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Mohd Suhaimi Fariz

MAS Privatisation

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37 minutes ago, Craig said:

I don't know of anyone who's calling airline to reduce their seat weight. I think they want to reduce flying but aviation is not the main source of carbon emission. I am sure one day we will all be vegans driving an electric car and sailing across the 7 seas to cut our carbon emission. Young people also did not experience the golden age of airline miles ;) 

Yes, many young people are not able to understand that until the 1980s, many cars are still not air conditioned and most cars sold have manual transmissions! In the 1970s, a B747 cabin resembles a cinema as the IFE screen was in front of the cabin and the movies were projected onto the screen. My first air miles programme was with British Airways - everything was done by mail and bookings were with the travel agent. Yes, those were the days!

Most pax do not recognise that aircraft weight is a big issue - the heavier the plane, the more fuel it will burn. Those LCD screens do weigh a fair bit - imagine having 160 of them on board!

Edited by flee

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15 hours ago, flee said:

Almost all US and European carriers were guilty of that earlier this year but they got warnings from the various authorities and may have toned down their cash raising activities. But we cannot really compare them to AK and MH as they received billions in govt. aid for the Covid disruptions while Malaysian airlines got minimal assistance. They don't have any reserves now and are very aggressive in preserving their cash these days.

Which airlines? I'm only aware of regulators warning airlines to refund cancelled flights during the very early days of the pandemic, when flights were slashed from original schedules. That's quite different from "cash raising activities". 

Few airlines have received as much state support as MH, and the government still gave them their blessings to avoid refunding customers. You're right, it's a truly incomparable situation.

 

14 hours ago, flee said:

Most pax do not recognise that aircraft weight is a big issue - the heavier the plane, the more fuel it will burn. 

That's why I believe emptier planes are better for the environment - less weight, less fuelburn. More space for those onboard, too ^

14 hours ago, flee said:

Those LCD screens do weigh a fair bit - imagine having 160 of them on board!

.Imagine having 290+ on their A330s! Imagine how much better off the environment would be if we got rid of those.

 

Edited by Chris Tan

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17 hours ago, flee said:

Yes, many young people are not able to understand that until the 1980s, many cars are still not air conditioned and most cars sold have manual transmissions! In the 1970s, a B747 cabin resembles a cinema as the IFE screen was in front of the cabin and the movies were projected onto the screen. My first air miles programme was with British Airways - everything was done by mail and bookings were with the travel agent. Yes, those were the days!

Most pax do not recognise that aircraft weight is a big issue - the heavier the plane, the more fuel it will burn. Those LCD screens do weigh a fair bit - imagine having 160 of them on board!

What do you mean 70s? In the late 90s/early 2000s KLM and BA had large screens for IFE projection… if I paid slightly more I got MH’s 747 or 777 with seat back TV! 

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9 hours ago, Tom/PER said:

-MXV is flying with the retrofitted interior, looks smart and the colour palate is very MH. 

Just read they gone from 144Y to 162Y for the loss of 4J seats 😬
 

 

 

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On 7/14/2022 at 10:37 PM, Dr Frasier said:

Malaysia Airlines to commence second daily flight to Doha from 01Aug2022

MH164/165 will also be operated by A330

MH164 KUL0255 – 0515DOH 333 D
MH160 KUL2120 – 2350DOH 333 D

MH161 DOH0150 – 1440KUL 333 D
MH165 DOH0805 – 2055KUL 333 D

Reservations are not open yet so still subject to change

With MH 164/165, QR will re-schedule QR853 to previous QR 845 timing  (departing KUL at 1055). With these 2 MH and 1 QR flight, KUL is mostly back to pre-pandemic frequency (other than the seasonal 4th daily flight that runs over summer).Both QR and MH will have short turnaround at their destinations. I have no idea where QR853 seamlessly connects to other than Middle East and LHR/CDG/IST.

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4 hours ago, Craig said:

 I have no idea where QR853 seamlessly connects to other than Middle East and LHR/CDG/IST.

I think there's a ~3:30pm to JFK as well, yes?

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18 hours ago, Chris Tan said:

I think there's a ~3:30pm to JFK as well, yes?

