flee

Apparently, D7 lent the plane to AK to help them out because one of their planes was down and this way, AK did not have to cancel KCH flights. Also helped D7 to get more pilots checked off for the A340. 9M-XAC actually starts full-time operations to STN this Saturday 27 Jun.

The leased 738s that MH are currently using is a stop gap measure pending delivery of their own planes starting from next year. Not sure why they need these planes - maybe for crew training and familiarisation so that they can jump straight into the new fleet once they start arriving.

Apparently, D7 lent the plane to AK to help them out because one of their planes was down and this way, AK did not have to cancel KCH flights. Also helped D7 to get more pilots checked off for the A340. 9M-XAC actually starts full-time operations to STN this Saturday 27 Jun.

AirAsia would beg to differ - they say that it is hard to get MAHB to move quickly. See we are already coming up to July and work has not even started on the permanent LCCT. They would say that they have to kick and shout for everything they got out of the MAHB. They will say that they achieved their success despite the inefficiency and lack of competitive business savviness shown by GLCs like MAHB. They also said that Khazanah, being the owner of MAS and MAHB, are trying to slow down the progress of AirAsia. I think AirAsia was clever to forge partnerships in Thailand and Indonesia. With those sister airlines, they can also make alternative plans should Malaysia proves to be too difficult.

Malaysian sports suffer from this disease - the more money you pump in, the worse the results will be. So it is better not to sponsor them. They just waste the money!

Well the plane will be used for the London and Tianjin routes - not sure how this fits in though. The UK has a small NFL following but I am not sure about China!

Awesome pix under difficult weather conditions! 9M-XAC has been closely followed - from its delivery flight to Singapore to the hangar shots at KLIA. MWingers are providing "full coverage" of this aircraft prior to its entering service on the STN and TSN routes! Well done guys!

Well MAHB is like the civil service, they are not very commercially minded. In normal commercial circumstances I don't think AK would be allowed to have a debt like that and can still use the facilities! AirAsia wants lower airport tax at LCCT LOW cost carrier AirAsia Bhd, wants Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd (MAHB) to recommend a reduction in airport tax to the government for international passengers, at the Low Cost Carrier Terminal (LCCT). Its group chairman Datuk Aziz Bakar said today that the current rate of RM51 charged for international travellers was unfair, and should be reduced to RM10, as the LCCT did not have advantages such as aerobridges when compared to the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA). "Malaysia Airports should be recommending to the government to lower the charge as it is the entity operating the airport," he told reporters on the sidelines of AirAsia's Major Tariff Adjustment launch in Kuala Lumpur. "The Minister of Finance, Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak, will have to consider this. We have invested a lot and are always expanding and lowering cost. We want to make Kuala Lumpur a hub for travellers," he added. Aziz said AirAsia had helped bring about the multiplier effect to the country's economy through its passengers. "If Malaysia Airports look at the bigger picture of the economy, what is a few ringgit in service charges?" he asked. He said this when asked to comment on the issue of the RM65 million in airport tax owed by AirAsia to Malaysia Airports and which was brought up in Parliament yesterday. "We have been paying the charges. But the RM65 million is part of the payment we are holding back, until we resolve this issue," he explained. - Bernama From Business Times: http://www.btimes.com.my/Current_News/BTIM...icle/index_html AirAsia scraps administrative charges MALAYSIAN budget carrier AirAsia today scrapped administrative charges to boost passenger numbers but said it has not been hurt by the downturn that has affected most airlines worldwide. Chief executive officer Tony Fernandes said the company would lose RM400 million (US$114 million) a year by getting rid of the charges but said he wanted to keep a promise of providing the lowest fares. “I continue to remain bullish. Any product that can reduce cost will make more profit,” he said. “I have been in the business for the last seven years. There has been perpetual headwinds such as the outbreak of SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome in Asia in 2003) and tsunami. We will continue to grow,” he added. “We are going the extra mile to live-up to our brand promise to have the lowest fares in the market,” he said, adding that passengers now need to pay only the fare and airport tax. “With no admin fee more people will travel with AirAsia, especially in view of the current economic uncertainties,” Fernandes added. Administration charges range from RM22 to RM43 per person. The world’s airlines are expected to lose US$9 billion this year, industry body IATA said early this month in a drastic reassessment of the worst slump the industry has ever faced. Carriers in all regions are expected to report losses in 2009, with Asia-Pacific airlines — once the brightest spot of the industry — accounting for more than a third of the global losses at RM3.3 billion. Fernandes said AirAsia will not defer arrivals of its Airbus A320 aircraft while its route expansion plans remained on track despite the bleak outlook of the sector. “We are not affected by the swine flu outbreak. We have not deferred our plane orders. We are doing very well. We are growing our capacity,” he said as the carrier planned to add Colombo to its route in August. Fernandes said its new fleet of A320s were fuel savers, which helped to lower operational cost. “Next week we will let go all our (16) Boeing 737s. We will then have a brand new A320 fleet,” he said. It currently has 62 A320s. AirAsia became the world’s biggest customer for the Airbus A320-200 after placing an order for 175 aircraft in December 2007, with an option for 50 more. Deliveries are expected to run until 2014. AirAsia last month said its profits rose 26 per cent in the three months to March, as it defied the economic downturn and boosted passenger numbers. The carrier posted net profits of RM203.2 million for the first quarter, compared with RM161.3 million a year earlier. -- AFP

Mana Ada Sistem?

