MAS wants audit on planes - RAS aircraft repairs to cost up to RM40m

[Chan CS 0]

Must be MGG. MGB was missing an engine just last week; unlikely for it to be operational so soon.

 

I saw MGB and MGG parked at ramp in BKI T2 today, not sure whether MGB was AOG, since flight to BTU was cancelled, only one to SDK or LDU, and I didn't see which aircraft served for it, sorry...

Edited June 11, 2007 by Chan CS

[Adrian M 0]

-MGA and -MGB is at hangar near T1 the last we seen with Radzi posted -MGA lost the whole engine one while -MGB lost an engine 2 in the T1 hangar posted in BKI Spotting thread wasn it was captured at night.

[Leo 0]

Chan should quit over rural air service mess: Cash

 

Kota Kinabalu: The Consumer Association of Sabah and Labuan (Cash) said Transport Minister Datuk Seri Chan Kong Choy should resign for the debacle and huge economic losses incurred by Sabah and Sarawak as a result of the handover of the Rural Air Services to Fly Asian Xpress (FAX) last August.

 

He said where Sabah and Sarawak are concerned, Chan should have allowed the rationalisation plan involving MAS and AirAsia to only go through after being fully aware of the pros and cons, instead of leaving things to hope as it appears to have turned out.

 

FAX is a subsidiary of MAS and used the five Twin Otters and seven Fokker 50s of MAS to operate the service, which has from Day One been bogged down by flight cancellations and delays due to technical problems faced by the aircraft. Businessmen, especially those needing to travel to places like Lahad Datu have been subject to great inconvenience, besides causing millions of ringgit in hotel cancellations by tourists to places like Mulu due to non-availability of flights.

 

Patrick also said consumers in Sabah can no longer wait until Oct. 1 for MASWings, the new fully-owned subsidiary of Malaysia Airlines to take over the services. "I have many businessmen complaining why they have to wait until October," he said.

 

"If he (Chan) is still not aware of the seriousness of the situation, he should resign honourably just like Ministers in other countries like India and Japan. In fact, this principle should also apply to all Malaysian Ministers.

 

"Some of them even tend to pass the buck to various departments like the PWD as seen in the recent cases of structures falling apart in buildings in Putrajaya where the Prime Minister had to step in to order that the finger-pointing be stopped."

 

Last week, some 40 passengers including infants, children and elderly, who were supposed to depart from here to Bintulu and Sibu via FAX were stranded at Terminal Two from dawn until midnight due to aircraft technical problems.

 

------ Daily Express, Sabah.

 

Wow he got hugh guts!!!

[Y. J. Foo 0]

FAX is a subsidiary of MAS

 

HUH??? :blink:

[Khaled 2]

There must be something not quite right desparately wrong when the whole fleet (7 out of 7 F-50's) is "grounded for repairs" - fuyoh, markah penuh, as they say !

 

I'm sure they make money by not maintaining the whole fleet and canceling flights despite what they claimed. Then give back to MAS.

 

Chan should quit over rural air service mess: Cash

Wow he got hugh guts!!!

 

Bravo!

 

I don't think Chan will answer back...

[FK Wong 0]

I'm sure they make money by not maintaining the whole fleet and canceling flights despite what they claimed. Then give back to MAS.

Bravo!

 

I don't think Chan will answer back...

 

don't think he will quit either...knowing malaysia..if you get what i meant..hehe....

[Mohd Firdaus Bolong 0]

One thing that FAX,or Tony has done brilliantly is,

getting the Fokkers and Otters,with minimal or no charge at all,overuse them,run them and cancel the flights like it's an airline managing game,and when Tony get bored,they return all the aircrafts,with defects,malfuntions and give the excuse of focusing on another sub-airline in order to escape without the G making a fuss.

That's shrewd business.....

[Leo 0]

Time for Sabah to have own airline: Yong

Kota Kinabalu: Sabah Progressive Party (SAPP) president Datuk Yong Teck Lee said the time has come for Sabah to study the possibility of operating its own airline, with or without Sarawak.

 

He said with professional and expert management sourced internationally, a Borneo Airline, can be profitable and later expand the service to regional destinations.

 

"It has been said that a city or country needs a big population to operate a viable airline. But Brunei and Singapore have proven that small economies also can make a success out of its own airlines with vast international networks," he said.

