Azman MN
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Posts posted by Azman MN
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Regarding the quote that the BNE is too long a route for these seats, does anyone know if any airline actually offer full flat seats between say SIN or BKK or HKG to BNE? SQ certainly doesn't on their A330s. What about QF or CX?
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The 9M-MT* fleet, will operate more regional services (which include any destination within 6 hours radius). There is nothing wrong with operating such a seat - others have done so for years.
I agree with that - even SQ's regional business class is not fully lie flat (although it has a few other tiny details). As I have said before in this thread, I am not sure how else airlines are supposed to improve regional C seats. Fully lie flat is not necessary.
In the past year, I have flown SQ, MH, TG, CX on regional routes. Only MH (772)and SQ(A330/772/744) offer lie flat (at angle) seats on my flights.
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So no on-board showers for Emirates anymore?
Anyway, besides the transparent walls, most of the other features can already be had on current planes, except that airlines prefer to fill it up with seats.
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The good news is, recent statistics (look for MAR's analysis on this forum) and data show MH front-end yield has increased and they are focusing again on filling the front-end with not just corporate travellers but with wealthy leisure travellers as well. So hopefully, the demand for premium traffic ex-KUL will see a rise in the future. In addition, not that you've said it at all Keith, but the general perception that KUL is NOT a business destination is highly dubious - the problem is that this region, particularly Singapore/Malaysia & Thailand are important regional economic houses - and most corporate travellers ex-EU/US/AU will combine their corporate travels in one go - hence why BKK/SIN have become traditional entry points into the region with the Airline Alliances. Hopefully, with this entry, MAS may now reap the benefits of being the origin of Business traffic in the region with people coming to KUL first before heading to SIN/BKK.
Yes, this year I had a had a few MH flights upfront. First I did a ZRH-BOM-MNL-KUL-SIN-ZRH. I just came back from a ZRH-KUL-HKG-MNL-SIN-ZRH. Both trips I could have hubbed out of KUL for my Asian sector, but I only did it for the first trip because the second one I decided to go for Star Alliance mileage and used SIN as an entry point. If MH was One World I would have definitely done so.
MH Business Class is quite impressive (although the equipment may be dated). On the ground, it is definitely the best of all airlines I have flown this year (it used to be so-so).
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the first person to say hello was the Director of Corporate Development at MH. The moment I saw her name card, I immediately asked her: Do I take it that your presence here at a oneworld event indicates that MH is about to join oneworld?
With a slight look of horror, she replied: At this point in time, I cannot comment on that.
That answer was more telling than merely saying no. The rest ... as they say is history.
KC Sim
Brilliant!
I'm thinking that all the domestic routes would be tagged with AA, BA, QF, CX or any other OneWorld alliance partners
KLIA would need to improve their flight display monitors to accomodate all the different flight numbers....
Alright, so can someone basically sum up how MH joining oneworld benefits us the passenger and also MH as an airline?
I've always just read stuff like you can accumulate points easier, and MH gets more traffic etc.. Hope some pro (ehem, Keith
) explain in further detail.For example I have like 17,000 points from BA, can they now (after all is official) be transferred to Enrich?
I am not sure about the need/possibility to transfer your miles - wouldn't Enrich be retained but the earning/spending and tiering be adjusted to OW standards? I am sure you would be given the possibility though as I could have had my SQ miles credited to Swiss.
When Swiss joined star alliance (it was bought over by Lufthansa), all my miles were transferred to Lufthansa. My premium status was guaranteed for an additional year even if I don't requalify properly, plus, I got 2 upgrade vouchers. The very negative thing is that with Swiss miles, the miles is all that you pay for a ticket. With Lufthansa, you need to pay the taxes, fuel surcharge, etc., in addition!
For me as a business customer, this makes KLIA a much more attractive option as a hub for my business trips from Europe to Asia. Certainly MH will see more business from me!
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Finally!
Just saw the news on TheStar and immediately got myself to MWings!
Unbelievable. They took such a long time and I almost gave up hope...
So now that I have my Star Gold secured for the next few years, I think I should try to get to a premium level on oneworld. Keith T, welcome back, and which programme should I join? I am BA Blue right now...
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Removing a row in Business/ Club is A GOOD idea worth looking into ; and maybe another row out in EYCL as well.
I thought one reason the seats are not full flat is because it would need more space, i.e., with lie flat at angle, your feet go below the passenger in front's head.
So if you remove a row from C class, you would have enough space for full flat beds.
This is why I thought MH 777 C class is very silly. They got the lie flat at angle seats. Then they didn't like the cramped space so they removed one row and created a huge legroom. But with the huge legroom, they could have gotten full flat seats!!
