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Mohd Suhaimi Fariz

MAS Privatisation

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Mavcom recently released its consultation on the proposed decision for JL/MH joint venture individual exemption. Few interesting points to note:

- MH's slots at HND aren't permanent (which explains the proposed 1AM arrival time last time) (page 22 of the report)

- KUL-TYO remains the largest MY-JP market (comprising 43.7% of the total MY-JP traffic), followed by KUL-OSA at 23.1%, PEN-TYO at 3.6%, BKI-TYO at 2.6%, and PEN-OSA at 1.9% (page 63 of the report)

- MH plans to increase capacity in the KUL-HND market in 2024. Number is redacted but it's highlighted for the planned increase. Both parties also plan to operate new routes e.g. [redacted] (page 18)

- MH added "miso cod fish" to their lounge menu due to this JV 😂 (page 26)

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38 minutes ago, Craig said:

- MH plans to increase capacity in the KUL-HND market in 2024. Number is redacted but it's highlighted for the planned increase. Both parties also plan to operate new routes e.g. [redacted] (page 18)

Interesting. Wonder if this means JL will serve HND-KUL.

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2 hours ago, Chris Tan said:

Interesting. Wonder if this means JL will serve HND-KUL.

No idea although it was highlighted in the MH row instead of JL or maybe they'll use 339 instead of 359. JL technically doesn't have rights for HND-KUL (at least not from the MOT of Japan) but I doubt it'll be too difficult for them to apply for one. If only JP will grant 1 daily daytime slot to Malaysia (or even 0.5) since MH/D7 can arrive before 06:00 but leave around 10-noon like the current MH89.

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JL announced that their NRT-KUL equipment will be a 767 instead of 787 from Dec 23.

This is one of the results of the JV - are they standardising to MH levels?

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3 hours ago, flee said:

JL announced that their NRT-KUL equipment will be a 767 instead of 787 from Dec 23.

This is one of the results of the JV - are they standardising to MH levels?

Am I right that they are pretty old aircraft ?
Remember taking them on the SIN-KUL 5th freedom route years ago. Cramped and uncomfortable.

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38 minutes ago, Robert said:

Remember taking them on the SIN-KUL 5th freedom route years ago. Cramped and uncomfortable.

Hence standardizing to MH level 😂. JL's 767 J class is similar to MH's. But JL has been using their 767s to intercontinental destinations like YVR and medium haul to CGK/SIN recently too (and previously KUL).

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13 hours ago, flee said:

JL announced that their NRT-KUL equipment will be a 767 instead of 787 from Dec 23.

This is one of the results of the JV - are they standardising to MH levels?

JV doesn’t mean watering down your own standards. JL is still far superior to AA but they have a TPAC JV. 

10 hours ago, Robert said:

Am I right that they are pretty old aircraft ?
Remember taking them on the SIN-KUL 5th freedom route years ago. Cramped and uncomfortable.

To be fair, they’ve come a long way since the SIN-KUL days. 1-2-1 config up front but, being a 767, it’s definitely narrower than other widebodies. The 2-3-2 is quite comfy at the back though. 

9 hours ago, Craig said:

Hence standardizing to MH level 😂. JL's 767 J class is similar to MH's. But JL has been using their 767s to intercontinental destinations like YVR and medium haul to CGK/SIN recently too (and previously KUL).

Nescafé gold blend on JL, perhaps? 

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Some tidbits info.

Max 8 entry confirmed for July, August, October, November. 4 units total for 2023. No news on cabin. Downscale from original 7units planned for 2023 due to Boeing production.

A330neo Feb 2024 eta delayed by 2months. Planned 7 units for the year 2024 subject to change. Cabin rumored to be better than existing a350 for business class.

6x current A350s planned to undergo certain refitting to match the 330neo cabin standard by stages. 

3-4 A350s still being soughted out. 

Staff bonuses approved and varies by kpi ranges from 0.5-3months. Company due for Profit reporting due by year end provided no further deterioration from forex. 

Flights to india from 46weekly MAG hopes to gauge it to 60x in future.

Current issue

China still refuses to restore Beijing, Shanghai flights to daily schedule for MH. Indonesia has refuse to give additional frequency slots to MH in favour of Malindo.

