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Jamie H

British Airways Returned to Kuala Lumpur from 27 May 2015 and with B787-9 from 5 December 2015

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I think it is possible for VS to begin services into KUL because their agreement with MAS was renewed this year on a yearly basis and I am sure they have some hidden agenda behind that. Who knows, they may start a LHR-KUL-MEL/AKL route soon and maybe continue the code share with MH on the LHR-KUL-SYD as their LHR-HKG-SYD is apparently not doing too good (claims from another thread/ forum)

 

So we may be able to see VS A346 or perhaps even a B744 soon on KUL's tarmac.

 

As for BA, they have all the pros to restart KUL again but they are always hesitant!!!!

 

dry.gif

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I think it is possible for VS to begin services into KUL because their agreement with MAS was renewed this year on a yearly basis and I am sure they have some hidden agenda behind that. Who knows, they may start a LHR-KUL-MEL/AKL route soon and maybe continue the code share with MH on the LHR-KUL-SYD as their LHR-HKG-SYD is apparently not doing too good (claims from another thread/ forum)

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I would really love MH and VS to continue working hand in hand on the kangaroo route. With MH so difficult in getting additional slots in LHR, both MH and VS could work in each other's benefit by codesharing flights to increase frequencies between LHR/KUL. I think with VS flying their own aircraft into KUL, it does not neccessarily means MH and VS are competing with each other for pax.

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Anyone thought of a possibility...for VS to fly in their own AC...but at the same time...codeshare on MH flights...and MH codeshares on VS flights too..tht means more frequency...diff variety....and..a better management of resources for both the airlines...(but remember SQ owns a big part of VS) so i wonder how possible would it be..

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Sanjay,

 

Exactly this is done by MH and KL: they both code-share on eachother's flights and both operate daily between AMS-KUL, so why not for VS and MH between LHR-KUL v.v. ???

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Yes...it is possible..and i really hope they would do so Pieter...but..i am wondering..with SQ holding a major stake in VS...would they want to do it?

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why not, SQ gets a bigger slice of the Malaysian market then, although indirectly smile.gif But if KLIA develops itself as a proper hub and Changi starts losing out, then VS may really consider it. Maybe VS should operate LGW-KUL instead of LHR-KUL smile.gif

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Maybe VS should operate LGW-KUL instead of LHR-KUL smile.gif

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Agree with you, Sandeep. The LGW landing fee is cheaper than LHR, so they could perhaps offer cheaper ticket ex-LGW flights targetting at passengers who have no connecting flights ?

 

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Agree with you, Sandeep. The LGW landing fee is cheaper than LHR, so they could perhaps offer cheaper ticket ex-LGW flights targetting at passengers who have no connecting flights ?

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Definately Isaac, what more, I believe transatlantic flights from LGW are quite popular so VS may consider this too..

 

Continental operates out of LGW, and if MAS were to join Skyteam, this would make sense as a destination for MH too.

 

Picture this:

 

LHR-KUL: MH operated, VS codeshare -->onward connections to Australasia and SEA.

 

KUL-LGW: VS operated, MH codeshare -->onward connections to USA via skyteam partners.

 

I think that could actually work ohmy.gif

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KUL-LGW: VS operated, MH codeshare -->onward connections to USA via skyteam partners.

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Getting other Skyteam members involved in MH/VS partnership sounds complicated, especially if LGW-KUL is operated by VS because this would involve third party airlines (unless both MH/VS are also in Skyteam). If transatlantic connection on Skyteam that MH is after, then AMS would be the best bet. Even now there are plenty of 1-stop connection opportunities via AMS to most major cities in North America. AMS has the advantage over LGW in terms of the number of destinations served, this afterall is the home base of KLM and hosts a huge number of US-based Skyteam carriers.

 

KUL-JFK for example, is 1-stop connection eastbound but 2-stops westbound. This can be fixed with 1-stop for both legs by minor re-scheduling on either KUL-AMS or AMS-JFK. Taking VS example of operating KUL-LGW, any inconvenient connections cannot be easily fixed because US Skyteam carriers only deal with MH (assuming MH is in Skyteam) and not with MH's partner (in this case, VS).

