Seng Lim

Their January 1 million free seats promotions is the cheapest ($0.00++ across all routes).

I wished they would launch flight to Taiwan, if the 4.5 hours flight from KUL is too long them, they could always do it from BKI.

One after another crash and this time involved Garuda somemore, that's really bad to the country's image.

If she have so much worried about her mum, should asked her to pay for the extra and fly her mum back with MAS (direct flight, no transit in foreign country) or with SIA also OK (Since Changi is very user friendly and there are plenty of Malay, Chinese, Indian staffs there).

AK is having the 30 million passangers Grand Sales ($0.30 & $30 OW) at the moment till 18 Mar. Most probably they will start the AirAsia X sales after 18 Mar once their grand sales is over.

Based on their earlier annoucement: Booking starts Feb 2007 & first flight on July. We already know Feb already long gone and it has been quiet till today. Thus all we could do is just wait and see.

MATTA Fair is coming on next Friday (16 - 18 Mar), they might make the booking available by that period (provided they are able get everything finalised). Anyway with cheap fares there shouldn't have any problems to fill up the seats.

Abstract from: http://air-sahara-news.newslib.com/story/6648-3234822/ New Delhi, Feb 27 - India's private airline Air Sahara is set to expand by adding a destination and increasing flights on the domestic sector and launching a new flight on the international sector. Kuala Lumpur will be added to the airline's network March 19, making it the fifth international destination after Sri Lanka, Nepal, Singapore and the Maldives.Air Sahara is offering the Delhi-Kuala Lumpur-Delhi flight for Rs.13,000 -, which includes a two-night-three-day stay, an airline statement said Tuesday. Apparently they are operating this daily DEL-KUL flights based on DEL-KUL-SIN-DEL which means Malaysian public might be able to enjoy lower fares for KUL-SIN sector (provided they are allowed to sell the KUL-SIN tickets). Here's the schedule for this new flights: S2 81 DEL-KUL 22:20 - 06:10+1 737 Daily S2 81 KUL-SIN 07:10 - 08:05 737 Daily S2 81 SIN-DEL 09:10 - 12:10 737 Daily

Don't forget if the KUL-SIN route is not only open for AK but to another Singapore LCC as well (should be Tiger). Thus there will be some competitions between 2 LCCs on the same route.

Alcohol in Singapore is pretty expensive, similar with Malaysia. SGD$1 definitely can't get you a can of Tiger beer. I guess they refer to SGD$1++ (taxes and surcharge) and the final nett price is equivalent to the price of 6 pack Tiger beer.

