flee

Its not a typo after all. There is some discussion on a.net: http://www.airliners.net/aviation-forums/general_aviation/read.main/4597935/

I also noticed the slow speed in the report - however, the Airbus website info shows the max speed is the same as that of the passenger versions.

Yes it is bad to tar a whole group of people with one brush. Generally Malaysians are lazy to enforce their consumer rights - that is why Malaysian companies seldom give good customer service. In western countries, consumer rights are given higher priority and consumers usually stand up to suppliers if their rights are infringed.

The original A330 used the same nose wheel as the A300, hence the nose sits lower. The A330-200F has a taller nose wheel to enable to the plane to be level on the ground so that it is easier to load cargo.

That is the difference between a Japanese company and a Malaysian one. Customer service is not usually a strong point for Malaysian companies. So MH is being just like a typical Malaysian company. Japanese companies still think that the customer is always right and it does not cost much to maintain the goodwill.

Airbus throws A330-200F straight into flight-test regime during maiden sortie By Max Kingsley-Jones Airbus put the A330-200 Freighter through an intense test regime during its first flight earlier today, operating the aircraft up to its maximum speed and altitude and testing its revised nose landing gear arrangement. “We flew the aircraft to 41,000ft [12,500m] and to the maximum speed of 330kt [610km/h],” says Airbus test pilot Philippe Perrin, who captained the first flight. “We also flew the aircraft down to its lowest speed – ‘Alpha Max’.” Part of the reason to operate to the maximum altitude was to evaluate the sealing of the large maindeck cargo door, says Perrin: “The pressure held very well.” Alongside Perrin for the 3h 50min flight was co-pilot Martin Scheuermann and test-flight engineers Wolfgang Brueggemann, Stephane Vaux and Pascal Verneau. Perrin says that the crew were keen to test the modified nose-gear arrangement, which incorporates an external blimp fairing to accommodate the lower leg attachment. The revised attachment is needed to ensure the aircraft sits level on the ground for loading. “We wanted to check the operation of the new doors, which behaved very nicely,” he says, adding that there were no noise or buffet issues with the fairing. When it returned to land from its maiden sortie, the A330 flew two autoland approaches, including a late go-around and a touch-and-go, before making a full-stop landing. Perrin says that during the A330-200F will be operated in “extreme flight configurations” during the 4-5 month flight-test programme. Part of the trials will be used to extend the A330’s centre of gravity (CofG) by 3% over the passenger version, to improve flexibility when loading freight pallets of varying weights throughout the aircraft’s maindeck cargo bay. The 180h flight-test programme is due to be culminate in simultaneous European Aviation Safety Agency and US Federal Aviation Administration certification in March. First delivery to launch customer Etihad Airways will take place in August. Source: http://www.flightglobal.com/articles/2009/11/05/334463/airbus-throws-a330-200f-straight-into-flight-test-regime-during-maiden.html More images: http://www.flightglobal.com/airspace/photos/airbusa330/tags/a330-200f/default.aspx

Well this is usually the case with authorities. They tend to over react. Plus a small number of baddies cause a great deal of inconvenience for the overwhelming majority. Just look at the liquid ban on flights, the credit card tax, the Puspakom inspections when selling your old car, etc. All these measures were introduced just because a tiny minority exploited the loopholes.

I think most people are not against the payment "convenience" charge. However, it is the manner in which AirAsia has imposed it that is so BN government like! That is what most people are bitching about. Most would agree it should be a transaction charge rather than a per pax per sector charge. This sounds more like an Admin Fee. That is why we felt that AirAsia is bullshitting!

Yes, BKI no longer appears as a destination on their booking engine.

A330-200F: Allowing freight operators to adapt to evolving markets The new dedicated Freighter variant of the successful A330 Family took to the skies today during a four hour maiden flight over Toulouse. This milestone marks the start of a 180 hour flight-test and certification campaign, and paves the way for first delivery of the type to launch operator, Etihad Crystal Cargo, in the summer of 2010. The new A330-200F will offer freight customers greater range and a higher maximum payload with much lower unit costs compared with its closest competitor. The aircraft has already gained 67 firm orders with nine customers. In addition to these orders, the aircraft has been selected by a tenth customer - Turkish Airlines - following the recent signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for two A330-200Fs. Furthermore, there are other ongoing campaigns in progress where airlines are showing serious interest in the aircraft. Airbus Chief Operating Officer - Customers, John Leahy said: "The efficient A330-200F is very well adapted to today’s market dynamics of rising fuel prices and increased pressure on yields." He adds: "The A330-200F is the right aircraft at the right time. We are at the eve of a market recovery, and now is the time for airlines to prepare for future freight growth." Airbus sees the need for over 3,400 freighters in the next 20 years to cater for a 5.2% average annual growth rate. In turn, this will require around 1,600 mid-sized freighters, of which the A330-200F will play an important role. With a greater payload than initially anticipated, the A330-200F offers two operational configurations depending on the planned mission. The aircraft can carry more than 64 metric tonnes over 4,000 nautical miles / 7,400km, or more than 69 metric tonnes up to 3,200 nautical miles / 5,930km - non-stop. These range and payload capabilities will enable operators to grow their business by opening up or extending cargo routes they currently operate. Thanks to an optimized fuselage cross-section, it has the interior flexibility to carry a wide variety of pallet and container sizes for maximum interlining capability, offering 30 per cent more volume than any freighter in its class. Compared with the highly successful passenger A330-200, this new purpose-designed Freighter version has an increased maximum-zero-fuel weight (MZFW) of eight tonnes to allow for high-density cargo configuration transportation of 10lb/ft3. In addition, the aircraft features a reinforced fuselage plus new strengthened floor with a specially designed floor-grid for higher running loads. The A330-200F is based on the proven, highly successful and technologically-advanced A330 platform, for which Airbus has received over 1,000 orders, and to date around 625 aircraft are in operational service. See video here: http://www.airbus.com/fileadmin/media_gallery/videos/history%20&%20millestones/A330-Decollage-version-courte.swf