 

Edited by jahur

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1 hour ago, Riza said:

Which Indonesian station(s) that MH intended to expand? SUB?

From FR24, MH is already operating daily if not double daily to SUB on certain days. I'm guessing its restrictions to add more frequency.

7 hours ago, jahur said:

 

China still refuses to restore Beijing, Shanghai flights to daily schedule for MH. Indonesia has refuse to give additional frequency slots to MH in favour of Malindo.

 

If thats the case, MAVCOM should retaliate to restrict Malindo from being given more flights. Govt should practice bilateral approval. It now appears like MH being the "anak tiri", or even AK for that matter.

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8 hours ago, jahur said:

Some tidbits info.

Max 8 entry confirmed for July, August, October, November. 4 units total for 2023. No news on cabin. Downscale from original 7units planned for 2023 due to Boeing production.

A330neo Feb 2024 eta delayed by 2months. Planned 7 units for the year 2024 subject to change. Cabin rumored to be better than existing a350 for business class.

6x current A350s planned to undergo certain refitting to match the 330neo cabin standard by stages. 

3-4 A350s still being soughted out. 

Staff bonuses approved and varies by kpi ranges from 0.5-3months. Company due for Profit reporting due by year end provided no further deterioration from forex. 

Flights to india from 46weekly MAG hopes to gauge it to 60x in future.

Current issue

China still refuses to restore Beijing, Shanghai flights to daily schedule for MH. Indonesia has refuse to give additional frequency slots to MH in favour of Malindo.

Thank you for the info as usual :) Good to hear about the updated cabin for the 330neo/359. The IFE interface is also a bit outdated and resolution aren't the best. Are they planning to expand J cabin (i.e. the whole cabin between door 1 and 2 instead of carving out 2 rows for Y+ now)?

If they are keeping an eye out for 3-4 350s, it appears that they want to venture back into mainland Europe again? Those 330neo can be used for Japan (and based on what I see, TYO premium demand are still not back to 2019 levels yet with Z class still widely available and F is empty on most flights where as LHR is selling out in most classes). JL is using a smaller premium cabin for JL 723/724 now compared to the premium heavy 789 previously (JAL Sky Suite III isn't exactly the best seat out there).

Interesting about China. There is currently no direct link between KUL and BJS (PKX/PEK) other than on MH where as there's a daily FM 789 on KUL-PVG. With China coming back online in the near future and planned expansion for India, does MH have enough 330s for those new flights (HKG/TPE is still served  by 738 for most days)? 

34 minutes ago, Pall said:

From FR24, MH is already operating daily if not double daily to SUB on certain days. I'm guessing its restrictions to add more frequency.

If thats the case, MAVCOM should retaliate to restrict Malindo from being given more flights. Govt should practice bilateral approval. It now appears like MH being the "anak tiri", or even AK for that matter.

MH flies 8 times a week to SUB (twice a day on Wednesday). I am guessing secondary/tertiary cities like the newly launched Solo, Pekanbaru, Yogyakarta etc. or maybe to other cities like Ujung Padang (Makassar). I remember seeing OD or MH flying to Manado during the pandemic which I thought was a bit odd.

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2 hours ago, Craig said:

Thank you for the info as usual :) Good to hear about the updated cabin for the 330neo/359. The IFE interface is also a bit outdated and resolution aren't the best. Are they planning to expand J cabin (i.e. the whole cabin between door 1 and 2 instead of carving out 2 rows for Y+ now)?

If they are keeping an eye out for 3-4 350s, it appears that they want to venture back into mainland Europe again? Those 330neo can be used for Japan (and based on what I see, TYO premium demand are still not back to 2019 levels yet with Z class still widely available and F is empty on most flights where as LHR is selling out in most classes). JL is using a smaller premium cabin for JL 723/724 now compared to the premium heavy 789 previously (JAL Sky Suite III isn't exactly the best seat out there).

Interesting about China. There is currently no direct link between KUL and BJS (PKX/PEK) other than on MH where as there's a daily FM 789 on KUL-PVG. With China coming back online in the near future and planned expansion for India, does MH have enough 330s for those new flights (HKG/TPE is still served  by 738 for most days)? 

