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MAS and AirAsia Shares Swap

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It doesn't fit into the monopoly mould too well, since they (MH, AK, D7, FY etc) remain separate and distinct entities

More like anti-trust violation with their declared intentions

Actually, monopolies are not illegal but anti-trust violations are (my understanding of it anyway) smile.gif

 

I'm just wondering if possibility of this MH/AK tie up was ever brought to attention of Oneworld members before they voted MH in ? Imagine it would not be in interest of the alliance to admit a member in that is a bit confused as to what it wants done in time to come as well as a 'competitor' having a say in it's direction to boot biggrin.gif

 

Like i have said before, wont be suprised if MH entry into One World is put on hold due to this never ending fiasco.....

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Like i have said before, wont be suprised if MH entry into One World is put on hold due to this never ending fiasco.....

 

Putting on hold? That would be the biggest joke ever in world's aviation history. Not only MH and OneWorld are ashamed, QF, the official sponsor of MH joining the alliance would also be a big shame.

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MyCC reviewing impact of MAS-AirAsia alliance

 

Kuala Lumpur: The Malaysian Competition Commission (MyCC) is reviewing the possible impact of the Malaysia Airlines-AirAsia collaboration on the local market.

 

MyCC will then advise both the airlines on the possible do's and dont's, its top executive said.

 

The commission decided to initiate the research as the Competition Act 2010 comes into force on January 1 2012.

 

The Competition Act addresses anti-competition agreements and abuse of dominant positions while MyCC was established to take on complaints and decide if any infringements of the Act has taken place. The latter's focus is on curbing abuse by monopolies, and controlling anti-cartels by major corporations.

 

This follows concerns that the tie-up between the two airlines - which were until last week, fierce competitors - may now result in an anti-competition behaviour or monopoly. Consumers are particularly concerned about possible increase in airfares.

 

"MyCC has decided to look at what consequences this alliance will have on the market," MyCC chief executive officer Shila Dorai Raj told Business Times when contacted.

 

"Once we have done a market research, we will advise Malaysia Airlines and AirAsia on the areas where they may cross the line," she said.

 

Last week, Khazanah Nasional Bhd agreed to swap a 20.5 per cent stake in MAS for a 10 per cent stake in AirAsia from the latter's majority shareholder, Tune Air Sdn Bhd.

 

The parties have said that more detailed terms of collaboration will be revealed after a full anti-trust review by all three companies.

 

While the Act exempts certain sectors such as those dealing in matters of national interest, services of gen-eral economic interests and collective agreement, it does not provide special exemptions for government-linked companies (GLCs).

 

Once the Act comes into force, an affected party can lodge complaints to MyCC.

 

"We will look at whether it merits an investigation, what significant effects it has on the market and what market are we talking about. The market has to be clearly defined," she said.

 

Action will then depend on the evidence that MyCC collects.

 

The maximum fine for contravening the Competition Act is a 10 per cent of the company's worldwide turnover.

 

MyCC is a 10-member commission and its chairman is the former Chief Judge of Malaya Tan Sri Siti Norma Yaakob.

 

http://www.btimes.com.my/articles/camasaa-2/Article/

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Is there someone among the Mwingers who know the story behind Sapphire?

 

I was told today that Sapphire is actually the new name for Firefly, which will dump its jets and operate ATR72 as a full service carrier.

 

Is this correct?

 

KC Sim

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Putting on hold? That would be the biggest joke ever in world's aviation history. Not only MH and OneWorld are ashamed, QF, the official sponsor of MH joining the alliance would also be a big shame.

 

Well AI entry to *A has been put on hold/suspended until further notice.........if this can happen in AI...it sure can happen anywhere around the world

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Is there someone among the Mwingers who know the story behind Sapphire?

 

I was told today that Sapphire is actually the new name for Firefly, which will dump its jets and operate ATR72 as a full service carrier.

 

Is this correct?

 

KC Sim

I think Sapphire will be the name of the jet operations of Firefly.

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I think Sapphire will be the name of the jet operations of Firefly.