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Well, I think SQ 7772s are currently being refurbished because they are again interim aircraft, just like the A330, though not that interim, who will see service for the next 5 to 6 years, if not more, before the 787s and A350S role in. In some sense, the 772s are interim aircraft before the newer ones come in. Yes, I am trying to say that these seats are interim. Partly because they are probably not going to find their way onto the newer and permanent 787s and 350s in time to come. Why, because by then, enough time would've passed and knowing SQ it always wants its top notch, most updated seat, given it's a new aircraft. And I think most carriers, tend to refresh their seats after 10 years.
Exactly my point - they are all interim. Saying SQ's seats are interim is like saying that MH's 330 seats are also interim until they introduce the A380 or until they decide to buy A350s or 787s.
I totally agree with you. But doesn't MH in some sense also not do so well in this department compared to itscompetitors?
Yes - people moan about the cabin, but for me, there are other things that need improving that are far more important. Things that really do decide whether I fly with MH or not. Quality of regional C class seats is way down my list.
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Looking at those seats, I’ve only got a few words to say. Cheap, tacky, copycat. Yes, it’s only a regional product. (I hope it doesn’t appear on the A380) But clearly, its competitors are ahead. Even SQ’s interim biz class looks more appealing. And I’d like to emphasize INTERIM. Knowing SQ they’re probably out to shock the industry, when they launched their ultra-wide long-haul biz, which was a hit. Definitely, it has more seat functions at hand and most of all, it’s small things that count, like providing more luscious materials, sturdier privacy barriers, even in Y, having my tray table down for a cup of juice is annoying when you can have a simple cup holder.MH for some reason, just doesn’t get it. It’s the first impressions that count. Even the Y-class product looks more tasteful and it’s previous long-haul J class seats look better. And again, this whole thing of service. Well, personally SQ and MH are comparable, and so is TG, so there’s nothing brilliant. There’s a limit to it, unless of course you want the stewardesses to spoon feed passengers which I don’t think will happen. If MH, really wanted to make it on top, the seats should’ve firstly been more innovative, like ANZs premium economy, perhaps, a lie-flat seat where its seamless for passengers to get out, sturdier privacy screens, more seat functions, and a more tasteful selection of materials. It seems that MH is always a latecomer and always seems to copy its competition instead of outwitting them. That’s what MH needs. And it’s excuse is always cost cutting. Air Asia is a worthy opponent, but MH needs to see around it, and secure new markets where it can compete. If not MH is always going to be the “cheaper version and second in line choice” airline behind SQ, CX, QR. It’s like, oh I can’t afford CX or the CX flight is full. Let’s take MH they’re not bad but I’d really like to fly the others. MH is not a diedie must fly airline like the other five star carriers.
What do you mean SQ's is interim?? I have been on newly refurbished 772s with those so called interim seats - if they are interim, why are they putting them into their 772s?. I think SQ refreshes all their cabins within 10 years or so, which by definition means that all their cabins are interim.
I can follow your argument that it is the little things that count, but for me, as a regular business traveller, I cannot see what significant big wow change can be introduced in a regional C class. What is more important to me are the other stuff like better connection times, better frequencies, member of an alliance... etc.
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A look at the new C class on the A330 for example, they had all the time in the world to deliver something that would make the people go WOW but instead the Y class was the one that more or less got the WOW factor.
Still I wonder, what do you expect from a regional C class? You can see I travel regularly on business and as a business class passenger, I cannot think of anything more that I want from the cabin. SQ A330 and 772s new C Class is nice, but nothing wow, and certainly a downgrade from their A380 /77W. Swiss A330 has an innovative cabin with up to 5 across, but not really wow.
I would rather see better ground handling, better flight schedules, better lounges, etc. Virgin executives told me once that they have very little real estate in the air to work with so they concentrate on improving things on the ground. The benefit to the passenger is much higher while costing much less.
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You make a mistake here and it's going to cost you in the long run.
Agree with you in a way, but, also learning from the A380 experience, there is no harm in ordering early and changing it later. If there are delays you will get some form of compensation, and if you want to delay your deliveries to a later date, plenty of other airlines would love to take your slot. If there is a delay or performance misses, all your competitors will also suffer the same, so there is no difference.
If you don't order at all, you will end up further and further back in the queue. So in the long run, I think it costs nothing to join the queue, but you tend to lose more if you just loiter around and not join the queue until it is very very late.
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There's a video on Youtube showing IFE on MH 738s. I think it's quite quick to browse through the channel, but to load the movie, there's a split second delay. I heard SQ new Krisworld is also troublesome, has to reboot a few times.
SQ's Krisworld sometimes must be rebooted which will affect a whole row of seats and takes almost half an hour sometimes. Would say it has affected 10-20% of my flights. Combination of that and lack of new movies to watch means that I now usually read a book and for my next trip, movies on my iPad2.
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I see that the C class seats have disappointed a lot of people, which leads me to ask, what were we expecting?