 

If there is a need, Sabah can tap the international aviation industry, work out an alliance with regional airlines like Silk Air and Royal Brunei Airlines and fly our own Borneo Airlines to Singapore, Brunei, Australia, Hong Kong, Korea, Manila, Bangkok, London and other international destinations, he said.

 

Yong said this in response to the poor service rendered by Fly Asian Xpress (FAX) in Sabah and Sarawak. The Rural Air Services (RAS) in both states, currently operated by FAX, would be taken over by MASWings, a new fully-owned subsidiary of Malaysia Airlines, in stages from Oct 1.

 

FAX had taken over RAS from MAS in August last year, but failed to provide a satisfactory level of service due to frequent technical problems.

 

Yong, a former Chief Minister, also called on the Federal government, particularly the Ministry of Transport, to get its act together and give the people of Sabah and Sarawak this basic mode of transportation that is badly needed to get to the vast areas of Sabah and Sarawak.

 

"This trial and error approach by the top officials of the Ministry is doing a gross injustice to the people of Sabah and Sarawak. There have been too many cases of desperation, frustration and tears of stranded passengers at the KK and Lahad Datu airports," he said.

 

He said having achieved so much development after 44 years in Malaysia, it is shameful to see that the aviation service has gone from bad to worse, even worse than the days of MSA (then known as Malaysia Singapore Airlines) in the 1960s.

 

FAX's poor service is more than just delays and cancellations, he said, adding that there are many cases that warrant investigations.

 

Listing out the examples, Yong said these include flight cancellations with little or no notice; flight delays with no update on the Expected Time of Departure; arbitrarily putting passengers on other unscheduled flights; completely misleading SMS (short messaging service) and phone calls like asking passengers to rush to the airport to catch an earlier flight when the flight was delayed for two hours instead; payments being received by FAX via the Internet for flights which were later found to be non-existent when passengers tried to check in at the airport; the Kota Kinabalu FAX office blaming the Miri FAX office; the ground staff blaming the office staff; and in the case of Lahad Datu, airline flights had been replaced by a lousy 10-hour bus ride from Lahad Datu airport to Kota Kinabalu.

 

"Even the elected representatives (YBs) and Assistant Minister from Lahad Datu now travel two hours by car to Tawau or Sandakan to catch the MAS flight out of Lahad Datu.

 

"The loss of time, money and fuel, energy and hardship caused to ordinary people and consequential loss to the economy is incalculable," he said.

 

He called on the Minister of Transport and senior officials to try the FAX service themselves, saying only then will they understand the sense of betrayal felt by the people in Sabah and Sarawak.

 

Meanwhile, it was erroneously stated in our report Wednesday that FAX is a subsidiary of MAS.

 

-----Daily Express.

 

[Chan CS 0]

Ai... Politicians politicians politicians........ <_>

 

Btw, Sabah Air is already Sabah's airline isn't it?

[Walter Sim 1]

Too many cooks spoil the broth?

 

Do we really need so many airlines..

[Rozhan 0]

Easy for politicians to talk. If they run out of money for running such capital-intensive ventures, in the end they will run to the federal gov for help. Finally every taxpayer will have bear the burden of propping up unviable businesses.

[Sung 0]

mas has started the audit few days ago, the neutral party they invited is the stork fokker representatives. currently doing assestment on the 2 fax f50 in szb.

[Radzi 2]

Ai... Politicians politicians politicians........ <_>

 

Btw, Sabah Air is already Sabah's airline isn't it?

 

Agree.

 

Politicians can be blind, ignorant or just plain stupid.

 

[BC Tam 2]

Politicians can be blind, ignorant or just plain stupid.

In particular case of this Datuk Yong, no I don't think so !

 

Background info : Chap was 'disqualified' from politics last few years due to some technical offence committed during an election time many years ago. This 'time out' period is coming to an end, he is sending out all the necessary vibes that he wants back in the political scene, perhaps extra loud even, to make up for lost time. So, isn't it just natural to say things that appeal to local (your electoral constituents) interests ? Note that he said "..... to study the possibility of operating its own airline ....."

[S V Choong 4]

From The Star:

 

MIRI: It is better to be safe than to be popular. Fly Asian Xpress (FAX) chief executive officer Raja Mohd Azmi Razali said this in response to the rural air connection woes faced by travellers in northern Sarawak and Sabah.