Oh yes. I didn't realize they added a 1530 flight to JFK. That would be a long day flight to JFK but you won't get any breakfast or supper as meals 👍

But imagine the horror if you are booked on QR 849 to QR703 (KUL-DOH-JFK) and rebooked to QR 4990 and QR 9001 

 

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Without a realistic strategic business plan, mh is neither here nor there, wanted to compete with lcc but opex is too high, wanted to be a fsc but service level and product is like lcc, is lost in the wilderness, become irrelevant. 

 

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More unconfirmed news floating around. This one coming from Endau Analytics, MH will lease 10 330neo via lessors, and 10 more direct from Airbus which were formerly airasia x orders.

PM of Malaysia apparently will be there for the signing in the next 2 weeks. 20 units it seems.

Edited by jahur

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29 minutes ago, jahur said:

More unconfirmed news floating around. This one coming from Endau Analytics, MH will lease 10 330neo via lessors, and 10 more direct from Airbus which were formerly airasia x orders.

PM of Malaysia apparently will be there for the signing in the next 2 weeks. 20 units it seems.

Seems like it’s less than what they’d like? 20 instead of minimum 21? So they are downsizing? 
 

Is it AAX frame or built to AAX specifications as well?

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31 minutes ago, Craig said:

Seems like it’s less than what they’d like? 20 instead of minimum 21? So they are downsizing? 
 

Is it AAX frame or built to AAX specifications as well?

Hence why i saw mh retaining 6-9 a333 to up to year 2027 in their planning apparently.

Frame likely and can be customisable to mh. 

Still no idea if Endou has the right info but everyone has been speculating that the Msian gov trying to save face by trying to not allow airasia x downsize orders that greatly and moving small part of it to MH. They did the same by forcing RMAF via mindef to lease some of Westar's AW139 helicopters as the company was financially strained apparently.

Edited by jahur

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40 minutes ago, jahur said:

Hence why i saw mh retaining 6-9 a333 to up to year 2027 in their planning apparently.

Frame likely and can be customisable to mh. 

Still no idea if Endou has the right info but everyone has been speculating that the Msian gov trying to save face by trying to not allow airasia x downsize orders that greatly and moving small part of it to MH. They did the same by forcing RMAF via mindef to lease some of Westar's AW139 helicopters as the company was financially strained apparently.

Oh nice. A company was over ambitious and MAB is the one paying the price 🤷🏻‍♂️ 
 

I suppose MH is planning the 6-9 9M-MT* series to fly regional routes  (unless you know a last minute sub to cities like TYO).  Absolutely no plans to increase the 350? 6 is a bit odd. 

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1 hour ago, Craig said:

 

I suppose MH is planning the 6-9 9M-MT* series to fly regional routes  (unless you know a last minute sub to cities like TYO).  Absolutely no plans to increase the 350? 6 is a bit odd. 

Planning was like 33 widebody. So i might assume it would be 20 New Widebody, 7 a333 and 6 a359. If range wise the a330neo if MH opts to keep it under 310ish passenger and payload under 40tonnes with optimum winds it could fly direct all the way to Heathrow. Technically the 330neo already covers most of MH former Eu routes except for maybe Spain, UK and France which still needs the 350 due to multiple things that might affect the a330neo's fuel endurance. But it is very likely MH wont be bothered to go back into Europe anytime soon except for just maybe just IST and AMS.

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Replying to the so-called MH taking over AirAsia X cancelled A330neo order:

No, MH is not taking over D7 order. D7 order was cancelled sometime ago, and Airbus would need to fill in the production gap since AirAsia X has delayed their own A330neo until 2026. This is an opportunist purchase. Airbus needs to fill their production slots, MH needs replacement aircraft at short notice. B787 delivery and production is on the verge of resumption, it will take them months, if not years, to clear the backlog. Note that Boeing is require to inspect all 100+ newly-built B787s that are currently sitting in the desert. On top of that, they are also require to inspect, some if not all of, those which are currently in service. This is significant task for Boeing to complete. 

Replying to MH taking AirAsia X not-taken-up A330-900s which have already been built:

No, MH is not taking any AirAsia X ntu as Airbus have sold all of them to Cebu Pacific and Condor. 

