Robert

I guess they were not making money? Firefly has no direct competition now which isn't good.

Re facial recognition and bag drops did you need to use a local app for the airport at DMK and HKG? Changi has a some egates which seem to struggle to pick up the retina correctly and can be slow. My point is that all departures by default are via gates. Many spend 30-90 mins queuing depart from KLIA T1 when it's understaffed. Yes first time is for capturing face/fingerprints but the system has been known to lose the info from time to time. My point is that at Changi you don't need to register first.

suspect it will be a cramped cabin with 29' seat pitch. Gate staff will need to be strict with hand luggage because cabin bins are a lot smaller than the A320.

They should take a day trip to Changi and take the best and implement at KLIA. You don't need crap like this at Changi to drop your bags etc : https://www.thestar.com.my/starpicks/2023/12/15/the-new-face-of-airport-security. Immigration at Changi is now gates for departing passengers and many can use gates for arrival. KLIA Immigration has 10 countries and you still need to queue for the first time. Transiting between airlines is easy at Changi but the impression I have at KLIA is poor because many often counters airside are not manned and signage is poor.

Not sure if you are referring to MH in your last paragraph? Irregardless if airlines are being badly run then the regulator should have some teeth to manage it. As for bailouts etc I don't agree and it's wrong to prop up such firms, especially if they are badly run. The US public seems to have forgotten the amount of bailouts etc that their carriers have received. Labour movements due to higher pay etc is normal and many are willing to do it and enjoy the adventure. Not sure I get your point about questionable funding though. Yes salaries are here are low and the weak ringgit compounds the situation and that needs to change. Don't want to get into politics or economics here as things usually get messy.

Not sure your racial undertones are warranted and no Im not American Some could turn around and use the same context for MH due to the amount of money its lost and never ending state bailouts etc, I have no issue with EK/QR etc having many flights to LHR/KUL/BKK and others and for consumers at the moment it gives choice and competition. This is better than the old IATA fixed routes and fares.

Competition is a good thing. Perhaps will inspire MH to fix there never ending broken and deflating J seats as well as the IFE/WIFI that has many issues and often fails. A few people I know as well as myself endured such issues over a 4 day period on the same aircraft (9M-MAD) and yes it made me mad!

BA returns to KL and Bangkok https://www.independent.co.uk/travel/news-and-advice/british-airways-kuala-lumpur-bangkok-ba-b2507041.html

Not MY related Singapore - I see that CX is restoring the fifth freedom flights via BKK and today EK announced fifth freedom to PHN It's a pity that KLIA doesn't get such opportunities.

https://theedgemalaysia.com/node/700730 KUALA LUMPUR (Feb 13): Datuk Chandran Rama Muthy has returned as the chief executive officer (CEO) of full service carrier Batik Air Malaysia, effective from Feb 1. He replaces Captain Mushafiz Mustafa Bakri, who has been promoted as the safety director of Batik Air Malaysia's parent company Lion Air Group of Indonesia. Mushafiz has been at the helm of Batik Air Malaysia since Sept 23, 2019. Chandran was the first CEO of Batik Air Malaysia, formerly known as Malindo Air, from its inception in 2013 to August 2019. He was then promoted to the position of group strategy director at Lion Air Group."Under Chandran’s leadership, Batik Air Malaysia has made rapid progress on the execution of its strategy, while reporting a strong network expansion and improved service performance. This has created a solid foundation for the long-term expansion of Batik Air Malaysia and sustainable value creation for industry partners, customers and stakeholders," said the carrier in a statement on Tuesday. Batik Air Malaysia operates a mixed fleet of three Airbus A330-300s, 27 Boeing 737-8/800 NG aircraft, and five ATR72-600s. The airline will be adding an additional three A330-300s and six 737s. The carrier carried a total of 4.5 million passengers in 2023. It operates 800 weekly flights across 57 routes in the region. It is a member of the Lion Air Group of Indonesia, which includes Batik Air Indonesia, Super Air Jet, Lion Air, Wings Air, Biz Jet and Thai Lion Air.

its even made the daily fail https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13058587/Batik-Air-Malaysia-Major-international-airline-cancels-route-one-Aussie-city-blaming-operational-costs.html

got it. Do we really want the Jetstar bogan brigade here LOL

Why do you think that? Its well known that yields are an issue here and people prefer to pay for budget type carriers.

The LHR turnaround was pretty impressive. FR24 said landed at 22:02 and departed at 23:20. Ive seen 737's at KLIA/Changi take longer

Delays delays delays. MH4 was departed around 16:30. Just curious if it will be allowed to take off from LHR due to it arriving there around 22:30 and the subsequent issues with night flight departures. MH66 seems to have had an issue with a big delay as well and then further delayed by operational issues

Im seeing reports that the NRT-KUL flights are requiring a fuel stop in BKI owing to strong winds. Have not checked but would have thought that the MAX would be more than capable flying this route?

Sometimes I don't get the logic. I often find the fares to/from Changi on MH codeshares have 30-50% cheaper than MH. Apart from price the only difference for me is the ticketed beginning 918xxxx, lower luggage, no seat selection until checkin, a manual enrich point claim and.... you seem to get 3 elite points in Y compared to 1 on MH. Enrich is another topic lol

haha I dont drink coffee so no idea

Had a fantastic flight to LHR. We were booked in J and they upgraded us to Suites at check in. The satay was very good, better some of the local stalls near me. The two crew looking after row 1 were exceptional, especially after my wife wasn't well during the latter stages of the flight. Luggage was out pretty fast which was a bonus. What could have been better? The catering messed up and changed a number of passengers chef on call meals to something random which most people didn't want.

I do wonder if some of it is due to people buying cheap crap luggage

Over the fast few days Im seen several reports on FB groups of missing bags on flights ex KUL to a variety of destinations. Not sure if there are/have been issues or whether it's just a few exceptions. I'm off to LHR in a few days so will make sure I have air tags in all my bags

then you would also need 2 train systems - one for arriving and one for departing passengers

Changi T1-T3 has a similar issue which is compounded by lack of staffing from time to time. Having queued for extended time at LHR security and many time at KLIA immigration for between 1 and 3 hours Im not confident that KLIA would manage it correctly. To install a central security check you need to separate in and outbound passengers which isn't possible without rebuilding the terminal Personally I would leave the system as it is and enhance the staffing and efficiency of the gate checks. New tech is available which allows you to leave laptops in bags as well as liquids. Having to take off belts is also a PITA.

The customer front end is buggy so I shudder to think what the back end is like haha

yes but when they have been retimed and then running more late it still takes an hour+ to turn the aircraft around. The perception is that everyone mistaking their own sweet time. I don't often fly AK or TR these days but they seem to be faster.