 

Quite the opposite. The Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation told me that Firefly will no longer continue to operate jet services (and we have read that immediately after Tune Air became a stakeholder in MAS), and that it will actually be transformed into a full service carrier (a-la-SilkAir and Dragonair) operating ATR72s on regional routes. This totally takes it out of the competitive picture insofar as AirAsia is concerned.

 

Let me try to reach out to the folks at Firefly to confirm this.

 

KC Sim

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The advertising people must be rubbing their hands in gleeful anticipation already

New brands to launch & build, not so new names to rebrand ..... etc :D

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Quite the opposite. The Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation told me that Firefly will no longer continue to operate jet services (and we have read that immediately after Tune Air became a stakeholder in MAS), and that it will actually be transformed into a full service carrier (a-la-SilkAir and Dragonair) operating ATR72s on regional routes. This totally takes it out of the competitive picture insofar as AirAsia is concerned.

 

Let me try to reach out to the folks at Firefly to confirm this.

 

KC Sim

 

That would entail retrofitting the ATRs with biz seats wouldn't it?

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It all depends ... if Sapphire's business model entails offering a one-class service, it would not be necessary to re-configure the cabin layout. I personally don't think that the cabin will be given a 2-class layout - may not be cost-effective.

 

But I am still trying to see if anyone can definitively confirm the rebranding of Firefly into Sapphire, or is Sapphire a totally different airline that will exist alongside Firefly.

 

KC Sim

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KC,

 

According to this report Sapphire will be managed by the existing FY team. So it would appear that they do not wish to confuse people as FY jet services are run on the LCC model. It may be less confusing if a new FSC using jets has a different name.

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MAS-AirAsia share swap worries tourism players

by Jacqueline Raphael | reporters@theborneopost.com. Posted on August 19, 2011, Friday

 

 

MIRI: Tourism players in the state are apprehensive over the recent share swap between Malaysia Airlines (MAS) and AirAsia which has caused uncertainty in the industry.

 

They claimed that they were in the dark on fundamental issues like flight frequency, airfare and the roles to be played

by the respective airlines and their subsidiaries which would directly have an impact on people’s business and travel arrangements.

 

According to STB chief executive officer Datuk Rashid Khan, tourism players were worried as the airlines had also disclosed that their operations would be rationalised following the share-swap.

 

To address their concerns, Sarawak Tourism Board (STB) said it planned to bring tourism players and the two airlines to a discussion table soon.

 

“They (tourism players) are worried about the flight frequency and airfares. So we are planning to discuss this issue further. We want to involve the airlines (in the discussion) and we have informed them on that,” he said.

 

He was speaking to reporters at the breaking-of-fast with STB stakeholders and members of the press at Imperial Palace Hotel on Wednesday evening.

 

On Aug 9, the two airlines swapped shares in a partnership that analysts said would eliminate overlaps and boost the bottomline of both companies.

 

Under the deal, Air Asia’s Tune Air will get 20.5 per cent equity interest in MAS and MAS’s Khazanah Nasional Bhd will get 10 per cent in Air Asia.

 

On another development, Rashid said foreign visitors’ arrivals in the state for the first half of this year grew at a healthy rate of 24.1 per cent compared to the corresponding period last year.

 

“The visitors from source markets Peninsular Malaysia, Brunei and Indonesia are driving the growth in visitors’ arrival and long haul markets continue to register positive recovery,” he said.

 

He added that visitors’ arrival for the state also registered a positive cumulative growth of 18.5 per cent compared to the same period last year.

 

Meanwhile, to further boost the industry, Rashid said STB was planning to bring in more Middle Eastern tourists this year.

 

He disclosed that the first half of this year saw a promising 47 per cent growth in tourist arrivals from Arab countries.

 

http://www.theborneopost.com/2011/08/19/mas-airasia-share-swap-worries-tourism-players/

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Quite the opposite. The Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation told me that Firefly will no longer continue to operate jet services (and we have read that immediately after Tune Air became a stakeholder in MAS), and that it will actually be transformed into a full service carrier (a-la-SilkAir and Dragonair) operating ATR72s on regional routes. This totally takes it out of the competitive picture insofar as AirAsia is concerned.

 

Let me try to reach out to the folks at Firefly to confirm this.

 

KC Sim

 

Well if what is said about rebranding of FY into the likes of MI and KA is true, I wonder how far can FY go in terms of destination and service since they only operate on ATRs......

