Eugene Koh

At Sydney Airport this morning, saw M053-01. Departed around 9.30am, any clue? Also, saw 2 Garuda Indonesia which is unusual.

Based on MAS's CEO Twitter, then picture of their newly painted A332F looks absolutely boring, all white. Current livery looks bad enough although am getting used to it and slowly liking it. Why can't they paint their MASKArgo A332F like their passenger counterpart.. Can't imagine the day when they roll out the A380 in the new livery...

I wouldn't rely entirely on Flight Int'l, might not be accurate and statement are kind off general. Suggest to sit back and wait for final details from MAS. Think of it, if SYD is such a crucial destination for MAS, surely it will be included in their A380 planning. Otherwise let's hope (1) AirAsia X granted traffic right and (2) Emirate fly their A380 on Dubai-KL-Sydney sector

Qantas pilots are being pressured to carry less fuel on Airbus A380 flights as a way for the company to save money, the Daily Telegraph has reported. The cost-cutting measure increases the risk of flights being diverted because they did not have enough fuel to reach their destinations. In the past weeks, two Qantas flights have been forced to land early because pilots had burned through too much fuel. A Melbourne-bound flight was redirected to Adelaide on Tuesday, while an A380 travelling to Singapore from London had to land in Kuala Lumpur on Saturday. The company has reportedly introduced charts ranking pilots on how much fuel they use, applying "subtle pressure" on staff, one pilot told the newspaper. "The airline is trying to save money, knowing that a lot of our pilots will see it as a challenge and compete with each other," he said. Reductions in discretionary fuel do not impact safety but increases the risk of passengers being inconvenienced. The cost-cutting measure saves an estimated $3000 per flight.

Is this ex-Virgin Blue? Are they getting rid of their B737-700 series?

Any idea when will MAS be repainting their existing fleets of B747, B777, etc...

Sydney Morning Herald March 24, 2011 Burning smell in the cabin ... an Airbus A330-200. PASSENGERS on a Qantas flight from the Philippines to Sydney yesterday were left terrified after pilots had to put out an electrical fire in the cockpit and the plane was forced to land in Cairns. Small flames on the flight deck of the Airbus A330-200 were initially put out by the automatic safety systems, but within minutes the fire began again, forcing the three pilots, who were wearing oxygen masks, to use an extinguisher. Qantas said the blaze was caused by an electrical problem in the system that heats the windscreen, the same fault that forced a Jetstar A330-200 en route from Japan to Australia to land on the Pacific island of Guam in 2009. Advertisement: Story continues below One of the 147 passengers on board the flight told the Herald the incident had been ''truly scary''. The 56-year-old said: ''There was a burning smell in the cabin that was very strong, and then the captain came over the loudspeaker and explained an electrical problem meant there was a serious risk of fire. Later he explained flames had come back for a second time and they'd had to use a fire extinguisher in the cockpit. ''Whenever you hear a pilot talk about a fire on a plane it's truly scary. Clearly the incident could have been catastrophic.'' But the passenger also praised the captain for his calmness during the situation: ''He was very composed over the loudspeaker and when the plane landed he took the time to walk back and talk to the passengers.'' The fire began at 3.35pm Sydney time. The plane arrived in Cairns 50 minutes later. A Qantas pilot told the Herald last night that such faults were potentially ''very serious''. ''With that electrical malfunction a circuit-breaker system should trip out and the problem go away. That the flames came back means there was another fault,'' he said. ''Any time pilots have to use extinguishers in such a confined area as the cockpit isn't a good situation. They would have had to land the plane at the nearest suitable airport. It sounds like it was potentially a very serious situation.'' A Qantas spokesman praised the pilots and said the airline had notified the Australian Transport Safety Bureau. ''The pilots did a fantastic job to bring the situation under control and calmly redirected the plane to Cairns Airport for a standard, but unscheduled, landing.'' . . I live in Sydney and I avoid Qantas where possible. Of late with the numerous non-stop incidents involving both Qantas and offshoot Jetstar, I start to ponder why no other airlines have this much sagas compared? Maintenance issue or sabotage? Don't shoot me, just curious!

Hi all, Regarding Virgin Blue's Airbus A330. Is this bought brand new or lease, if so who's the lessor. And is it a 200 series or 300? Appreciate the info, many thanks. Best,

Hi all, Any idea what's Qantas doing in Penang, charter? http://jetphotos.net/viewphoto.php?id=7045152&nseq=7 Best, Eugene

Sorry my bad, head is thinking one thing and hand type another!!! It's actually Air China..

Mr ALex, you are good. May I kindly ask where do you go about sourcing all these informations. Something for me to learn! As for China Airlines, It's definetly not China Southern as the taill fin is not blue in colour.

