Sandeep G

MH don't need to go to BER to connect with AirBerlin.. Connect via MUC where there is also industrial and tourist traffic. FCO pullout was a mistake - they should have tagged on the flight from IST to continue to FCO... The schedules were pretty much identical, and you boost aircraft utilisation rather than having 2 777s sit idle at bth airports all day.. Transit rights I'm sure wouldn't be an issue in IST and crews would operate a turnaround shuttle IST-FCO-IST.

They must have lots of cash to be perpetually reprinting her...

Radzi - MEL-KUL partial VFR sometimes... usually over "GAFA"!

Now if only they could get the thing to fly faster! --Boeing. Overtaking Airbus' on the airways since 1972.

Azahan, very nice shots! Was that Wednesday evening by any chance?

Meanwhile in Indonesia: http://www.avherald.com/h?article=45858b45&opt=0

That's why you hope that DCA will be able to do its job without hinder or smoke-screen. Whilst I applaud the effort to employ the unemployed pilots - in this day and age and following aircraft accidents such as AF447 and QFA032 as examples - experience really has profound and immeasurable wealth in this industry. Safety first.

PER.YPPH can be harrowing - strong easterly crosswinds above 200-300 ft AGL, sometimes all the way down to the runway and thermals to a 45m width runway prove to be exciting. Everytime i've gone there - it's a bumpy ride and we always hear a go-around

Back when the decision to order the B787s was made - the 787-8 was too small. Today, perhaps the 787-8 may be a perfect fit! The glory of hindsight.

Would be this one, I presume. Tamizi, confirmed A332 with GE engines. http://www.airliners.net/photo/Untitled-(AirAsia-X)/Airbus-A330-202/2167772/L/&sid=e6b6dbf6bfc8a3e094137a0f91ec5bb5

Logical? - Most Definately. Practical? - Well, if you want to earn 'commissions' from multi-billion Ringgit deals, then direct dealing between MinDef and Suppliers becomes an issue with relation to ease of cyphoning off allocated funds. The third party agencies are a legitimate means of 'corruption' as large payouts and fund transfers into third party pockets can be described as 'commissions' to the third party - albeit grossly over-the-top quantities of money that in many other countries raise red-flags and pave the way towards having royal commissions of inquiry. Locally however, the benchmark is already set - so the Auditor Generals report every year won't raise the proverbial 'red-flag'.

Last night 2100-2230 ++TSRA over WSSS. I believe the winds too were Gusting up to about 35/40 knots. Needed the rain though - was getting a bit dry on the east side of the island.

Saw 9M-MKA At T2 Northeast Remote apron this morning on arrival from AKL. Also, trailing us inbound the whole way was MAS8730 which we overheard get airways clearance for CTAF departure out of YBRK about 0030LT. Must've been 9M-MKJ - They were cleared into WSSS via LAVAX1B - we in fact had to relay them ATC instructions as they weren't picking up WSJC on 134.4 - Pretty strange actually - the reception over Batam and beyond to the Southeast is usually pretty good!

A more in-depth aviation centric report as usal from Flightglobal - note the planned 787 base in KUL! Lion Air, Malaysian partner launch Malindo Airways By: Mavis Toh Kuala Lumpur 9 minutes ago Source: Indonesian low-cost carrier Lion Air will start a hybrid airline in Malaysia in a joint venture with the country's National Aerospace and Defence Industries (NADI). The new carrier, named Malindo Airways, will start operations in May 2013 with a fleet of 12 Boeing 737-900ER aircraft. It will provide a "hybrid product" with its aircraft in a two class configuration - 12 in business class and 168 in economy. The aircraft will also be equipped with inflight entertainment systems and inflight connectivity, says Lion president director Rusdi Kirana at a press event in Kuala Lumpur, ahead of the signing ceremony. Under the joint venture agreement, NADI will hold 51% in the new carrier and Lion 49%. The airline has named Kirana's personal assistant Chandran Ramamuthy as its chief. Malindo will be based at Kuala Lumpur International Airport terminal two and focus on routes between Malaysia and Lion's hub in Indonesia before operating to other cities such as Bangkok, Manila, Hanoi and Guangzhou. It will also operate on domestic routes. The carrier intends to add 12 aircraft to its fleet annually, including the 737Max and Boeing 787s. These aircraft will come from Lion Air's current order book, says Kirana. The five 787s Lion has on order - originally set for its premium carrier Batik Air - will instead go to Malindo in 2015. Lion is now in talks with Boeing to order an additional 10 787s, says Kirana. To compete as a newcomer, the new airline will offer ticket prices lower or at least on par with that of Malaysia low-cost carrier AirAsia, says Kirana. He claims that Malindo will have a low cost base owing to the involvement of NADI.

