Izanee

I think MH wanted QF and BA to move their hub from SIN to KUL. QF was not interested for obvious reasons...and BA was coerced by QF. I don't know the exact details.

beautiful A380 shots bro! i envy you! must have been an 'experience redefined!'

great news indeed affendi. I was always wondering when they would add on KUL to their terminator LHR-SIN flights. hope they don't pull out at the last minute.

if they want to lose weight - use MH - their snack box will guarantee you instant weight loss!

Dubai is not a cheap place to be - in fact it is increasingly becoming more expensive. it is now catering mostly for the rich western tourists. However, they might have low operating costs due to the fact that they can recruit thousands of workers from the Indian subcontinent to work for their ground services.

well....i don't know him personally so i cannot comment on him. i don't think anyone else is coming up with the crap snackbox concept, but if that were the case, then IJ must have the final say. and from his press statements and his emails - I think that whatever the customers say - he is going ahead with it. the survey is a load of bull crap designed to show lay people that they care about what their customers think. come on. 91% agree with the snack box? I really cannot believe that. Not in Malaysia...Malaysians are extremely price sensitive, and I am one of them. If i can get better deals elsewhere, I'll take it. NOt wasting my hard earned money on exorbitant prices and cheapo meals. I expect value for money NOT low cost with (5 star) high price crap.

EK to BKI and PEN sounds very interesting. MAybe then can do a triangle DXB-PEN-LGK-DXB or DXB-KUL-PEN-DXB! or even DXB-SIN-PEN-DXB

You have a very impressive track record Capt Nik. However, I would like to add that not all that we say on this website is based on limited information. As you say, you yourself don't know where the proceeds of the sale go to. Especially in a big organisation with many different divisions with their own heads. I agree the TR period was a very difficult time for all having known relatives and friends who worked with MH. Although the cash flow crisis would have been fatal, we know that the government would not dispose of MH unlike in Belgium and Switzerland. It is a matter of national pride and importance - they were bailed out. Just like MISC who now have the biggest fleet of LNG tankers in the world. Likewise - Proton will also be bailed out. I also agree that MH grew from a kampong airline to a global one. SQ was also a kampong-ish airline that grew. Yes, the british built up singapore with excellent infrastructure - ports, airports, roads, etc etc. Malaysia was only plundered for its rich natural resources. The only train lines built were from plantations and mines to our small ports and to Singapore for export. But Singapore decided that they cannot be 'kampong' from the start and realised that they had to expand themselves. MH resigned to the fact that Malaysia was a small country and would only serve domestic and regional routes plus a few important long haul ones like London, sydney and tokyo. The singapore government did not protect SQ - they were willing to let SQ die rather than to lose SIN's status as a hub. That is a well known fact. SIN grew and grew. Also remember that Changi was NOT built by the British but by the Singaporeans when they realised that it had the potential to be an important hub. That was almost 20 years before KLIA. So in my personal opinion, 'kampong' cannot continue to be our excuse for anything that fails. And I would like to thank Capt Nik for his humbleness and his well thought out discussions and arguments. In Malaysia - not many people in high offices can accept 'constructive' criticisms in order to learn more. I don't know IJ personally but I am very suspicious of his ability to accept criticisms and to perform surveys - I do not think that it is a true representation of what the customers think.

more bull crap from MH. Why don't they start their own awards in GOing Places and vote themselves best in Malaysia? Cos i'm sure 91% of the local population must prefer the delightful and wholesome snack box, 3% not happy but ok with it, and the rest are flying AK so don't care about it. (probably the results of the survey next year - probably!) I don't mean to be such a grouch but IJ's patronising tone just tips me over the edge... Don't need to be baby fed all this rubbish. If I wanted somebody's tits, I would ask for it.

all this talk by MAHB about having 70 airlines within a certain timeframe doesn't mean anything at all. BKK has more than 80 airlines NOW! Oman air which was supposedly a 'sure' starter to KUL has decided its first two long haul routes this year will be LGW and BKK! for god's sake. More and more airlines are choosing BKK, and the current ones are upgrading services. KUL is moving further behind. Air asia x seems to be the only airline that will be significant in KUL - and I think that will happen very very soon. MH will be a two bit 5 star carrier with low cost. MH will just be another 'has been'. Never will again.

