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Mohd Suhaimi Fariz

MAS Privatisation

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15 minutes ago, Craig said:

I think you are the pax MAB identified as the problem 😃. You are not willing to pay more for a nonstop (most nonstop flights are way more expensive than a connection). You should see how much SQ and CX charges in their home market. You should see how much MH charges for business class ex-SG/TH, most of the time way cheaper than ex-MY.

I think MH serve most business cities with a decent schedule and most of the time, at a higher frequency than foreign carriers, catered for ex-KUL market. Look at schedule for HKG, BKK, SGN, TPE, SYD, TYO, PVG.

That was because I was a leisure traveller at that time - and the savings would pay for almost three nights' hotel accommodation in Tokyo. Leisure travellers look for value for money. Yes, different markets behave differently - that is revenue management that the airline has to do. MH also needs to do that to secure its home market too. It may have to do it differently compared to other airlines, but it definitely has to do something to strengthen its revenue base.

If MH serves those cities so well, why are their business cabins not full? They really need to find out rather than opt for the lazy excuse and blame others.

Edited by flee

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21 minutes ago, flee said:

If MH serves those cities so well, why are their business cabins not full? They really need to find out rather than opt for the lazy excuse and blame others.

Malaysia is not a huge business destination to begin with and IIRC, MH was commenting that their 350 do not have enough J seats for their current 350 destinations (LHR, TYO, KIX). Amongst other destinations that I know it's hard for me to find Z class: AKL, SYD, MEL, and the occasional TPE/PVG. MH714/715 to DPS is also surprisingly hard to find J seats.

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3 hours ago, Craig said:

I am glad you brought this up. Hot off the press today from the World Bank. Malaysia is ranked as the 12th easiest country to do business (2nd in ASEAN after SG, ranked second worldwide). Thailand is 21 and Vietnam is 70. Ever wonder why they moved to Vietnam instead of Malaysia? Hint: cheap labour :)

I think you are the pax MAB identified as the problem 😃. You are not willing to pay more for a nonstop (most nonstop flights are way more expensive than a connection). You should see how much SQ and CX charges in their home market. You should see how much MH charges for business class ex-SG/TH, most of the time way cheaper than ex-MY.

I think MH serve most business cities with a decent schedule and most of the time, at a higher frequency than foreign carriers, catered for ex-KUL market. Look at schedule for HKG, BKK, SGN, TPE, SYD, TYO, PVG.

Are you sure that's the case? MH 318/319 has 2.5 hours turnaround time. They could have left PKX at 08:00 if they really want an hour turnaround. 

Malaysia could have cheaper labour if foreign worker permit and levy is cheaper. Malaysia is also one of the few countries that need AP for many import items. Btw, labour market in Vietnam is tight and some manufacturers find it difficult to recruit enough workers.

For reasons, for marginal fare difference, why many pax prefer to take transit or longer flight than MH non stop service.

2 hours ago, Craig said:

Malaysia is not a huge business destination to begin with and IIRC, MH was commenting that their 350 do not have enough J seats for their current 350 destinations (LHR, TYO, KIX). Amongst other destinations that I know it's hard for me to find Z class: AKL, SYD, MEL, and the occasional TPE/PVG. MH714/715 to DPS is also surprisingly hard to find J seats.

As said, MH shouldn't and need not limit itself to home market alone. There is nothing to stop MH to attract business travelers from other countries where they are flying to.

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8 hours ago, KK Lee said:

Malaysia could have cheaper labour if foreign worker permit and levy is cheaper. Malaysia is also one of the few countries that need AP for many import items. Btw, labour market in Vietnam is tight and some manufacturers find it difficult to recruit enough workers.

For reasons, for marginal fare difference, why many pax prefer to take transit or longer flight than MH non stop service.

As said, MH shouldn't and need not limit itself to home market alone. There is nothing to stop MH to attract business travelers from other countries where they are flying to.

So your suggestion is to lower the foreign worker fees/levy to import cheap labourers from say South Asian or Vietnam/China to Malaysia and then companies who want cheap labour invest in Malaysia by hiring those non-Malaysian cheap labour?

