Cheng Long

From a layman's perspective, fuel leaking from engine midair is kind of serious..

They asked for it.. but wondering how many of us here can read Chinese?

They usually like to have an idea of roughly how much resources will be needed so they won't be caught by surprise..

Guess in the event of real emergency, it's important to know how many people they are dealing with..

For Singaporeans, Malaysia is their backyard...

Good luck..

Yes, time has changed, pal.. or maybe I've a keen eye..haha. But actually I don't see anything taboo about those ads..the ladies were not scantily clad or whatever. In fact, they have more clothes than the raiderettes. I also thought the second ad has a bit of classy touch.

Can la.. You see pretty similar ads all the time especially in shopping complexes (for other products of course).

Don't know what the fuss is about. That Mr Chong probably got nasi biryani or nasi lemak as main and probabaly a tiny wafer as a side (which happened to be Italian made). Im sure there are plenty of other better things for the DAP guy to talk about in his press conference.

The profit from BKI/SBW is used to cross-subsidize other unprofitable routes in the RAS. That's because the government is so stingy that they halved the subsidy they give to MASwing as compared to ones for FAX. Even though East Malaysians literally kept them in power, guess they don't give a hoot for Sabah and Sarawak. If you just look at BKI/SBW route by itself, it's reasonable to wonder how come AK not allowed the route. But looking at the overall scheme of things (as have been mentioned previously in this thread), you can just see how AK is manipulating people, bending laws and agreement to get its own ways. Very unethical.

To call someone emotional is kinda ok.. but for Tony Fernandez to call another fellow airline CEO "silly", that's very disrespectful.

So Air Asia didn't end up paying for the planes they cannibalized and poorly maintained? Perhaps they paid for it partly and refused to pay the rest like how they deal with MAHB.

Is that right? Very different from what I heard and observed. Where did you get the news from? I remember Uncle Tony was very gung ho to take over those routes and MH was adamant they could still managed. And Air Asia got massive subsidies upfront but of course, you can't make huge profit flying the rural air service. I'm also not so sure about the better deal now. Was told that MASwing has no freedom of control over pricing of their tickets. It's tightly regulated by the gov. The people of East Malaysia certainly are not getting a good deal. Ever since Air Asia took over, the fares just skyrocketed and it remained high until now. The fares are simply not affordable for many. If the gov is of any good, they should reduce the fares as the rural flights are a necessity. If they can throw out huge subsidies each year for highways in West Malaysia, they should do more for rural flights in East Malaysia. We don't have highways and our roads treacherous. Rivers?..Well, forget it.

Easy.. Last time Air Asia die die wanted to fly the rural air service. After they realized it was a burden, they die die wanted to get rid of it. I remember the reason given was something like "Oh, MAS going to use turboprop planes for Firefly. Then why not ask MAS to take over the rural flights then since these also involve turboprop planes". The gov thought it was such a brilliant idea. In a flick, the rural flights with its fleet or cannibalized / poorly maintained Fokker 50s and Twin otters were back to MAS. (Did Air Asia pay for the repair then? The news just sizzled out so I don't know..) As time goes by, Air Asia becomes smarter. They realized their early mistake. Now they don't want the total package, but only the profitable routes. Uncle Tony said, "MASwing should be really concentrating on routes for public service that you cannot make money on". In other words, MASwing, you can have all the loss-making routes that you want.

Agree.. Not to forget brand new Air Asia's planes also.

So does that mean they made the right decision to hedge some fuel?

Welcome back MHost..You have been very quiet for awhile.. The news article just shows that people can be very critical and harp on little little things to magnify your flaws.. See how dramatic they made it looked like.. it was a "Scary flight" though the planes hardly took off. They must be very happy as this time it involved airline other than Qantas.. So MH needs to be spotless! With the flight cancellation, sure hotel and meal vouchers are good but behind the scene is equally or even more important (ie maintenance). Two failures at the same time..Hmmm.. like hitting the bull's eye twice.. Make sure your maintenance crew is still top notched so as to avoid MH being the star of the new series of Air Crash Investigation. Your aging planes will need more servicing.. Personally, I hope you will replace them soon. So you will start flying with MH again when their new 738 and a380 arrive? Guess we are all waiting.. new planes who dont want..

Interesting to know what the airline did for the pax and how speed is an important factor in this intsance. Also amazing how the older couple stated they would not travel on an A330 of MH unless they changed it....it is a good sign and hopefully they would revamp their fleet or get new Airbus aircrafts soon, especially after what happened to the Air France flight over the Atlantic. You can't please Australians with chocolates, they want you to change the entire fleet of A330s.. haha.. Giving chocolate only is considered not sincere.. Anyway, really hope MH will replace their aging planes soon.. give their fleet a total makeover! New 738s, a380s and some wide bodies..

