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MAS and AirAsia Shares Swap

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Will the MAS-AirAsia collaboration take off?

 

Yes.

 

It is a done deal. Unless, of course, the powers that be want to put a stop to it. The likelihood of that happening is zilch because they gave their blessings in the first place and that is why the deal has been crafted that way.

 

It will be impossible to backtrack although some people are dead set against the collaboration, including some within Malaysia Airlines (MAS). They argue that the deal limits competition and that the consumers will be the losers.

 

The collaboration is a result of a share swap in August in which AirAsia founders took a 20% stake in MAS, while the national carrier's parent, Khazanah Nasional Bhd, ended up with a similar stake in the low-cost airline.

 

The deal is intended to revive the fortunes of MAS, which over the past decade has seen its profits go through a roller-coaster ride. In the first nine months of this year, MAS reported a net loss of RM1.2bil. To some, this is a last-ditch effort to turn around the airline by forcing both carriers in Malaysia to work together, instead of competing so that each can continue to serve the market.

 

As part of the collaboration, the two airlines will share facilities to train pilots and other employees. They will use a common maintenance centre for their aircraft and procure jointly to save on unit cost. The spinning off of some units by MAS will eventually see AirAsia emerging as a partner

 

Source

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Good news.. especially news of some of those dinosaurs leaving MH. Enrich head still intact....

 

That Enrich head should go as well. Cant even get the basics right but more keen to wine-and-dine with the so-called elites of the program.

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..... in which AirAsia founders took a 20% stake in MAS, while the national carrier's parent, Khazanah Nasional Bhd, ended up with a similar stake in the low-cost airline

If my memory of the numbers is up to scratch, that is one very misleading piece of journalism up there :D

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Finally we see some 'import' from people not from the crony GLC gang circle. I did some searches and I think both new managers mentioned are of worthy credible, the former came from Westjet, while the latter came from Etihad Airways:

 

Hugh.png

 

Kutty.png

Yes, it is good to note that MH is hiring aviation professionals for these key positions for once. Lets hope that this is only a start and that only people who are competent are running the company.

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Whoever they hire will be meaningless if the new management cannot be rid of the interfering hands from certain parties dry.gif Hope they be left alone to do what they do best.

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More changes brewing at MAS?

Presenna Nambiar

Published: 2011/12/31

 

National carrier Malaysia Airlines introduces new leaders, sets up several business units, and re-names existing functions

 

Malaysia Airlines (MAS) yesterday announced major changes to top management personnel for the new year amid talk of domestic probes being carried out on key personnel of the national carrier.

 

Malaysia Airlines Cargo Sdn Bhd (MASkargo) managing director Shahari Sulaiman, MAS head of commercial strategy Datuk Dr Amin Khan, Malaysia Aerospace Engineering’s (MAE) chief executive officer (CEO) Mohd Roslan Ismail and revenue management head Datin Sharifah Salwa Syed Kamaruddin are all leaving.

 

No reason was given for their departure.

 

read the rest here

 

So, perhaps it wasn't those 'familiar faces' who decided upon alternative career opportunities then ;)

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the guy from etihad doesnt seem to impress me.

He has few years experience in GF and EY, and those carriers have not been profitable at all and only a few years in KLM.

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MYCC to investigate if AirAsia-MAS share swap has made airfares go up

 

PETALING JAYA: The Malaysia Competition Commission (MYCC) wants AirAsia Bhd and Malaysia Airlines (MAS) to provide more information and documents regarding their share swap agreement to find out if it could potentially put air travellers at a disadvantage.

 

The MYCC, which began operations yesterday, would continue its probe if there was a breach of anti- competitive behaviour and abuse of dominant position in the deal which was signed in August.

 

It is also surprising that no one has lodged a complaint with the commission regarding the AirAsia/MAS share swap and collaborative deal even though it was widely criticised by many quarters.

