will not include heavily regulated areas such as training and standards. In the longer term, the airlines hope to join forces on aircraft purchases. They are hoping the size of their combined fleet will give them enough sway to influence the design of the next generation of narrow-body jets when they are offered. The Australian low-cost carrier has been expanding in Southeast Asia as part of a pan-Asian strategy that includes stakes in Jetstar-branded airlines in Singapore and Vietnam. Jetstar chief executive Bruce Buchanan reaffirmed the airline's Asia focus last week as Singapore-based Jetstar Asia began services to mainland China. The move is expected to be a blow to Singapore-based Tiger Aviation. Source: http://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/budget-carriers-unite-to-cut-costs/story-e6frg8zx-1225811541654

From the pix you have shown, background clutter is a problem. However, this can only be partially solved by shooting with fast lenses at wide open apertures, a highly expensive solution!

MAS not ordering Dreamliner aircraft By B.K. SIDHU Airline does not see a fit in the delivery schedule for now PETALING JAYA: Malaysia Airlines (MAS) will not place any orders for the B787 Dreamliner as it does not see a fit in the delivery schedule for now even though the B787 uses 20% less fuel than existing aircraft. Delayed for two years, the 250-seater B787 is the first commercial plane to be built with a plastic fuselage and an all-electric system. It completed its maiden flight on Tuesday, thereby instilling confidence in the airlines that have placed orders for this aircraft. This is Boeing’s first model after a decade. Boeing has 840 firm orders valued at US$140bil from global carriers for the B787. Its first customer is All Nippon Airways Co, which has 27 orders for the 787-8 and 28 orders for the 787-3. In an e-mail response to StarBiz queries, MAS chief financial officer Mohd Azha Abdul Jalil said “there are many orders for the Dreamliner and any orders placed today will only see delivery in 2020.” “We are currently planning to refresh our wide-body aircraft but we don’t see a fit between our current fleet plans and the delivery dates of the Dreamliner. “As such, at this point, there are no plans to place orders for the Dreamliner,’’ he added. MAS will be taking delivery of the first of the 35 B737-800 from October next year. AirAsia Bhd has opted for the Airbus and is phasing out the Boeing. It was reported that about 50% of the B787 is made of lightweight composite materials, with large sections produced by suppliers worldwide and assembled by Boeing at Everett, Washington. Boeing claims the plane will be quieter, produce lower emissions and use 20% less fuel than comparable aircraft, while 250 passengers will enjoy a more comfortable cabin with better air quality and larger windows. It was reported earlier that parts of the flight control systems for this aircraft may be built in Penang by Honeywell Aerospace but none of the Malaysian aircraft parts suppliers will be supplying parts, at least for now. The aircraft model most similar to the Dreamliner is said to be A350XWB, which is slated to be launched in 2013. Source: http://biz.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2009/12/17/business/5318907&sec=business

They are what I would call "hardcore" spotters! They get the shots despite the bulis!

From AK Facebook: Source: http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=4773924&id=18801397386

The B787 actually replaces the B767/A330 class of planes. The B777 is bigger and carries more passengers over longer distances. The B787 will be a workhorse on regional routes where the passenger loads are not so high.

I agree, but I think any publicity will help - especially if people are made aware of this site.

South Africa recently pulled out of an order for eight A400Ms, leaving Malaysia as the only export customer. Source: http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/engineering/article6952954.ece

Malaysia is the only non European country to order it. France, Germany and UK are the big customers. Here is the full list: http://www.a400m.com/CustomerBase.aspx Note that Malaysia also gets a good share of the components supply to Airbus.

Airbus Military’s first A400M transport took off from San Pablo airport near Seville, Spain at 10:15 local time on its historic first flight. Aircraft MSN001 landed at 14:00 local time after a sortie lasting 3h 45min. Airbus says the first A400M has reached a top speed of 230kt (425km/h) during the flight - below the 300kt maximum originally targeted, but that the aircraft has performed as expected. Full Report: http://www.flightglobal.com/articles/2009/12/11/336083/pictures.html Airbus Press Release: http://www.airbus.com/en/presscentre/pressreleases/pressreleases_items/09_12_11_a400m_maiden_flight.html

Congratulations Hong Kit! I thought you already had pix published already!

Yes, fantastic coverage from you guys... Bravo!

Sorry, no more SQ flights. So you have to make do with MH/MI, or the low cost carriers!

I think that the SU-30's arrogance towards the principles of aerodynamics is an awesome display of engine thrust and control. It also sometimes defy the laws of gravity. The Russian jets crashed because the pilots have become so used to the awesome power and control that they forget the basics of safety and go over the limit. When that happens everything falls like a stack of cards. What is awesome is also fragile if you don't give it proper respect, and the planes crash.

Full Story here: http://www.flightglobal.com/articles/2009/12/04/335805/kal-orders-five-boeing-747-8-passenger-aircraft.html They also have the 747-8F in their fleet. Is that why it makes more sense to order this aircraft than the A350?

KC, Awesome shots as usual! Too bad the APEC flying schedules were less than friendly.

If AK retimed the flight, you can ask them to put you on an earlier flight - just check their schedules and get the flight that is better suited for your connection. It should be FOC to change your JHB-KUL flight to an earlier one. If that is not possible, you could try to ask for the KUL-PEN flight to be switched to something you can connect to. This should be possible, especially if both flights have the same booking reference.