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reyneo

MAS 737-800 routes

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How long will the leased MAS 738 be in service in MAS fleet ? If it's only for a year or two then i guess it's not worth changing the seat configuration financially wise.

 

If this was an adhoc wetlease to replace an AOG, then it is understandable. But if MH can spend $ to repaint the exterior (and still not get the logo size correct on the tail to maximise brand awareness!), I think the myopic-thinking accountants may have once again vetoed the inflight services folks.

 

Let's see if MH will deploy the leased 738s to routes like HKG or SIN...folks that have been apprised of this "MH-enhancement" may actively avoid MH to fly on MI, SQ, CX et al.

 

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As said earlier, the CS was seen trying to explain the seating arrangement to J class passenger during boarding.

 

Correct me if I am wrong, it is also scheduled for TPE, whilst SQ has an apparently excellent product (not tried before so cannot confirm) on its new regional A330. But that's it - MH is a good airline is a good airline. Not more. Period.

 

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According to a german aviation magazine, the 737-800 are leased from ILFC for 5 years.

 

That would mean a long enough lease to prepare the A/C completely to one's specifications (usually prior before putting it into service...)

So it seems that this is what MAS considers its new 5* product....

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Again...i think it's cost cutting and measurement again..since the MD had once stressed that he is focusing on the profit and loss of the company....sad to say that this configuration is not impressive at all...

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Agreed Ken. The content of that article is very memorable to me. "MH wants to be a Toyota, not a Mercedes". But is this leased B738s new interior a 'Toyota'?

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More like one of those Made-in-China cars...

 

Come on, surely Boeing can't be that bad. :)

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An astute fruitseller discards the rotten fruit in order to maintain his reputation and customer loyalty. Even if offered both types, a clever customer will only buy the good fruit, not the rotten ones. For a non business trained person like me, this is just logical.

 

MH as a customer to the leasing company has a choice whether to agree or not with the offered plane before signing the dotted lines. As a 'fruitseller' MH also has the choice to offer its customers the rotten or the good ones.

 

Let just say I was full of anticipation with the coming Bali trip booked on the 737-800, but after tasting this truly beyond expectation fruit, I wanted run away from it. Not worth the full fare the company is paying.

 

To put it into perspective, a grade below the usual MH 737 product but a grade above LCC... but just a little.

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Okok... the car manufacturer (Boeing) isn't bad at all, you can consider it of Mercedes quality. But while the exterior of the 738 is great, its what the owner chose to install for its interior that we're concerned about.

(Its like buying a Mercedes without the standard in-car LCD and putting in uncomfortable broken seats taken from a 30 year old 4th or 5th hand car)

 

I mean can you imagine paying thousands of dollars flying in J on a 5 hour flight from Darwin with a 30" pitch? Heck, I'd rather save my money and fly Jetstar or AirAsia!

 

If these jets are going to be here for 5 years, then MAS has no reason not to refit these jets! I mean come on, some of SQ's 330s (the last few of the 19) won't even be leased for that long and SQ pays to fit them in their new products regardless. And don't tell me about new or not new. If SQ wanted to save money, they could have easily asked AWAS to install a generic interior for them at no extra cost! After all, they have to return the 330s to AWAS with whatever seats fitted on, ...

 

OT, but has MAS ever considered charging for food on Snackbox sectors? I think most would rather pay for good (at least AK quality) hot food than to eat that sad excuse for an inflight meal. I don't really see anything wrong with that, I mean some of the US and European carriers (Full service carriers, mind you) do this on short/regional flights (with free non-alcoholic drinks). After all, MAS seems to be learning from these western carriers about seating, why not about paid hot meals too?

Edited by reyneo

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That idea was thrown before in the 2 multi-pages snackbox threads here in MW. But you know lah MH, all so slow, even to set up an anciliary income department like AK will take ages. Fret not, after reading the article in the other thread, I am sure the day will come when MH will charge for meals.

 

These range from cutting head office operations which do not have a direct impact on P&L, to customising meals to suit customer profiles.

 

“For example, we found passengers on our Hong Kong flights preferred rice porridge, which is cheaper, to the rather expensive lamb biryani we were serving. They are happier, and we save money.”

Meanwhile, MAS is pushing ahead with its rebranding exercise.

 

“We are positioning ourselves as a Five-Star Value Carrier,” he explained. “It is about providing value, but at very affordable fares. We want to be a Toyota, not a Mercedes.”

 

Central to this is its new MHValue programme, where customers can choose from an array of four ticket-price categories on each domestic flight, depending on the amount of frills and flexibility they want.

 

“Value is defined by the individual, and in a recessionary world, it is best to allow customers to choose,” Mr Idris explained. “Instead of standardising products, we customise them to suit their preferences. If you are a retiree with lots of time on your hands, you can buy the zero-flexible MHLow fare ticket, for which you pay 70 per cent less than the full-fare MHFlex ticket. This is the principle of finding the sweet spot.”

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Come on, surely Boeing can't be that bad. :)

 

We weren't talking about the airframe, just like MH does not sell the 737s to customers. We were refering to the so-called J seats, remember?

 

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We have recently leased 3 B737-800 aircraft. Customers will notice some differences in the seat arrangement, seat pitch and recline. The aircraft has a 3 seat configuration. For our business class customers’ comfort and convenience, the middle seat will be left empty. We are aware that there have been complaints and we are currently doing service recovery.

 

This is a short-term arrangement while we wait for our new B737-800 aircraft which will be delivered at the end of next year.

 

We regret the inconvenience.

 

Thank you.

 

 

Regards,

Dr Amin Khan

Senior General Manager, Network Revenue Management

Malaysia Airlines

 

 

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Ah.