And what makes you think MH is not attracting business travelers from other countries? I mean MH don't just sell SIN-MY from Singapore you know 😉

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8 hours ago, KK Lee said:

Malaysia could have cheaper labour if foreign worker permit and levy is cheaper. Malaysia is also one of the few countries that need AP for many import items. Btw, labour market in Vietnam is tight and some manufacturers find it difficult to recruit enough workers.

For reasons, for marginal fare difference, why many pax prefer to take transit or longer flight than MH non stop service.

I’m quite glad the people in power don’t advocate for lower wages in their pursuit of raising the average income.

One of those “reasons” which were not elaborated on in your post can be found just two posts up. Many leisure travellers aren’t willing to pony up for the convenience of a direct flight. You want convenience, you pay for it. Clearly MH knows they can get away with charging higher prices for ex-KUL, the same way SQ/CX charge exorbitant prices out of SIN/HKG.   

11 hours ago, flee said:

That was because I was a leisure traveller at that time - and the savings would pay for almost three nights' hotel accommodation in Tokyo. Leisure travellers look for value for money. Yes, different markets behave differently - that is revenue management that the airline has to do. MH also needs to do that to secure its home market too. It may have to do it differently compared to other airlines, but it definitely has to do something to strengthen its revenue base.

I don’t see how MH is in a different position compared to other airlines here. Direct flights are convenient, and convenience doesn’t come cheap. It’s a worldwide trend that MH would be foolish to buck. If they’re going to have any hope of getting half-decent yields (which many here have been advocating for), slashing prices to please a price-sensitive bunch probably isn’t the best strategy, is it? :)

 

Some might praise CX/KA for being so affordable out of KUL but conveniently forget the reason behind CX’s withdrawal from KUL. And it seems like they’re also blithely unaware of how insane CX’s pricing is out of HKG. Because CX can, just like how MH can rightfully command a premium out of KUL.

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There was one instance instead of purchasing SYD-KUL vv, we went for SYD-HKG with a stopover in KUL with MH, because the ticket price for the later was cheaper 🙂

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21 hours ago, flee said:

I am a sample of one but if many others had the same experience as me, then it is bad news for MAB:

In March this year, I went to Tokyo - I booked my ticket about one month before travelling. I had checked ticket prices for about a month before I booked. It was interesting to find out that the MH ticket price was about RM 350 more than 1 stop SQ and RM 1K more than 1 stop CX flights. I also noted that Airasia X fares were almost as expensive as ANA's! Needless to say, MH did not get my booking even though it was deploying the A380 on that route at that time. I booked on CX because it was cheaper and it allowed me to fly in to HND and leave from NRT.

As for business class pax, it is not that there are fewer of them in Malaysia. Many business travellers choose other airlines because of a number of factors that are important to them. Flight timing and frequency is probably their No 1 priority. Then comes connections - many business travellers don't just buy return flights, they do multi sector flying. Then comes the hard and soft products and consistency of service. So there are many requirements of business travellers that MAB failed to appreciate - so they don't get their business.

Bottom line is that MH needs to compete better and sell more tickets even though the yields are not good - it is always cash positive to sell tickets and fill seats. Flying a plane on 50-60% load is not good for business.

You have proven exactly why MH has a problem - Malaysian passengers who value price over convenience.

Fact of the matter is, O&D passenger pays more everywhere. A SIN originating SQ passenger will pay more than a KUL originating pax. A BKK originating TG pax pays more than a KUL originating pax. And conversely, a SIN originating MH pax pays less than a KUL originating pax. Who in their right mind would want to fly via transit, over direct flights if pricing remains constant? 

If MH lowers the price, their yields will be crap. And when yields are crap, you can't make any money.

21 hours ago, flee said:

Pax don't mind paying a bit more if the comfort level is better.

Not in Malaysia they don't.

 

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7 minutes ago, Mohd Suhaimi Fariz said:

You have proven exactly why MH has a problem - Malaysian passengers who value price over convenience.