When SQ introduced the A330 seats, it is a downgrade compared to their A380 or 77W, but overall I would say that it is a better fit for its missions. Wonder if anyone complained that Swiss introduced a more innovative cabin than SQ on their A330s? I would be disappointed if the MH A330 seats make it to the A380, but for the A330 flying medium haul, I don't really expect more.
The only think I am disappointed about is that airlines in general continue to persist with this lie flat at angle seats. It is completely useless. Everytime I get one of these seats I would make it go all the way flat and then reverse a bit so that it is not completely flat. Like this, I will not slide down. I would much prefer normal seats with a very good pitch, if I don't get full flat.
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That is done using a towbar-less tractor. Can be done for any aircraft as long as the towbarless tractor is rated for that specific type. Normal convention way is using a towtruck and a towbar.
There was a documentary about one of the tractor drivers on the local swiss TV. The film crew interviewed and followed her around one morning. She's a real country bumpkin. At the end of it her radio cracked "hoi Mausi (little mouse), they are waiting for you at E32!". Then she hollered back "ya, ya I'm on my way. They can't leave without me hahaha". Then she told the camera crew, "ok, gotta go. 340 to Cairo, usually light load. Bye". And off she went. Quite funny.
Hot in Malaysia... but here sometimes it can be minus 20 degrees in winter...
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OUCH. Did they do anything afterwards to compensate?
They did serve half a meal for late supper (departure was around 1am), and then 5 hours into the 13 hour flight, they woke us up to serve half the breakfast. I think things that needed to be kept chilled they simply did not serve. I did not bother following up, so no idea whether there was compensation. I was in C class though, so I don't know what they did in Y, but I also noticed that they were served at the same time.
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That part about the confirmation email but credit card not charged has happened to me before - twice!
Thing is, the first email is only to confirm that you reserved something. You still need an e-ticket which is issued when your credit card is charged.
First time - Swiss International - I booked 2 adult tickets and 2 infant tickets ZRH-PMI. Only when I got to the airport and could not check-in, we realized that something was wrong. So I was sent to the ticket counter. Apparently, my booking was put on hold because they wanted to verify how come 1 family has 2 infants (possibly I was lying about 1 child's age so that I don't have to pay for a seat). Then of course they could see that I have twins. Someone was supposed to contact me to query this, but for some reason it was never done. Luckily they had a few seats left so we managed to get on board anyway.
Second time - I arrived in SIN and after a few days stopover, was checking in to go to Australia (can't remember MEL/BNE or SYD). I could no check in. Had to go to the ticketing desk. Interestingly, my confirmation showed all my flights, but my e-ticket has my Australia bit missing. Of course I have not paid for it and will not pay for it - I was travelling on business!! So a few phone calls ensued, finally my travel agent sorted it out. Again, luckily there were seats available.
So people remember this - make sure you have your e-ticket and that it is correct!
Ok, I did not lose my luggage, so SQ and LX are not as bad as Iberia. Although, SQ also once did not serve anyone any proper meals SIN-ZRH as the on-board fridge was broken.
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Was on KUL-MNL-KUL on 24/25 Feb. I thought it would be one of the new birds, but no, it is one of the leased 738s.
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Virgin's ladies look quite striking from far but up close they are just plain English girls.
SQ? I think europeans find anything exotic quite good looking. I know a girl here in Zurich who everyone thinks is really hot but in KL she is to me only average. SQ maybe above average but if they allow them to look less like each other they would be even better.
Austrian Airlines get my vote.
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Promotional fare BCN - GRU return is quite good at just below RM3000.
The aircraft spends a lot of time on the ground in GRU - about 10 hours or so.
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KE upper deck at the back end seems to be a huge kitchen area. I guess to cater for the Y class downstairs too.
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I'm booked on the SQ A380 for ZRH-SIN-ZRH in April. SQ called me to inform that the departure time has again been changed. So I took the opportunity to ask if the upper deck will be all business class. No. Not yet.
So it sounds like ZRH will not be the first to get the all business upper deck, but it will be one of the destinations.
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Income is high and but everything else costs more!
Sure everything costs more. But Malaysia has exhibited very good annual growth in the last decades. This is reflected in inflation... but why not in the incomes?
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Anyway, when will it be cheap enough to learn how to fly in Malaysia that anyone with a passion for flying could go and do it, not just those who aspire to become airline pilots?
It is cheap enough. Malaysians simply don't earn well enough. Thanks to years and years of govt. policy that has kept income levels low.
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MH are now starting to use the B737-800s on some of the KUL-SIN flights.
Now? I've flown several KUL-SIN-KUL sectors on the 738 already since last April on the (leased) 738.
Should an SIA Girl sleep among passenger seats?
in General Aviation
Posted · Report reply
Actually, their image would improve in my eyes if they were allowed to rest on passenger seats. I mean, they seem to be treated like robots already, so if SQ were to look more humane, I would be more pleased.