A reply from the management.

It is good that MW is at least being an outlet for customers to reach to MAS>

So the leased 738s will be for at least 18 months.

Ouch.

I wonder if retrofitting the J seats is more expensive than just leaving the current seat, as if you put in J seats , you have to reposition ALL of the rows, maybe even take some out.

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We have recently leased 3 B737-800 aircraft. Customers will notice some differences in the seat arrangement, seat pitch and recline. The aircraft has a 3 seat configuration. For our business class customers’ comfort and convenience, the middle seat will be left empty. We are aware that there have been complaints and we are currently doing service recovery.

 

This is a short-term arrangement while we wait for our new B737-800 aircraft which will be delivered at the end of next year.

 

We regret the inconvenience.

 

Thank you.

 

 

Regards,

Dr Amin Khan

Senior General Manager, Network Revenue Management

Malaysia Airlines

 

I hate to be saying this but I do not consider the time-frame of between now and till the end of next year as being short time. It may not necessarily be considered as long term but I think it still shouldn't be considered as short term. Short time would probably be appropriate a term if it's for say 3-6 months.

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QUOTE (Malaysia Airlines @ Feb 27 2009, 03:13 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
We have recently leased 3 B737-800 aircraft. Customers will notice some differences in the seat arrangement, seat pitch and recline. The aircraft has a 3 seat configuration. For our business class customers’ comfort and convenience, the middle seat will be left empty. We are aware that there have been complaints and we are currently doing service recovery.

This is a short-term arrangement while we wait for our new B737-800 aircraft which will be delivered at the end of next year.

We regret the inconvenience.

Thank you.


Regards,
Dr Amin Khan
Senior General Manager, Network Revenue Management
Malaysia Airlines


It is good that the management attempts a reply, but the reply, in my mind, is not good.

It just shows the lack of foresight by the management, to say the least. A case of the accountants having too much say?

(1) Firstly, a service recovery is applicable when events happened beyond one's control or wasn't planned or intended. Dont tell tell me MH fails to notice the potential seating issue in J before putting the aircraft into service? Sorry, one has to blind or brain dead not to anticipate this - and it was definitely within MH's control....if it wants to lift its finger to do something about it BEFORE the aircraft is put into service.

So if this was a service recovery, was MH cheated by the lessor? Did the lessor promise the typical J seats expected from an Asian airline boasting 5-star service but failed to deliver as such?

(2) "Short term arrangement" - meaning please suffer and feel cheated for the next 20 months. Who is Dr Amir Khan kidding? Short term, for something like is this is a max 6 mths, and even that is pushing it. I guess long-term in MH's dictionary is when it has inter-galactic space cruisers in its fleet!


In conclusion, please MH - have some decent substance in the response. Good attempt in responding, but let's have a good response with real & honest content that addresses why those seats in the first place and a real solution!

A "please-bear-with-us-for-almost-2-years-with-this-sub-standard-seat-which-we-fail-to-notice" or a "it-came-with-the-plane" isn't going to pass muster.


First MH cheats J-class pax on its 738. Now it wants to insult our intelligence with a kindergarten response!

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We have recently leased 3 B737-800 aircraft. Customers will notice some differences in the seat arrangement, seat pitch and recline. The aircraft has a 3 seat configuration. For our business class customers’ comfort and convenience, the middle seat will be left empty. We are aware that there have been complaints and we are currently doing service recovery.

 

This is a short-term arrangement while we wait for our new B737-800 aircraft which will be delivered at the end of next year.

 

We regret the inconvenience.

 

Thank you.

 

 

Regards,

Dr Amin Khan

Senior General Manager, Network Revenue Management

Malaysia Airlines

 

I thought I read it wrong. Till the end of this year only. But it really is until end of next year. Wow...... that's a whole lot of business class passengers to get ticked off.

 

Dont really think the reply justifies the poor seat arrangement or answers our concern. Here's hoping our complains get proper attention from appropriate people. But judging from the reply, looks like its already set in stone. Isnt it?

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Best thing, sell the B738 service as EY only.

 

Forget business class when MH don't have business class seats to sell. Bad for short term profitability but good for long term image.

Edited by Radzi

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Best thing, sell the B738 service as EY only.

 

Forget business class when MH don't have business class seats to sell. Bad for short term profitability but good for long term image.

 

Business is 1 thing. How bout technical crew positioning as we are entitled for business class...huhu...

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Is it difficult to remove the front rows and replace them with C class seats? Don't they have spare C seats? :unsure:

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Business is 1 thing. How bout technical crew positioning as we are entitled for business class...huhu...

Bro, read the MOU. We are entitled to First Class, or otherwise the best available.

 

During my cargo days, I was a regular on 744, 777 and 330 First class. So much paxing...

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Best thing, sell the B738 service as EY only.

 

Forget business class when MH don't have business class seats to sell. Bad for short term profitability but good for long term image.

 

Excellent suggestion! But the bean counters will probably veto it. To hell with customer goodwill.

 

Most customers are naive enough to not know the aircraft type etc, and by the time they realise that they are not getting what they thought they had paid for, it is tooo late to do anything. Tough. Thanks for the $$$, though.

 

If customers feel cheated during this "short term" period (of some 20 months), they can go fly a kite...opps..that's MH's logo. OK, go fly the golden bird with its fancy seats or the mythical giant bird or the royal orchid service whatever.

 

(Gosh...even Garuda has decent J seats on its 737s and even TG has better J seats on its ancient AB6!)

 

Why whY-seats sold as J? It was an Act of God. Hence, it was beyond MH's expectations and it is reactively doing "service recovery" on such flights.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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