Edwin P K

Sounds like fun! Any idea how much KUL-SIN-CDG-LHR return will cost? Can't seem to like get the pricing from their website...

You are actually spot-on on the KUL...I had the same feeling too, no doubt it looks good, but it's just very sterile. I haven' been to many airports, but so far I really like Changi. There is just too many things to do!

I read from this week's the Edge: - p Ops, this has been reported in another thread.

On my way back today from work! I took a detour as the M4 was totally JAMMED! So excited seeing this, had to whip out my phone and snap! Don't worry, i was at a traffic light

Ouch, that must be painful!

The first one - so cute! They look like toys

Maybe the realised that they aren't really going beyond expectations? Anyway, the front page has the tagline.

The seatbelt- I think it's rather restrictive isn't it? Hmmm...also we won't be able to be in 'brace yourself' position for impact Edit Oopps...it's actually readjustable, so tht's really cool! The new three-point seat-belt design offers increased stability at take-off and landing and can be modified to a regular seat-belt configuration for additional comfort during the flight.

Hmmmm I dun see the difference?

Yea, actually i was just wondering yeah, is there any real usage of that life jacket,...for instance, any recorded details of survival when a plane crashes into the sea? Usually the whole plane would've disintegrate upon impact anyway ...probably the life jacket is just a pyschological thing I think I watched too many AirCrashInvestigation...

Were they out of the game? Sales for Dreamliner has been phenomenal! It has reached 600 plus orders I think

LOLI agree...I mean what are the chances?

Can the union for once shut up?

I like the fact that the literature pocket has now been relocated! Now more leg space! Great stuff

Aiya, it CANT be worse than the Kuala Terengganu Airport...aiyo...it's really like Medan Selera, and when you check in right, your bag that you put on the conveyor belt directly goes out to the airfield area! Damn cheapo one LOLOL

Wow, i'm surprised that there many houses around the airport...this is bad planning man...this people never plan properly one ar...how is the A380 going to land? LOL

Airport security – new restrictions from 22 September 21 September 2006 The Department for Transport has today announced a further relaxation in the security restrictions at UK airports, which will be implemented at all BAA airports from the start of business on Friday, 22 September 2006. The revised security measures allow for: * an increase in the size of the hand baggage permitted onboard and * musical instruments to be taken onboard. In addition, BAA will now be allowing passengers to take solid cosmetics in hand luggage. This easing of restrictions is not a return to normal as the revised regulations will continue to have an impact on our airports' operations. All passengers will be subject to hand baggage restrictions and are asked to be patient while these additional security measures are in place. Passengers are asked to allow extra time for their journey and to arrive at the airport prepared. NOTE: If you are travelling today, 21 September, you will be subject to the current restrictions. For further information. Hand baggage restrictions Passengers are permitted to carry ONE item of hand baggage, no larger than the specified size, through the airport security search point. The dimensions are as follows: * 56 centimetres long (approximately 22 inches) * 45 centimetres high (approximately 17.5 inches) * 25 centimetres deep (approximately 9.85 inches). Please note: Other bags, such as handbags, may be carried WITHIN the single item of cabin baggage. All items carried by passengers will be x-ray screened. Cameras, small electrical items such as MP3 players and gameboys, etc can remain in the bag for screening. However, all laptops and large electrical items must be removed from the bag and placed in a separate tray. Pushchairs and walking aids are permitted but must be x-ray screened. Wheelchairs are permitted but must be thoroughly searched. For further guidance on prohibited items, including what to do if travelling with baby milk and prescribed medicines, please see our useful link below: * What you can and can't take in your hand baggage (171Kb PDF). Download Acrobat Reader. Link opens in a new window. download the free plug-in which you may need to view our PDF files. Further passenger information Before security: All shops and catering outlets are open to all passengers, but any liquids and gels purchased must be packed into your luggage for check-in. Any other purchases must fit into your ONE item of hand baggage. Once through security: All shops and catering outlets are open to all passengers. If you are travelling to any destination except the USA then you can take all items purchased in the departures lounge into the aircraft cabin. If you are travelling to the USA: Extra restrictions are in place. Passengers will be subjected to secondary security searches at the gate. No toiletries or cosmetics purchased in the departure lounge will be allowed into the aircraft cabin and any drinks or liquid items must be consumed before boarding. Food, however, is allowed. Passengers boarding flights to the USA and items they are carrying, including those acquired after the central screening point, will be subjected to secondary search at the gate and any liquids discovered will be removed. If you are in any doubt about what you can and cannot take on board please ask a member of staff.