Some of MH A330 are so old and tired, not surprised if they got into trouble. Wonder when will they replace them... The West Australian 4/8/09 Scary flight to Perth fails twice Passengers to Perth were left severely shaken in Kuala Lumpur on Sunday after a bizarre and frightening night when two Malaysia Airlines A330 aircraft were involved in potentially serious emergencies. The passengers, at least one of whom reported a back injury when one plane came to a sudden halt on the Kuala Lumpur runway, were initially offered only a dinner voucher, a box of chocolates and the hope that they would be on the next flight to Perth. The drama started when the pilots of MH127, the 6pm flight to Perth with 180 passengers and crew, was forced to abort its take-off just before lift-off. One passenger with aviation knowledge, who wanted to remain anonymous, said the pilots “applied full brake and thrust reverse and activated the lift dumpers on the wing to pull up”. “The pilots just told us there was a hydraulic failure as we taxied back to the terminal,” he said. The passengers were held on the plane for more than an hour while engineers tried to fix the problem. They were transferred to another A330 but, 20 minutes after take-off, the right-hand engine made “strange snarling sounds” before a slight shudder. “It went on for 10 minutes when the captain announced that he was heading back to Kuala Lumpur,” the insider said. The cabin lights began to flicker to add to passengers’ concerns and the captain said the right engine had failed. “The cabin went very quiet and a few Aussies who had been joking about the situation fell silent,” he said. Adding to the drama, in the pre-landing briefing the senior flight attendant said: “We are hoping for the best.” The passenger claimed some passengers made their own arrangements to get to Perth or for accommodation after the airline initially said there were no hotel rooms available. The airline later secured some rooms. Noelene Graham, of Katanning, said she hurt her back when the first plane stopped on the runway and had to take painkillers the next morning. She said she would not fly with Malaysia Airlines again because of the way they were treated. “They put us up in a hotel but it was not until 2am,” she said. Daughter-in-law Kandice Fitzgerald said communication from the airline was poor. “They gave us a box of chocolates to say sorry,” she said. Merredin couple Paddy and Joan Crook, both 82, said the airline did its best but they would not fly with it again until they got rid of the Airbus A330s. The airline’s operations director, Tajuden Abu Bakar, said it apologised for the inconvenience to passengers. In the first incident, take-off was abandoned as a safety precaution. In the second, the pilot followed standard procedure when he shut down the engine because of its vibrations and returned to the airport.

It's all possible for GA to take over MH over skytrax ranking if MH is too complacent. Actually it's possible for Indonesia to overtake Malaysia if Malaysia is too complacent. Gulp~~

If they refuse to pay the full airport tax in other countries, Im sure they will be booted out in no time. But not in Malaysia, they can still drag their feet and demand a new LCCT. Guess they still have their lucky star or some sort of a guardian angel.

Uncle Tony didn't lie about his statement. Im sure MAS did protest. Why wouldn't they? MASwing is entitled to fly the route as part of the rural air service. They are just protecting their turf. It's the natural thing to do. Just like when AK wanted to fly KUL-SIN route earlier than the agreed time, MAS also protested (and they lost). You can't expect them to welcome AK with open arms in the spirit of hastening air liberalization. It's business and they are rival. Im sure Sibu-KK is one of the few better rural routes. Rural air service as whole is rugi business. When AK realized this, they immediately dumped it back to MAS at the first opportunity. Now they want a slice of Sibu-KK, a better-off route, of course, MAS will balk even more. But Uncle Tony put it in such a way as if AK were a victim using strong words like "being forced out".. He didn't say AK was not allowed to fly the route simply because it's part of the rural air service run by MASwing. Uncle Tony just presented part of the truth.. An incomplete truth is a twisted truth. Uncle Tony can be a good politician.

Yes, that's right. The gov should have restrict AK from flying the route earlier.. You know how efficient they are, no joke..We deserve the gov we get. I am all for AK to fly the route. Also would like to see MAS uses their Boieng, not just MASwing to ply Sibu-KK.. In all ways, it's hard to imagine Sibu-KK being considered as "rural flight". I think the gov should reconsider what's constitutes rural routes. Sibu-KK should be opened up for all players. MASwing should focus on "real" rural places, where their service is needed the most.

Isn't it just a careless mistake by Air Asia? They should have known better that Sibu-KK air route is still considered as "rural" (though they are pretty developed). Air Asia did in fact serve the rural air service in East Malaysia before they found it to be a burden and dumped it back to MAS. So MASwing is formed to fly the rural air service, guess they have the monopoly as well. They are pretty regulated by the gov. If Air Asia wants to fly the route, then they should lobby for it to be "opened" first. Before this is done, they cannot fly the route, it's pretty obvious. And they should not cry wolves saying they were forced out because of MAS's protest. It's just bad taste.

Sibu and KK are not that rural, but if they are considered as part of the rural air service, then AK can't fly that route because of that technicality. Only MASwing flies that route. That's part of the agreement isn't it? Guess the gov can reconsider what's rural routes and what's not.