Fact of the matter is, O&D passenger pays more everywhere. A SIN originating SQ passenger will pay more than a KUL originating pax. A BKK originating TG pax pays more than a KUL originating pax. And conversely, a SIN originating MH pax pays less than a KUL originating pax. Who in their right mind would want to fly via transit, over direct flights if pricing remains constant? 

If MH lowers the price, their yields will be crap. And when yields are crap, you can't make any money.

Not in Malaysia they don't.

 

I think you are right that in Malaysia, we would go for the cheapest, and not for convenience. A case in point is that some of my colleagues going for a holiday trip chose 6am flight because it was the cheapest while I preferred the 10am flight which was more expensive. I was not prepared to get up at 3am to leave house by 330 or 345am. 

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Since Khazanah has more or less said that there is not enough premium business travellers, maybe it is time to try what BA, Aer Lingus and a few other European airlines have tried to do - modify their business model. Perhaps they should embark on a customer survey and ask their loyal customers what they want from MAB. Then change the business model to meet the needs of the pax.

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40 minutes ago, flee said:

Since Khazanah has more or less said that there is not enough premium business travellers, maybe it is time to try what BA, Aer Lingus and a few other European airlines have tried to do - modify their business model. Perhaps they should embark on a customer survey and ask their loyal customers what they want from MAB. Then change the business model to meet the needs of the pax.

If a survey would be conducted for sure Malaysians would be asking for Airasia low fares but with pre 2010s 32inch legroom fsc plus having frequency buzzing like Airasia. Unsustainable in the long run unless Malaysia's general population could multiply by 3x fold minimum.

Edited by jahur

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11 hours ago, Craig said:

So your suggestion is to lower the foreign worker fees/levy to import cheap labourers from say South Asian or Vietnam/China to Malaysia and then companies who want cheap labour invest in Malaysia by hiring those non-Malaysian cheap labour?

And what makes you think MH is not attracting business travelers from other countries? I mean MH don't just sell SIN-MY from Singapore you know 😉

Most countries need cheap foreign workers to keep the economy buzzing e.g US, UK, Germany, Saudi, Dubai, SG, etc.

If MH intend to attract business travelers from neighbouring countries, they should have layover within 2 hours flight time from KUL, so these pax could connect to MH 9am bank of regional flights. 

10 hours ago, Chris Tan said:

I’m quite glad the people in power don’t advocate for lower wages in their pursuit of raising the average income.

One of those “reasons” which were not elaborated on in your post can be found just two posts up. Many leisure travellers aren’t willing to pony up for the convenience of a direct flight. You want convenience, you pay for it. Clearly MH knows they can get away with charging higher prices for ex-KUL, the same way SQ/CX charge exorbitant prices out of SIN/HKG.   

I don’t see how MH is in a different position compared to other airlines here. Direct flights are convenient, and convenience doesn’t come cheap. It’s a worldwide trend that MH would be foolish to buck. If they’re going to have any hope of getting half-decent yields (which many here have been advocating for), slashing prices to please a price-sensitive bunch probably isn’t the best strategy, is it? :)

 

Some might praise CX/KA for being so affordable out of KUL but conveniently forget the reason behind CX’s withdrawal from KUL. And it seems like they’re also blithely unaware of how insane CX’s pricing is out of HKG. Because CX can, just like how MH can rightfully command a premium out of KUL.

The main issue with local workforce is poor productivity and unwilling to learn new skill.

Believe there are enough business travellers ex-KUL to keep MH profitable. Unfortunately, MH has yet to understand their needs and how to keep them happy.

2 hours ago, Mohd Suhaimi Fariz said:

You have proven exactly why MH has a problem - Malaysian passengers who value price over convenience.

Fact of the matter is, O&D passenger pays more everywhere. A SIN originating SQ passenger will pay more than a KUL originating pax. A BKK originating TG pax pays more than a KUL originating pax. And conversely, a SIN originating MH pax pays less than a KUL originating pax. Who in their right mind would want to fly via transit, over direct flights if pricing remains constant? 

