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Mohd Suhaimi Fariz

MAS Privatisation

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2 hours ago, Chris Tan said:

Makes me wonder what the current arrangement is. Airlines don't get held responsible if pax show up with the wrong documents?

During BN administration, many thousands foreign workers were stranded at kul, were repatriated at gomen expenses.

If these were paid by airlines, no airlines will come here.

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3 hours ago, Chris Tan said:

Makes me wonder what the current arrangement is. Airlines don't get held responsible if pax show up with the wrong documents?

NTL pax pays Mono Circle Sdn Bhd to handle their flight tickets out of Malaysia which of course incurs an agent "fee".

11 minutes ago, KK Lee said:

During BN administration, many thousands foreign workers were stranded at kul, were repatriated at gomen expenses.

If these were paid by airlines, no airlines will come here.

That has always been the case (for a very long time). It's the airline's responsibilities to check whether a pax is allowed to enter the country. Airlines just can't fly passenger without a valid visa to a destination. There maybe some exceptions - but in general, they are required to check at a minimum, visa/VOA/ETA etc. and if required by destination country, an exit ticket. The exit ticket was rigorously enforced just after the borders opened up after covid. Even to neighboring countries like Indonesia and Thailand.

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Remember during COVID time the airlines I flew with checked, double checked and triple checked our travel documentation making sure we had the appropriate vaccination certificates, and installed the necessary Apps required by the destination country on our mobile phones.

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Malaysia Airlines will receive its first B737-8 beginning August. From MH's press release

Quote

The livery of the new 737-8 aircraft livery has undergone a significant transformation, representing Malaysia Airlines' vision and aspirations as the national carrier. The iconic 'wau' logo, symbolising Malaysian pride, has been artfully repositioned to reflect the airline's determination to move forward with optimism and energy. Adorned with an exquisite songket motif in elegant gold hues, the logo pays tribute to Malaysia's vibrant cultural heritage, underscoring the airline's unwavering commitment to proudly represent the nation and its progressive spirit. [...]

Every aspect of the cabin design has been carefully crafted to enhance passenger comfort. The seat upholstery features a debossed songket motif, showcasing the intricate patterns and vibrant colours of traditional Malaysian textiles. This artistic detail not only adds aesthetic appeal but also pays homage to Malaysia’s rich culture, allowing passengers to immerse themselves in the nation's heritage from the moment they step on board.

Now that I look at the wau the second time on a larger picture, it does look odd with the songket motif. I prefer it plain like the 737NGs/330. 

And less "enhancements" will be nice. I am curious if airlines ever use other terms for implementing cost-saving unpopular measures. I hope they are at least equipped with WiFi (not an internal one but rather one where pax can actually connect to the outside world).

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8 hours ago, nrazmoor said:

Malaysia Airlines and China Southern Airlines Launch Codeshare Flights Beginning 6 July. 

https://www.malaysiaairlines.com/uk/en/mh-media-centre/news-releases/2023/china-southern-airlines-codeshare-flights.html

 

Always thought they already code-share / have some sort of partnership on MY-CN routes. CZ is back to pre-covid capacity for CAN-KUL and CAN-PEN.

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The uncanny resemblance of United Airlines new domestic first class with MH's new J class on narrowbody. MH's lack the privacy screen, and the wireless charging. Of course, both are made by Safran.

United Airlines' new first-class seat.

b738ng_productbrochure2.jpg

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8 hours ago, JuliusWong said:

The uncanny resemblance of United Airlines new domestic first class with MH's new J class on narrowbody. MH's lack the privacy screen, and the wireless charging. Of course, both are made by Safran.

Reminds me of how my Myvi 1.3 G bears an uncanny resemblance to my neighbour's Myvi. Just that mine lacks front parking sensors and Bluetooh connectivity. Both are made by Perodua, I think, so maybe that's why they look similar.

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On 7/13/2023 at 1:51 PM, KK Lee said:

During BN administration, many thousands foreign workers were stranded at kul, were repatriated at gomen expenses.

If these were paid by airlines, no airlines will come here.