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Well if what is said about rebranding of FY into the likes of MI and KA is true, I wonder how far can FY go in terms of destination and service since they only operate on ATRs......

 

All ATRs operated out of Penang and Subang still under FY. But for those Boeing Jet, will be handled by a new team, namely Sapphire.

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Well if what is said about rebranding of FY into the likes of MI and KA is true, I wonder how far can FY go in terms of destination and service since they only operate on ATRs......

 

from my understanding from the news online, it will be like this:

 

Firefly - ATR - regional flights - subang

Sapphire - jets - regional flights - KLIA

 

so it will be two companies in one, if FY is still handling for Sapphire.

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from my understanding from the news online, it will be like this:

 

Firefly - ATR - regional flights - subang

Sapphire - jets - regional flights - KLIA

 

so it will be two companies in one, if FY is still handling for Sapphire.

 

If Sapphire is handled by FY, means it is FY's affiliate. So does it imply Sapphire is MH's affiliate's affiliate? LOL

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If Sapphire is handled by FY, means it is FY's affiliate. So does it imply Sapphire is MH's affiliate's affiliate? LOL

 

Well going by zeroth law of thermodynamics they're all affiliates of each other :p

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If Sapphire is handled by FY, means it is FY's affiliate. So does it imply Sapphire is MH's affiliate's affiliate? LOL

 

 

As per the statement to the bourse by MH, Sapphire will be a new premium regional carrier operating out of KLIA. Also, in subsequent articles here & there, the team running FY will be managing Sapphire, at least in the beginning. FY will add more frills (bigger muffins?) to its ATR services out of SZB. So the company running FY now will run two brands, Sapphire and Firefly. Although official statements were generally silent on the fate of FY 737 services, one can put 2 and 2 together to assume that these will morph into the new Sapphire services. And btw, www.sapphire.com.my is registered to FY.

 

 

Also, the word "Sapphire" is not a relatively easy word to pronounce correctly in the local market. It's not a common word in the streets. And, people know diamonds and gold, but Sapphire - what's that? Also, will it end up being pronounced as "se-pa-ye airlines" in the streets? Just like its counterpart down south, Sick-air?

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Also, will it end up being pronounced as "se-pa-ye airlines" in the streets?

In mandarin and cantonese dialects, that is 'failure' airlines :p

Not particularly auspicious :D

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As per the statement to the bourse by MH, Sapphire will be a new premium regional carrier operating out of KLIA. Also, in subsequent articles here & there, the team running FY will be managing Sapphire, at least in the beginning. FY will add more frills (bigger muffins?) to its ATR services out of SZB. So the company running FY now will run two brands, Sapphire and Firefly. Although official statements were generally silent on the fate of FY 737 services, one can put 2 and 2 together to assume that these will morph into the new Sapphire services. And btw, www.sapphire.com.my is registered to FY.

 

 

Also, the word "Sapphire" is not a relatively easy word to pronounce correctly in the local market. It's not a common word in the streets. And, people know diamonds and gold, but Sapphire - what's that? Also, will it end up being pronounced as "se-pa-ye airlines" in the streets? Just like its counterpart down south, Sick-air?

I dont think Malaysian people is that backward. If they can pronounce IKEA and CARREFOUR correctly,why not sapphire?

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I dont think Malaysian people is that backward. If they can pronounce IKEA and CARREFOUR correctly,why not sapphire?

 

 

How many people can pronounce MH's parent co properly? "Khazanah"

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I'm sure the burning question that lingers is off all the gemstones, why sapphire? Why not emerald? Sounds more pleasing and less of a mouthful for people and air traffic controllers IMHO.

 

But I for one am of the opinion that the name 'Pelangi' of years past be used in place of Sapphire. More authentic I guess.

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Believed some news about Sapphire is gonna be out on the street real soon, FY is already suspending promotions, taking away the Jet's operations banners and stop taking bookings for Jet's flights after end of much where next summer schedules shall starts (The booking was just opened not longer ago during the week of the share swap) while the turboprops services still bookable till Oct 2012...However, MH site still can book those flights...Let's see what will happen soon...

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