If MH lowers the price, their yields will be crap. And when yields are crap, you can't make any money.

Not in Malaysia they don't.

 

Airlines business is like hospitality business. Low season is more critical than peak season. Everyone could make a killing during peak season. But whether the business could be profitable for the WHOLE year depends on low season performance. It seems MH management is still don't realize and don't have solution.

 

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10 hours ago, Kee Hooi Yen said:

There was one instance instead of purchasing SYD-KUL vv, we went for SYD-HKG with a stopover in KUL with MH, because the ticket price for the later was cheaper 🙂

Many many moons ago, a LHR-KUL-SYD/MEL ticket cost almost the same as a LHR-KUL ticket with free stopovers in KUL. So my plan was always to buy a ticket to Australia with 2 stopovers in KL. 

1 hour ago, KK Lee said:

Most countries need cheap foreign workers to keep the economy buzzing e.g US, UK, Germany, Saudi, Dubai, SG, etc.

If MH intend to attract business travelers from neighbouring countries, they should have layover within 2 hours flight time from KUL, so these pax could connect to MH 9am bank of regional flights. 

The main issue with local workforce is poor productivity and unwilling to learn new skill.

Believe there are enough business travellers ex-KUL to keep MH profitable. Unfortunately, MH has yet to understand their needs and how to keep them happy.

Airlines business is like hospitality business. Low season is more critical than peak season. Everyone could make a killing during peak season. But whether the business could be profitable for the WHOLE year depends on low season performance. It seems MH management is still don't realize and don't have solution.

 

I am not aware that Malaysia does not have enough cheap foreign workers, do you?

So these regional flights you are speaking of, to connect to MH 09:00 bank, they need to depart before 06:00 to get in around 07:00 (or even earlier since Malaysia is GMT +8 whilst most neighbors are GMT +7), yes? Which business traveler don't value time for a regional flight that they'll take an even earlier morning flight with a connection? Not many business pax is going to fly SIN-KUL-BKK or BKK-KUL-CGK. And in case you are wondering, MH does have early morning departures from SIN, BKK, CGK, MNL, HKG (the major business cities around the region I'd say) and you can guess why they have a RON aircraft at those stations even at HKG/SIN with exorbitant parking fees and not others (e.g. SGN, PNH etc.). 

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5 hours ago, jahur said:

If a survey would be conducted for sure Malaysians would be asking for Airasia low fares but with pre 2010s 32inch legroom fsc plus having frequency buzzing like Airasia. Unsustainable in the long run unless Malaysia's general population could multiply by 3x fold minimum.

Your sentiment is the same as what many who have experienced MAS' heydays, when competition was limited and govt. protection was normal. So, Khazanah' s other conclusion that MAB will do OK if the competition closed down is also true! 

Ideally MAB should have a monopoly of domestic routes and government controlling permits of international airlines operating in Malaysia. But that kind of situation no longer exists in the modern world.

Khazanah and MAB must move on and stop being in denial...

Edited by flee

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54 minutes ago, flee said:

Your sentiment is the same as what many who have experienced MAS' heydays, when competition was limited and govt. protection was normal. So, Khazanah' s other conclusion that MAB will do OK if the competition closed down is also true! 

Ideally MAB should have a monopoly of domestic routes and government controlling permits of international airlines operating in Malaysia. But that kind of situation no longer exists in the modern world.

Khazanah and MAB must move on and stop being in denial...

Wonder if consolidating garuda and thai with mab would help. But then the other two also have corruption issues for decades. We havent even gotten into Lion air. This airline sabotage Airasias expansion and is flying their planes with limited frequencies at a loss. Its been also rumored the ceo of lion air has been using a lot of black money to get permits around. Free market or not it doesnt look fair to smaller companies.

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2 hours ago, jahur said:

Wonder if consolidating garuda and thai with mab would help. But then the other two also have corruption issues for decades. We havent even gotten into Lion air. This airline sabotage Airasias expansion and is flying their planes with limited frequencies at a loss. Its been also rumored the ceo of lion air has been using a lot of black money to get permits around. Free market or not it doesnt look fair to smaller companies.

