Malindo to be Rebranded as Batik Air Malaysia; Moved to MTB; to Partner ex MAS Codeshare Airlines

[BC Tam 2]

Well, since subject been raised ..... 🙂

Snapshot at BKI one very early morning last week - note those two FY flights at top of list, one delayed 12:30 hours, the other 08:50 hours 😕

Edited February 21 by BC Tam

[jani 0]

10 hours ago, jahur said:

Same issues plaguing other airlines in Malaysia. No spare aircraft when technical issues occur and it causes a cascading effect on the network.

Felt this had subsided slightly, but seems to have resurfaced relatively recently.

[JuliusWong 0]

Unfortunately Batik Air has been cancelling flight left, right and center. The IG Reels below is from Feb 16-18, when OD271 was cancelled not once but twice. Kesian the frontline staff kena kao-kao from the passengers.

https://www.instagram.com/reel/C3h3PF_RreI/?igsh=ZHFjeWhlbDNibXk5

[jahur 0]

Batik Air Malaysia ceases ATR72-600 ops

Looks like finally out on the press.

[JuliusWong 0]

32 minutes ago, jahur said:

Batik Air Malaysia ceases ATR72-600 ops

Looks like finally out on the press.

Yes, the last two months only SZB-BTH was operating with only one ATR 72 9M-LMH operating. It operated the last flight OD303 BTH-SZB on February 17, 2024.

[Robert 0]

I guess they were not making money? Firefly has no direct competition now which isn't good.

[jahur 0]

38 minutes ago, Robert said:

I guess they were not making money? Firefly has no direct competition now which isn't good.

Partly cause it was them dumping fares though FY's turboprops will also exit later from SZB. It seems jets is the agenda now.

Saw some of the airport extension plan, a few relocation of the hangars, GA companies, meteorological dept and AFRS is already underway.

[JuliusWong 0]

2 minutes ago, jahur said:

Partly cause it was them dumping fares though FY's turboprops will also exit later from SZB. It seems jets is the agenda now.

Saw some of the airport extension plan, a few relocation of the hangars, GA companies, meteorological dept and AFRS is already underway.

Gonna miss FY and OD turboprop operation from SZB. Near to my home, buy ticket, arrive one hour before, hop onboard, less than an hour you are at your holiday/ work destination!

With FY also exiting the turboprop business, SZB will be pretty empty. Time to catch those mozzies ATR 72 now before they are retire for good.

[Robert 0]

2 hours ago, JuliusWong said:

Gonna miss FY and OD turboprop operation from SZB. Near to my home, buy ticket, arrive one hour before, hop onboard, less than an hour you are at your holiday/ work destination!

With FY also exiting the turboprop business, SZB will be pretty empty. Time to catch those mozzies ATR 72 now before they are retire for good.

I took FY to XSP a few weeks ago.  Had an issue with or two with grab and my transport was very late. Arrrived so late I thought id missed the flight but was still let on. 
Are the props really much cheaper to run than small jets ?

[Craig 0]

4 hours ago, jahur said:

Saw some of the airport extension plan, a few relocation of the hangars, GA companies, meteorological dept and AFRS is already underway.

Any idea of the timeline for construction / completion? 

2 hours ago, Robert said:

I took FY to XSP a few weeks ago.  Had an issue with or two with grab and my transport was very late. Arrrived so late I thought id missed the flight but was still let on. 

That's the beauty of SZB. You can be dropped off as late as 30 mins prior to departure and you'll be fine (you should be fine for MH domestic at KUL T1 too provided you've checked in online. Cutting it very close and it depends how high your A/B gates are and how long security is). 

[jahur 0]

1 minute ago, Craig said:

Any idea of the timeline for construction / completion? 

I think i saw q4 2025 but this was a draft from last year. Knowing how we get things done here prepare to extend the timeline by an extra 1-2years ontop. 

[Craig 0]

24 minutes ago, jahur said:

I think i saw q4 2025 but this was a draft from last year. Knowing how we get things done here prepare to extend the timeline by an extra 1-2years ontop. 

If construction hasn't even started (or worse, plans hasn't even finalized), I'd say 2030

[Chris Tan 0]

They seriously need to revamp the road leading to SZB. And that rusting pedestrian bridge just before T2 is an absolute eyesore.

[Robert 0]

On 3/6/2024 at 3:35 PM, jahur said:

Partly cause it was them dumping fares though FY's turboprops will also exit later from SZB. It seems jets is the agenda now.

Saw some of the airport extension plan, a few relocation of the hangars, GA companies, meteorological dept and AFRS is already underway.