  1. MSN 1966    Airbus A330-941        D-ANRA Condor 
  2. MSN 1970    Airbus A330-941        RP-C3903 Cebu Pacific    
  3. MSN 1971    Airbus A330-941        D-ANRE Condor  
  4. MSN 1972    Airbus A330-941        D-ANRD Condor
  5. MSN 1973    Airbus A330-941        RP- Cebu Pacific     
  6. MSN 1976    Airbus A330-941       RP- Cebu Pacific    

Replying to MH returning to European market:

The market now is in a bloodbath, unless you have significant brand loyalty/ proposition like SQ, any new adventure into Europe markets will result in you burning more fingers. Strikes by ground crew and air traffic controller, lost luggage, flight delay and cancellation, to cap it. airport restricting your flight movement/slots, LHR and AMS two the biggest hubs in Europe now are in totally chaos. It would be wiser to stick to Asia-Pacific for now, at least for another one or two years, despite half of it are still off limit (China, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Japan). 

Singapore Airlines are now bearing the burnt of logistical nightmares in Europe and the US. If you read forums and reviews, you will notice that their service have slipped significantly post-pandemic. Even the PPS club most loyal members are complaining. If I was there, I would say "First time?"

MH may attempt to crack IST market again, but TK is a very strong competitor with significant lower cost of operation despite being a premium carrier, they have been expanding at no cost over the past few years to make IST hub like DXB. Their ticket are significantly cheaper compared to others. MH may earn some revenue, but profit margin may be very slim. Worth venturing? That is a million dollar question.

Edited by JuliusWong

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2 hours ago, JuliusWong said:

Replying to MH returning to European market:

The market now is in a bloodbath, unless you have significant brand loyalty/ proposition like SQ, any new adventure into Europe markets will result in you burning more fingers. Strikes by ground crew and air traffic controller, lost luggage, flight delay and cancellation, to cap it. airport restricting your flight movement/slots, LHR and AMS two the biggest hubs in Europe now are in totally chaos. It would be wiser to stick to Asia-Pacific for now, at least for another one or two years, despite half of it are still off limit (China, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Japan).

Nobody is asking MH to rush back to AMS or IST next week. By the time they get their new planes and muster the willpower to expand, all this chaos in Europe should be a distant memory.

2 hours ago, JuliusWong said:

Singapore Airlines are now bearing the burnt of logistical nightmares in Europe and the US. If you read forums and reviews, you will notice that their service have slipped significantly post-pandemic. Even the PPS club most loyal members are complaining. If I was there, I would say "First time?"

Bearing the brunt? Hardly. They haven't had to slash their network or re-time their flights significantly. If anything, SQ's European operations are relatively unscathed.

If you read the complaints and rants in context, you'll notice that SQ has been in terminal decline since...forever. Even in the best of times, people will find things to moan about. Point is, in spite of all their grievances, SQ's flights are still chock-a-block. And look at the rates they get away with. That's a pretty successful airline in my books.

You want to be taken seriously on the global stage, you'll need to serve Europe and North America.

2 hours ago, JuliusWong said:

MH may attempt to crack IST market again, but TK is a very strong competitor with significant lower cost of operation despite being a premium carrier, they have been expanding at no cost over the past few years to make IST hub like DXB. Their ticket are significantly cheaper compared to others. MH may earn some revenue, but profit margin may be very slim. Worth venturing? That is a million dollar question.

IST is a leisure market for Malaysians. MH would have a better shot at making AMS work.

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3 hours ago, JuliusWong said:

..... MH may earn some revenue, but profit margin may be very slim. Worth venturing? That is a million dollar question.

If they continue bleeding red ink as before, that million dollar could be a daily affair, or multiples of it even 😉 

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59 minutes ago, Chris Tan said:

Nobody is asking MH to rush back to AMS or IST next week. By the time they get their new planes and muster the willpower to expand, all this chaos in Europe should be a distant memory.

Bearing the brunt? Hardly. They haven't had to slash their network or re-time their flights significantly. If anything, SQ's European operations are relatively unscathed.

If you read the complaints and rants in context, you'll notice that SQ has been in terminal decline since...forever. Even in the best of times, people will find things to moan about. Point is, in spite of all their grievances, SQ's flights are still chock-a-block. And look at the rates they get away with. That's a pretty successful airline in my books.

You want to be taken seriously on the global stage, you'll need to serve Europe and North America.

IST is a leisure market for Malaysians. MH would have a better shot at making AMS work.

Malaysia Airlines suffered two crashes in a year, and this will forever be inscribed in people's mind unless the current generation dies overnight. And with how the government is run and how Malaysians' working attitude even if MH flies to the moon tomorrow, nobody will take them seriously. 