Staying true to capitalism world, a lot of these migrants workers were brought in illegally by construction, rubber and farming companies. After exploiting them without paying salaries and gave them shithole places to sleep, the company management will call the Immigration/ Labour Dept. to catch them when the construction is near completion, or someone is about to blow the whistle on them. In the end, the government is saddled with this huge mess. Seen this happening many times over in Labour/ Immigration offices. As to who keeps the game rolling, you know the answer better than I do. No government, old and new, would want to kill the goose which lays the golden eggs. Usually you will see all these deportees being sent home during early morning flights via Nepal Airlines, Himalaya Airlines, Pakistan Int'l Airport and Biman. Each deportee given a Gardenia bun as breakfast. Malaysia Airlines and AirAsia are also involved. 

 

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On 7/19/2023 at 9:23 PM, Craig said:

Malaysia Airlines will receive its first B737-8 beginning August. From MH's press release

Now that I look at the wau the second time on a larger picture, it does look odd with the songket motif. I prefer it plain like the 737NGs/330. 

And less "enhancements" will be nice. I am curious if airlines ever use other terms for implementing cost-saving unpopular measures. I hope they are at least equipped with WiFi (not an internal one but rather one where pax can actually connect to the outside world).

The songket motif to me is symbolic of the veil covering MAB, its cloudy direction  from passenger's point of view, although  I am certain its management is all focused in returning to profit with the current high travel demand. The question is will it be able to sustain such strategies in the coming years

Edited by V Wong

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For those asking who is the team behind the PR, branding, communication, brand strategy and loyalty in MH Group. Here are some information I managed to dig out:

Lau Yin May, Group chief branding & customer experience officer

She joined Malaysia Airlines in May 2018 as Head of Customer Experience bringing with her more than 17 years of leadership and management expertise in business strategy, management consulting, commercial, marketing communications and operations in diverse industries.

Yin May is no stranger to the Group having joined the airline in 2004, focusing on project management and turnaround initiatives. She was also part of the pioneer team that establish the new airline, Firefly, and oversaw the setup of the airline’s travel arm, Firefly Holidays.

An accountant by education, Yin May holds a bachelor's degree in Business, with a major in Accounting, from Monash University. She started her career as a management consultant with Accenture, focusing on Financial Services with key projects that included Mergers and Acquisitions, Business Process Reengineering and Corporate Restructuring. She has also held portfolios in the advertising, marketing, and communications field with GroupM, and few other industries to include hospitality, education, property development and retail before joining Malaysia Airlines.

Hemanth Jayaraman, Head of marketing for Malaysia Airlines’ loyalty and travel solutions

He was last the head of DentsuX in Malaysia. He joined Dentsu in May 2021 as part of the media service line executive committee. Prior to Dentsu, Jayaraman was at Moet Hennessy Diageo Malaysia where he worked in the marketing and commercial department for a little under two years. 

Before that, he was in PepsiCo for a little over two and a half years where he was the Tropicana activation lead for the APAC region. Here, he led all the APAC markets and enabled them to grow value, volume share and deliver profitability for the organisation. Before taking up his role as activation lead, Jayaraman was the marketing and commercial manager for Lipton RTDT for Malaysia, Singapore and Mongolia.

Juliana Chua, Head of brand strategy and creative 

She was previously with Sonno for the latter half of 2022. Prior to working with Sonnon, she was doing branding and marketing work with Vettons. Chua also earned her stripes in the marketing world as general manager of brand and marketing at Kuala Lampur Pavilion from 2017 to 2021.

Meanwhile, Chua also possesses agency-side experience helming leadership roles such as GM, business director, and senior account manager and working at Ignite KL, TBWA\ Kuala Lumpur, and Zenith. She was with FCB Kuala Lumpur's Ignite as GM, joining from TBWA\ where she was business director and head of activation. During her time there, she managed clients including OXY, Visa, Nippon Paint and Mondelez, according to her LinkedIn.

Meanwhile, at Zenith, she was GM, looking over activation, specialising in consumer marketing, brand positioning, and brand activation. Chua was also planning director of integrated communication at Zenith. Before that, she was a senior account manager at GroupM for about five years, her LinkedIn states.