 

The share swap and collaboration agreement forged between the two airlines had raised concerns that the absence of competition would result in more expensive airfares.

 

The MYCC is established under the Competition Commission Act 2010 to enforce the Competition Act 2010. Its main role is to protect the competitive process in the interest of businesses, consumers and the economy.

 

When contacted, MYCC chief executive officer Shila Dorai Raj said the commission had only received verbal complaints on the share swap issue. There are three ways for the MYCC to begin an investigation via a complaint lodged by someone with the commission, on its own accord or a directive from the Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Minister.

 

In the case of the share swap/collaboration agreement, Shila said the commission was acting on its own accord given the brouhaha surrounding the deal.

 

“We are going to request for information from both the airlines with regards to the share swap and collaboration, which were supposed to have been concluded in November. We need to know the exact contents of the agreement,” she said.

 

Without the documents, it would be impossible for the commission to make a conclusive study especially an economic analysis on the impact of such a collaboration on the consumers.

 

However, the commission “is not empowered to examine mergers and acquisitions.” Shila explained that it did not prevent the commission from checking on the collaborative activities arising after the merger and whether the activities were anti-competitive.

 

The commission is likely to give both airlines until the end of the month to revert with the information and documents that it needs to investigate the matter.

 

The commission also has the powers to extract information from both the airlines if they failed to oblige with the required documents.

 

The impact of anti-competition is higher airfares for the consumers. Some travellers in Sabah and Sarawak had alleged that the element of competition had been removed with the suspension of Firefly jet operations soon after the share swap deal was announced.

 

Under the share-swap deal AirAsia's major shareholder Tune Air Sdn Bhd now holds a 20.5% stake in MAS, while MAS' major shareholder Khazanah Nasional Bhd holds a 10% stake in AirAsia.

 

Under the collaborative agreement both parties would cooperate in the areas of ground handling, training and engineering among others. “The jet operations have infused competition in the KL-Kota Kinabalu (KK) and KL-Kuching sectors and fares were competitive but now the fares are not as competitive,” said an air traveller who commuted between KK and KL.

 

Whether the MYCC would find anything conclusive or if it has the clout to take both the airlines to task remained to be seen but AirAsia's sister airline, AirAsia X (AAX) surprised many travellers when it offered flat pricing for its KL-Dehli and KL-Mumbai routes.

 

“There is no longer the pull factor. Its pricing is now closer to what full service carriers offer, so where is the promise that low cost fares are 30% to 40% lower than full service carriers?” another traveller asked.

 

A check on the airline's web-site reveals that its KL to Mumbai airfare is RM694 (fares only) and for KL-Dehli, it is RM894 (fares only) unlike other destinations where there are several classes of high and low fares. The fares are applicable from Feb 15 to Oct 15 and the same rate is offered on the return journey.

 

“Whether it ties up with what the market is speculating (that the airline would suspend flights to India and Europe) is unclear, but for a low cost airline to charge like a full service carrier seems very strange,” the traveller added.

 

AAX CEO Azran Osman Rani, when contacted, said: “It is a commercial decision to have such fares. They are our non-promotional fares but we are working on a sale.” He declined to elaborate on the sale.

 

He added that the fares were structured in that manner because the cost to fly into Indian airports was higher than to Australia and the demand for flights to northern India was lower compared with southern India. “In reality, the airfares do not commensurate with cost,” he said.

 

Asked when AAX would begin plying the KL-Sydney route as there were talks that it would begin mounting flights to the capital city in April ahead of its rival, Scoot, Azran said: “Right now we have not received all the approvals, but we remain interested in Sydney.” Scoot is planning flights from Singapore to Sydney in the middle of this year.

 

http://biz.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2012/1/4/business/10199177&sec=business

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MYCC to investigate if AirAsia-MAS share swap has made airfares go up

By B.K. SIDHU

bksidhu@thestar.com.my

 

 

 

PETALING JAYA: The Malaysia Competition Commission (MYCC) wants AirAsia Bhd and Malaysia Airlines (MAS) to provide more information and documents regarding their share swap agreement to find out if it could potentially put air travellers at a disadvantage.