Why bother going to North America or Europe just to be an airline the public can take serious with? Do you have the pax numbers to sustain such operation? With RM depreciating like a falling brick, your O&D market numbers are so much lower compared, how to justify flying to both region? TG is in both region, how did their game turned out? And Malaysians need visa to go to both Canada and the US (RM900+ non-refundable visa fee), how many people can afford go, except for those top-tier M40 and T20? They will be better off flying with QR, EK and SQ. Want to via Pacific? OZ, KE, BR, JX, PR, SQ, CI, MU, CZ, AC, CA, JL, NH, UA, DL, AA and CX are enough to slaughter your alive even you can even catch a breath.

You want to fly to both regions? Better solve governmental issueS (emphasis on "S") first, raise the local currency value, attract high value business and leisure traffic, get back to FAA Cat 1 first then we talk further.

SQ has its legion of fans built over past 60 years, even if they are charging an arm and leg, they can still get away simply because they can do so since their current and past achievement. What can MH offer to the table? An airline without consistent branding?

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2 hours ago, JuliusWong said:

You want to fly to both regions? Better solve governmental issueS (emphasis on "S") first, raise the local currency value, attract high value business and leisure traffic, get back to FAA Cat 1 first then we talk further.
 

6 hours ago, JuliusWong said:

Replying to the so-called MH taking over AirAsia X cancelled A330neo order:

No, MH is not taking over D7 order. D7 order was cancelled sometime ago, and Airbus would need to fill in the production gap since AirAsia X has delayed their own A330neo until 2026. This is an opportunist purchase. Airbus needs to fill their production slots, MH needs replacement aircraft at short notice. B787 delivery and production is on the verge of resumption, it will take them months, if not years, to clear the backlog. Note that Boeing is require to inspect all 100+ newly-built B787s that are currently sitting in the desert. On top of that, they are also require to inspect, some if not all of, those which are currently in service. This is significant task for Boeing to complete. 

 

 


This is clearly what is needed to actually make MH work. But our gov made too many blunders over and over as of now none of it is made clear by them. Hence even i myself see it highly unlikely for MH to return back into Europe apart from LHR, AMS, IST are the only 2 it may consider anything else is a no go. The CEO even highlighted this on most townhall. MH has lost the european market, too many mistakes it can only work now through extended alliances and codeshare.

 

Hence why Endau's NWA info is unreliable. He has made few mistakes in the past as well regarding Malaysia aviation requirement especially in regards to East Malaysia RAS requirement and certification ops. Only thing that seems fishy was Mh's own CEO being very confident that MH can take 2 NWA by Q4 next year not sure if this can provide any clues on which frame or model it may be.

Edited by jahur

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On 7/27/2022 at 8:43 PM, jahur said:Technically the 330neo already covers most of MH former Eu routes except for maybe Spain, UK and France which still needs the 350 due to multiple things that might affect the a330neo's fuel endurance. 

Wait. If the 330neo can’t do France with full cargo load, how would it do AMS? Isn’t AMS very cargo heavy (since MHKargo flies there)?

10 hours ago, JuliusWong said:

 Replying to MH returning to European market:

The market now is in a bloodbath, unless you have significant brand loyalty/ proposition like SQ, any new adventure into Europe markets will result in you burning more fingers. Strikes by ground crew and air traffic controller, lost luggage, flight delay and cancellation, to cap it. airport restricting your flight movement/slots, LHR and AMS two the biggest hubs in Europe now are in totally chaos. It would be wiser to stick to Asia-Pacific for now, at least for another one or two years, despite half of it are still off limit (China, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Japan). 

MH may attempt to crack IST market again, but TK is a very strong competitor with significant lower cost of operation despite being a premium carrier, they have been expanding at no cost over the past few years to make IST hub like DXB. Their ticket are significantly cheaper compared to others. MH may earn some revenue, but profit margin may be very slim. Worth venturing? That is a million dollar question.

Have you seen MH ticket prices on their London flights (just KUL-LHR alone) this summer? It’s ridiculous. And flights are all full. If they can maintain that premium year round, it’d work out great for them. 
 

MH won’t be competing with one stop service like QR, TK, EK. MH will be the sole carrier flying nonstop between AMS/LHR/CDG/FRA-KUL (KL is supposed to restart KUL nonstop beginning NW22 schedule). Those nonstop service is what’s going to pay the bills. 
 