Tiger to tear up Aussie air market Scott Rochfort February 9, 2007 - 11:15AM Singapore Airlines backed Tiger Airways has announced its plans on becoming Australia's third domestic airline by late 2007, sparking expectations it will trigger the mother of all low-cost domestic airfare wars. In a sign Tiger is intent on smashing the cosy duopoly enjoyed between Virgin Blue and Qantas-Jetstar, its chief executive Tony Davis, said in a statement: "Fares are too high in Australia. We see the opportunity to deliver consistently low fares on all our routes.'' It is expected to take Tiger at least six months to receive an Air Operators Certificate to allow it to fly domestic flights. Mr Davis told smh.com.au Tiger would offer "single digit'' one-way fares for its domestic launch. The airline already offers $8 one-way fares from Darwin to Singapore and is currently advertising S$21.50 ($18) one way fares from Perth to Singapore for the launch of this service next month. Out of its homebase in Singapore, there is a joke around aviation circles that the airline at times can offer a ticket for the same price as a six pack of Tiger beer. The company has offered S$1 fares in the past. Tiger is yet to detail which cities it hopes to service. The airline is running a poll for Australians on its website, asking them where they would like to fly. "We're looking at the whole country. Our objective is volume. It's not yield,'' said Mr Davis. When asked to respond to Qantas deputy chief executive Peter Gregg's comments that Jetstar would continue to have the lowest costs for any Australian story, Mr Davis said: "Good Luck, good luck.'' "We are committed to having the lowest base in Australia and we are committed to having the lowest fares in Australia,'' he said. "Our business model is about sustainable low fares. It's in our DNA, it's what we do.'' Tiger's business model is loosely based on the Europe's largest low-cost airline RyanAir, whose founders helped set up the airline. "Our business model is that we give consumers the lowest possible airfares.'' "Australians love our model and are supporting it already in their thousands. We are now keen to extend that model to the overpriced domestic market,'' said Mr Davis referring to the success of Tiger's services into Darwin. The airline was established in 2004 by Singapore Airlines, the founders of Irelands's Ryanair and a private equity form Indigo Partners to tap into the fast growing South East Asian low cost airline market. The airline hopes to fly five A320s domestically this year, and employ 1000 staff "both direct and indirect'' in Australia. Tiger is also expected to test the nerves of unions, given signs it could seek individual workplace agreement. When asked if Tiger would seek to establish union endorsed enterprise bargaining agreement, Mr Davis said: "It's up to the employees.'' "Our staff are incentivised and we have remuneration packages that reward the high efficiency levels we get from our business.'' Tiger is already advertising for Australian-based pilots, cabin crew and engineers on its web site. Unlike failed previous airline's such as OzJet and Compass, Tiger Airways has the backing of Singapore Airlines. Tiger insists it runs independently from Singapore Air - its 49 per cent shareholder. The move echoes Qantas's attempts to crack the South East Asian airline market by establishing a Jetstar Asia franchise in Singapore in late 2004. The 44.5 per cent Qantas-owned airline has racked up an estimated $100 million in losses with its other Singapore subsidiary Valuair, and has never appeared to be a serious threat to Singapore Air or Tiger Airways. Qantas chief financial officer and Jetstar Asia chairman Peter Gregg rejected suggestions Qantas was about it quit its Singapore investment yesterday. Mr Gregg also hit out at a report in the Herald which mentioned the large number of flight cancellations on the airline, and its ongoing losses. "It is ridiculous to equate a number of operational cancellations - which are in the process of being resolved - and a claim about pilot shortages, with concerns over the airline's future, as some media reports today have done,'' he said. He said Jetstar Asia made its first profit in December. He said January however was a quiet month. Link : http://www.smh.com.au/news/business/tiger-...ge#contentSwap1

It's clearly stated in the article before deparuture (from it's home airport) they strapped the damage engine with seat belt and take off with 3 engines instead of 4 (B747 I presume). However due to the high fuel burn, they have to refuel in Frankfurt after flying for 10 hours and being grounded in FRA due to the outrageous seat belt engine + another 2 damage engines which at the end 3 engines being replaced before allowed to take off again by the German authority. I'm wondering which asian airline too.....

Hi HC, RM1621nett return is definitely a real bargains. Looking forward for your trips report and please share with us how's BWN airport (heard it's pretty boring) + the pre take off prayer & the non alcoholic catering .

Some updated news on today: KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 7 (Bernama) -- Fly Asian Xpress' (FAX) AirAsia X is still finalising details on the planes to be used for the long-haul destinations. AirAsia X founder, Datuk Tony Fernandes, who is also the group chief executive officer of AirAsia Bhd, said the company was still finalising the details. "Once we have finalised them we will start selling the tickets. We know all our routes," he told reporters after a signing ceremony between UK's largest information technology firm, LogicaCMG, and online no-frills financial services group, Tune Money.Com, here Wednesday. Fernandes is the founder of Tune Money. He said AirAsia X's management team was only "days away" from signing an agreement on the type of aircraft to buy. He, however, did not elaborate. He said the earliest AirAsia X could get the aircraft would be September 2008. "Till then we will probably need to lease between two or three planes. Chances are we will be leasing the same type of aircraft that we are buying," he said. AirAsia X's network will cover destinations which are more than four hours in flight duration from Kuala Lumpur. It will offer daily point-to-point frequencies to popular destinations in China, India, Europe and Australia. Fernandes said the outlook for AirAsia X was good given that it has received tremendous support from the government. "The response from Europe has been phenomenal (as well). We have airports from all over the world writing to us," he said. AirAsia X is expected to start operating from July 2007. On offer by FAX for AirAsia to acquire a 20 percent stake with an option to buy another 10 percent later, he said the board would make the necessary announcement soon. FAX is 50 percent owned by Fernandes, while the other two shareholders are Kamarudin Meranun, deputy chief executive officer of AirAsia and Raja Mohd Azmi, CEO of FAX, who own 30 percent and 20 percent respectively. FAX operates rural air services in Sabah and Sarawak. -- BERNAMA

