Arthur Van Straten

Lets be practical here and call a spade a spade. If Khazanah can not come up with a seasoned name of an industry expert, and why not a malay, there is enough talent in MAS, and give you only an umno croney, brace yourself. I pity the Malaysian Taxpayers if that will be the case. You dont need expat talent, you have enough talent in your MAS pool. Use it for once and MAS will prosper. And please dont let Khazanah appoint people, with all there best credentials, when they are not aviation diehards. It has not worked in the past and it will not work in the future. My advise, Search in the MAS pool for managemnt talent. give him or her the job. Appoint an interim manager for six months to support and guide that talent. Or,my advise to Khazanah, are you going to tell me that MAS has no talent in its ranks?? Please dont fool yourself and us. If you still think so, close shop and start again. but shame on you. This will be my last contribution to Malaysianwings. I am leaving the country next week. I say goodbye to my friends, especially flee an BCT and i hope that you continue to spread the word. It was a pleasure to communicate with all of you. If i have stepped on some toes, my apologies. It was for clarification only. Long live MWings. Keep up the good work. And tell it as it is. Cheers A, On second retirement.

@BCT. We miss Robin Williams already but you could fill the gap, as a stand up commedian. I love your snipes. Keep it up. Cheers A,

It does not matter if I.J. is Malayu or not. The unions have made it cristal clear, they want seasoned aviation proffessiinals running MAS this time. Neither I.J. or Jamaludin, fits that profile. Lets see who has the upper hand, Khazanah or the Unions. There are seveal ways to skin a cat.. Lets see if Khazanah has what it takes. Without fear or favor. Cheers A.

Your sense of humor is appreciated BCT. Do you also wonder why people keep throwing money into the pit? Cheers A,

Crash investigation update here. http://www.onderzoeksraad.nl/en/onderzoek/2049/investigation-crash-mh17-17-july-2014/onderzoek/1555/investigation-into-cause-of-mh17-plane-crash-continues-in-the-hague-the-netherlands#fasen Cheers A.

Wow, what we have here is no longer a storm in a cup of water. First Dr. M. saying why khazanah would be successful when they go from 70 percent to hundred percent ownership. Dr, M. is not popular anymore in certain quarters and yes, his time has passed, but, he has a point here. Not to forget though that during his time substantial mismanagement affairs have occurred. But stating that Khazanah ‘s efforts are nonsensical when you have allowed multibillion losses in the past and with full ownership this should not happen again is indeed wishful thinking at best. Factual ignorance at worst, and there i concur. Then there is the chairman giving a pep talk, which did not go down very well. Should that board not better resign in complete? They were there when things went wrong. And then hiding behind, quote, We were told that there was no effort for a wholesome restructuring, perhaps because it had lacked the political will then, or there were too many obstacles, or those in charge had feared undertaking an in-depth restructuring for fear of unravelling things that were not meant to be revealed. So, the airline has suffered to this date,” said an official. Unquote. So, in conclusion, it was nobody’s fault, the ringgit went down, the oil price went up, the middle East competition was severe, and , by no fault and having two disasters in a short time we are in dire straits right now. If that is the attitude of the rebooters and the restructurers than unfortunately Dr. M. will be right this time. And the misconception that an airline can only prosper without unions can be transferred to the ignorant dream department. Look around in the world and see airlines who prosper wilst having a well-functioning union. I have stated above, a few postings earlier, that by trying to confuse an entire nation into a false sense of constructive realism will fail miserably. Confucius says. Maybe i should call it a day as well. Cheers Art

Yes, read about Saphire, and MRO and Airod, and present CEO stays on for a few more years and yes, also read this maybe not true as headhunters already sourcing new CEO. But all only after agreement with shareholders. I tried to find sayings of Confucius on confusion. Could not find any. Maybe more learned friends on this board can. The Masterplan will be out end of this month, as i have read. But if the Masterplan is as confuse as what i have read today, then we need a Confusius translater asap. Cheers Confused Art.

@ flee. Yes, read it. And?? The holistic thing? Anybody? No matter what, you still need buckloads of money. From where? Not so long ago cabinet members were spouting, no more money for MAS. I am still waiting with bated breath that somebody comes up with, open sky policy 2015 and barbarians at the gate. A.