Yes, most ppl view Lion as creating disruption to AirAsia so that they cannot disturb them so much in Indonesia. But QZ is starting to stir. So let's see.....

Another thing for Mavcom to investigate, if they manage to wake up from their deep sleep!

Edited by flee

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8 hours ago, flee said:

Ideally MAB should have a monopoly of domestic routes and government controlling permits of international airlines operating in Malaysia. But that kind of situation no longer exists in the modern world.

That actually exists a lot in the modern world, especially in developed countries. Canada and Australia for example are highly protective of their market from foreign carriers (and US currently regret opening their skies that much). A PER-SYD or YVR-YYZ ticket can cost more than say a PER-DPS or YVR-TYO ticket! Malaysia on the other hand encourages a lot of foreign carriers into Malaysia. As far as government controlling foreign carriers into their own country, here are a few examples: SG/QA (Qatar) can't operate more than 3 weekly flights into Canada. QA/MY has a frequency/capacity cap into AU.

4 hours ago, flee said:

Yes, most ppl view Lion as creating disruption to AirAsia so that they cannot disturb them so much in Indonesia. But QZ is starting to stir. So let's see.....

Another thing for Mavcom to investigate, if they manage to wake up from their deep sleep!

I wasn't sure if you are referring to Malindo or Lion Air (Lion Air is not under MAVCOM jurisdiction unless they flood the ID-MY market). But in any case, MAVCOM rejects ATR (air traffic rights) applications if they think a carrier is trying to flood market and get rid of competitors. They have rejected some of AK/OD/MH ATR applications before. 

Now if you are asking for MAVCOM to remove a previously approved ATC because of overcapacity, I don't think this is possible. And I don't think MAVCOM has the right to see each carrier's route performance (yields, connecting pax, revenue etc.); they can request and I am pretty sure they already have access to the number of passengers between two cities and its demand. 

They are also responsible for approving ATI/JV for foreign carriers operating into Malaysia. They recently approved the LHG/SQ JV for MY-DE/CH/AT market (previously the JV was only valid for SG/AU-DE/CH/AT). Currently they are evaluating whether to approve MH/JL JV and how much capacity both carriers will hold in total in the event that the JV is approved. If you think MAVCOM is slow, the Japan's equivalent hasn't even approve the JV yet either, so 🤷‍♂️.

Edited by Craig

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By paying a bit more, you get to pay less penalty fees should you change your mind and decide to stay home after all ...

and if you buy 10 of such tickets, you could potentially save RM1500! 
 

is that so difficult to comprehend???

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1 hour ago, BC Tam said:

jKkaBRO.jpg

Anyone into yield management ?! :)

 

 

Seen something similar on Malindo. Where their economy fare cost more then the business promo. 

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1 hour ago, Mushrif A said:

... and if you buy 10 of such tickets, you could potentially save RM1500! 
 

is that so difficult to comprehend???

Kenot leh, says there only "4 seats left"

Potential is limited, max saving is RM600

😁

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10 hours ago, Pall said:

Seen something similar on Malindo. Where their economy fare cost more then the business promo. 

Similar things happen on the the KUL-SIN sector with business promo tickets at around RM900 return when a flexi/semi flexi Y ticket is more.  

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11 hours ago, BC Tam said:

Kenot leh, says there only "4 seats left"

Potential is limited, max saving is RM600

😁

You only get to save penalty fees by buying economy flex, which should have more than just 4 seats available! You were looking at the wrong row and column. 

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2 hours ago, Robert said:

Similar things happen on the the KUL-SIN sector with business promo tickets at around RM900 return when a flexi/semi flexi Y ticket is more.  

Thats not uncommon, as flex Y is, well, flex and is useful for the biz traveller who can only expense Y but needs flexibility as opposed to a restricted RBD-Z fare with an almost use-or-lose it offering. 

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