 

The problem arose because the sectors served by its Fokker planes are ageing and are being subjected to “extra-intensive and extra-stringent repairs and checks from head to tail.”

 

Raja Azmi told The Star that the airline's top management decided to ground the Fokkers and subject each of the planes to detailed check-ups even though it knows this would cause massive air-connection problems.

 

“We have no choice but to ground these aircraft so that we can put each of them through extra-intensive checkups and repairs. When we took over these aircraft from Malaysia Airlines last August, the Fokkers were already old,” said Raja Azmi.

 

“Yes, they were in good working condition. However, of the 10 Fokkers that MAS used to serve northern Sarawak and Sabah, they only gave us seven.

 

“FAX had to use these seven Fokkers to serve the destinations that were served by the 10 Fokkers,” he added.

 

“We had to fly to more sectors, make more rounds and carry more load due to the decrease in the number of Fokkers. This super-heavy-duty usage has taken its toil on the seven Fokkers.”

 

He said FAX would ensure that things would be back to normal by today.

 

This is the first time that FAX has given a detailed explanation on the reasons behind the grounding of the Fokkers. Of the seven, only one is in flying condition.

 

There are some 22 rural destinations spanning central and northern Sarawak and Sabah that rely on the 50-seater Fokker aircraft every day.

 

The grounding of the aircraft had caused uproar among some people, notably those among the business and tourism sectors as well as rural folk who had no other means of swift transportation to the outside world.

 

The Fokkers are used to serve – among others, Sibu, Kapit, Bintulu, Mukah, Miri, Limbang, Kota Kinabalu and Sandakan – an area equal to about 70% of peninsular Malaysia in size.

 

Oh, looks like there is a bit of blaming going around.

[Chan CS 0]

Well, with good planning they wouldn't end up like this. On top of that, they shouldn't have add more route if they knew their fleet cannot support until they have brought new aircraft.

 

Btw, it mentioned they will put back all aircraft into service "today", so that's mean they can finish off with all the maintanence work that fast?

[BC Tam 2]

From The Star:

 

MIRI:

The Fokkers are used to serve – among others, Sibu, Kapit, Bintulu, Mukah, Miri, Limbang, Kota Kinabalu and Sandakan – an area equal to about 70% of peninsular Malaysia in size.

Take it with a dose of NaCl, like to see anyone operate a Fokker into a few of the places quoted !

[Naim 6]

The Edge Daily

 

12-07-2007: RAS aircraft repairs to cost up to RM40m

by Maryann Tan

 

It may cost the government up to RM40 million to repair the grounded aircraft operated by Fly Asian Xpress (FAX), according to industry sources familiar with the rural air services (RAS).

 

The Edge Financial Daily has also learnt that FAX expensed about RM60 million to run the state-subsidised RAS between last August and March this year.

 

Coupled with the repairs of the grounded aircraft, it may cost the treasury some RM100 million for contracting FAX to operate the RAS.

 

Malaysia Airlines System Bhd (MAS) is in the process of resuming management of the RAS, which was handed over to FAX last August.

 

One of the conditions MAS has set before it takes back the RAS on Oct 1 is that an audit on the aircraft be carried out.

 

The auditor, Singapore-based Fokker Services Pte Ltd, has reported that a third of the aircraft were not air-worthy, said the source.

 

Four of seven Fokker 50s and one of five Twin Otters operated by FAX have been heavily cannibalised to keep the remaining aircraft in the air.

 

It is the opinion of Fokker Services that the "unacceptable" state of the aircraft was a result of failures in planning, logistics and maintenance.

 

Citing the report, the source said the fleet's current state could have been avoided as spare parts for the turboprops were widely available in the market.

 

Although MAS had said the aircraft were in functional condition when it surrendered them to its parent and owner of the RAS, Penerbangan Malaysia Bhd, no audit of a similar proportion was carried out then.

 

On its part, FAX is about to make its claims from the government for operating the RAS.

 

Like MAS, which was granted compensation of RM650 million for early termination of its domestic air services agreement with the government last year, FAX will make claims for staff transfers and other costs associated.

 

Sources close to the plan said FAX had not determined the final sum but it would be lower than that paid to MAS.

 

Ceasing as operator of the RAS allows FAX to focus on its long-haul ambitions.

 

AirAsia X, the long-haul, low-cost airline that comes under FAX, is scheduled to begin services in September with a leased aircraft arriving late next month.

