Seng Lim

Here's the translation in English (sorry if there's any mistakes): By Affiza, Adelaide Australia. I would like bring this letter to the attention of all MAS management and staffs. I was onboard MH0139 to Adelaide on 2 Oct 2006. Announcement was made by the cabin crew where breakfast will be serve 1.5 hour before landing. My friend asked the stewardess will breakfast be serve before the fasting start? She replied the announcement will make be make shortly. When breakfast was served at 4.45am (SA time), I though it was before fasting time thus I just finished my meal. Later, I met one of the steward and told him I want to do my morning prayer (the 1st morning praying out the 5 prayers per day for Muslim), he said the morning praying session already over and I was really shocked when I heard that. Then I asked him, what about the breakfast just now? He replied ‘well if you don’t want to fast, just say so lah’ I wasn’t upset or offended by the respond of this steward, I’m indeed very disappointed of MAS because they didn’t make the announcement on the pre fasting meal which they promised. The question is, are they forgotten about the announcement or there is no such announcement as MAS can’t be bother or respect the fasting month. Is this what ‘beyond expectation’ about? Don’t we live in a Muslim country where the holy muslim concepts being practice?. However MAS doesn’t seems to bother about the Muslim principles, the principles where our prime minister encouraged of. I really felt ashamed being a Malaysian.

Yar, apparently there is saying the Legacy pilots switched off the transponder (turning their Legacy aircraft into invisible mode) so that they can perform demonstrate the capabilities of this brand new Legacy to their VIP guest passangers (remembered there's a journalist onboard) without being caught by the ATC.

Agreed, B773/ER is definitely the way to go.

Haze has been part of Malaysian life for the past few years, the difference is only between 'light', 'medium' or 'Heavy'. Seems like it will be a never ending stories unless our good neighbour behaved themselve. This year so far has been much better compared to last year where last year the haze basically turn days into almost night in KL.

Well as usual for Korea flights. Even the KUL-ICN also midnight departure for both MH & KE flights. I guess they want to utilise their aircraft better by putting the flight at night as those who take the flight are tourist anyway.

Thanks Lam & Pieter. Will plan to get on the MD11 in the near future.

Excellent Finnair MD11 shot. It has been my dream to fly with MD11 someday and hope I'll have the chance to do so before all these trijet turning into freighter.

Wrekage has been found and no survivals. http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/americas/09/...rash/index.html

I guess they came to Sandakan for Orang Utan. Been to the Sepilok Orang Utan reserve in 1997 but it was rather dissapointing. However I really enjoyed Sandakan wet market in the morning and the fish ball noddles over there are simple marvelous (maybe because the seafood is very fresh and cheap there). I also tried the turtle egg (I know I shouldn't but it's kinda common over there, they are selling turtle eggs like chicken eggs in the market!). On every Saturday you also have the chance to taste 'dog meat' in most of the chinese coffee shop (according to my Sandakan friend where his family owned a coffee shop in Sandakan, In Sandakan there is a dogs farm and every Saturday the owner of the farm will prepared the stew dog meat and distribute to chinese coffee shop. If you want to order, just mention you want 'Three Six' (3+6=9 and pronunciation for 9 is same as dog in cantonese). Although my friend offered me to try 36 but I don't dare to take as I don't want to be chase my dogs. (Sorry for Muslim MW members if the content offended you, I just want to share it as a local interest/knowledge/culture ok).

Yes, the executive jet is Embraer Legacy (Corporate jet version of ERJ-135). The wing of this corporate jet was damage but able to land safely.

RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil (AP) -- The Brazilian air force continued searching Saturday morning in the densely forested Amazon region for a Gol airlines jet with about 155 people aboard that went missing Friday, Brazilian aviation authorities said. But authorities said they were no longer certain the disappearance was caused by a collision with a private jet as they earlier maintained. "During the afternoon there was another incident with a Legacy airplane, made by Embraer," federal aviation authorities said in a statement issued early Saturday morning. "It is impossible to confirm that there is a relation between the incident which caused the (Legacy) crew to perform an emergency landing in Cachimbo and the disappearance of the Gol airplane." Brazilian aviation authorities initially reported that the jetliner had collided with a smaller executive jet. Wladimir Caze, spokesman for the Brazilian aviation authority, said Gol Flight 1907 left the jungle city of Manaus and disappeared after a collision. It had been scheduled to land in Brasilia before heading to Rio de Janeiro's Antonio Tom Jobim International Airport. Manaus is a major river city in the heart of the Amazon rainforest some 1,700 miles (2,700 kilometers) northwest of Rio de Janeiro. Brazilian airport authority Infraero President Jose Carlos Pereira said the air force was searching for the jet in a densely forested region. Pereira said in a radio interview to CBN that a local farmer reported seeing a large plane flying low. The Brazilian Aviation agency said in a statement that the accident occurred midair about 130 miles (207 kilometers) south of the city of Caximbo in the municipality of Sao Felix de Araguaia in the remote southwestern region of Para state, some 2,000 kilometers (1,250 miles) northwest of Rio de Janeiro. According to the Globo news agency, about 70 family members and friends of the jetliner's passengers had been moved to a warehouse owned by Gol at the Brasilia airport to await news. Five planes of various sizes had been sent to search for the missing aircraft, the Brazilian air force said in a joint statement with the federal aviation and airport authorities. The accident occurred in the same region where a Varig 737-200 crashed in 1989 with 54 people aboard with 46 survivors. It was the first major incident for Gol Linhas Aereas Intelligentes SA, a Brazilian airline that took to the skies in 2001 with just six Boeing 737s in 2001, serving seven Brazilian cities. Gol has grown exponentially since then, dramatically boosting its fleet using the same model of plane to keep costs down while giving passengers cold box lunches and soft drinks instead of alcohol. The company is now Brazil's second largest airline after Tam Linhas Aereas SA, with more than 500 daily flights within Brazil and to Argentina, Bolivia, Paraguay and Uruguay. It rapidly gained market share by offering low-cost tickets, modeling its service after low-cost carriers in the United States and Europe. Gol, started by the heirs of a successful bus company, also benefited from the demise of Brazil's flagship airline Varig, which virtually disintegrated earlier this year under a mountain of debt. For pictures, you can check out the following links from a chinese website: http://www.singtaonet.com/toppic/t20060930_348212.html http://www.singtaonet.com/toppic/t20060930_348212_1.html Apparently it was also being reported in chinese news channel there are 20 Japan Yamaha staffs (didn't mentioned are they japanese or not but most like they are) onboard the crashed flight. The crashed B738 delivered to GOL on 12 Sep 2006 and just logged 200 hours of flight time.

Great idea, I got real story to tell about Genting as well. Been there once in 1999, that's my first trip to genting and most probably that will be my last......

Finnair & MAS To Discuss Code Sharing Possibilities September 28, 2006 16:44 PM KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 28 (Bernama) -- Officials from Finland's Finnair and Malaysia Airlines (MAS) are expected to meet up soon to discuss possible collaboration, among which, could be in code sharing. Such collaboration could be a boost for MAS, which is in the process of cutting some of its non-profitable European routes. "We heard MAS was removing some routes, including to Stockholm. We plan to collaborate with MAS and I would be glad to talk to MAS to look at where we can cooperate," Finnair's area vice-president, Europe, Asia and the Americas commercial division, Hannu Sundberg, said. "We will be approaching them as soon as possible," he said. Finnair and MAS need to look into the common grounds before making a decision, he told reporters after the signing of an agreement with Aviation Service here, Thursday. Also present was Finland's ambassador to Malaysia, Lauri Korpinen. Sundberg said Finland could be a gateway for travellers from Malaysia to the Scandinavian countries and other parts of Europe. Finnair, one of the world's oldest operating airline, would start a three-times a week flight from Helsinki via Bangkok to the KL International Airport and vice versa from May 21, 2007. "This route is expected to be a success from day one," he said. The flights will be on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. "We would like to develop this route to be daily as soon as possible and as soon as our capacity allows. "We did an analysis of this and with our success in Bangkok, we see no problem in selling Malaysia as a destination for the Scandinavians, Finns and northern Europeans in general. "Finnair now has traffic rights between Bangkok and Kuala Lumpur and the airline wants to take advantage of this," Sundberg said. Previously, Finnair was only operating charter flights to Malaysia, specifically to Langkawi during the winter season in Finland, he added. "The demand for Asian destinations is growing in both directions and we have excellent connections to and from Europe. It is our goal to open one or two new Asian destinations each year and add frequencies to our current network." Asia contributes 25 to 30 per cent of Finnair's revenue.