Houses may be demolished to make way for airport News Update by The Star News Desk IPOH: Perak is willing to demolish houses to extend the Sultan Azlan Shah Airport runway here, said Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Mohamad Tajol Rosli Ghazali. He said if this was what it took to have the runway extended, the state would do it. “We will build new houses for the residents if we have to take over their homes. We have land in the vicinity. “That is why we have not given out land in the area,” he said yesterday, adding that the state would not consider building a new airport to replace the current one. Speaking at a news conference after handing over keys to owners of Lembah Perpaduan Permai in Tambun here today, Tajol Rosli said AirAsia and other airlines must demonstrate their commitment and operate from the airport. “Otherwise, the investment (of extending the runway and building the houses) would not be justified,” he said. Tajol Rosli said the state needed to upgrade the runway so that airlines which wanted to fly from here to places likes Madras and Guangzhou could do so. AirAsia chief executive officer Datuk Tony Fernandes recently announced that the airline was suspending its four times a week Ipoh-Senai flights starting tomorrow. One of the reasons given for this was that the runway was not long enough for its Airbus. Tajol Rosli said he would meet Transport Minister Datuk Seri Chan Kong Choy to discuss the matter. “The minister has been very accommodating and co-operative. On his part, he is trying his best to help the state better utilise the airport,” he said.

Hopefully they won't limit the size of the hand luggage, I desperately need the extra space!!

Bah...but first plane still gonna be delivered end of the year or what?

Report: Airbus to announce new six-month A380 delay The Associated Press Published: September 20, 2006 PARIS Airbus is set to announce a further six-month delay to its 555-seater A380 jet, French financial daily Les Echos reported Wednesday. The newspaper, which did not cite sources, said the new production hitch was caused by problems at the A380 assembly plant at Airbus headquarters in Toulouse, southern France. The flagship superjumbo program has already slipped by about 12 months, after Airbus announced a first six-month delay early in 2005, followed by a second in June this year. The latest hitches mean Airbus will be unable to meet its reduced target of nine deliveries in 2007, the newspaper said, and Australia's Qantas Airways Ltd. will have to wait until early 2008 for its first A380 — two years longer than originally planned. A Qantas spokesman said the airline had no immediate comment on the report. Airbus also declined to comment on its delivery schedule pending the results of an ongoing internal audit ordered by new Chief Executive Christian Streiff. Spokesman Justin Dubon said Airbus plans to publish the findings at the end of September, as previously announced. Air France-KLM said earlier Wednesday it had received a revised A380 delivery schedule from Airbus, but a spokeswoman later clarified that no new information had been received since June, when Airbus announced the second production delay. Virgin Atlantic Airways Ltd., Lufthansa AG and Dubai-based Emirates also said they had not received any new schedule. Airbus insisted in June it was still on track to deliver the first A380 to launch customer Singapore Airlines Ltd. by the end of the year. But the carrier suggested Wednesday that the timetable could still slip. "Singapore Airlines is working with Airbus towards delivery of the first A380 in December, but Airbus can only confirm the date after they have completed their technical review at the end of September," said airline spokesman Stephen Forshaw. The June delay announcement hit shares in European Aeronautic Defence and Space Co., which owns 80 percent of Airbus, and triggered a management crisis that led to the ouster of top executives from both companies. EADS shares were down 0.4 percent at €22.63 (US$28.64) in Paris on Wednesday. .

A380 long-duration workout for Thales IFE September 19, 2006 – THALES Avionics’ i-5000 IFE system got its most protracted airborne workout earlier this month, when it featured in the Airbus A380 Early Long Flight (ELF) test programme. The system is fitted to A380 MSN002, the first to be fitted with a fully furnished three-class cabin. On September 4-8 the aircraft was used for four flights gradually increasing in duration from seven to 15 hours and carrying a total of 1,900 passengers. The campaign was designed to subject the aircraft’s cabin systems to the kind of usage likely to be experienced in commercial service in order to uncover and remedy any problems before certification and first airline deliveries around the end of this year. Another of the prototype A380s, MSN007, is fitted with Panasonic Avionics’ eX2 IFE. On September 4 MSN002 took off from Toulouse with 474 passengers on board for a first ELF mission lasting 7hr. Flight time was gradually increased over the rest of the full-load flights, culminating in a 15hr sortie on September 8. The flights were set up as far as possible to simulate standard airline levels of service, with cabin attendants provided by Lufthansa. On each the passengers - Airbus employees and 20-30 specialists from the manufacturer and its cabin systems suppliers – made full use of systems such as air conditioning, lighting, IFE, galleys, toilets and waste-water. Airbus deputy media relations manager David Voskhul, who travelled on the third flight, described the passenger experience as good. “The aircraft felt quite stable and the cabin was quiet in the cruise,” he said. “I hardly noticed that we had started taxiing, and boarding and disembarking were very quick despite the need to use airstairs.” The next stage in the A380 entry-into-service process is the route-proving programme, scheduled for around the end of the year. Until a few days ago this was to have been performed with the Panasonic eX2-equipped MSN007. But delays in completing the latter mean that the load will now fall on MSN002. MSN007 was due to fly the 300hr of route-proving time required for certification during the fourth quarter in conjunction with customers Lufthansa and Singapore Airlines. “But we realised that if we waited for MSN007 to be ready it would be very difficult to keep certification on schedule for this year,” says Airbus flight-test VP Fernando Alonso. A significant proportion of the required 300hr must be accumulated on one aircraft. So Airbus plans to carry out 150hr with MSN002 in November and to obtain credits for the other 150hr from the ELF flights and other airborne testing. Meanwhile, Airbus will confirm before the end of the month details of the revised A380 production plan. Certain elements of the configuration specified by launch customer Singapore Airlines will have to be certificated using either MSN007 or the first customer aircraft, so the airline’s schedule is likely to be affected. SIA says it is “working with Airbus towards delivery of the first A380 in December, but Airbus can only confirm the date after they have completed their technical review at the end of September.”