Interestingly, there is a maid-agency in KL called "MALINDO" ... so I suspect [and hope] that the creative sparks in the new JV airline are coming up with a name. Lion Air Malaysia sounds good though.

This particular one was bullshit - but refer to the Lion Air thread for news about the new Malaysian/Indonesian JV to be called "MALINDO AIRWAYS"

It's on like Donkey Kong! Published: Tuesday September 11, 2012 MYT 12:40:00 PM Updated: Tuesday September 11, 2012 MYT 12:47:37 PM Malaysia' Nadi, Indonesia's Lion Air in low-cost carrier JV By BK Sidhu KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia's Nadi Sdn Bhd and Indonesia's PT Lion Air are teaming up to set up a low-cost carrier, Malindo Airway to ply the Asean routes, using the KLIA2 as the base. The joint venture agreement was signed on Tuesday and the new carrier would focus on short-haul flights in the region. Nadi is a unit of the National Aerospace & Defense Industries, formerly known as Aerospace Industries Malaysia Sdn Bhd, which is a significant player mainly in the aerospace and defence industries, located in Subang. Companies under the Nadi Group are Airod, Airod Techno Power, Aerospace Technology Systems Corp & SME Aerospace that primarily serves maintenance, repair & overhaul, engines modifications and upgrades, aerospace parts manufacturing and avionics. Lion Air is Indonesia's largest private carrier. It flies to more than 36 cities in Indonesia and many other destinations such as, Singapore, Malaysia and Vietnam on a fleet of brand new Boeing 737-900ER.

Noted when landing in SIN on 09/09/2012 - Parked at DHL/SIACargo Apron was an Emirates A380. Any idea why she was there? Has Emirates commenced deployment of their A380 on scheduled services to SIN? Much appreciated for any info possible. Rgds.

I wonder if Mr Tim Clark and gang have finally had a look at their order book and the viability of their long-term growth and realised "Crap.. what are we gonna do with ALL these new aircraft coming in?" At the same time, Mr Alan Joyce and gang have been banging their heads against desks/walls and floors wondering why they or previous management never had hindsight to order new generation aircraft (primarily the 777) that would have led to sustainability in these cruch times. Then like a lightbulb over the Grinches head in Dr Seus' classic - the two decided that "Global Partnership" would be the key and that Qantas could save some Moolah and time by 'delaying' remaining A380s & 'cancelling' 35 firm orders for 787-9s [still a paper airplane] and work together with Emirates - who already have production slots on the A380 and numerous production slots on 77W airframes plus A350s. I.e. I wonder if QANTAS would lease EMIRATES aircraft fresh off the production line to give an immediate boost to their international operations with appropriately sized and economically competitive aircraft, as well as a win in a rolling financial lease that would limit QANTAS' negative gearing?? Food for thought.