That is true - but hasn't MAS sold off its 747s to various airlines ... or is it PNB who sold them? Does MH see any of the cash? it is all very confusing. As mushrif stated - yield and load factor is often announced in MH's press statements. And by the way Capt Nik, I hope you're not offended by what I said about selling the top management - I DO NOT mean you at all...

they'd be lucky to have them. other potential airline partners like Myanmar airlines, air kazakhstan and air kyrgystan have gone bust already.

the problem is that MH is achieving its profit by selling 747s, their headquarters, and many town offices. Yield has only increased slightly, as has the load factor. Their turnover is nothing compared to SQ's or TG's. Selling things to attain profit is good, but at some point you will run out of things to sell. Maybe they can sell the top management's bums off. I don't think much money will be made from that either.

MAHB keep mentioning they win best airport - but its always the 15-25 million pax/year category. This rules out BKK, SIN and EVEN CGK!!! for god's sake - the propaganda is killing me. I never realised how bad it is until I got stupid, patronising replies from IJ and co. they really must think we are stupid.

i suppose you're right Keith. AF is not interested in the Malaysian market as SIN/BKK are the high yield routes in the region. Plus, AF now have a nice cushy arrangement with QF to serve the Australian market via SIN. KLM is covering the Malaysia/Indonesian market adequately - and via KUL serve the Australian market. Its MH's loss at the end of the day. I know many airlines are not part of any alliances but MH cannot keep using EK as an example. EK is using DXBs excellent location at the crossroads of Europe, Central Asia, Africa, Middle East and Asia to its advantages. They have multiple daily flights from multiple cities with excellent onward connections. and THEY ARE STILL GROWING. I was sceptical about EK's need for the 43 A380s but looking at their Dubai hub during my recent transit, I am not surprised anymore. Dubai overtook KUL in terms of passenger numbers 2-3 years ago and has not looked back since. It is truly a hub. You now can fly anywhere in the world - with lots of frequency to match. KUL missed the boat - MAHB and the government were too slow to capitalise on the air traffic growth. We are at least 10-15 years behind SIN. As soon as they got their act together, CHINA and INDIA opened their skies and airlines started flocking there. Look at Finnair - pulled out at the last moment to capitalise on the growing Europe-India traffic. KUL - too little too late. (I am sorry as I have always hoped on KUL catching up with SIN - i don't see that happening now).

i wonder if anyone really needs to use their mobile phones on an aircraft. just sit down and enjoy the IFE!

that is so you can order McDonalds or Pizza hut if you don't like the snack box

doesn't look like it is Michael - VIE - MH pulled out, followed by OS ZRH - MH pulled out AMM - RJ pulled out IST - TK pulled out LHR - VS agreement ended NGO - MH pulled out The only significant operations are AMS-KUL-OZ/NZ-KUL-AMS - also AMS-UK/Scandinavia-AMS; and LHR-regional UK-LHR (with BD); KUL-BKK-KUL; KUL-HKG-KUL That's not enough to make KUL a major hub rivalling SIN (forget BKK,HKG - they are way ahead). If we're not lucky - CGK's pax will increase at a greater rate (mostly due to domestic traffic) - we are already >2 million pax/year behind them.

so Pieter - any inside news on whether MH is being shunned or otherwise? as said above - MH is trying to save face. imagine - ST takes so many smaller airlines in africa/europe but a large important airline like MH with good links to Australasia (+ hub with plenty room for expansion) gets kicked in the nuts. how much more shame can they take? good time to bow out gracefully....

it will be a five star site with low cost. i.e. geocities.com or myspace.com maybe even facebook. we can put idris' picture holding a snack box. filled with capsicum 'sandwic'es. the fact that 'sandwic' seems so wrong must mean something to him...its never meant to be...not for Asians at least.

bloody racist pigs. dumb americans won't know the difference between a bai and an al-qaeda terrorist.

i'm a clinical research fellow as well - i know what tricks some people use to manipulate data. I don't believe idris jala's stupid claims really. and wong - get that sandwic and stuff it in his face! idiots. absolute idiots. snack box is here to stay. they don't care. this is typical malaysia - pull the wool over our eyes!

AK is expanding rapidly out of KUL - MH is cutting back services. Other airlines have not budged yet. If AK leaves KLIA, it will take 6 million pax/year.

i told Idris via email that I don't see how they managed to get 91% customer satisfaction - and I told him that i'll be taking my business elsewhere. he replied saying that the snack box will be trialled till 31st december - survey will be done in january 08. i was also worried about what keith has said - that the snack box may herald a new era in inflight services in asia. however, SQ doesn't seem to be stopping. its improving day by day. their latest product is just class. you should expect world class if you pay world class prices.

see the snack box thread for Idris Jala's immediate response to my email (well, almost). what a load of shite