 

The MYCC, which began operations yesterday, would continue its probe if there was a breach of anti- competitive behaviour and abuse of dominant position in the deal which was signed in August.

 

It is also surprising that no one has lodged a complaint with the commission regarding the AirAsia/MAS share swap and collaborative deal even though it was widely criticised by many quarters.

 

The share swap and collaboration agreement forged between the two airlines had raised concerns that the absence of competition would result in more expensive airfares.

 

 

The MYCC is established under the Competition Commission Act 2010 to enforce the Competition Act 2010. Its main role is to protect the competitive process in the interest of businesses, consumers and the economy.

 

When contacted, MYCC chief executive officer Shila Dorai Raj said the commission had only received verbal complaints on the share swap issue. There are three ways for the MYCC to begin an investigation via a complaint lodged by someone with the commission, on its own accord or a directive from the Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Minister.

 

In the case of the share swap/collaboration agreement, Shila said the commission was acting on its own accord given the brouhaha surrounding the deal.

 

“We are going to request for information from both the airlines with regards to the share swap and collaboration, which were supposed to have been concluded in November. We need to know the exact contents of the agreement,” she said.

 

Without the documents, it would be impossible for the commission to make a conclusive study especially an economic analysis on the impact of such a collaboration on the consumers.

 

However, the commission “is not empowered to examine mergers and acquisitions.” Shila explained that it did not prevent the commission from checking on the collaborative activities arising after the merger and whether the activities were anti-competitive.

 

The commission is likely to give both airlines until the end of the month to revert with the information and documents that it needs to investigate the matter.

 

The commission also has the powers to extract information from both the airlines if they failed to oblige with the required documents.

 

The impact of anti-competition is higher airfares for the consumers. Some travellers in Sabah and Sarawak had alleged that the element of competition had been removed with the suspension of Firefly jet operations soon after the share swap deal was announced.

 

Under the share-swap deal AirAsia's major shareholder Tune Air Sdn Bhd now holds a 20.5% stake in MAS, while MAS' major shareholder Khazanah Nasional Bhd holds a 10% stake in AirAsia.

 

Under the collaborative agreement both parties would cooperate in the areas of ground handling, training and engineering among others. “The jet operations have infused competition in the KL-Kota Kinabalu (KK) and KL-Kuching sectors and fares were competitive but now the fares are not as competitive,” said an air traveller who commuted between KK and KL.

 

Whether the MYCC would find anything conclusive or if it has the clout to take both the airlines to task remained to be seen but AirAsia's sister airline, AirAsia X (AAX) surprised many travellers when it offered flat pricing for its KL-Dehli and KL-Mumbai routes.

 

“There is no longer the pull factor. Its pricing is now closer to what full service carriers offer, so where is the promise that low cost fares are 30% to 40% lower than full service carriers?” another traveller asked.

 

A check on the airline's web-site reveals that its KL to Mumbai airfare is RM694 (fares only) and for KL-Dehli, it is RM894 (fares only) unlike other destinations where there are several classes of high and low fares. The fares are applicable from Feb 15 to Oct 15 and the same rate is offered on the return journey.

 

“Whether it ties up with what the market is speculating (that the airline would suspend flights to India and Europe) is unclear, but for a low cost airline to charge like a full service carrier seems very strange,” the traveller added.

 

AAX CEO Azran Osman Rani, when contacted, said: “It is a commercial decision to have such fares. They are our non-promotional fares but we are working on a sale.” He declined to elaborate on the sale.

 

He added that the fares were structured in that manner because the cost to fly into Indian airports was higher than to Australia and the demand for flights to northern India was lower compared with southern India. “In reality, the airfares do not commensurate with cost,” he said.