Philip See, Group Chief Sustainability Officer and Chief Executive Officer of Loyalty & Travel Solutions (MAG)

Philip was appointed Chief Executive Officer of Loyalty & Travel Solutions (MAG) in January 2023, and double hatting as Group Chief Sustainability Officer of Malaysia Aviation Group. Prior to this, Philip was the CEO of Firefly, a wholly-owned subsidiary of MAG, since January 2019.

Philip joined Malaysia Airlines as Head of Strategy and Network. He is no stranger to the Group, having served in the Turnaround Management Office (TMO) in 2004. Under TMO, he was responsible for implementing the Business Turnaround Plan and, consequently, the Business Transformation Plan. Philip left the airline in 2010 and rejoined Malaysia Airlines in 2015.

Before joining Malaysia Airlines in 2004, Philip was with Deutsche Bank as a Financial Analyst in the London office, looking at equity and mergers and acquisition (M&A) markets in the Asia Pacific region. He was also a consultant with Arthur D. Little, before joining the airline. Philip holds a 1st Class Honours degree in Chemical Engineering (MEng) from Imperial College London, UK.

Waikuan Wong, Head of airlines global marketing

Previously MAB'S global head of marketing, she was with Themed Attractions Resorts and Hotels for over eight years, from 2011 to 2019, with her last role being senior vice president (VP) of group marketing. She also worked at Maybank for three years, from 2007 to 2010, as assistant VP of branding. Wong also has experience in the agency field, having worked at Bates Malaysia, TBWA\Worldwide and Dentsu Malaysia, wit

The "This is Malaysian Hospitality" campaign published in September 2022 was handled by Bonsey Jaden x Imaginary Friends with Creative Director, Adam Chan. 

The latest safety video Satu, Dua, Tiga, Jom!’ or ‘One Two Three, Let’s Go!’ was handled by The Enfiniti Creative Universe with  Founder and Producer Puan Sri Tiara Jacquelina,

Personally, I still prefer the older Safety Briefing Video:

No short of creative talent in MAG, now please get your livery standardised and correct. 

Edited by JuliusWong

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On 7/21/2023 at 5:05 PM, JuliusWong said:

For those asking who is the team behind the PR, branding, communication, brand strategy and loyalty in MH Group. Here are some information I managed to dig out:

Lau Yin May, Group chief branding & customer experience officer

She joined Malaysia Airlines in May 2018 as Head of Customer Experience bringing with her more than 17 years of leadership and management expertise in business strategy, management consulting, commercial, marketing communications and operations in diverse industries.

Yin May is no stranger to the Group having joined the airline in 2004, focusing on project management and turnaround initiatives. She was also part of the pioneer team that establish the new airline, Firefly, and oversaw the setup of the airline’s travel arm, Firefly Holidays.

An accountant by education, Yin May holds a bachelor's degree in Business, with a major in Accounting, from Monash University. She started her career as a management consultant with Accenture, focusing on Financial Services with key projects that included Mergers and Acquisitions, Business Process Reengineering and Corporate Restructuring. She has also held portfolios in the advertising, marketing, and communications field with GroupM, and few other industries to include hospitality, education, property development and retail before joining Malaysia Airlines.

Hemanth Jayaraman, Head of marketing for Malaysia Airlines’ loyalty and travel solutions

He was last the head of DentsuX in Malaysia. He joined Dentsu in May 2021 as part of the media service line executive committee. Prior to Dentsu, Jayaraman was at Moet Hennessy Diageo Malaysia where he worked in the marketing and commercial department for a little under two years. 

Before that, he was in PepsiCo for a little over two and a half years where he was the Tropicana activation lead for the APAC region. Here, he led all the APAC markets and enabled them to grow value, volume share and deliver profitability for the organisation. Before taking up his role as activation lead, Jayaraman was the marketing and commercial manager for Lipton RTDT for Malaysia, Singapore and Mongolia.

Juliana Chua, Head of brand strategy and creative 

She was previously with Sonno for the latter half of 2022. Prior to working with Sonnon, she was doing branding and marketing work with Vettons. Chua also earned her stripes in the marketing world as general manager of brand and marketing at Kuala Lampur Pavilion from 2017 to 2021.

