Sri Ramani K. 0 Report post Posted October 25, 2007 and not to forget Dennis' letter was also published in the NST. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
T Azahan 1 Report post Posted October 25, 2007 izanee... its perfect!!! thank u so much sir!! job very well done!! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mushrif A 3 Report post Posted October 25, 2007 Any links to the letter on NST? Congratulations by the way. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Rozhan 0 Report post Posted October 25, 2007 Izanee, if I may. http://www.nst.com.my/Current_News/NST/Thu...icle/index_html Meal boxes: Airline should think again By : DR MUHAMMAD IZANEE MOHAMED MYDIN, Kingston-upon-Hull, United Kingdom I REFER to "Observers find MAS meal box hard to swallow" (NST, Oct 17) and "Feedback very encouraging" by Datuk Rashid Khan of Malaysia Airlines (NST, Oct 22). While I laud the business turnaround plan and its focus to return the airline to profitability, I think that our national airline has lost the bigger picture in the process of cutting costs -- "Five-star airline with low costs" is a contradiction to say the least. Being an Enrich member and using Malaysia Airlines on most of my flights from the UK to Malaysia over the past 10 years, I have noticed a gradual slump in its in-flight services over this period. I also have always been a strong supporter of our national airline and encourage my colleagues to use MAS on flights to Australasia. However, I might have to stop doing that as the feedback gets worse and worse. In its drive to profitability, I have noticed that the two-meal service in economy has deteriorated. The classy printed menu service is gone -- other airlines such as British Airways, Singapore Airlines and Emirates are still providing menus. Personally, I have never found that to be a problem as I know that I will still be getting excellent Western and local choices on my flights. This has all changed on my recent flights to Malaysia. The meal choices have been reduced to just "chicken or vegetarian"; the portions are smaller and served in tiny microwaveable trays. The second meal did not fare any better. The same microwaveable tray was placed in front of us. MAS used to provide its passengers with ice-cream and cold sandwiches in between meals but these have now disappeared. The dreaded snack box has now appeared with a few snacks. Rashid mentioned that the customers voted on the top five food choices and preferred light meals for short-haul flights. A few questions need to be answered: are light meals the top choice or were they a "top five" choice? Which "15 airlines" did they compare with? European airlines have been using these snack boxes for a long time now as competition with low-cost carriers there is intense. In Asia, the market is different with full service airlines still offering hot meals. What does MAS mean by short-haul flights -- is it Kuala Lumpur to Kuantan (40 mins) or Kuala Lumpur to Bangkok (two hours)? If I were given the choice between a bag of peanuts/orange juice and a snack box on my full-fare all-frills 40-minute flight, I know what I'd choose. However, when paying for a full-fare all-frills ticket for Kuala Lumpur-Bangkok flights, I would prefer a hot meal, considering I have paid good money for my ticket. All of MAS' competitors, such as Thai Airways and Singapore Airlines, are providing full hot meals on their regional flights. I do not think that MAS has "benchmarked" its services against Thai or SIA's services. All you need is go to www.airlinemeals.net or www.airliners.net to see the difference in services provided by hundreds of airlines. Introducing the snack box during Ramadan is another gimmick as many passengers would be fasting and, therefore, happy to take these snack boxes home. It would be worthwhile to see what their passengers say now, after the fasting month. What Rashid is not telling us is that the rationale behind this service is that it is lighter and therefore, less fuel is burned with the resultant cost savings. This would allow fewer flight crew to be on board to "dish out" these snack boxes. I think that MAS should seriously sit down and rethink its business strategies. Passengers have more choice and less patience now. Cutting costs on in-flight services and passenger facilities is not the way forward. On a happier note, I would like to thank every single crew member (including those on the flight deck and the ground staff in Heathrow) on board MH 001 which left London Heathrow on Oct 22 at 10pm. They were a credit to MAS and they truly deserve the "Best Cabin Crew" awards that they won. Sadly, because of increasing ticket prices and less than adequate meals --I will have to take my business elsewhere. Again, congratulations! MAS has a few issues exploding in their face now, especially the AK to Singapore greenlight which made the front page main news in The Star yesterday! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