Air Astana is doing them a favour. If they get high load factors, it means that there is good demand for flights to this region.

The migration has begun. From AirAsia's Facebook: AirAsia is proud to present our new routes from our latest hub introduction, Phuket to destinations both domestic such as Chiangmai and international, comprising exciting destinations such as Hong Kong, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Ho Chi Minh City, Jakarta, and Medan.

From Facebook: AirAsia is proud to present our new routes from our latest hub introduction, Phuket to destinations both domestic such as Chiangmai and international, comprising exciting destinations such as Hong Kong, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Ho Chi Minh City, Jakarta, and Medan.

I think many of us forget that AirAsia group's year on year growth in Q3 was around 19% - it is no coincidence that this growth was only possible after the current LCCT's expansion was completed. However, since LCCT is a limiting factor they are now looking for Thai AirAsia and Indonesia AirAsia to contribute more growth.

That is why I admire you guys! You get the shots despite the problems with the bulis! The DCA/MAHB should issue IDs for spotters (especially those from Malaysian Wings) because it is not an illegal activity. Then it will make life easier for both the bulis and the Malaysian Wings spotters!

Now you know why D7 wants to suspend this service. Here is an Air Asia blog posting (I know it is from their staff, but it describes the landing attempts nicely), Beijing Adventure - Part 1:

KC, Superb shots as usual! More, more!

Agree 101% The way they implemented this fee shows that they don't want you to know it exists... Very sneaky. Fee applies whether it is for debit or credit cards as well as for bank transfers. As long as the payment gateway is used, they will clobber you with the fee. Only eGift vouchers are exempt from the charge. These kinds of comments are typical of the Aussie AirAsia "fans". They are so deprived of low cost air travel out of Oz!

Well, the problem is that we cannot generalise - the fare depends on a number of circumstances. So it depends on how far ahead you book and whether there are promotions going on for both carriers. If you compare the MH promo fare against the AK normal fare MH will probably be lower. But almost no one can match the AK/D7 fares during their sales periods where zero fares apply for many seats. Moral of the story - if you fly with AK/D7, you are not really in control of the dates you can fly if you are seeking the lowest fares. The dates you can fly on (at those low, low fares) are dictated by AK/D7 because they want to sell the seats on flights that are not so convenient for pax to go on. I note that in other forums, most UK and Australian AirAsia and AirAsia X "fans" are not too bothered by this because other LCCs have all sorts of charges. Ryanair charges £5 for using the toilet, £40 for checking in at airports and £5 each way for checking in on line. So this kind of charge is "biasa" and AK/D7 are just "learning" how to impose creatively named fees on their customers.

This fee is sneaky - it is not shown in the fare calculation at all. It only appears when the time comes to pay. I remember they also increased their checked in luggage fee from RM 5 to RM 10 a few months ago, again without any notice.

Looks like a new name for the Administration Fee...

I think you are taking the quotes out of context. Azran was dealing specifically with the Tianjin route issue. Tony was receiving the CAPA awards and the AirAsia Group flies to many other destinations besides Tianjin. Tony was merely talking about the AirAsia Group as a whole, not just referring to one specific destination.

I think that it is good that D7 is open and transparent about this - it shows that they are not in denial and are taking steps to stem losses.

D7 have already increased frequencies for the Gold Coast, Melbourne and Taipei routes. 3 new A333's will be delivered in 2009 and the Abu Dhabi virtual hub will open in 2 weeks. I suspect the Paris route will be operated by A333's with one stop at Abu Dhabi. However, D7 is mindful of the uncomfortable seats of current A333's and I don't think they will start the Paris service until they receive new A333's with better seats. That is why they are using the A343 to Abu Dhabi for now.

Hear hear!