TK is significantly cheaper to Europe. But did you check the price of just KUL-IST? You’d be shocked that TK is actually paying you to fly more to Europe but you can stopover in IST twice. 

6 hours ago, JuliusWong said:

Malaysia Airlines suffered two crashes in a year, and this will forever be inscribed in people's mind unless the current generation dies overnight. And with how the government is run and how Malaysians' working attitude even if MH flies to the moon tomorrow, nobody will take them seriously. 

No one will blame MH for MH17. MH370 might be a bigger deterrent. But that was almost a decade ago. Nobody remembers that long. Look at China Airlines (remember the 80s/90s when everyone was avoiding CI like a plague?). 

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8 hours ago, JuliusWong said:

Malaysia Airlines suffered two crashes in a year, and this will forever be inscribed in people's mind unless the current generation dies overnight. And with how the government is run and how Malaysians' working attitude even if MH flies to the moon tomorrow, nobody will take them seriously. 

Why bother going to North America or Europe just to be an airline the public can take serious with? Do you have the pax numbers to sustain such operation? With RM depreciating like a falling brick, your O&D market numbers are so much lower compared, how to justify flying to both region? TG is in both region, how did their game turned out? And Malaysians need visa to go to both Canada and the US (RM900+ non-refundable visa fee), how many people can afford go, except for those top-tier M40 and T20? They will be better off flying with QR, EK and SQ. Want to via Pacific? OZ, KE, BR, JX, PR, SQ, CI, MU, CZ, AC, CA, JL, NH, UA, DL, AA and CX are enough to slaughter your alive even you can even catch a breath.

You want to fly to both regions? Better solve governmental issueS (emphasis on "S") first, raise the local currency value, attract high value business and leisure traffic, get back to FAA Cat 1 first then we talk further.

SQ has its legion of fans built over past 60 years, even if they are charging an arm and leg, they can still get away simply because they can do so since their current and past achievement. What can MH offer to the table? An airline without consistent branding?

You're looking at everything from a Malaysian-only perspective. People flying in and out of Europe and North America include foreigners who don't give two hoots our dysfunctional domestic politics. You have a consistently good product, good champagne, and a decent network? People will notice. Do you think SQ built their brand by being a sad regional carrier for half a century?

And I don't see the relevance of the M40/T20 in this discussion. Do you think the B40 will go on a 2-week California + Disneyland trip even if the MYR had the strength of the SGD? Conversely, what better time to attract people to your country than when you have a weak currency?

I doubt anyone here expects MH to miraculously turn into a profit-making machine with a slightly expanded network. But if the choice were between a money pit with nothing to show for, and a money pit that brings tourists in, puts KLIA on the radar while delivering a modicum of recognition to the country, I know which one I'd take.

 

Edited by Chris Tan

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Out of curiosity, does MH plan to return to South Africa (JNB/CPT)? 

19 hours ago, JuliusWong said:

And with how the government is run and how Malaysians' working attitude even if MH flies to the moon tomorrow, nobody will take them seriously. 

Why bother going to North America or Europe just to be an airline the public can take serious with? Do you have the pax numbers to sustain such operation? With RM depreciating like a falling brick, your O&D market numbers are so much lower compared, how to justify flying to both region?

Just to give you an example, Türkiye isn’t exactly known to be a well run country nor a country with strong currency but an extremely well run airline and airport. Look at all the intercontinental carriers flying to IST. 

From what I’ve been told, the numbers are there to justify for direct flights between CDG/FRA/MXP and KUL (and of course AMS).

Ringgit is falling, but not a doomsday scenario like many Malaysians are making it out to be. Depreciating against the USD/SGD/VND sure. But against a basket of currencies, they are doing quite ok on YTD, y-o-y and some even to a 5-year period. 
 

A bit off topic but you can’t compare MYR to SGD. SGD is a huge financial hub and a major importer of goods - they really can’t just let their currency depreciate. Investors love to buy SGD bonds/equities/holdings etc. because it’s a safe haven and doesn’t really fluctuate much against other major currencies. 
 

USD - well the Feds are rising interest rates and it’s also considered a safe haven. Whenever there’s trouble in the world (aka this past decade?), investors will usually pull out of other currencies and put it in USD. The unfortunate thing is that almost every thing in the world is traded in USD. So we have to live with appreciating USD. 

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