MH flies 8 times a week to SUB (twice a day on Wednesday). I am guessing secondary/tertiary cities like the newly launched Solo, Pekanbaru, Yogyakarta etc. or maybe to other cities like Ujung Padang (Makassar). I remember seeing OD or MH flying to Manado during the pandemic which I thought was a bit odd.

No idea on the a330neo cabin seats for business class all we know its an improvement over a350 and current a333. No news on economy.

Saw on the chart that IST, AMS aimed for 2024 onwards with FRA, CDG considered for 2026. But knowing MH stuff like these are to be taken with a grain of salt. Most of these can be handled by the a330neo with the exception of AMS that may require more cargo that the 350 offers. CDG FRA may be another failed attempt if MH is not careful. 

MH widebody shortage means it may not expand appropriately until mid 2024 once it has taken the a330neos and maintains the 333. Currently its an off and off thing depending on seasons. Loss of potential revenue was mentioned by the CEO due to the aircraft shortage. 33 widebody total still seems to be the number they're aiming for with room for very mild expansion.

Indonesia and China slots etc are more of a bilateral issue behind the scenes. So it depends on how our govs exercise the agreements. 

 

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20 hours ago, jahur said:

No idea on the a330neo cabin seats for business class all we know its an improvement over a350 and current a333. No news on economy.

Saw on the chart that IST, AMS aimed for 2024 onwards with FRA, CDG considered for 2026. But knowing MH stuff like these are to be taken with a grain of salt. Most of these can be handled by the a330neo with the exception of AMS that may require more cargo that the 350 offers. CDG FRA may be another failed attempt if MH is not careful. 

Interesting about FRA/CDG considered for 2026 - that's still 3 years away and as you say, a lot of things can change between now and then + MH. It's just unfortunate that Oneworld doesn't have any hubs in Central Europe and none have a huge demand to/from Malaysia (other than LON and to a certain extent, MAD). MAD is too far west, HEL is too far north/east and with not much traffic between both cities, DUB is tiny and on the edge of the Atlantic.

I am curious if MH plans to patch things up with QF and partner with them since they have a rather small footprint in AU now and use them to connect to secondary/tertiary cities in ANZ.

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1 hour ago, Craig said:

Interesting about FRA/CDG considered for 2026 - that's still 3 years away and as you say, a lot of things can change between now and then + MH. It's just unfortunate that Oneworld doesn't have any hubs in Central Europe and none have a huge demand to/from Malaysia (other than LON and to a certain extent, MAD). MAD is too far west, HEL is too far north/east and with not much traffic between both cities, DUB is tiny and on the edge of the Atlantic.

I am curious if MH plans to patch things up with QF and partner with them since they have a rather small footprint in AU now and use them to connect to secondary/tertiary cities in ANZ.

Khazanah has given MAG cash injections for their operations up to 2025 - so it looks like FRA/CDG will not be within their operational budgets before then. Malaysia's trade with the EU is not that high, so European destinations are not that popular. AMS and LHR are OK due to the presence of Shell and the traditional ties with the UK.

QF is a curious case - they used to operate into KUL but I guess their main hub in ASEAN is in SIN. So unless KUL can give them a great advantage over SIN, they will not be bothered about partnering with MH. There is little synergy if the two should get together now. 

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QF sponsored MH into OW - I thought it was strange when they never really bothered with KUL in the first place! 

I guess they were thinking of RedQ and all the other options of LCC via KUL. Then that fell through, and Malaysia has been shunned since!

not even proper jetstar flies into KUL, only jetstar Asia. 

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On 4/8/2023 at 11:00 AM, flee said:

Khazanah has given MAG cash injections for their operations up to 2025 - so it looks like FRA/CDG will not be within their operational budgets before then. Malaysia's trade with the EU is not that high, so European destinations are not that popular. AMS and LHR are OK due to the presence of Shell and the traditional ties with the UK.

QF is a curious case - they used to operate into KUL but I guess their main hub in ASEAN is in SIN. So unless KUL can give them a great advantage over SIN, they will not be bothered about partnering with MH. There is little synergy if the two should get together now. 