Well competition is good, even for non AirAsia travellers! I can still recall paying over RM 800 for a return flight to BKI in the mid 1980's. Compare that to the fare we pay nowadays...

This one is for 2 pax. Single pax only RM 1.038 plus extra for luggage and meals.

Just checked their fares. London STN is stated at RM 1,038 for travel in November. Just look at the taxes we pay at UK Airports....

D7's A343 trying out KCH's new long runway for size?

I think those are the "disputed charges"... i.e. charges that AK thinks MAHB should not have levied. So they paid those that are OK and this is the amount left of disputed charges. I think AK is also using this debt as leverage to get what they want from MAHB.

AirAsia scraps admin fees to make tickets cheaper KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian budget airline AirAsia on Wednesday abolished administrative fees on all its flights in a move to reduce fares and bolster sales amid the global slowdown. AirAsia Chief Executive Tony Fernandes said scrapping the fee creates further savings for passengers as they will now pay only the fare and airport tax. AirAsia removed fuel surcharges in November last year. The fee ranged from 22.5 ringgit ($6.40) to a maximum of around 43 ringgit per ticket and removing it will cost the airline 400 million ringgit ($113 million) a year. Fernandes said the region's biggest budget carrier is confident it can increase ticket sales and generate income from other sources to offset the loss of revenue. "It's been a tough six months for the airline industry but AirAsia is getting stronger and stronger. We believe we will increase our load factor and become more competitive," he told a news conference. Airlines worldwide are reeling from the global economic slump that has choked passenger and cargo traffic. Many have cut capacity, grounded planes and shed their work force to cope with the downturn. But AirAsia is expanding and says it is benefiting as travelers cut cost and downgrade to budget carriers. Its net profit in the quarter through March hit a record 203.2 million ringgit ($57 million), up 26 percent from a year earlier. - AP Source: http://biz.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?f...mp;sec=business

And thanks for sharing! You transferred there and then? I would have thought that you guys would have transferred everything and edit the pix before putting it on a DVD for your client. So they had all the raw pix, huh? Did they pay you guys well or were you so over the moon to have the opportunity to shoot like this and did it FOC?

Boeing Postpones 787 First Flight EVERETT, Wash., June 23 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Boeing (NYSE: BA) today announced that first flight of the 787 Dreamliner will be postponed due to a need to reinforce an area within the side-of-body section of the aircraft. The need was identified during the recent regularly scheduled tests on the full-scale static test airplane. Preliminary analysis indicated that flight test could proceed this month as planned. However, after further testing and consideration of possible modified flight test plans, the decision was made late last week that first flight should instead be postponed until productive flight testing could occur. First flight and first delivery will be rescheduled following the final determination of the required modification and testing plan. It will be several weeks before the new schedule is available. The 787 team will continue with other aspects of testing on Airplane #1, including final gauntlet testing and low-speed taxiing. Work will also continue on the other five flight test aircraft and the subsequent aircraft in the production system. Scott Carson, president and CEO of Boeing Commercial Airplanes said a team of experts has already identified several potential solutions. "Consideration was given to a temporary solution that would allow us to fly as scheduled, but we ultimately concluded that the right thing was to develop, design, test and incorporate a permanent modification to the localized area requiring reinforcement. Structural modifications like these are not uncommon in the development of new airplanes, and this is not an issue related to our choice of materials or the assembly and installation work of our team," Carson said. Boeing's financial guidance will be updated to reflect any impact of these changes when the company issues its second quarter 2009 earnings report in July. Source: http://boeing.mediaroom.com/index.php?s=43&item=720

This is another salvo fired by AirAsia... Not sure what effect it has on bottom line fares - but I guess it really depends on your destination and time of travel too. For low fare routes, the difference can be significant. But for long haul routes, the Admin Fee is only a small portion of the cost.

They will say that if it is not comfortable, buy the XL seats. But to me, people are only prepared to tolerate a certain level of discomfort for reduced ticket prices. Remember, D7 flights are much longer than AK flights and by right, they should offer a better level of comfort than the A320's. However, I think that currently the reverse is true - I'd rather fly on AK than D7 because I can get comfortable on AK whereas on D7 it is hard to find a comfortable seating position on those 3-3-3 seats...