 

It would be interesting to see if MH would someday consider flying to LGW to complement their LHR services. I don't see why it wouldn't work, but MH should at least try to push for a daily 3rd LHR flight before venturing into LGW.

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It would be interesting to see if MH would someday consider flying to LGW to complement their LHR services. I don't see why it wouldn't work, but MH should at least try to push for a daily 3rd LHR flight before venturing into LGW.

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Exactly. With MH so difficult in getting slots for 3rd daily LHR flight, we could work with VS to utilize VS's slots and aircraft as sort of our "third" daily flight. In this instance, two of the flights on MH aircraft and one of the flights on VS, that would be heaven.

 

With that, possibly we could even use the extra B744 to increase frequencies on some other potential routes.....

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how many times a day does SQ fly to LHR?

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SQ flies 3x daily, the timings are almost the same as MH1/MH3/MH7.

 

CX also flies 3x daily, but the timings are better with 2x overnight flights in both directions, compared to MH/SQ with 1x overnight flight each on westbound & eastbound. Overnight flights are more popular with passengers for a couple of reasons : (1) for westbound they don't lose a day (2) business travellers get to spend a full day before flying (3) many people find it easier to sleep.

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travelling from gatwick to central london is actually further than travelling from lhr.. so it would cost more money for travelling to and from LGW.. unless that person lives near LGW la.. if not MH can consider London City Airport.. but higher landing fees i think..

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travelling from gatwick to central london is actually further than travelling from lhr.. so it would cost more money for travelling to and from LGW.. unless that person lives near LGW la.. if not MH can consider London City Airport.. but higher landing fees i think..

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Even 737s not allowed to land at LCY let alone 747 or 777 wink.gif

 

LGW may be slightly further from London compared to LHR but it's actually cheaper to get there. Gatwick Express is £12 single versus Heathrow Express £14. The same goes for coach, LGW is £6.50 single versus LHR £10 from Victoria. The only downside to LGW is that it takes an extra 30-45 mins to get there, and it hasn't got an underground connection.

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PETALING JAYA: Airport operator Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd (MAHB) is still in talks with British Airways and Qantas Airways on the possibility of both airlines mounting flights to KL International Airport (KLIA), a decade after these airlines suspended flights to KLIA owing to a lack of network connectivity here.

 

“At the moment, discussions are still on-going,” MAHB chief financial officer Faizal Mansor told StarBiz yesterday via a text message.

 

Last month, Faizal told reporters that both airlines were considering the possibility of flying into KLIA, following Malaysia Airlines (MAS) joining the Oneworld alliance.

 

British Airways and Qantas had yet to respond to separate e-mails sent to them on the possibility of either resuming flights to KLIA.

 

While MAHB stands to benefit from new airline mounting flights to KLIA, a local aviation analyst said that British Airways flying to KLIA was not expected to hurt MAS and AirAsia X as it would have its own set of clientele.

 

“Government officials and government-related companies are required to use British Airways' services similar to what we see for MAS whereby government-linked companies and officials in Malaysia use MAS' services,” said the analyst.

 

He added that British Airways' customers would continue to use the airline's services due to loyalty and mileage programmes.

 

While British Airways would fly the London-KL route, analysts said Qantas was likely to start with the Sydney-KL route first.

 

Meanwhile, a foreign analyst said that market talk had it that British Airways, Qantas and MAS had formed an alliance within the Oneworld alliance, whereby the three airlines would cross-sell each other's tickets on their respective websites. This deal was said to be executed by former MAS managing director Tengku Datuk Seri Azmil Zahruddin.

 

“For instance, a British passenger who wants to fly from London to KL and subsequently to Penang, can do it seamlessly through this alliance basically British Airways will offer a ticket for the passenger to fly from London to Penang, utilising the MAS network. While a code-share is typically executed for a single route (point-to-point), this alliance between the three airlines builds on connectivity and network,” he said.