Insiders say MAS have been cash positive for nearly 2yrs without drawing funds from Khanazah's guaranteed injections. 

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On 4/7/2023 at 1:33 AM, jahur said:

Some tidbits info.

Max 8 entry confirmed for July, August, October, November. 4 units total for 2023. No news on cabin. Downscale from original 7units planned for 2023 due to Boeing production.

A330neo Feb 2024 eta delayed by 2months. Planned 7 units for the year 2024 subject to change. Cabin rumored to be better than existing a350 for business class.

6x current A350s planned to undergo certain refitting to match the 330neo cabin standard by stages. 

3-4 A350s still being soughted out. 

Staff bonuses approved and varies by kpi ranges from 0.5-3months. Company due for Profit reporting due by year end provided no further deterioration from forex. 

Flights to india from 46weekly MAG hopes to gauge it to 60x in future.

Current issue

China still refuses to restore Beijing, Shanghai flights to daily schedule for MH. Indonesia has refuse to give additional frequency slots to MH in favour of Malindo.

 

It is always foreign gomen, aircraft manufacturers, etc fault and not mh management's fault.

 

On 4/8/2023 at 11:00 AM, flee said:

Khazanah has given MAG cash injections for their operations up to 2025 - so it looks like FRA/CDG will not be within their operational budgets before then. Malaysia's trade with the EU is not that high, so European destinations are not that popular. AMS and LHR are OK due to the presence of Shell and the traditional ties with the UK.

QF is a curious case - they used to operate into KUL but I guess their main hub in ASEAN is in SIN. So unless KUL can give them a great advantage over SIN, they will not be bothered about partnering with MH. There is little synergy if the two should get together now. 

If mh solely depends on o&d pax, it could never expand. as a airlines, should and must looks for transit pax.

despite many o&d pax between kul and aus cities, qf still refused to ply; could mean more than commercial reasons.

 

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I think JQ used to ply SYD-KUL for some time after QF left the route. It was dropped in 2008 as part of Qantas organisational wide restructuring due to high fuel price. I have attached Qantas media releases dated 5 June 2008, on the route cancellation.

There were/are actually some keen demand from Australia for a direct flight to Kuala Lumpur, however the load varies from season to season, hence QF Group decided to drop the direct flight and route the passengers instead via 3K and deployed their assets elsewhere where they could earn more. Outside of non-KUL route, QF had hard time to justify airframes for the route, they could simply route the passengers via numerous partnerships thru HKG and SIN back then. Now you have Batik Air and AirAsia X, two homegrown LCCs (which were huge pre-covid era) and provide far greater connectivity options, the market is simply not there for QF/JQ to send their B787/A330 when they are currently very short of widebody aircraft. Yield would be horrible as well. 

Simply put, comparative low yield and lack of business traffic versus SIN and HKG.

Qantas announces international schedule changes 5 June 2008.pdf

Edited by JuliusWong

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15 hours ago, KK Lee said:

If mh solely depends on o&d pax, it could never expand. as a airlines, should and must looks for transit pax.

despite many o&d pax between kul and aus cities, qf still refused to ply; could mean more than commercial reasons.

I think it is precisely for commercial reasons. Airlines operating out of KUL (MH included) have found yields to be low. That is why they cannot justify coming to KUL. The pax are there, but they are mostly non premium paying pax. I think one of the reasons why MH partnered JL is so that it can try to tap in to some premium paying pax from Japan!

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16 hours ago, KK Lee said:

It is always foreign gomen, aircraft manufacturers, etc fault and not mh management's fault.

Of course, the same broken record overplayed since 1997. Bailout RM26 billion, hasilnya ke laut. Sekarang privatised, x nampak dah balance sheet. If not, we taxpayers will have stroke every year. better use the money build more schools and hospitals. At least those are for rakyat welfare. 

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On 4/9/2023 at 11:36 AM, Pall said:

Insiders say MAS have been cash positive for nearly 2yrs without drawing funds from Khanazah's guaranteed injections. 

Actually those cash positive came with sacrifice. A fresh grad HR staff new joiner earns more than a 10 years tenure engineer. Go figure........No wonder they are all running to QR, EK, TK, SQ, CI, BR and JX.

