Chris Tan

They don’t really have the equipment for long haul growth anyway.

I’m not sure a market like TPE can sustain the opulence of 73H and tuna puffs!

Are they tight on frames earlier in the day? I can't imagine slots being that big an issue here. The flights don't connect well to most places (apart from DOH), but I suppose they don't see much connecting potential for these routes.

But it's a 738 on certain days though.

Had to Google this place...

That was my initial thought as well. But if cargo were a big reason they should be flying 333's year round, and CI Cargo already flies there, which makes me think it's driven by passenger demand.

Nice to see LGK get long-haul service again but I guess this rules out EK launching PEN. IIRC it was slated to be DXB-SIN-PEN with 5th freedom rights but never actually launched because of Covid. That would've been a very interesting ride.

Airlines are better at identifying travel patterns than you seem to think. The nimble ones like AirAsia (to put it in a Malaysian context) are even better placed to respond to that demand, by create point-to-point routes where demand exists. It's no coincidence that AK serves LGK-SIN but not -DMK. Then there's the approach of putting the cart before the horse, i.e. by creating/subsidising routes for the sake of stimulating demand. I'm certainly not opposed to that, but when experiments like LGK-DOH/LHR (some of the largest aviation global aviation hubs) failed, doesn't that tell you something about the limits of this approach? And I don't really get why the price of booze is being harped on here, as if slashing prices would fill Langkawi's beaches. Singapore is hands down a more expensive place to drink (and eat, and shop, and stay). I don't see any shortage of tourists there, even with a strong currency. Is that why you've been directly quoting Craig's posts, even responding with unnecessarily personal remarks when your assertions were being challenged?

How noble of MAG to bear the short-term pain. Never mind the thousands of passengers who are putting up with this farce, or the Malaysians who are saddled with a national carrier that constantly sinks to new lows. Just pathetic.

73H on those routes is just torture.

Meanwhile people are calling for government intervention to lower domestic airfare… 🤷‍♂️

Perhaps you didn't understand my question. You claimed MH and AK have been neglecting East Malaysia for decades. I'm asking why you believe so.

Do you think that neglect is driven by spite or commercial reasons? If the East Malaysian market were such a cash cow, I do wonder why MH and AK are so blind to that pot of gold. Unless, you mean providing incentives to those airlines to build up their hubs there, and connect BKI/KCH/MYY etc. to the world. But then again, I thought using taxpayer's money to fund our airlines is a big no-no. On another note, I'm surprised to hear every state has two carriers. Didn't realise the Malaysian aviation field is THAT crowded.

That’s very far down the road though…

I wouldn't say a 10-12 year old 333 is particularly young. Sure, they can operate for many more years in general, but hopefully not with MH. Unless they on doing complete refurbishments of old aircraft (DL style), which seems unlikely given MH's track record, I hope they're retired sooner than later.

Are those frames ex-SK?

There are plenty of markets that need more capacity. OW hubs like KUL, TYO, HEL and MAD can be covered by partner airlines as a stopgap.

The ground experience is hands down better through MH, especially if you have an afternoon/evening flight out of SIN.

If we're throwing darts at train services around the world, the LHR, HKG, NRT, FRA, VIE express trains are more expensive, to name a few.

Those countries have far more extensive rail networks that necessitate the shared use of platforms. Chances are, the stations weren't purpose-built for a dedicated airport service. I'm confused how fewer platforms = higher frequency. Not sure what makes the current KLIA Ekspres/Transit split so laughable. At Sentral you can see the next departures on a screen to make a decision, so it's not like you're going in blind. Once you get to the platform you know exactly what service you're boarding. Combine the services, and I can bet you a lot of armchair transport experts will be roasting the government for having a confusing setup.

Last train from the airport at 12am seems a tad early. There are quite a few arrivals at that time of the night.

To be fair, MH has become a lot less international since those days. Their major non-English speaking markets like CN KR JP are still covered by multilingual crew, AFAIK.

Reminds me of how my Myvi 1.3 G bears an uncanny resemblance to my neighbour's Myvi. Just that mine lacks front parking sensors and Bluetooh connectivity. Both are made by Perodua, I think, so maybe that's why they look similar.

Makes me wonder what the current arrangement is. Airlines don't get held responsible if pax show up with the wrong documents?

In the interim, perhaps 'da pao' from the mak cik's at the T1 public food court?