@ flee Thanks for the update. Quote "The government and Khazanah Nasional Bhd are in the final stages of completing a holistic restructuring plan for Malaysian Airline System Bhd (MAS) and a detailed plan will be announced by end-August, said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak." End quote Can anybody enlighten me what a holistic approach would entail? The mind boggles. Cheers A.

@ flee. First, I don’t think that the initiation of the share swap was made with the open sky policy 2015 in mind. In German language we would call such explanation, “hineininterpretieren” Your last sentence make sense in a way. However, as you write that MH management knows what to do but can’t, then they have two options, tell it like it is, go public on it and face possible consequences to be sacked. Or, keep your salary and emoluments, sit tight as the ship sinks. They have contracts. Anybody blame them? @ leon t Yes, make sense too. However, who will pay for that? Cheers Art

Although i have mentioned my message before, i dont think it causes antagonism when i repeat again. It does not matter anymore if you change the logo of MAS, its tail logo or name. If you do not address the upcoming open sky policy in 2015, or any year it is going to be enforced, you will surender to the barbarians at the gate. A wise investor has said this when asked about it, his answer was, " dont swim with the sharks if yo are not fast enough and, if you are swimiing naked you will be exposed when the tide goes out. That, my friends it is in a nutshell. When KK Lee says in post 297, that operation cost of a380 is only 2 to 3% higher than 744 and has the lowest cask. i like to ask for a confirmation on that. It would not be make an iota of difference whern the sharks come swimming. And for my friend flee t post 298, if true, you could ground thye entire MH fleet, nes pas? Also not relevant if you are swimming naked. I apologise for being this blunt as it is, but any dollar spend on MAS without adressing the open sky policy is tainted with ignorance is bliss, at the minimum. As always, A.v.S. with best regards.

With all the talk about rebranding, changing colors, names and getting more efficient aircraft, it seems to me that the overriding question is not addressed. And what is that question then, you may ask? The open sky policy 2015 is my answer. All discussions about rebranding and renaming MAS become mute when you understand the implications of what is to come. If, as a national carrier you are not strong enough to compete with real strong opponents, you will lose that battle. My question. Is there anybody in MAS thinking about a strategy to survive in that open sky policy? If yes, what is the answer, if not MAS is doomed. Whatever branding or color scheme you want to apply. As the regular readers of this board know, I am not a big fan of TSTF. But one thing I have to give him, he did understand the implications of the coming open sky policy. Hence his aggressive opening of international joint ventures. As a thinking point, what would happen if somewhere in 2015 SQ would open a base in KL, with Thai and Garuda as well? I don’t hear anything from the MAS camp on this matter. Read here further for some understanding. https://airlinesairports.wordpress.com/2014/04/11/is-asean-open-skies-a-myth/ Cheers Art

Starting at post # 187 and #187. When one has to come to an unpalatable conclusion, it is better to take all available time and present it when there is really no suitable alternative anymore. Time has ran out by then and there you are, unpalatable becomes palatable overnight. Politics 101. And for more parody as per post # 185, My Nasi Kandahar Chowkit supllier says." Give me the MAS catering contract and i wil slash catering prices by 90 percent." "Then Skytrax will introduce back the award for best signature country dish and it will go to MAS for umpty years." And, he added, "for good measure, the management should work for minimum wage and be rewarded when the company makes profit." You see the simplicity? No need to be a University professor. All wisdom is on the street, F.O.C. Cheers Art

Aha, now we are getting somewhere. After the analysts and think tanks, now the universities have spoken. The unions must take a pay cut. Simplicity always wins, the ivory tower syndrome. http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2014/07/16/take-pay-cut-mas-unions-told/ Who's next. Cheers Art

As Suzanne G. gets the price for most realism, post #5, MAR gets the price for ultimate sarcasm. Post # 11. Or did I read his post in an entirely wrong context? Could be, in that case I get my coat and hat and leave quietly. And @ flee, The moment MAS has a proper marketing budget again, you will see them climbing the Skytrax ladder forthwith.. Cheers Art