So 'Ipoh' will get extream makeover & become Dreamlifter. This will be something special to remember for.

All the while all the airfares published in Malaysia by all airlines (local and foreign) has been exclusive of taxes and surchage. It's nothing new and people start to complaint right now is mainly due to the high 'fuel surcharge' imposed by all these airlines. Unless government amend the law where all published price has to be in 'nett' basis (no more ++ by all these restaurants, hotels and airlines), there's nothing we could at the moment except being a smarter consumer.

It's Official: Thailand to reopen old airport, giving Bangkok two hubs 06 February 2007 1545 hrs BANGKOK: Thailand's government announced on Tuesday that it will reopen Bangkok's shuttered Don Muang airport, after a series of problems emerged at its sparkling new air hub. "The cabinet has decided to maintain two international airports for our country because there have been many setbacks at Suvarnabhumi Airport and we need to prepare to handle more passengers in the future," Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont told reporters. "Therefore it's necessary to have Don Muang as a second international airport," he said. Transport Minister Thira Haocharoen said the decades-old Don Muang would be ready to resume commercial operations within 45 days. "Don Muang will permanently re-open and we are now considering which airlines are to move back to Don Muang," Thira told reporters. The decision took Thailand's aviation authorities by surprise. The airport issue had not been on the cabinet's agenda for Tuesday and the transport minister had previously recommended only moving some domestic flights to Don Muang on a temporary basis to allow for repairs at Suvarnabhumi. Don Muang has been closed since the gleaming Suvarnabhumi Airport opened in September to great fanfare, when it was trumpeted as a symbol of modern Thailand and its plans to become the region's premier travel hub. Instead, the airport has become mired in problems ranging from cracks in the taxiways and runways, to allegations of graft and complaints about sanitation. Highlighting the problems, Thailand's aviation authority last month declined to renew an international safety certificate for Suvarnabhumi. The certificate is not required by law for the airport to operate, meaning it can stay open while the problems are sorted out. Re-opening the old airport will postpone the need to expand Suvarnabhumi, which opened with a capacity of 45 million passengers a year. Airline officials say that traffic has rapidly risen toward that point and the government had already planned a new terminal for low-cost carriers at Suvarnabhumi, which was designed to eventually grow to handle 100 million passengers a year. Kulya Pakakrong, acting president of Airports of Thailand – which operates Suvarnabhumi – voiced surprise at the decision and warned that expansion would still be needed at Suvarnabhumi. "Both Aviation Department and Airports of Thailand were surprised by the urgent, unexpected decision made by the cabinet," Kulya told AOT. She had previously said that operating two airports would only temporarily solve the problems at the new airport. Critics have also voiced concern about splitting air traffic between the two for fear the move would create confusion among travellers and that people trying to make connections could become snarled up in Bangkok's notorious traffic. But Thailand's civil aviation chief Chaisak Angkasuwan said many big cities have more than one airport and Bangkok should be no different. "In Tokyo or France, they operate more than one international airport in a big city so I don't see any obstacle for Thailand to do the same thing," Chaisak told AFP. Link : http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/afp.../256905/1/.html

Well those who want to go those destinations which is not covered by the 'red theme airline' will most probably wait for MATTA fair to come as there will more choices and most probably the air fares will be more competitive as well. However for those who only want to travel direct nonstop flight, MATF will be the best choice.