Since PR holder not entitle for the passport, of course they can't call themselve a New Zelander or Australian.

For chinrse ghost you'll need a copy of 'Tong Sing' and open the page where you can see the 'Master Chang' (he is master in catching ghost) and hang the book on the door. However the best choice is still move out and leave that place.

Thats really scary.... Ever consider moving out? For chinese we always believe on the 'replacement theory'. When someone die because of accident or suicide, they will stuck in the same place where they die and they can only move on once they found the replacement. That's one of the reason once a road got fatal accident it will keep repeating, samething for drowning, and in the case of apartment..... If you could see 'those' thing that means your positive energy level is low (bad luck in common term) and you must give yourself positive energy boost. There are several ways to do it: 1. take lime bath (get those green lime with the ugly skin one). 2. Eat nasi kunyit (just mix raw kunyit in the rice when you cook the rice and the rice will turn yellow once cooked). 3. Carry a piece of kunyit with you all the time (you can put it in a wallet). 4. As usual, make sure you have a copy of 'holy book' with you.

Ixory apartment?? What's wrong with this apartment?

Update on some of the changes on MH Bangkok schedule during the the 1st 2 days of opening period: MAS Inaugural Flight To Suvarnabhumi On Sept 28 September 26, 2006 19:51 PM KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 26 (Bernama) -- Malaysia Airlines (MAS) will commence passenger and cargo operations at the new Suvarnabhumi Airport in Bangkok on Thursday. A MAS statement here said that with the commencement of services from the new airport, MAS will cease its current operations at the Don Muang Airport after the departure of flight MH783 to Kuala Lumpur, Wednesday. "To ensure smooth migration of operations to the new airport, MAS will operate only one of its three daily Kuala Lumpur/Bangkok return frequencies on Sept 28," the statement says. The frequency will be doubled the following day, with flights MH784 and MH782 departing KL International Airport (KLIA) at 1000 hours and 1515 hours respectively. The return flights MH785 and MH783 will depart Suvarnabhumi for KLIA at 1200 hours and 1710 hours. Effective Sept 30, MAS will reinstate its three daily frequencies between Kuala Lumpur and Bangkok, it adds. MAS advised its passengers travelling out of Suvarnabhumi for the next few weeks to report early for check-in to ensure timely completion of departure formalities. The inaugural flight MH782 will depart to Suvarnabhumi from KLIA on Sept 28 at 1515 hours and arrive at 1620 hours while the return flight MH783 will leave the new airport at 1710 and land at KLIA at 2015 hours. MAS will offer ticketing facilities at the new airport from 0930 to 1830 hours daily. -- BERNAMA

Pretty sure it will, as long as AirAsia is in the local market.

Local websaver fares is vailable from 1 September 2006 to 31 July 2007, 1,000,000 domestic seats in total. You can get the full press released at : http://hq.malaysiaairlines.com/mh/eng/abou...EC-00B09AC21E7F For international cheap fares, MAS can make any offers at any time. However there are 3 times each year where you could assure of having bargain fares sales by MAS - Feb (MAS travel fair), Mar (Matta Fair) & Sep (Matta Fair).

Really huh? I guess those spirits must be either Japanese soldiers (during WWII) or chinese spirits who was killed by Japanese soldiers and want to go to Japan for revenge or they can be just normal spirit who want to go to Japan for hot spring and sakura.....