Safety and the upkeep of Professional & Safe Industry practice is paramount to the continued 'success' of the Civil Aviation scene in Malaysia. Lion's eyes on establishing a venture in Malaysia could well and truly be an effort to improve their safety image by adopting Malaysian DCA standards into their Maintenance and Flight Operations culture. I once worked in Line Maintenance [industrial Training] for a sizeable Malaysian outfit which seconded Indonesian expatriate pilots during a critical expansionary phase and will always remember a comment from an Indonesian Captain regarding the servicibility of his aircraft; The Engine Vibration Display on the classic 737 (I can't recall correctly if it were one or both - anyone with access to a 737 MEL can verify this) was U/S and by the MEL, the aircraft was non-dispatchable. The Indonesian Captain remarked; "In my previous Airline in Indonesia, it wouldn't have mattered - we would have gone - But I ain't messing with DCA Malaysia - if it says no, then we stay and look for another aircraft!" Whilst such a statement is singular in nature - reading through the above mentioned ICAO/IATA safety audit on Indonesian Civil Aviation PRE-2007, one may conclude that such practice was indeed common-place in the post-deregulated Indonesian scene. SOME BACKGROUND: The proposed LionAir tie-up previously with Berjaya had its own can of worms - the latter being what many consider a cash strapped/niche operator that had limited expansion capability due to its limited spread of self-reliant operation. NADI through AIROD has had ambition to expand its MRO capacity into the Civil Sector - Classic C130 Retrofits and MRO operations plus a handful of steady income from MinDef limit financial growth for the company. A conversation between myself and AIRODS head of development revealed 6 years ago an interest, but not yet an intent at becoming a major player in the Civilian MRO sector. Back then, I had suspected that TF and Gang were courting NADI and AIROD in collaboration with ST Technologies to establish an A320/B737 facility to look after the expanding AirAsia group. This did not eventuate and instead, we saw the quiet birth of SAE - Sepang Aerospace Engineering - A company still very much in its infancy. NADI/AIROD have strong political connections and in today's election fuelled climate - an announcement involving the PM himself would tend to suggest the DCA taking a back seat - albeit with a scrutinising and watchful eye - at the development and issue of the AOC. I would hope, that with such a commitment being made, established practices and standards are not lost for the benefit of short-term political mileage. The potential long-term damage to an already financially insecure industry [in the context of the Malaysian economy] far outweigh any benefits at this stage with what little information I have to ponder on.

NADI if i'm not mistaken owns AIROD. The first major deal to be struck out of all this I presume would be an expansion of AIRODS existing military-centric MRO capacity to include the Civil Aerospace sector by providing third party maintenance work for the Lion Group. It will be interesting to see too how DCA(M) will accomodate Lions application for an AOC in Malaysia - [Rumour] Previous attempts have been turned down due to a failure of Lion group to meet minimum required levels of safety in audits conducted by third parties other than DCA(M) - i.e. CASA (Australia) & EASA (Europe) - This too was in tandem with a bleak IOSA Report on Indonesian Civil Aviation released in 2007. Interesting developments nonetheless - Let's see what comes of it!

But his food is reasonably priced on board as compared to MAHB F&B outlets throughout the present KLIA MTB & LCCT.. Should be ok.. Looks nice! Hopefully they sort out the nitty gritty cost complaints with PSC and aero bridge fees.. If AK wanna save money for using aero bridge, they should save on manpower for pushbacks and have 1 man ops with those auto pushback tugs!

Geez..... What a worry.... To all those with dreams to fly, heed this lesson and further example to the classic aviation adage: Hours of boredom punctuated my moments of sheer terror. Fly responsibly, don't become a statistic and don't play the fool with your life!

Bit of consolodation in the Indonesian industry one would suppose. First Tiger-Mandala, now AirAsia-Batavia... I'm guessing those A330s may be put to some good use on certain lucrative routes between Bali and East coast Australia!

Flew into BKK last night, STA 2000LT, ETA 1940LT.. After transferred to BKK APP, we were told 30 mins of holding. Held for that time and landed at 2015LT, turned around within 45 mins and were told pushback only at 2135. Pushed on that time, straight out to RWY, no holding in a queue on TWY, airborne in between arrivals. Praise to the efficiency of BKK controllers. We weren't given any revisions and followed the published STAR profile minus a few speed controls on arrival.