Can anyone shed some lights on the following. Drove past Sydney Airport this morning, hang around and saw the following: 1. 3 United Airlines B747-400s. 2. 3 Singapore Airlines B777s (2 772ERs & 1 773ER). 3. 2 China Airlines A330-200s. 4. 3 Emirates Airlines (1 A380 & 2 773ERs). 5. 2 Cathay Pacfic A330-300s. This is a bit unusual. What I saw is one of three United planes were at the terminal, two at the long term parking bay. One SIA at the long term parking bay and two at the terminal. What puzzle me as well is 2 of the SIA B777s took off within 10mins apart. The first take off is B773 and followed by B772. Then not long after, Cathay landed and there are two. However one departed some 30mins later! Also 2 China Airlines at the terminal. As for Emirates, I guess not surpringly. Any clue?

When is MAS painting their first existing fleets with the new livery, any idea anyone

Where is the new baby at the moment, have not seen any pics since the delivery

Thanks BC Tam. According to Osran of AirAsia X via FB, he told me that Sydney and Auckland still waiting for respective approval, no North American sector on sight as yet and 3 new routes in 2011. Wonder where?

What about AirAsia X on this sector, slimmer now?

Why MAS should wait for A380 By EDY SARIF edy@thestar.com.my Its operating cost is lower than Boeing’s B777-300ER, says research house PETALING JAYA: The operating cost of the Airbus A380 is lower than the Boeing B777-300ER regardless of Malaysia Airlines’ (MAS) frustration with incessant delivery delays, according to Maybank IB Research. In a note yesterday, the research house said MAS might be frustrated with Airbus’ five-year long delay but its analysis of the A380’s operating cost against its rival Boeing B777-300ER explained MAS’ seemingly inexhaustible patience. “The continuing delays are also partially beneficial to MAS as it has three 16-17-year-old B747-400s that are scheduled for heavy maintenance at around the same time that the new A380s are to be delivered,” it said. It added that if MAS disposed of these older aircraft, it could even be earnings accretive as it had already fully provided for the maintenance checks in 2012. “Further, the B777-300ER is a mature aircraft (first into service in 2004) whose value could plummet if the A350 enters service in 2015, as Airbus hopes,” it said, adding that the A380 would serve London, Amsterdam and Sydney, it said. Not only is the operating cost of the A380 lower than the Boeing B777-300 ER, its sheer size has many advantages. – AFP “Our cost analysis confirms the A380 as the superior aircraft for long-haul flights to London and Amsterdam. However, for medium-haul flights such as to Sydney, the B777-300ER has a fighting chance,” Maybank IB Research said. The B777-300ER may still work if cabin passenger comfort is compromised (smaller seats). On long-haul flights, MAS will have to fit in 345 seats to match the A380’s unit cost. “This will be a very dense seating configuration by MAS’ standards as its two benchmark (of Singapore Airlines (SIA) and Cathay Pacific) would then be 24% and 15% less dense than MAS’ stretch configuration,” it said, adding that, interestingly, Emirates did not match SIA or Cathay’s generosity in cabin comforts, which was something MAS should consider. It further said the A380’s sheer size commanded many advantages. “It has the highest structural payload (the sum of the passenger and cargo weight that the aircraft is able to carry). Secondly, the A380 can complete the long-haul mission (London and Amsterdam) without sacrificing its payload. The B747-400 and B777-300ER, on the other hand, have to sacrifice valuable payload in order to carry more fuel to complete the mission,” it said. But, for shorter distances like Sydney, both the B747-400 and the B777-300ER would be able to complete the mission with a maximum structural payload, it said.

Gents, why bother with the responses. Suggest he be removed from this forum, what y'all say?

Reported on Sydney's Morning Herald today that Airbus confirmed they paid USD30 million in compensation to MAS. This exclude the 3rd time delayed delivery.

May 17, 2010 - 4:39PM Malaysia Airlines has thanked three doctors and a nurse who came to the aid of a severely ill passenger on a Melbourne-bound flight at the weekend. A 53-year-old Dutch man, who was travelling with two companions, fell ill on flight MH129 travelling from Kuala Lumpur to Melbourne on Saturday afternoon. The man was given medical assistance, however he died on board the plane. Malaysia Airlines spokesman Giles Gilbert said an in-flight announcement was made for any medically trained passengers on board to provide assistance. He said three doctors and a nurse came forward, however the man could not be saved. "We wish to thank the doctors and nurse, and crew on board for their efforts and for providing the medical assistance," Mr Gilbert said. "Our deepest sympathy goes to the travelling companions and family of the deceased, and we will provide assistance, wherever possible." The cause of his death has not yet been determined. Passengers remained on board the plane for about one hour after landing while authorities boarded the aircraft and removed the man. Mr Gilbert said the crew, doctors and nurse were interviewed and allowed to continue their travel as normal.