 

The airline, however, has not begun to take bookings for its inaugural flight, raising doubts over whether it can start services before the fourth quarter.

 

FAX has placed orders for 15 Airbus A330s, worth US$2.3 billion at catalogue prices. Delivery of its fleet is expected to take place over five years beginning in 2008.

 

Its shareholders, Datuk Tony Fernandes, Datuk Kamarudin Meranun and Raja Azmi Raja Razali, are working on a second round of financing.

 

Far from keeping a low profile, FAX will likely hold the spotlight now that eccentric entrepreneur, Richard Branson of the Virgin Group, has been tipped to emerge as a shareholder.

 

http://www.theedgedaily.com/cms/content.js...47d800-8893a5c9

 

[Adrian M 0]

Wow...I'm damn speechless man.... a third of it is not air-worthy? Really a bad news...

[Kenneth T 0]

Wow...I'm damn speechless man.... a third of it is not air-worthy? Really a bad news...

U know...AIRASIA is motive is only profit making...so one thing for sure is they till maximise the plane usage

[Khaled 2]

No wonder MAS can't make profit...cause they actually maintain the fokker last time...what MASwings should do is just follow FAX foot steps and in 6 months time can start up MASwings X....yeah...seems like a good plan...

[Naim 6]

July 12, 2007 21:58 PM

 

FAX Cannibalised Parts From Other Aircraft, Says Auditor

 

KUALA LUMPUR, July 12 (Bernama) -- Half of the aircraft which Fly Asian Xpress (FAX) used to operate for rural air services in Sabah and Sarawak were not airworthy, an official from an audit firm said Thursday.

 

"Restoration cost is estimated at some RM40 million," Michael Cole, the regional director of Fokker Services Asia Pte Ltd, the audit firm, said.

 

"Components and parts were, and are presumably still are, being cannibalised from the grounded aircraft to keep the serviceable aircraft in operation," he said in a statement here today issued by Malaysia Airlines.

 

AirAsia's chief executive officer, Datuk Tony Fernandes has a 50 percent stake in FAX.

 

"When we started the audit, half of FAX's aircraft were not airworthy (and) in view of the ready availability of components and parts, this is a cause of great concern," he said.

 

He also said considering that the fleet of 12 aircraft was fully operational as at July 2006, the condition of the aircraft now is totally unacceptable.

 

MAS said in the statement that it was committed to commencing rural air services (RAS) beginning October 1 this year to provide air connectivity for Sabah and Sarawak which is a key priority.

 

MAS' Managing Director Idris Jala, said the results of FAX's aircraft audit by Fokker Services reported in a local newspaper today confirmed its earlier findings.

 

"When we were requested to take over the RAS, we noted that four out of FAX's seven Fokkers, and one of its five Twin Otters were grounded.

 

"Since the aircraft were already grounded, we offered to help repair these aircraft. We have since restored two Fokkers and one Twin Otter, and returned the aircraft to FAX for their operation," Idris said.

 

MAS returned the aircraft to the owner, Penerbangan Malaysia Bhd upon the domestic rationalisation on Aug 1, 2006.

 

PMB later handed over the aircraft to FAX.

 

Cole added that it is not feasible to return the fleet to operational condition by August 1 as only 80 percent of the fleet is expected to be operational by October 1.

 

-- BERNAMA

 

http://www.bernama.com.my/bernama/v3/news_lite.php?id=272925

[H Azmal 0]

I think cannibalisation of parts is rampant in Malaysia. This si especially true of older machines and rolling stock which are no longer in production.

Edited July 12, 2007 by H Azmal

[M. Sofian H. 0]

Datuk Seri Chan Kong Choy and KJ please answers!!!!!!!!!!!!!! why????

 

and Tony Fernandes = GELAK SAKAN!!!!

 

 

 

 

Government should audit all AirAsia aircraft, to make sure the aircraft safe to fly

 

 

THINK AGAIN!

 

MH = Malaysia Airlines

AK = AirAsia = Ananda Krisnan =AK

 

[Chan CS 0]

"Since the aircraft were already grounded, we offered to help repair these aircraft. We have since restored two Fokkers and one Twin Otter, and returned the aircraft to FAX for their operation," Idris said.

 

 

This is quite new to me. MAS restore aircraft for FAX...