 

Asked when AAX would begin plying the KL-Sydney route as there were talks that it would begin mounting flights to the capital city in April ahead of its rival, Scoot, Azran said: “Right now we have not received all the approvals, but we remain interested in Sydney.” Scoot is planning flights from Singapore to Sydney in the middle of this year.

 

Source: http://biz.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2012/1/4/business/10199177&sec=business

 

Still don't understand how the share swap deal going to lift MH from plunging down. If this is questionable, does MH & QF collaboration, along with AK, would be questionable too if it ever materialised?

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AirAsia to benefit from Firefly’s withdrawal of jet services

 

PETALING JAYA (Jan 6, 2012): AirAsia Bhd said the withdrawal of Firefly's jet servics to Sabah and Sarawak would improve the yield and load factor for the budget carrier.

 

At the OSK-DMG Asean Corporate Day 2012 in Singapore yesterday, the low-cost carrier added that 2012 growth will be contributed by the opening of new routes and increase in frequency on some of its more popular routes.

 

The carrier will also be taking delivery of 17 aircraft this year, of which three and four aircraft will be allocated for its new associates, Philippines AirAsia and AirAsia Japan, respectively.

 

"AirAsia Japan has the potential to tap into the sizeable and under-penetrated low-cost carrier market and expects to be profitable in the first year of operations. (That's because it is) tapping into a high yield market where four of its potential domestic routes in Japan are already one of the top 10 busiest routes in the world," said OSK in a note to clients.

 

AirAsia also said the proposed initial public offering (IPO) of its Indonesian and Thailand affiliates are on track for first quarter of this year.

 

"(AirAsia) management believes it is just a matter of timing given the current market conditions to extract the best value," said OSK, maintaining a "buy" call on the stock, with a RM4.57 fair value.

 

Source

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MYCC to investigate if AirAsia-MAS share swap has made airfares go up

By B.K. SIDHU

bksidhu@thestar.com.my

 

 

 

PETALING JAYA: The Malaysia Competition Commission (MYCC) wants AirAsia Bhd and Malaysia Airlines (MAS) to provide more information and documents regarding their share swap agreement to find out if it could potentially put air travellers at a disadvantage.

 

The MYCC, which began operations yesterday, would continue its probe if there was a breach of anti- competitive behaviour and abuse of dominant position in the deal which was signed in August.

 

It is also surprising that no one has lodged a complaint with the commission regarding the AirAsia/MAS share swap and collaborative deal even though it was widely criticised by many quarters.

 

The share swap and collaboration agreement forged between the two airlines had raised concerns that the absence of competition would result in more expensive airfares.

 

 

The MYCC is established under the Competition Commission Act 2010 to enforce the Competition Act 2010. Its main role is to protect the competitive process in the interest of businesses, consumers and the economy.

 

When contacted, MYCC chief executive officer Shila Dorai Raj said the commission had only received verbal complaints on the share swap issue. There are three ways for the MYCC to begin an investigation via a complaint lodged by someone with the commission, on its own accord or a directive from the Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Minister.

 

In the case of the share swap/collaboration agreement, Shila said the commission was acting on its own accord given the brouhaha surrounding the deal.

 

"We are going to request for information from both the airlines with regards to the share swap and collaboration, which were supposed to have been concluded in November. We need to know the exact contents of the agreement," she said.

 

Without the documents, it would be impossible for the commission to make a conclusive study especially an economic analysis on the impact of such a collaboration on the consumers.

 

However, the commission "is not empowered to examine mergers and acquisitions." Shila explained that it did not prevent the commission from checking on the collaborative activities arising after the merger and whether the activities were anti-competitive.

 

The commission is likely to give both airlines until the end of the month to revert with the information and documents that it needs to investigate the matter.

 

The commission also has the powers to extract information from both the airlines if they failed to oblige with the required documents.