Eerie experience interrupts rite - Bangkok Post 24 Sep2006 by Amornrat Mahitthirook Airports of Thailand (AoT) organised its largest religious rite at the new Suvarnabhumi airport yesterday to ward off evil spirits, only to experience an encounter with the unexplained. Rumours of occasional "ghostly sightings" have gone around since the first foundation brick was laid at the airport many years ago. The AoT is determined to correct the growing perception that the airport is possibly harbouring some ''uninvited inhabitants'' and to put its staff members' minds at ease. Yesterday's rite was presided over by 99 monks who chanted en masse to improve the luck of the new airport, set to open commercially on Thursday. However, halfway through the rite, a man appeared, quivering, and began to speak in a commanding voice claiming to be "Poo Ming"', a guardian spirit of the land partially developed into the airport. He ordered that a proper spirit house be built at the airport to allow for its smooth operation. The man, who was unidentified, later passed out and woke up to find the spirit had left him. AoT president Chotisak Asapaviriya said the ceremony helped to boost the morale of airport staff, some of whom were unnerved after learning of frequent car crashes on the road running parallel to the airport's eastern runway. Some veiled figures have sometimes been spotted on the 6km-long road. Somchai Sawasdeepon, the airport general manager, said he had heard ghost stories from staff who came across a woman dressed in a Thai-style costume at the airport construction site in the evening. He said the airport land formerly belonged to some local communities encompassing the centuries-old Wat Nhong Prue and its cemetery. It was reported that the bodies had not been exhumed for proper religious cremation. Sqn Ldr Panupong Nualthongyai, head of Suvarnabhumi airport security, was also a witness to some strange, unexplained episodes. ''Whatever you make of it, it is the belief associated with the Thai way of life. For the non-believer, it is best not to act disrespectfully [towards the supernatural],'' he said.

Northwest used to fly their DC10-30 to KUL in 1996/97 if I do not mistaken.

3 flights per week is via Bangkok, thus we have the options to fly both short haul or long haul with Finnair from KUL. It will be good if they start the service with their MD11, best chance to try out this Trijet before all convert into cargo planes.

Finnair To Fly To KLIA From May 21 Next Year September 25, 2006 14:17 PM STOCKHOLM, Sept 25 (Bernama) -- Finnair, the flag carrier of Finland, would be flying direct from Helsinki to the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) beginning May 21 next year, making it the first airline from the Scandinavian countries to do so, Transport Minister Datuk Seri Chan Kong Choy said. Finnair would be flying three times a week to KLIA with the option of increasing its frequencies should there be good demand for the route in future, he said. "Right now, we have a pact with Finland under the Air Services Agreement (ASA) signed between Malaysia and Finland in 1997 whereby Finnair would be able to increase their frequencies up to seven flights a week or have daily flights." Chan said this to Malaysian journalists after his meeting with the president and chief operating officer of Finnair, Jukka Hienonen in Helsinki last week. During the meeting, Chan gave an assurance to Hienonen that the Malaysian government together with the civil aviation authority and Malaysia Airlines (MAS), who is their ground handling agent in KLIA -- would give their support to Finnair. "This is a major breakthrough (in having a Scandinavian airlines ) flying to KLIA," he said. With Finnair, the number of foreign airlines flying to KLIA will increase. Currently there are 50 foreign airlines flying to KLIA. Chan was in Finland for a two-day official visit beginning Sept 21 where he held discussions with Finland's Vice-Minister for Transport, Harri Pursiainen. During the meeting, both sides agreed to explore the possibility of having an open sky agreement between them. Malaysia already has numerous open sky agreements with several countries such as the United States, Thailand, Sri Lanka, Morocco and Sweden. "I don't see any reason why we cannot have an open sky agreement (with Finland). We also agreed that officials from both ministries of transport would find a date to discuss details of the agreement," he said. Finnair's decision to fly to KLIA comes hot on the heels of Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd (MAHB)'s success in persuading two international airlines -- Kuwait Airlines and Cebu Pacific -- to fly into KLIA by November this year. MAHB manages 39 airports in the country. MAB is also holding discussions with at least with three new airlines -- Ethihad Airlines, Shanghai Airlines and Hainan Airlines -- to fly into KLIA next year. "Although this year may see only two new carriers flying into KLIA, last year seven airlines made their way to KLIA," Chans said. They include India's Jet Airways, the return of Pakistan International Airlines, Thai AirAsia, PT Awair, Thai Sky Airlines, Air Nepal International and Shenzhen Airlines. Last year, KLIA handled 23 million passengers with passenger traffic expected to increase by five per cent this year. -- BERNAMA