Separate news from AirAsia X: AirAsia boosts Aussie flights, but Sydney misses out April 12, 2010 - 3:56PM Low-cost carrier AirAsia appears to have moved quickly to erase the disappointment of missing out on the Sydney-Kuala Lumpur route by lifting capacity out of Melbourne and Perth. AirAsia will operate twice-daily services between Melbourne and Kuala Lumpur from July 1 and between Perth and the Kuala Lumpur from August 1, the Malaysian-based airline said in a statement on Monday. Currently, AirAsia flies daily from Perth and Melbourne to the Malaysian capital. The chief executive of AirAsia's long-haul offshoot AirAsiaX, Azran Osman-Rani, said the additional flights reflected healthy demand from Australia. "Loads have been consistently strong year-round on all Australian services," Mr Osman-Rani said in a statement. "This has given us the confidence to increase our capacity particularly on Melbourne and Perth routes and as we grow our network and expand heavily to India. "We've been delighted with the response from the travelling public, support from state and national tourism bodies and our airport partners, who have really thrown their weight behind these routes and AirAsia as a whole." Separately, AirAsia will also boost its Perth-Bali service to 21 flights a week from June 1, from the current 14. AirAsia flies out of three Australian cities - Melbourne, Perth and the Gold Coast. AirAsia hoped to make Sydney a fourth by mid-year and had received the green light from local authorities and concluded negotiations with Sydney Airport. But it failed to get approval from the Malaysian government in time for the July 1 start date, forcing the airline to abort plans to fly to Australia's most populous city for now. "At this stage we can't anticipate when approvals for Sydney might be granted," Mr Osman-Rani told Melbourne's Herald Sun newspaper on April 9. AirAsia said its recently launched flatbed premium seats currently available between Melbourne and Kuala Lumpur would be progressively added to flights from the Gold Coast and Perth this month. The airline, which was founded in 1993, flies to 65 destinations across Asia, Europe and Oceania.

QUOTE February 22, 2010 THE federal government has opened the way for another Middle Eastern airline to enter the hotly contested route between Europe and Australia after the signing of an air-services agreement with Turkey. The prospect of Turkish Airlines flying to Australia is another irritant for Qantas, which warned last week that yields from its international routes will continue to lag behind a recovery in the domestic market. The agreement will allow Turkish Airlines to immediately begin up to five direct flights a week between Australia and Turkey. Qantas will have the right to do likewise but it said yesterday that it had ''no current plans'' to fly direct to Istanbul. Turkish Airlines wants at least three flights a week between Istanbul and Sydney. Its chief executive, Temel Kotil, visited Australia last August as part of a push for the route. Last year about 60,000 people travelled between the two countries. More than four-fifths of them were Australians, highlighting the large number of people here of Turkish background and Turkey's popularity as a tourist destination. Qantas has faced mounting competition on the so-called kangaroo route from Middle Eastern airlines such as Emirates, Etihad and Qatar Airways. The Gulf airlines were responsible for a 14 per cent increase in capacity between Australia and Britain last year, despite the global financial crisis curbing demand for travel. The latest agreement comes a week after the Rudd government granted Etihad the right to increase flights to Australia from 28 to 42 a week by March next year. Another airline from the United Arab Emirates, Air Arabia, has been allowed to operate up to seven services a week to Australia from early next year. However, advances from Emirates to the government for an extra quota of services were rebuffed this month. Over the past 13 years the airline has increased flights from three a week to 70. Qantas has long campaigned about the threat it says is posed by ''government-owned'' Middle Eastern airlines. Last week Qantas's chief executive, Alan Joyce, reiterated concerns about Middle Eastern airlines flying to Australia when they did not have to worry about their bottom lines. The agreement will also allow Turkish and Australian airlines to enter into code-share arrangements with third-country carriers to provide services via intermediate destinations. UNQUOTE What aircraft will Turkish Airlines use to fly direct from Istanbul? I know they have B777-300ER however when their lease expires, can their A340-300s do the job? Or perhaps via KLIA hehe...

What happened to Royal Jordanian Airlines?

If MAS is an important client to Boeing, I am pretty sure Boeing can do something about delivery slots and time. Just bloody increase the producton rate per month.

Slightly off topic but to show how good the sales for A330. http://www.flightglobal.com/articles/2009/12/28/336640/china-eastern-signs-for-16-a330s.html