Latest news : Travel fair being extended 1 more week to 12 Feb 2007. Although according to MAS it's due to overwhelming response from it's customer, but I guess it's the other way around. If most of their cheap seats has been snapped, do you think they will extend the fair for another week? KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 5 (Bernama) -- The Malaysia Airlines Travel Fair 2007 which commenced last Wednesday has been extended until Feb 12 following the overwhelming response from its customers. MAS' Commercial Director Datuk Rashid Khan said the extension was to cater to those who have not had much time to plan their journeys. Malaysia Airlines' offers for this year's Travel Fair involved five million seats covering 59 international destinations such as London, Sydney, Melbourne, Tokyo, Shanghai, Perth, Auckland, Hong Kong, Guangzhou and Beijing. Domestic packages that created great interest amongst the customers were Langkawi, Pulau Redang and Pulau Perhentian. Tickets are available at the airline's ticketing offices and appointed agents in Malaysia and ASEAN countries and at its 24 hour Call Centre at 1-300-88-3000. Those booking any regular priced hotels worldwide through www.malaysiaairlines.com from Jan 31 until Feb 11 will enjoy a five percent rebate.

AK is hiring Cabin Crew at the moment, I think that would be suitable for you since it didn't involve too much 'physical' + you can wear the nice black uniform as male cabin crew.

Wondering those 5 girls are AK staff (stewardess) or model/pics provided by Malaysia Tourism Board.

Would be nice to have a unit of those colourful apartment -- facing runway

Some update from Channelnewsasia: http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/afp.../256287/1/.html Bangkok airport chief quits amid turbulence 02 February 2007 1913 hrs BANGKOK : The former head of the company that operates Bangkok's troubled new airport quit with a parting shot at authorities Friday, saying the hub was opened too early last year despite his warnings. "At that time, I thought Suvarnabhumi was not ready to open," Chotisak Asapaviriya told Channel 11 television in an interview after handing in his resignation to the 14-member board of Airports of Thailand. Separately, the head of the board raised a new concern, criticising "loose" security which he said was insufficient to cope with the threat of terrorism. The board, appointed by Thailand's junta following a September coup that ousted former premier Thaksin Shinawatra, accepted Chotisak's resignation and, in a related move, sacked the airport's manager late Thursday. The glitzy three-billion-dollar Suvarnabhumi, named "Golden Land" in Thai, was one of Thaksin's pet projects meant to become a gleaming symbol of modern Thailand. Instead it has been mired by problems since opening last September, including 100 cracks on runways and taxiways, corruption claims, inadequate toilets and complaints about hygiene standards. Chotisak said he had urged the Thaksin government not to rush into opening the airport and told aviation authorities that they should gradually shift operations to Suvarnabhumi from Bangkok's old Don Muang airport. "I asked them to partially move operations to the new airport as I suspected the total opening at one time could cause many problems," he said. He insisted there was no pressure from the head of the AOT board, General Saprang Kalayanamitr, adding that he had decided to step down due to health reason. "I resigned because the stress coming from managing Suvarnabhmi would have serious effects on my health in the future," said Chotisak, 53. His resignation came amid growing difficulties at the airport, which were compounded when Thailand's aviation authority last month declined to renew an international safety certificate for Suvarnabhumi. The certificate is not required by law for the airport to operate, meaning it can stay open while the problems are sorted out. An engineering team that surveyed the cracks on the tarmac said they cover some 97,000 square meters (one million square feet), or 5.3 percent, of the airport's total taxiways. "Given the fact that the airport has been open for just four months, the cracks already found were considered a serious problem," Thiti Paveenchana, a director of the Engineering Council of Thailand, said Friday. "We recommended that authorities immediately close the cracked areas for urgent repairs. The process could take up to three to six months," he told AFP. Thailand's cabinet is expected to decide Tuesday whether to ask airlines to voluntarily make a temporary move of some domestic flights to Don Muang to ease traffic at Suvarnabhumi and allow the runway cracks to be repaired. Meanwhile, AOT board chief Saprang - also a member of Thailand's junta - said a 10-year contract with the Thai conglomerate Loxley to manage security may come under review. "Security at Suvarnabhumi is loose. The system now managed by Loxley is not professional," he said on Thai television Friday. "Security at the new airport is currently not sufficient to cope with the threat of terrorism," he said. The airport's newly appointed general manager, Serirat Prasutanont, vowed Friday to improve security at Suvarnabhumi. "We have to admit that the public now has strong concerns about safety and security at Suvarnabhumi, including the cracks in runways," said Serirat. "It is the role of the new management and my top priority to improve both of them to improve Suvarnabhumi's image," he told AFP. The junta has laid much of the blame for the airport's problems on Thaksin, who pushed for the airport to open last year despite warnings from airlines that it was not ready. But the airport has been in the works for more than 40 years, and claims of graft have repeatedly marred its development. Experts have warned for years that the site of the airport - on a drained marsh once known as "Cobra Swamp" - could cause problems for the runways.