Meanwhile, Chua also possesses agency-side experience helming leadership roles such as GM, business director, and senior account manager and working at Ignite KL, TBWA\ Kuala Lumpur, and Zenith. She was with FCB Kuala Lumpur's Ignite as GM, joining from TBWA\ where she was business director and head of activation. During her time there, she managed clients including OXY, Visa, Nippon Paint and Mondelez, according to her LinkedIn.

Meanwhile, at Zenith, she was GM, looking over activation, specialising in consumer marketing, brand positioning, and brand activation. Chua was also planning director of integrated communication at Zenith. Before that, she was a senior account manager at GroupM for about five years, her LinkedIn states.

Philip See, Group Chief Sustainability Officer and Chief Executive Officer of Loyalty & Travel Solutions (MAG)

Philip was appointed Chief Executive Officer of Loyalty & Travel Solutions (MAG) in January 2023, and double hatting as Group Chief Sustainability Officer of Malaysia Aviation Group. Prior to this, Philip was the CEO of Firefly, a wholly-owned subsidiary of MAG, since January 2019.

Philip joined Malaysia Airlines as Head of Strategy and Network. He is no stranger to the Group, having served in the Turnaround Management Office (TMO) in 2004. Under TMO, he was responsible for implementing the Business Turnaround Plan and, consequently, the Business Transformation Plan. Philip left the airline in 2010 and rejoined Malaysia Airlines in 2015.

Before joining Malaysia Airlines in 2004, Philip was with Deutsche Bank as a Financial Analyst in the London office, looking at equity and mergers and acquisition (M&A) markets in the Asia Pacific region. He was also a consultant with Arthur D. Little, before joining the airline. Philip holds a 1st Class Honours degree in Chemical Engineering (MEng) from Imperial College London, UK.

Waikuan Wong, Head of airlines global marketing

Previously MAB'S global head of marketing, she was with Themed Attractions Resorts and Hotels for over eight years, from 2011 to 2019, with her last role being senior vice president (VP) of group marketing. She also worked at Maybank for three years, from 2007 to 2010, as assistant VP of branding. Wong also has experience in the agency field, having worked at Bates Malaysia, TBWA\Worldwide and Dentsu Malaysia, wit

The "This is Malaysian Hospitality" campaign published in September 2022 was handled by Bonsey Jaden x Imaginary Friends with Creative Director, Adam Chan. 

The latest safety video Satu, Dua, Tiga, Jom!’ or ‘One Two Three, Let’s Go!’ was handled by The Enfiniti Creative Universe with  Founder and Producer Puan Sri Tiara Jacquelina,

Personally, I still prefer the older Safety Briefing Video:

No short of creative talent in MAG, now please get your livery standardised and correct. 

 

Two of them are accountants by training, no offence to that field but that roughly answers the question on why the refurbished 737 product is as bad if not worse than an LCC.

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Saw on social media that MH is actively recruiting foreign crew (Jakarta, Bangkok, Manila, Tokyo, Seoul, Mumbai, HCMC). I am curious if they are planning to set up foreign crew base or will they be based in KL and work on those respective language flights. It will be nice to hear "In addition to Malay and English, our multilingual crew are also able to communicate in xxx language on this flight" like some airlines do. 

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Actually MH was among the first few carriers who had foreign languages onboard their flights before the likes of what EK, QR and EY have today. They had crew from RSA, Korea, Japan and also Argentina to cater to the diversity in its passengers. Of course today,  SQ and all the major carriers brand themselves as having multilingual crew onboard. Such a sad state that MH has become from what they were thanks to the mismanagement, wrong leaders and interference of politicians only to lose our national carrier. So focused on the internal benefits that they forget the brand name they have established and the pride they carry for all Malaysians. Sort off like living in their own 'bubble' or 'syok sendiri' like many other local issues we have; only to be ranked amongst the lower ranking airlines today. I trust that they are opening up now to diversity and business focused, so lets hope they improve their service levels and staff morale with the new management and leadership in both the airline (MH) and the country. New and sustainable aircraft orders soon to move forward. Just my two cents. Fingers crossed 🤞