Is it likely that MH/FY will use the 737's or likely try something different. Presume the same can be asked about OD.

BTW was reading this, guess its a little out of date now https://theedgemalaysia.com/article/atr-talks-firefly-batik-air-turboprop-aircraft-replacement

 

[jahur 0]

17 hours ago, Robert said:

Is it likely that MH/FY will use the 737's or likely try something different. Presume the same can be asked about OD.

BTW was reading this, guess its a little out of date now https://theedgemalaysia.com/article/atr-talks-firefly-batik-air-turboprop-aircraft-replacement

 

MAG so called plans for SZB is currently still tight lip. But again do note this is a company group that has been very inconsistent when it comes to long term planning. As for OD there is no indication if they will return cause Lion group is also slowing down its ATR deliveries once the fleet for Wings air has stabilize with no plans to allocate them to Thailand or Malaysia.

Atr has been trying hard to pitch sales but it has not been doing well in this region. MAG actually downscale the number of ATR's on both firefly and MASWings with parts and maintenance reliability being the problem(Same report from thai operaters). Whereas Lion group has been downsizing and retooling the fleet between wings air and its lessors. Turboprop market share is narrowing with it being confined probably to just east malaysia and kalimantan in the future.

The ATR is already the most efficient turboprop aircraft with the amount of passenger it carries based on fuel burn 600kg/hour with a penalty on cruise speed being slow than the jets. If even this is unsustainable, i dont think the A220 or E2 would fair well as they burn more fuel burn than a turboprop and are also heavier and more pricey to do maintenance and only reflect an increase of seats to 130-140. Note Malaysia based carrier's game has always been to deploy a 160-180 seater narrowbody aircraft(You also have airasia eyeing on switching all a320 to 240 seater a321s) to keep ticket prices low and fill them up by volume except there's a lot of destinations that do not hold consistent yielding volume.

[KK Lee 5]

On 3/8/2024 at 10:50 AM, jahur said:

MAG so called plans for SZB is currently still tight lip. But again do note this is a company group that has been very inconsistent when it comes to long term planning. As for OD there is no indication if they will return cause Lion group is also slowing down its ATR deliveries once the fleet for Wings air has stabilize with no plans to allocate them to Thailand or Malaysia.

Atr has been trying hard to pitch sales but it has not been doing well in this region. MAG actually downscale the number of ATR's on both firefly and MASWings with parts and maintenance reliability being the problem(Same report from thai operaters). Whereas Lion group has been downsizing and retooling the fleet between wings air and its lessors. Turboprop market share is narrowing with it being confined probably to just east malaysia and kalimantan in the future.

The ATR is already the most efficient turboprop aircraft with the amount of passenger it carries based on fuel burn 600kg/hour with a penalty on cruise speed being slow than the jets. If even this is unsustainable, i dont think the A220 or E2 would fair well as they burn more fuel burn than a turboprop and are also heavier and more pricey to do maintenance and only reflect an increase of seats to 130-140. Note Malaysia based carrier's game has always been to deploy a 160-180 seater narrowbody aircraft(You also have airasia eyeing on switching all a320 to 240 seater a321s) to keep ticket prices low and fill them up by volume except there's a lot of destinations that do not hold consistent yielding volume.

City airports catered mostly for business travellers, who are willing to pay premium for shorter travelling time to city or home e.g ticket price to HND, LCY,  SHA, etc is generally higher.

To protect KUL volume and placing the cart in front of the horse, turboprop is deployed in SZB.

What business travellers look for is frequency. If 50 to 70 pax regional jets is deployed, SZB O&D volume to SIN, PEN, BKI, KCH, KBR, CGK, BKK, etc could be higher than KUL.

 

[Pall 0]

Heard OD and FY will be launching 737 services out of SZB later this year. Interesting times.

[JuliusWong 0]

4 hours ago, Pall said:

Heard OD and FY will be launching 737 services out of SZB later this year. Interesting times.

Not this year AFAIK, but from 2026 onwards. FY 737 will concentrate in PEN for now, ATR72 service at SZB will gradually draw down by 2026 before becoming full jet services. Batik Air has not indicate they will do 737 services from SZB as they do not want to spread out their resources between two airports KUL and SZB. Things may change again depending on how the government plans to re-develop SZB.

[jahur 0]

There is only 1 bay authorized for jet(e2 jet marking) at skypark terminal but not sure if ramp strength is authorised for a320/738 weight category. Unless they are to park near raya hangars and use bus to ferry out passengers in and out. So unlikely we will see od or fy jets coming in anywhere this year.

