flee

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.

I don't think the SU-30 can be taken away from frontline duty. Cost per flying hour is also very high for jets. So the PC-7 is the only practical and affordable way for RMAF to have a aerobatic team.

Excellent photography! It looks like the A321 was parked on the runway - is that true and is it common practice at that airport?

Agree with u 100% - our Malaysian Wings spotters are really hardcore! They share their hard earned pix here with us. Kudos to all who have contributed despite all the harassment they have suffered in the hands of the bulis!

Dun think KCH has stairs high enough for the A333 - so aerobridge is a must. You have to ask AK and MAHB if airport tax is higher or not! Last week, I flew in and out of KBR on AK and they used the aerobrige there too. No extra charges to pay on my part, though!

This will be the MiG's last LIMA. Thanks for the shots Chaity. Please get more shots of the MiGs! The SU-30MKM looks like the same one that was at SZB during the Thunderbirds' tour.

Emirates in A380 delivery hiatus from late 2010 Speaking at the Dubai air show, Jim Moravecek, outgoing president of the 50/50 General Electric/Pratt & Whitney joint venture Engine Alliance, said that Emirates, which is the lead GP7200-powered A380 customer, had delayed deliveries: "Emirates will take 15 A380s through next year, then defer for a little while." Full Story: http://www.flightglobal.com/articles/2009/11/30/335517/emirates-in-a380-delivery-hiatus-from-late-2010.html

Yes, it was interesting to see 3 special liveried A322's on the apron. I had to go for a short trip to KBR and saw this- I am not sure if it is a real aircraft, looks more like an abandoned fire and rescue training rig.

I think that the recession is the main culprit. Plus no one is really shopping this time, not the airlines nor the RMAF...

Wah, coverage already before the even has started! Where did you shoot from? I believe the B-52 will fly in from Diego Garcia and do the flypast before moving on to somewhere else or return to base. No ground display nor multiple flying displays. So you need to get the shots on that one and only visit!

9M-TAG was delivered on 10 Aug 2009. Don't think the second one has arrived yet.

Suzuki San, excellent catch of the retro ANA livery! Chaity San, I wonder when MH will go back to its orginal livery? Meanwhile we have to contend with the psuedo retro Dato' LAT AK A322!

Apparently, MH lobbied hard to try to prevent the use of D7 aircraft on domestic flights. They argued D7's license is only for international routes. However, D7 are not operating these KCH flights – its AK under existing flight numbers – D7 are just wet/damp leasing the aircraft to AK. Looks like MH will fight over everything to protect its market.

From the KUL LCCT. Some special liveries on show: 9M-AFG: Multi-colours of AirAsia: Zooming off on Runway 32R:

MH has 3 lease 737-800s - 9M-MLA, 9M-MLB and 9M-MLC. They are looking to lease 2 more early next year before taking delivery of their own brand new ones.

MALAYSIAN Airlines System Bhd (MAS) said today Airbus was delaying delivery of the carrier’s first A380 superjumbo aircraft by eight months. Managing Director and Chief Executive Tengku Datuk Azmil Zahruddin said MAS will now take delivery of its first A380 in August 2011 instead of January 2011. “We have never requested for the A380s to be delayed; all delays have been at Airbus’ request,” he told Dow Jones Newswires. The six aircraft were initially supposed to be delivered from January 2007. Airbus has said that the carrier will be compensated for the delay in the delivery of the aircraft. Azmil said deliveries of subsequent aircraft will be pushed back to the latter part of 2011, and into 2012. A Singapore-based spokesman for Airbus confirmed that the delivery schedule for Malaysian Airline’s order for A380 jets “has been revised.” The official declined to say why the deliveries have been delayed and didn’t provide details on the revised delivery schedule. Malaysia Airlines said yesterday it sunk back into the red in the third quarter, blaming losses on its fuel-hedging positions. In the three months to September, the airline posted a net loss of RM299.6 million compared with a net profit of RM38.1 million a year earlier. - AFP Source: http://www.btimes.com.my/Current_News/BTIMES/articles/20091126191900/Article/index_html

I think Bangkok also suffers from the problem and they deploy parasols inside to shield people from the sun!

They already said that the A320 would fly this route. That was why I suggested that MH up the ante and deploy more comfortable wide bodied planes for this route - this is a measure that AK might not be able to respond to!

They forgot to pasang V-Kool lah. Now want to do a positive spin on Vit D pula! Cheh!

Maybe MH will now assign A333 or B772 to this route to better compete with AK. We can expect AK to launch some new routes next year as they will have more new planes arriving. This year, they sent most of the new planes to Thai and Indonesia AirAsia and only added two or three new planes to the AK fleet. As such we did not see many new routes started.

Interesting info from Business Times: It looks like they have also hedged a lot of the fuel requirements: Source: http://www.btimes.com.my/Current_News/BTIMES/articles/jmas25/Article/index_html

It looks like the A330 will be in production for some time to come yet... Full report and picture here: http://www.flightglobal.com/articles/2009/11/25/335427/picture-a330-tanker-refuels-two-aircraft-for-the-first.html