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11 hours ago, kandiah k said:

Actually MH was among the first few carriers who had foreign languages onboard their flights before the likes of what EK, QR and EY have today. They had crew from RSA, Korea, Japan and also Argentina to cater to the diversity in its passengers. Of course today,  SQ and all the major carriers brand themselves as having multilingual crew onboard. Such a sad state that MH has become from what they were thanks to the mismanagement, wrong leaders and interference of politicians only to lose our national carrier. So focused on the internal benefits that they forget the brand name they have established and the pride they carry for all Malaysians. Sort off like living in their own 'bubble' or 'syok sendiri' like many other local issues we have; only to be ranked amongst the lower ranking airlines today. I trust that they are opening up now to diversity and business focused, so lets hope they improve their service levels and staff morale with the new management and leadership in both the airline (MH) and the country. New and sustainable aircraft orders soon to move forward. Just my two cents. Fingers crossed 🤞

To be fair, MH has become a lot less international since those days. Their major non-English speaking markets like CN KR JP are still covered by multilingual crew, AFAIK. 

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On 7/23/2023 at 1:09 PM, kandiah k said:

Actually MH was among the first few carriers who had foreign languages onboard their flights before the likes of what EK, QR and EY have today. They had crew from RSA, Korea, Japan and also Argentina to cater to the diversity in its passengers. Of course today,  SQ and all the major carriers brand themselves as having multilingual crew onboard. Such a sad state that MH has become from what they were thanks to the mismanagement, wrong leaders and interference of politicians only to lose our national carrier. So focused on the internal benefits that they forget the brand name they have established and the pride they carry for all Malaysians. Sort off like living in their own 'bubble' or 'syok sendiri' like many other local issues we have; only to be ranked amongst the lower ranking airlines today. I trust that they are opening up now to diversity and business focused, so lets hope they improve their service levels and staff morale with the new management and leadership in both the airline (MH) and the country. New and sustainable aircraft orders soon to move forward. Just my two cents. Fingers crossed 🤞

I would say back then, due to lack of globalisation and lack of opportunity in learning foreign languages in Malaysia, MH needed those foreign crew for native language and to meet the local aviation requirement. Now with the Internet explosion, Kpop, Jpop, language centres in Malaysia and social media for the past decades, many local Malaysians are able to pick up more languages. A lot of Malaysians actually can speak more than two languages, reason why Malaysia is ranked #1/#2 in providing global centres services the world. No doubt having foreign crews adds diversity mix in the crowd and they know their country better than a Malaysian, but having those crew on roster would also require cost too (allowance, accommodation etc). MH itself also organised basic languages courses for their crew annually, therefore having crew from different nationalities is not really a default requirement nowadays.

Similarly, Singapore Airlines has been reaching out to hire in South Korea, Japan, China, Taiwan, Thailand and Indonesia partially due to the local Singaporeans do not want or like to work in services line, it is beneath them. And they will immediately resign after their first two years contract is done (IF they did signed on). SQ likes Malaysians a lot, because we are culturally similar, close to their home and they know Malaysians love to earn SGD, hiring other nationalities would require the trainer to be more patient and tactful. Korean and Japanese crew are notorious to be difficult to handle. This is what SQ Cabin Crew recruitment team told me when I worked with them in several projects in the past few years. When the borders reopened back in 2022, SQ needed to recruit 2,000 new crew members by March 2023 the first market they opened for recruitment was Malaysia and continued to do so until earlier this year.

Edited by JuliusWong

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Makes sense that a lot of the ‘Singapore girls’ are Malaysian! As you say, most of the Singaporeans would have found it beneath them to serve others!

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1 hour ago, Izanee said:

Makes sense that a lot of the ‘Singapore girls’ are Malaysian! As you say, most of the Singaporeans would have found it beneath them to serve others!

Same issue in the gulf. QR, EK, EY trying very hard to run local cadet programs and reduce the expat % in the workforce even bumping up the pay. Unfortunately the intake has been really poor for nearly 2 decades. Piloting a state of the art b77w and a380 is a layman servitude job according to the locals lol.

