Chris Tan

EK seems to have 5th freedom rights between PEN and SIN too. Been years since I flew a widebody on that route

If they’re going to lose money anyway they might as well get some shiny new widebodies

With a more lucrative home market I’d be disappointed if they didn’t find good routes to fly.

This is hardly an MH-only issue. The concept isn’t very difficult to understand: if you want free/cheap changes, buy a flexible ticket. Much easier to understand than things like CASK if you ask me

Do you think the vultures give a hoot about anything but their own bottom lines?

The AF/KL deal would spell the end of MH’s membership in OW. That would be a huge bummer.

What sort of hub would KUL be?

Out of KUL? Perhaps. In general? Absolutely not. You try comparing CX’s ex-HKG fares.

Never thought I’d see the day of SQ’s 772s returning to KUL

Thankfully for MAB the online community is teeming with expertise on how to run an airline.

By working with them to meet their requirements, do you mean bending over backwards to meet their demands? Because I don't remember seeing Changi build an LCCT because TF threw a tantrum. Or remove the aerobridges at T4 because they're deemed an unnecessary luxury. Do those governments entertain AirAsia's demands for lower PSC/taxes just because they're low-cost? If anything, this goes to show that MAHB is willing to even entertain AirAsia's nonsense. They know that going around kicking up a fuss in public isn't going to gain any traction in other countries.

And if you put any thought into the article instead of taking it face value you might find that it’s an awfully convenient excuse to cut excess capacity. Let’s not be so naive, shall we? KUL is hardly bursting at the seams. As pointed out by others, KUL isn’t in desperate need of a 3-runway operation quite yet.

DXB only has two runways and it’s much busier than KUL. Closing one runway has a tremendous impact on operations, so of course they’d have to rush the repairs. EK had to trim a significant chunk of flights when DXB was on one runway ops. Do you see the AK group shelving a third of its flights because KUL is down to 2 runways?

I’m quite glad the people in power don’t advocate for lower wages in their pursuit of raising the average income. One of those “reasons” which were not elaborated on in your post can be found just two posts up. Many leisure travellers aren’t willing to pony up for the convenience of a direct flight. You want convenience, you pay for it. Clearly MH knows they can get away with charging higher prices for ex-KUL, the same way SQ/CX charge exorbitant prices out of SIN/HKG. I don’t see how MH is in a different position compared to other airlines here. Direct flights are convenient, and convenience doesn’t come cheap. It’s a worldwide trend that MH would be foolish to buck. If they’re going to have any hope of getting half-decent yields (which many here have been advocating for), slashing prices to please a price-sensitive bunch probably isn’t the best strategy, is it? Some might praise CX/KA for being so affordable out of KUL but conveniently forget the reason behind CX’s withdrawal from KUL. And it seems like they’re also blithely unaware of how insane CX’s pricing is out of HKG. Because CX can, just like how MH can rightfully command a premium out of KUL.

Aspire to lead the race to the bottom in terms of passenger experience? Like pioneering Basic Economy, completely gutting the value of its FFP, lobbying for the ME3 to stay out of the US, etc?