Panasonic reaches for the Connexion torch September 19, 2006 – JUST when the Inmarsat community was relishing the prospect of an unobstructed run at the passenger broadband market, Panasonic has announced a plan to take up where Connexion by Boeing left off. The IFE giant has no intention of rushing in, though, and will not launch unless it has commitments covering a critical mass of aircraft. “We have a complete system designed, developed and ready to go,” strategic marketing director David Bruner told Inflight Online at the WAEA show in Miami Beach last week. “But we’re determined to avoid one of the things that brought Connexion down – lack of an initial fleet big enough to assure acceptable pricing for the airlines.” Panasonic has set about securing agreements covering a minimum of 500 aircraft in the next 60 days.That schedule is being driven by the need to be ready to serve ex-Connexion airlines within a tolerable time after the discontinuation of that service by the end of the year. “We can’t drag our launch decision on until, say, February,” Bruner said. “There will inevitably be a dark period between the end of Connexion and the start of our service, and we want to keep that as short as possible. We already have 150 aircraft committed and feel confident we’ll make the 500. But if we’re falling badly short in 60 days’ time we will not go.” Early takers would enjoy significant advantages over airlines that were slower of the mark, Bruner said. “In return for a minimum five-year commitment we’ll reward our launch customers with very preferential service pricing, and they will also get priority access to bandwidth.” Panasonic’s standard wholesale price to the airlines would represent a comparatively small premium on terrestrial broadband access tariffs, Bruner said. “So far we are seeing little indication that the airlines are planning to mark this up for passengers. It’s a service they want to offer – they don’t currently see it as a revenue-generator.” The new offering is designed to be as attractive as possible to airlines that are already equipped for Connexion. “Our solution for them is to replace only the modem on the aircraft and leave all the rest of the hardware, including the antenna, in place,” said Bruner. “That will spare them the expense of reversing the Connexion installations and then putting in our definitive equipment suite.” That includes a compact Ku-band antenna from Californian-based L-3 Datron Advanced Technologies. Another L-3 Communications operation, the Linkabit division, is supplying the modem. Both are already fully developed for US military applications and have been modified for civil use by removing the encryption provision. Working with an existing Ku-band satellite system, the hardware is capable of delivering 12Mbit/sec to the aircraft and 3Mbit/sec in the opposite direction, according to Bruner. Panasonic has selected a single Ku-band satellite operator to provide transponder capacity and geographical coverage at least equivalent to Connexion’s. “With an initial fleet of 500 aircraft we would anyway pay significantly less for transponders than Connexion,” Bruner pointed out. “But our technical solution will also be more efficient than theirs, allowing us to put more traffic through each transponder and thus reduce our total requirement for satellite capacity.” Panasonic saw itself as a system designer and integrator and had no intention of incurring the costs associated with being a service provider, Bruner said. The as yet unidentified satellite operator would be responsible for system management, operation and capacity planning, and Panasonic is in talks with a global wireless roaming company for the provision of services such as customer care, billing and retail promotion. “We’re intent on learning from what happened to Connexion,” said Bruner. “9/11 lost them their start-up fleet, and after that they were always struggling to catch up. Our onboard equipment is lighter and cheaper, and our approach to buying transponder capacity is altogether more economical. We think these advantages will persuade the airlines and that in a couple of months’ time we’ll be ready to go ahead.” Should the magic 500 not be achieved, however, Panasonic will continue to look for another way into connectivity. “If Ku-band proves not to make sense after all, then we’ll go down another path,” Bruner concluded. At least one other passenger communications provider will be watching developments carefully. AeroMobile is currently to committed to L-band operator Inmarsat as the bearer system for its soon to be introduced onboard cellphone offering. But it is also looking to offer email and Internet/VPN access in the longer term, and would be open to integration with the Panasonic Ku-band system in the same way its new GSM/GPRS cellular offering is being integrated with the company’s onboard IFE infrastructure. “We’re completely agnostic when it comes to air-to-ground data pipes,” commented AeroMobile strategic relationships and marketing director David Coiley. “In the end we could find ourselves working with Inmarsat, Panasonic and even the AirCell terrestrial broadband system in North America.”

Was on SingaporeAir.com just now, and immediately saw a travel alert regarding the latest coup in Thailand. http://www.singaporeair.com/saa/en_UK/cont...iastory/BKK.jsp Went to MalaysiaAirlines.com, nothing there. I remember the last time when Heathrow was under heavy security alert, the MAS website did not announce anything on their website but only after a few days have gone by. Goes to show that MAS needs to invest more on their web front! And I went on to book a ticket from KUL to BKK. On AirAsia.com, they announced that they will begin operations from Suvarnabhumi Airport. However, nothing was mentioned on the MAS page during booking. So I am assuming MAS will operate from the old airport?