Its one of the reason these companies have to resort to fishing out many foreigners even paying off significant amount of money to severe any remaining bond that person may have to exit their company. Some consider this to be a bit tad too aggressive and may line up with anti competition by some regulators in murica countless times. But again its dog eat dog world in the business.

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MH will resume MH78/79 to HKG gradually beginning August. Day 3,5,7 beginning 02AUG23 and Day 2,3,5,7 beginning 01OCT23 and daily from 29Oct2023 (HKG-KUL departs next day). I am curious how high yield HKG is for MH to resume MH78/79 first instead of the afternoon departure ex-KUL (RON + airport known for very expensive parking fees).

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MH will add 1 additional seasonal flight each to SYD and MEL.

MH7031 KUL2335 - 1055+1SYD 333 5 (03NOV - 03FEB)

MH7030 SYD1310 - 1845KUL 333 6

MH7041 KUL0445 - 1540MEL 333 5 (29DEC - 02FEB)

MH7040 MEL1740 - 2255KUL 333 5

MH7031/7030 is *identical*  to MH 122/123 schedule wise. Can't they move the schedule a bit or are their 333s are kinda fully utilized or they can't get decent slots at SYD/MEL? Ditto for MH7041 to MEL - seems like an ungodly departure time from KUL.

In other news, it seems like MH 796/797 (RON flight to BKK, late departure from KUL and early morning departure from BKK) is back. MH will also upgauge their 2 DOH flights to 359 and downgauge NRT/KIX to 333 (maybe MH/QR needed more premium seats to DOH?). It appears that all of MH's 359s are fully utilized: MH 1-4 (3 frames), MH 36/37 (HND) 1 frame, MH 160/161/164/165 (DOH) 2 frames.

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3 hours ago, Craig said:

MH will add 1 additional seasonal flight each to SYD and MEL.

MH7031 KUL2335 - 1055+1SYD 333 5 (03NOV - 03FEB)

MH7030 SYD1310 - 1845KUL 333 6

MH7041 KUL0445 - 1540MEL 333 5 (29DEC - 02FEB)

MH7040 MEL1740 - 2255KUL 333 5

MH7031/7030 is *identical*  to MH 122/123 schedule wise. Can't they move the schedule a bit or are their 333s are kinda fully utilized or they can't get decent slots at SYD/MEL? Ditto for MH7041 to MEL - seems like an ungodly departure time from KUL.

In other news, it seems like MH 796/797 (RON flight to BKK, late departure from KUL and early morning departure from BKK) is back. MH will also upgauge their 2 DOH flights to 359 and downgauge NRT/KIX to 333 (maybe MH/QR needed more premium seats to DOH?). It appears that all of MH's 359s are fully utilized: MH 1-4 (3 frames), MH 36/37 (HND) 1 frame, MH 160/161/164/165 (DOH) 2 frames.

It is about time they upgrade their services, offerings and aircrafts for DOH! Such a downgrade for a QR flight using MH' A330s. Cockroaches at least on my flight last year & rude crew :(

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1 hour ago, kandiah k said:

It is about time they upgrade their services, offerings and aircrafts for DOH! Such a downgrade for a QR flight using MH' A330s. Cockroaches at least on my flight last year & rude crew :(

Oh no, you can write in to provide the feedback. Usually after each flight completion, MH will send an auto-feedback form to your email. For rude crew, on reasonable ground, you may request to speak to the chief steward/ stewardess or submit a feedback, it will be logged in the crew's file with HR. 

As for MH equipment for DOH, too bad MH did not place enough order for A350 or was late in placing order for A339neo, now we just have to wait.....and wait. Penny wise, pound foolish.

Edited by JuliusWong

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As a comparison with our neighbor:

TR increasing MEL-SIN to x12 weekly, MEL-SIN will have up to 11 daily flight!

  • QF: x2 daily A332
  • JQ: x6 weekly 788
  • EK: x1 daily 77W
  • SQ: x5 daily A359/77W
  • TR: x12 weekly 789

The SIN-MEL vv. used to be from KIL-MEL vv. using A345 if I remember correctly.

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