[KK Lee 5]

中新网吉隆坡4月11日电 (记者 陈悦)马来西亚航空公司峇迪航空11日发声明称，该公司在本月9日调查一航班旅客遗失物品时，是根据“标准安全协议”行事，“未针对特定国籍”。
峇迪航空在声明中称，该公司9日从迪拜飞往吉隆坡的OD714航班上，有乘客称遗失重要物品。当飞机降落在吉隆坡国际机场后，机组即联系机场辅警前来协助。
峇迪航空称，辅警随后“对所有乘客进行了搜查”，并由机组成员在遗失物品旅客座位隐蔽处找到了丢失的信用卡。声明未逐项回答视频中提出的所有质疑，但称将保持警觉，确保旅客旅行安全舒适。
声明还指，此次遗失物品事件牵出一起“案中案”。信用卡找到后却被发现并不属于报失乘客所有。目前，马来西亚警方已扣押该名报失乘客做进一步调查。

https://baijiahao.baidu.com/s?id=1796047418579721474

It seems MAS took the blame in PRC social media for cash missing in Batik Air flight incident.

[Chris Tan 0]

1 hour ago, KK Lee said:

中新网吉隆坡4月11日电 (记者 陈悦)马来西亚航空公司峇迪航空11日发声明称，该公司在本月9日调查一航班旅客遗失物品时，是根据“标准安全协议”行事，“未针对特定国籍”。
峇迪航空在声明中称，该公司9日从迪拜飞往吉隆坡的OD714航班上，有乘客称遗失重要物品。当飞机降落在吉隆坡国际机场后，机组即联系机场辅警前来协助。
峇迪航空称，辅警随后“对所有乘客进行了搜查”，并由机组成员在遗失物品旅客座位隐蔽处找到了丢失的信用卡。声明未逐项回答视频中提出的所有质疑，但称将保持警觉，确保旅客旅行安全舒适。
声明还指，此次遗失物品事件牵出一起“案中案”。信用卡找到后却被发现并不属于报失乘客所有。目前，马来西亚警方已扣押该名报失乘客做进一步调查。

https://baijiahao.baidu.com/s?id=1796047418579721474

It seems MAS took the blame in PRC social media for cash missing in Batik Air flight incident.

Would be useful if this was in a language we all speak.

Edited April 12 by Chris Tan

[JuliusWong 0]

1 hour ago, Chris Tan said:

Would be useful if this was in a language we all speak.

The Google Translate is pretty accurate:

"China News Service, Kuala Lumpur, April 11 (Reporter Chen Yue)

Malaysian airline Batik Air issued a statement on the 11th saying that it acted in accordance with "standard security protocols" when investigating a passenger's lost items on a flight on the 9th of this month, "but the airline did not target specific nationality."
Batik Air said in a statement that on the company's OD714 flight from Dubai to Kuala Lumpur on the 9th, a passenger reported that he had lost important items. When the plane landed at Kuala Lumpur International Airport, the crew immediately contacted the Airport Auxiliary Police to come to assist.
Batik Air stated that the auxiliary police subsequently "searched all passengers" and the crew members found the lost credit card in the hidden area of the passenger seat. The statement did not answer all the questions raised in the video one by one, but said it would remain vigilant to ensure the safety and comfort of passengers.
The statement also pointed out that the incident of missing items led to a "case within a case." When the credit card was found, it was discovered that it did not belong to the passenger who reported it missing. Currently, the Malaysian police have detained the passenger who reported the missing item for further investigation."

[JuliusWong 0]

Well, that was shortlived.......no thanks for the on-going conflict in Middle East.

Quote

Batik Air to suspend Istanbul flight from May 1 

https://www.nst.com.my/business/corporate/2024/04/1040065/batik-air-suspend-istanbul-flight-may-1 

By Asila Jalil  - April 19, 2024 @ 3:25pm

KUALA LUMPUR: Batik Air will suspend its operations to Istanbul, Turkiye effective from May 1 in response to the recent situation in the Middle East. 

The airline said the ongoing tension in the Middle East has "significantly impacted" in the route taken by Batik Air, leading to the operational restrictions that make it challenging to continue the flights to the region. 

"Therefore, Batik Air has taken the difficult but necessary step to suspend its operations to Istanbul Sabiha Gokcen International Airport (SAW). The safety and well-being of our passengers and crew remain our top priority, and this decision has been made after careful consideration of the prevailing situation. 

"We understand the inconvenience this suspension may bring to our valued passengers, and we extend our heartfelt apologies for any disruption it may cause to their travel arrangements," it added.