 

The impact of anti-competition is higher airfares for the consumers. Some travellers in Sabah and Sarawak had alleged that the element of competition had been removed with the suspension of Firefly jet operations soon after the share swap deal was announced.

 

Under the share-swap deal AirAsia's major shareholder Tune Air Sdn Bhd now holds a 20.5% stake in MAS, while MAS' major shareholder Khazanah Nasional Bhd holds a 10% stake in AirAsia.

 

Under the collaborative agreement both parties would cooperate in the areas of ground handling, training and engineering among others. "The jet operations have infused competition in the KL-Kota Kinabalu (KK) and KL-Kuching sectors and fares were competitive but now the fares are not as competitive," said an air traveller who commuted between KK and KL.

 

Whether the MYCC would find anything conclusive or if it has the clout to take both the airlines to task remained to be seen but AirAsia's sister airline, AirAsia X (AAX) surprised many travellers when it offered flat pricing for its KL-Dehli and KL-Mumbai routes.

 

"There is no longer the pull factor. Its pricing is now closer to what full service carriers offer, so where is the promise that low cost fares are 30% to 40% lower than full service carriers?" another traveller asked.

 

A check on the airline's web-site reveals that its KL to Mumbai airfare is RM694 (fares only) and for KL-Dehli, it is RM894 (fares only) unlike other destinations where there are several classes of high and low fares. The fares are applicable from Feb 15 to Oct 15 and the same rate is offered on the return journey.

 

"Whether it ties up with what the market is speculating (that the airline would suspend flights to India and Europe) is unclear, but for a low cost airline to charge like a full service carrier seems very strange," the traveller added.

 

AAX CEO Azran Osman Rani, when contacted, said: "It is a commercial decision to have such fares. They are our non-promotional fares but we are working on a sale." He declined to elaborate on the sale.

 

He added that the fares were structured in that manner because the cost to fly into Indian airports was higher than to Australia and the demand for flights to northern India was lower compared with southern India. "In reality, the airfares do not commensurate with cost," he said.

 

Asked when AAX would begin plying the KL-Sydney route as there were talks that it would begin mounting flights to the capital city in April ahead of its rival, Scoot, Azran said: "Right now we have not received all the approvals, but we remain interested in Sydney." Scoot is planning flights from Singapore to Sydney in the middle of this year.

 

Source: http://biz.thestar.c...77&sec=business

 

Still don't understand how the share swap deal going to lift MH from plunging down. If this is questionable, does MH & QF collaboration, along with AK, would be questionable too if it ever materialised?

 

I don't think MYCC or anyone will find any fault with AK - MH share swap.......

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Other carriers may benefit from MAS route cuts

 

PETALING JAYA: Malaysia Airlines’ recent route cuts may provide other carriers a chance to enlarge their markets with AirAsia Bhd being the biggest beneficiary.

 

In fact, AirAsia and other carriers were already benefiting from the route cuts, OSK Research analyst Ahmad Maghfur Usman said.

 

“AirAsia, which is already garnering a bigger market share and yields after the termination of Firefly’s (which is a subsidiary of MAS) jet operations to Sabah and Sarawak, is also the only carrier flying the highly lucrative Kuala Lumpur-Bandung route,” he said in his report.

 

Shares in MAS fell three sen to RM1.52 while AirAsia’s stock ended yesterday higher by one sen to RM3.66.

 

The termination of Firefly services on the Langkawi-Penang-Singapore route had also enabled AirAsia and Silk Air to improve yields, Ahmad noted.

 

“MAS pulling out of its Kota Kinabalu hub for flights to North Asia and Sydney would create opportunities for AirAsia to strengthen its presence, notably for flights to Hong Kong and South Korea.

 

“In addition, the termination of its other longer long-haul routes to destinations such as the Americas and Dubai creates opportunities for SIA (Singapore Airlines) and Emirates to expand their respective market shares,” he added.

