Teo CK

Does this latest development mean that FY is going to take over most of MH domestic operations such as KUL-BKI, KUL-SDK, KUL-TWU?

Maybe i should repharse my question to: Do we need the 3rd runway now? The money can be spent on something else..... like how to get more airlines to operate into KLIA etc...

Do we really need a 3rd runway at KLIA? well, Heathrow handled more than 65 millions pax with only 2 runway, and KL has less than 30mil last year. cheers

Thanks for the link MIR.... Just a shame that no one caught the 737BBJ during touch down haha... cheers

As reported in a local daily today..... cheers

Hi, Just heard that the governor general of Australia is visiting Sandakan this weekend to attend a WWII memorial service. Any information on what aircraft her entourage will be flying in? cheers

I was at the Sandakan airport last Fri (16 Oct) to catch this latest attempt to revive the Zamboaga - Sandakan air link, onw which many think will not last too long. My link My link My link My link While waiting for it to arrive (it was delayed for over an hour)..... My link My link My link Well, enjoy while it lasts! cheers

Their online booking system has not included Sandakan yet.... but their online flight schedule does show the the ZAM-SDK sector.

so what happen to the MAS Kargo centre? Moved somewhere else altogether?

Hey, what hotel was that at Indah Jaya? That shower head does look power man..... hope they have plenty of water stored... cheers

If any of you read a similar article in Channel NEws Asia, it has stated that these so called approval for AirAsia to fly these new routes are only decision from M'sia govt only, they still need to negotiate with their S'porean counterpart to thrash out the final agreement on these new openings. If these routes are opened to AK, I'm sure 3K or TR will want a piece of the cake as well. They will not let AK monopolises the new routes. From S'pore perspective, the more destination it serves, the better it is, since Changi is built on transit traffic more than anything else. You may soon see every Sabahan from Sandakan or Tawau flying to Aus, NZ or Europe via SIN. However, with 5 airlines currently serving SIN - BKI, it is difficult to see how they can sustain this and at the same time still introduce new SIN - SDK, and SIN - TWU. cheers

you are right.. it was on 29 Jan. cheers

Just happened to be at the right place and at the right time.... this was suppose to be a trial run for the sultan planned visit to Sandakan on 4th Feb. V8-MHB was only on ground for about 15 min or so, landed on RWY 08, taxi to gate 3, waited for MASwing F50 to leave gate 2, moved to gate 2 while waiting for AirAsia A320 to land and taxi to gate 3 before making its way back to RWY 08 for take off. Hope you don't mind the low quality photos though.... was stucked in the departure lounge for that duration..... cheers Royal Brunei 762 at SDK

That's right, the sultan's trip to SDK was cancelled, with the Ketua Negeri, the chief minister n his kaki all waiting at the Sandakan airport!! But guess what? I caught the Royal 767 touching down in SDK on 29 Jan when I was flying back to S'pore!! Doing a trial run perhaps? Was really excited haha.. will upload the photos when i sort them out.

Hi Fairul, Could you tell me what you were doing at SDK? Thanks.

Hi, Just got the news that all AA flights from JHB to SDK from 4 Jan to 26 Jan are cancelled. Any of u know the reason for this? Is this the only sector affected? thanks. cheers CK

After at least 2 airlines tried unsuccessfully to operate the Sandakan - Zamboanga flight in the past few years, here comes yet another hopeful operator - the Asian Spirit. It was reported that the flight will commence in May. No press report to confirm this yet. Asian Spirit

Currently the AN-24 is operated by a Phillipines based airline, Mospil Air, 3 times a week from ZAM - SDK - ZAM. Another airline flying? not sure what's the details. But unless they really have some special strategy (ie cheaper to fly than to take a ferry from SDK to ZAM), I cant see how this route can be sustainable. Anyway, protect MAS is the biggest reason why so many foreign airlines are not allowed to fly into M'sia. How much MAS should be protected will be a long long debate i guess. The problem is MAS will focus all their attention on operation at the few major gateways like kul, bki, pen & kch to boast their revenue and profit, leaving out many other less popular route, but which are also depended very much on air services to boast their economy. Why cant the govt open all regional airports (like sdk, miri, sbw, kua) to whoever want to fly in (since MAS cant serve this areas profitably) while continue to impose certain restrictions on flying into major gateways to protect MAS. Will this be better overall? I mean these regional airports are not very attractive, but if some foreign airlines choose to operate there, then no harm rite?

sorry for that.... not sure wat happen since i did the same thing for all the 3 photos... anyway, there is a perimeter fencing ard the whole airport, so no intrusion. p/s: can someone tell me how to edit the previous post? need to delete the too big photo... thks.

http://img115.imageshack.us/img115/8636/picture012lc4.jpg Finally managed to catch AK airbus at Sandakan AFB from KUL Approaching parking apron no. 1 We have the FAX family on the tarmac too!

And don't forget, we have a new fish market now! shifted to the partially completed Sandakan harbour square. On top of the fish market is a restaurant with a clear view of the Sandakan Bay.

Hi, really thks for sharing those nice pics.... at least i know now there is a better spot to snap ptotos of the airport! the disused runway is in fact the runway for the old sandakan airport, which was only a single storey wooden structure. Only F50 & F27 was able to land at SDK then. The existing airport was opened in 1986 (if i remember correctly), built by a korean contractor at a cost of ard rm50 mil then, together with the new 7000ft runway that usher in a new era of jets (mainly 737 from MAS) into SDK air space. It has a capacity to handle 1.5 mil pax movement a yr. Over the yrs, not much major upgrading to the airport was done except when the 2 no of aerobridges was added, retrofitted from the old subang airport. These days, other than MAS 737-400, we have AirAsia A320 & B733 landing at SDK, plus F50 & the TO from FAX. Occasionally, we have chartered flights, mostly for european tourists, into SDK. MyTravel A330 was there at SDK in Jun this year. I also saw a chartered B757 by First Choice somewhere ard Feb in SDK. cheers

Correct me if i'm wrong... stop this service (if we leave the reason given aside) is purely a commercial decision. So do they need to inform the ministry, the state etc etc? or "seek" approval from relevant authorities? and i think he maybe right by saying whether Ipoh needs an airport after all. Can somebody tell us how Ipoh stands to loose without an airport? (Perhaps can covert it to a racing track with a huge shopping?) Airlines, like other business, should not be run according to the likes of certain officials, just look at how MAS performed in the last decade when it was operated more like a political entity than a business unit. Time to wake up to face the reality..... like it or not, AA real competitors may not be MAS, but Tiger, Jetstar, Cebu Pacific, Nok Air etc........ the govt can deliver service to the people in many ways other than persuading a business to adopt certain unsound business decision. cheers

The updated MAS online schedule shows that the additional flight for BKI - SDK will take effect from 29 Oct. By then, we will have, on this sector, 4x734 by MAS, 2x733 by AirAsia and 2xF50 by FAX, a total of 972 seats per day one way. This is even more than that before Fax started operation in Aug.