Yes I have to agree the sales price for some of the route wasn't really that attractive, indeed they have increased the price for certain routes. One of the best example would be on Australian route where they have increase RM200 to RM300 per return flights across the board (supersaver/Matta for Syd/Mel/Bne/Adl is $1300++ while Per is $1000++ but this year travel fair they increased it to RM1600++ for East Coast Aust and RM1200++ for Perth). Although they have lifted the min/max stays restriction and can purchase the ticket on one way basis but still the increase of 20%+ compared to previous sales price was kinda dissapointing. I'm sure a lot of bargain hunter will stay out from this round of sales and wait for the coming MATTA fair (16-18 March). I guess this explained why there are still lots of sales fares availability for most of the international routes.

Some update from The Edge: http://www.theedgedaily.com/cms/content.js...c21000-df4e0c52 Tremendous response to Malaysia Airlines Travel Fair 07 The week-long Malaysia Airlines Travel Fair 2007 (MATF) got off to a tremendous start on Jan 31 with the airline reporting RM1 million sales via the Internet for the domestic sector within the first hour. MAS commercial director Datuk Rashid Khan said on Jan 31 this was excluding the international ticket sales and Golden Holidays packages. “Our call centre received 6,400 calls within the first two hours today and on Tuesday there were 14,500 calls enquiring on MATF. On a normal day, we receive about 8,500 calls,” he said. He was speaking to reporters after visiting MAS ticketing office at the Kuala Lumpur Sentral Station on Jan 31. Also present to brief the press was MAS senior general manager for network and revenue management, Bernard Francis. MAS senior general manager for network and revenue management, Bernard Francis with MAS commercial director Datuk Rashid Khan Bernard said MAS was offering a total of five million seats with discounts of up to 70% on its annual fair from Jan 31 to Feb 6 for travel period from Feb 24 until Sept 30, 2007. Many passengers were seen queuing at MAS ticketing office at Kuala Lumpur Sentral to snap up the bargain fares especially to popular destinations in Europe and Australia. Rashid said MAS was confident of maintaining or surpassing the RM180 million sales achieved at last year's MATF as the point of sales has been extended to 2,900 agents in Asean apart from the 527 local agents in 2007. He said MAS recorded an average RM27 million in ticket sales daily on a normal day. The airline is also offering 250,000 domestic seats with fares as low as RM9 as part of its Visit Malaysia Year 2007 (VMY) promotions with bookings from Jan 30 to Feb 6. The fares, which range from RM9 to RM199, were offered exclusively online at www.malaysiaairlines.com for 23 destinations for travel within a seven-month period starting March 1. Rashid also dismissed a suggestion that MAS was resorting to a price war, as he said the airline faces competition from 300 airlines globally everyday. “After the domestic route rationalisation, Malaysia Airlines can sell at any price depending on the demand and supply as well as the economics of running the airline. “This is our strategy for Visit Malaysia Year,” he said. “We can offer such competitive fares following the efficiency we achieved under – Project Omega – by looking at fares available in the market and realigning it with our reservations,” he said.