 

MAS announced recently that it would begin rationalising several unprofitable routes in an effort to stem its losses.

 

The national carrier reported for the first nine months to Sept 30, 2011, a net loss of RM1.24bil against a net profit of RM8.55mil a year earlier. Its cash and cash equivalent have depleted to RM968.5mil as at Sept 30 compared with RM1.92bil a year ago.

 

A new business plan unveiled recently is expected to see the company turning itself around mainly by cutting capacity, wooing back its customers, enhancing costs and focusing on its core business.

 

“Fundamentally speaking, its earnings turnaround is not foreseeable until 2013,” Ahmad said, maintaining his “sell” call on the counter.

 

None of the 19 analysts covering MAS has a “buy” call on the counter at the moment, according to Bloomberg data.

 

http://biz.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2012/1/7/business/10218400&sec=business

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QUOTE: AirAsia Bhd said the withdrawal of Firefly's jet servics to Sabah and Sarawak would improve the yield and load factor for the budget carrier.

 

For the consumer, this means that seats are in shorter supply and fares will go up.

 

KC Sim

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For the consumer, this means that seats are in shorter supply and fares will go up.

 

KC Sim

 

Not really since FY still isn't as established as MH yet in S'wak / Sabah. Quite a "by-stander" analysis by OSK since they haven't taken into account the new domestic airline MH is setting up

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Not really since FY still isn't as established as MH yet in S'wak / Sabah. Quite a "by-stander" analysis by OSK since they haven't taken into account the new domestic airline MH is setting up

KC Sim is right. There are actually less flights now and the MAS deeply discounted air fare is also gone.

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KC Sim is right. There are actually less flights now and the MAS deeply discounted air fare is also gone.

 

Even before the share swap MH's been getting away from deeply discounted prices - the whole premium targeting was actually initiated by the previous management.

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Even before the share swap MH's been getting away from deeply discounted prices - the whole premium targeting was actually initiated by the previous management.

 

Because there was FY taking up the lower end of the market. Now with FY jet services gone, consumers are left with two choices: expensive and not-as-expensive. Cheap and cheaper options are not readily available.

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..... they haven't taken into account the new domestic airline MH is setting up

They are ? :blink:

I thought the only 'unknown' entity as of now is this Sapphire/MAS proposal - which is supposed to be regional

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Just in!!! Another route rationalisation, this time around is a realignment.

 

MAS to end 3x weekly KUL-TPE-LAX, replacing it with 4 weekly KUL-NRT-LAX.

Great news indeed. Everyone knows that NRT is far more high yielding than TPE. Now MH needs to concentrate to get as much as 'premium' traffic on this new routing but there is a challenge because anything lesser than 7 weekly will be off putting to premium market.

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Oneworld, most obviously, & certainly NRT-LAX does have potential.

 

 

I do agreed the realignment was due to OneWorld alliance. Since NRT is an OneWorld Hub. For SQ, I think they survived on both routes to LAX via TPE and NRT...

 

Seems this one no longer valid.. KUL - TPE only Daily... not 10x weekly...

 

http://airlineroute.net/2012/01/05/mh-pektpe-s12/

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MAS to end 3x weekly KUL-TPE-LAX, replacing it with 4 weekly KUL-NRT-LAX.

Great news indeed. Everyone knows that NRT is far more high yielding than TPE. Now MH needs to concentrate to get as much as 'premium' traffic on this new routing but there is a challenge because anything else than 7 weekly will be off putting to premium market.

Agreed! Great news indeed. MAS suspended KUL-NRT-LAX vv in the early 2000s, if my memory serves me correctly.

 

 

I do agreed the realignment was due to OneWorld alliance. Since NRT is an OneWorld Hub. For SQ, I think they survived on both routes to LAX via TPE and NRT...

 

Seems this one no longer valid.. KUL - TPE only Daily... not 10x weekly...