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On 4/7/2023 at 1:33 AM, jahur said:

Some tidbits info.

Max 8 entry confirmed for July, August, October, November. 4 units total for 2023. No news on cabin. Downscale from original 7units planned for 2023 due to Boeing production.

A330neo Feb 2024 eta delayed by 2months. Planned 7 units for the year 2024 subject to change. Cabin rumored to be better than existing a350 for business class.

6x current A350s planned to undergo certain refitting to match the 330neo cabin standard by stages. 

3-4 A350s still being soughted out. 

Staff bonuses approved and varies by kpi ranges from 0.5-3months. Company due for Profit reporting due by year end provided no further deterioration from forex. 

Flights to india from 46weekly MAG hopes to gauge it to 60x in future.

Current issue

China still refuses to restore Beijing, Shanghai flights to daily schedule for MH. Indonesia has refuse to give additional frequency slots to MH in favour of Malindo.

Very interesting movement.

B737max -  Seems like the supply chain issue and Boeing QA issue are really holding both OEMs back, Airbus Q1 delivery % also fell by several notches.

A330neo - Good to hear A330neo is getting new hard products, the audience will flip MH keeps the current hard product in a new fleet. I believe the current A350 seat shelf life should be expiring soon. Whichever airline has Thompson Vantage non-XL/XL would be planning a new product now.

A350 - MH better move fast with those orphan A350s out there, Lufthansa just mopped up another six young pre-loved A350s. Not many in the market now, except few leftover from HNA Group's, I think six, and two ex-SAS which lease were rejected during its bankruptcy filing.

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33 minutes ago, JuliusWong said:

B737max -  Seems like the supply chain issue and Boeing QA issue are really holding both OEMs back, Airbus Q1 delivery % also fell by several notches.

A330neo - Good to hear A330neo is getting new hard products, the audience will flip MH keeps the current hard product in a new fleet. I believe the current A350 seat shelf life should be expiring soon. Whichever airline has Thompson Vantage non-XL/XL would be planning a new product now.

A350 - MH better move fast with those orphan A350s out there, Lufthansa just mopped up another six young pre-loved A350s. Not many in the market now, except few leftover from HNA Group's, I think six, and two ex-SAS which lease were rejected during its bankruptcy filing.

Yeah, the supply chain is in a terrible state and Airbus and Boeing will both deliver fewer aircraft in Q1. Not a good trend as it means costs will all go UP!

I don't hold much hope for new seats for the A330Neos because we keep seeing new products that are less comfortable than old ones. The new products are meant to improve profitability for the airlines, less important is pax comfort! 

A350 deliveries are also behind schedule - MH had better hurry up if it wants to secure something favourable! OTH, it may be worthwhile for MH to consider a small subfleet of A350-1000s to cater for peak period demand on some of their routes. 

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3 hours ago, flee said:

Yeah, the supply chain is in a terrible state and Airbus and Boeing will both deliver fewer aircraft in Q1. Not a good trend as it means costs will all go UP!

I don't hold much hope for new seats for the A330Neos because we keep seeing new products that are less comfortable than old ones. The new products are meant to improve profitability for the airlines, less important is pax comfort! 

A350 deliveries are also behind schedule - MH had better hurry up if it wants to secure something favourable! OTH, it may be worthwhile for MH to consider a small subfleet of A350-1000s to cater for peak period demand on some of their routes. 

But there is no A350-1000s lying around for MH to pick up. CX are bringing back their to service, replacing B77Ws. QR got their melodrama with Airbus sorted out. All their A35K have returned to service. We are left with few HNA's and SAS's A359. Even those LH is most probably in negotiation to lease them. “The Lufthansa Group is currently in advanced negotiations for further long-haul aircraft that may be available at short notice. We cannot provide any further information beyond this at the present time,” said a Lufthansa spokesperson in a statement to AeroTime. (Source)

The supply chain issue will mean the previous generation aircraft will soldier on longer than its planned retirement or those aircraft will be cannibalised to keep current fleet flying. Two 6-years old B787-8 are now heading to scrappers, owing to parts shortage in the market. 

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