 

This alliance would allow Qantas and British Airways' passengers the opportunity to book flights to South-East Asian destinations via the MAS networks.

 

“With MAS, British Airways' passengers can access destinations such as Phuket, Surabaya, Bandung, Siem Reap and Phnom Penh. The Middle Eastern carriers don't fly to such destinations so it will be easier for these passengers to utilise MAS' network,” he said.

 

However, should there be such an alliance between the three airlines, it remains to be seen if it will be executed considering the latest reshuffle at MAS, where new board members were appointed and an executive committee put in place to oversee the running of MAS, while the hunt for a new managing director is under way.

 

Both British Airways and Qantas ceased flights from KLIA in 2001 and 2000 respectively, as the airlines said it made more commercial sense to redeploy capacity to where demand was much better served Singapore's Changi Airport.

 

Qantas axed flights to KLIA as it opted to use Singapore as its South-East Asia gateway while other international airlines said in order for KLIA to be a regional hub, it needed to compete more effectively with Singapore and win airlines at the expense of Changi. For instance, Qantas currently has two direct daily flights each from Melbourne to Singapore and Sydney to Singapore.

 

However, KLIA has increasingly grown as a regional hub in the last decade, with international passenger numbers increasing from 12.7 million in 2001 to 23.8 million international passengers last year. While KLIA has attracted more foreign airlines to mount flights to KLIA, part of KLIA's popularity is also due to low-cost carrier AirAsia group mounting flights to regional destinations.

 

Meanwhile, MAHB clarified in a media statement yesterday that passenger service charge (PSC) in Malaysia was not linked with the construction cost of airports or terminals built locally.

 

It cited the example that the PSC remained the same despite the relocation of airport operations from Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah Airport in Subang to the brand new KLIA in 1998.

 

“The PSC and other aeronautical charges are determined solely by the Government as enshrined in the Civil Aviation Act 1969. Therefore, it is the sole prerogative of the Government to reduce, maintain or increase aeronautical charges which MAHB abides by,” MAHB said, adding that it was not at liberty to revise aeronautical charges without the Government's approval.

 

http://biz.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2011/8/16/business/9305672&sec=business

Edited by alberttky

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..... a local aviation analyst said that British Airways flying to KLIA was not expected to hurt MAS and AirAsia X as it would have its own set of clientele.

 

.....

He added that British Airways' customers would continue to use the airline's services due to loyalty and mileage programmes.

Does this 'analyst' understand what these airline alliances are all supposedly about ? I have always been under the impression the ability to accrue mileage points from fellow alliance members is one of the pillar advantages of being in an alliance to start with ? :)

And that first quoted statement is just plain naive imo :)

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I think I've been hearing about BA coming back to KLIA for close to a decade now (first raised a few years after they stopped flying into KUL). Am not holding my breath...

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I think I've been hearing about BA coming back to KLIA for close to a decade now .....

add to that .....

The Australian carrier Qantas Airways also said it would cut 1,000 jobs under a restructuring of its international operations

from here

and the likelyhood dims even further :)

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BA and QF sank SGD10m renovating their lounge in SIN. Plus 3K's base is also in SIN. So what's the likelihood of them going to KUL? :unsure:

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The simplest solution is for BA and QF to code-share with MH on the SYD/MEL/BNE/PER/ADL-KUL-LHR flights. This would help to justify the use of the A380s between SYD/MEL-KUL and KUL-LHR. For PER-KUL, MAS doesn't fly twice-daily but the flights could be code-shared and QF can fill the remaining days to make it a twice daily service between those 2 cities (with MH code-sharing on QF metal). MH doesn't offer a daily service between ADL and KUL, so QF could add flights which MH can code-share on to make it a daily service. Same goes for BNE and KUL. BA can code-share on all of these flights too.

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If it turns out that QF eventually chooses KUL for her proposed "Asia based premium airline", what a coup that would be for MAHB :)

(and yes, a few of us will be left red faced and eating humble pies :D )

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