 

http://airlineroute.net/2012/01/05/mh-pektpe-s12/

SQ has stopped their SIN-TPE-LAX vv flights for a few years already.

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makes sense to use NRT. I always wondered why they dropped their KUL-NRT-LAX flights in the past. At least some people are thinking now. This should be ramped to once daily. Once they join oneworld, who knows, NRT/LAX may be an A380 route for MH if they can get traffic rights from NRT to LAX!

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MAS Increases Frequencies To Regional, Long Haul Network From March 25

 

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 8 (Bernama) -- Malaysia Airlines (MAS) is increasing its weekly frequencies to several ASEAN destinations as well as to Beijing, Taipei and Los Angeles effective March 25, 2012 to cater for the anticipated capacity demand in the northern summer season.

 

The current twice daily Kuala Lumpur-Manila return sector operations will be complemented with a 50 per cent frequency increase resulting in 1,120 more seats in each direction with the introduction of another daily B737-800 flight.

 

"With this, MAS will have 21 weekly flights between Kuala Lumpur and Manila effective March 25, 2012," said the national carrier in a statement today.

 

Likewise, the Kuala Lumpur-Phnom Penh return route, now operated with nine weekly frequencies, will be further increased with another two weekly flights on Tuesday and Thursday from that date, followed by another three weekly services on Wednesday, Friday and Sunday effective May 1, 2012.

 

"This will double the airline's daily B737 flights between the two cities," it said.

 

For the Indonesian market, MAS will introduce two weekly B737-800 flights for the Kuala Lumpur-Jakarta return route effective March 25, 2012 on Tuesday and Thursday resulting in a total of 42 weekly services between the two capital cities.

 

Connectivity between Kuala Lumpur-Medan will be doubled with the addition of another weekly B737 service on Friday, making it two flights daily from that date.

 

MAS will also operate four daily flights between Kuala Lumpur and Bangkok effective March 25, 2012 with the introduction of an additional flight on Sunday between the two cities.

 

"There is also great news for travelers to Beijing, Taipei and Los Angeles," MAS said.

 

From March 25, its current B777-200 operations to Beijing from KLIA will be doubled to twice daily, offering customers a choice of the existing morning and the new evening departures from KLIA to suit their convenience.

 

An additional 1,974 seats will be offered through this 100 per cent increase in weekly frequency between KLIA and Beijing.

 

Meanwhile, the current three weekly flights MH 94/95 for Kuala Lumpur-Taipei-Los Angeles and return on Monday, Wednesday and Saturday will be revised to operate four times weekly as flights MH 92/93 Kuala Lumpur-Tokyo (Narita)-Los Angeles return on Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday.

 

"This represents a 33 per cent increase in seat capacity on the Kuala Lumpur-Los Angeles return route," MAS said.

 

Arising from this revised routing to Los Angeles and return, the Taipei-Los Angeles return sector will be delinked from the national carrier's network effective March 23, 2012.

 

However, MAS will increase frequency on the existing Kuala Lumpur-Taipei return sector by operating an additional three weekly flights on Monday, Wednesday and Friday effective March 27, 2012 using the B737-800 aircraft.

 

Together with the existing four weekly B737-800 flights, the national carrier will offer direct daily connectivity between KLIA and Taipei by providing an additional capacity of 480 seats (75 per cent increase) in each direction.

 

MAS will also continue to offer direct daily connectivity between Kota Kinabalu and Taipei using the latest B737-800 aircraft with a capacity of 16 Business Class and 144 Economy Class seats.

 

MAS' flight frequency expansion is in line with the airline's Business Plan revealed on Dec 7, 2011 where the national carrier's network focus going forward is on the core ASEAN region where its presence is the strongest.

 

In raising flight frequencies to these key Asian cities, the move will enable Malaysia Airlines to benefit from the strong growth in regional demand.

 

It is also expected to increase full service flight passenger arrivals into Malaysia to further contribute positively towards the Malaysian tourism industry.

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