Yes, A380 has more wheels to spread the weight around, so each wheel should exert less pressure on the runway. Its like lorries having more axles and wheels to carry heavy loads. The A380's body undercarriage is similar to those of military cargo planes with additional wing landing gear. Taxiways should be wide enough and clean enough so that the outboard engines do not ingest debris from the non-paved parts. Take a look at the undercarriage (Pix by kianhong)

Middle Eastern carrier Gulf Air is intending to lease out two of its Airbus A340s under a long-term arrangement, although it has yet to secure a taker. Gulf Air chief executive Bjorn Naf disclosed the plan during a briefing at the Paris Air Show. He says the carrier, which has been planning to phase out its A340 fleet, is "looking at leasing out two units" and is "optimistic" of identifying a "long-term" lessee soon. Gulf Air is still intending to phase out the A340s - of which it has nine - but it has reconsidered its plans to lease Boeing 777-300ER aircraft. It plans to return all the 777s to India's Jet Airways by about October, having opted not to pursue a dry-lease. Naf tells Flightglobal sister publication Air Transport Intelligence that the A340s are "still fit for purpose" but admits that the impact of the economic slowdown over the past few months has forced the carrier to be flexible with its plans. "We couldn't afford to go to dry-lease on such a big ship," he says, referring to the 777s and adding that Gulf Air could not allow itself to be "too proud" to return the twin-jets as the business case changed. Source: http://www.flightglobal.com/articles/2009/...-two-a340s.html

That is one of the reasons I only undo my seatbelt if I need to go to the toilet... Best to keep seatbelt on when you are seated...

I would think that whether the terminal can take the A380 depends on - 1 Airbridges for pax (esp. upper deck) 2 Catering facilities 3 Parking space at the apron - A380 has a massive wingspan, so needs a lot of space! 4 Airport runway length and strength 5 Taxiways that can take the giant whalejet

Malaysian long-haul low-cost carrier AirAsia X is considering destinations in North America and new destinations in Europe, possibly using Airbus A340-300s. "(It is) too early to get into specifics, but for Europe we would be keen on a central European destination and an eastern European destination," AirAsia X CEO Azran Osman-Rani says in an email to ATI. "For North America, maybe one on the east coast and one on the west coast." While he gave no timeframe for the possible new routes, he says the airline will continue monitoring trends within the lease market for A340-300s. "We will not be actively looking for A340s until next year," he says. "We want to get comfortable with A340 operations and economics with the two that we have leased, but we will keep monitoring the trends in the lease market for the A340-300." Azran says: "We would only be looking at the A340-300 model, and ideally with the same CFM engines." In an email to Malaysian publication The Business Times, Azran says - with regards to the lease market for A340s- "we expect the lease market to soften further as the Boeing 787s come on stream." "It is not difficult to find A340s; it's just that we're choosy and patient, waiting to pounce on a lease only when it is very favourable," he adds. At the Paris air show yesterday, AirAsia X announced it would buy ten Airbus A350-900s, each with 400 seats in a two-classten-abreast cabin layout. These are to be delivered from early 2016, it says, adding that the deal includes five options. Sourve: http://www.flightglobal.com/articles/2009/...rica-using.html

PETALING JAYA: AirAsia X’s latest fleet purchase has raised concerns among analysts that it is following the high debt-leverage route of AirAsia Bhd, expanding the risks to its bankers. The long-haul, low-cost airline company’s CEO, Azran Osman-Rani, said there was a fundamental difference between the business model of AirAsia X and that of traditional airlines. “For AirAsia X, most of its tickets are sold through the Internet and bought by customers months before their flights. “As for traditional airlines, tickets are mainly bought through agents and paid by customers just two weeks before the flights. “The agents may even pay the airlines after the flights,” he told StarBiz in a telephone interview yesterday. The airline has a similar business model as AirAsia as both are low-cost carriers. “We have forward cash. In this business, what is important is cashflow. We’re holding the forward cash,” he added. It was announced on Tuesday that AirAsia X placed a firm order for 10 Airbus A350 aircraft which carried a list price of US$2.2bil. This follows an earlier order for 25 Airbus A330 planes for delivery between last year and 2015. On the company’s debt leverage, he said AirAsia X’s gearing was about 200% and was not expected to increase. The 10 planes in the latest order will only be delivered from 2016. “It’s not like we’re buying all the planes at the same time. But it is important to place the deposits now. This is to ensure we’ll have the delivery slots. The deposit is just US$10mil, we’re not paying US$2.2bil yet,” he added. Progressive payments will start 36 months from delivery but the bulk of payments will be made when the planes are delivered. By the time the A350 planes are delivered from 2016, most of the borrowings taken for the A330 planes would have been repaid. Azran said some equity analysts did not understand AirAsia X’s business model, but that was not important. “What is important is what the banks do. If the banks are worried with our gearing, wouldn’t they be the first to run away? “But the banks are saying they’ll fund all our deliveries this year,” he said. AirAsia X will take delivery of three Airbus A330 planes between September and December. Financing has been obtained for these planes. Currently, the airline flies five planes to London, Melbourne, Perth and Gold Coast (Australia), and Tianjin and Hangzhou in China. Its most profitable routes are Gold Coast and Hangzhou because these were the first two routes flown by the airline. “They’re more matured markets for us than London or Melbourne. It’ll take us a year to build brand awareness for the newer routes and, initially, the pricing has to be aggressive,” he said. That was from The Star: http://biz.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?f...mp;sec=business I find it so funny that these analysts try to pick something wrong with the deal. Last year they caused AirAsia share price to tumble because they did not like their non fuel hedging policy. So AirAsia started hedging to please them - otherwise share prices will freefall. So these analysts have indirectly caused losses for AirAsia. This time Azran told them to F.O. - good on u Azran!