FK Wong 0 Report post Posted October 25, 2007 good one izanee,hope this will shake them up.=P Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Izanee 0 Report post Posted October 25, 2007 Thanks guys - i was afraid that the NST may not publish this letter. Thank you for your help, ideas and suggestions - it helped me a great deal in typing up this letter. as mentioned previously - Rashid Khan's letter really pissed me off big time. we are not stupid. I am curious as to what MH will say to this - here's to another patronising and condescending response from the 'vampires' and 'lintahs' high up in the MAS hierarchy. Also - congrats to Dennis for his SECOND letter to be published. we need to continue exerting pressure under our malaysianwings.com group - only then will MH start to notice us. this one is for all of us who are fed up and are tired with the constant cock-and-bull stories given to us from all sides. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Izanee 0 Report post Posted October 25, 2007 hahha..they edited out the section where i asked whther MH thought we were stupid. also cut was my suggestion to stop the 'bleeding' by chopping off the people at the top! too controversial i guess! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mushrif A 3 Report post Posted October 25, 2007 Also - congrats to Dennis for his SECOND letter to be published. There's a second letter? Any links? Which paper, and when published? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mulyadir Fitri 0 Report post Posted October 25, 2007 (edited) Second letter, by our very own Dennis. Also on yesterday's NST. Subang airport: Hub idea could prove expensive By : WILLIAM DENNIS, Subang Jaya I REFER to "AirAsia to raise Subang LCC hub idea again" (NST, Oct 20). The authorities should keep Subang airport dedicated to only turboprop operations. With Terminal 1 demolished and Terminal 2 housing Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd administrative offices and the Immigration office, there is insufficient capacity to handle jet aircraft operations at Terminal 3. Opening Subang airport also for AirAsia operations would be a costly affair in terms of having to upgrade and expand the facility. It may also prompt the foreign low-cost carriers -- Thai AirAsia, Indonesia Air Asia and Cebu Pacific -- which are currently operating at the Low-Cost Carrier Terminal (LCCT) at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport to request to move their operations. With the government having plans to build a new LCCT close to the satellite building at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport with a passenger handling capacity of 30 million, AirAsia should remain where it is and then move to the proposed facility when it is operational. The carrier should not feel threatened that FireFly has been granted approval to operate domestic and regional flights from Subang. Being a wholly owned subsidiary of national carrier MAS, it is sure to enjoy certain benefits from the government. The Transport Ministry should remain steadfast in not allowing another carrier to operate from Subang airport, especially with jet aircraft. Had Terminal 1 not been demolished, reopening the facility and developing the airport into a low-cost hub would have been an excellent idea. http://www.nst.com.my/Current_News/NST/Thu...icle/index_html Edited October 25, 2007 by Mulyadir Fitri Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Rozhan 0 Report post Posted October 28, 2007 Why the cold meals, MAS? I AM a frequent flyer between Kuala Lumpur and Bangkok. Lately, Malaysia Airlines (MAS) stopped serving hot meals on this sector and replaced it with cold meals, lunch-box style. And worse still, there is practically no choice for customers to choose as it only come with cold sandwiches. In my many years flying experience, the airlines that served lunch-box meals on board were from China’s airlines that served international and domestic routes. But with MAS’ intention to be a 5-star airline, this change in meal policy will not do any good to MAS especially with stiff competition from other regional airlines. I hope the management’s intention to serve cheap-looking cold meals is not part of their cost-cutting exercise as this lowers the quality of cabin service and I doubt MAS will ever be voted Best Cabin Service again this year. I wish to remind MAS management that this is a national carrier and it represents the image of Malaysia, so do not comprise on service as it reflects badly on us Malaysians. MAS should go forward to improve customer service and not go backward to serve customers with cheap-looking cold sandwiches. CHEERAY, Bangkok, Thailand. http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=...1&sec=focus Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mushrif A 3 Report post Posted October 29, 2007 And the world reacts....to cold sandwiches. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Yusoff 1 Report post Posted October 29, 2007 Another letter goes 'BOOM'.. on their faces... again... As the saying goes: The More The Merrier... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Azri M. 0 Report post Posted October 30, 2007 That's right, keep more coming....we just wish that MAS listens... not merely using the impossible-to-be phrase "5 Star airline with LCC cost" to justify this... http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=...6&sec=focus MAS food needs to be more palatable I READ "Why the cold meal, MAS?" by Cheeray (Sunday Star, Oct 28) and fully agree that the standard of food provided by Malaysia Airlines (MAS) has gone down the drain. I am upset and even ashamed to fly MAS especially as the fare is very expensive compared with other airlines. I had the opportunity to fly MAS on the second day of Hari Raya. Enroute to Beijing, the meal served was only so-so but the dessert, which was cheesecake, was hard and not edible. The fruit served was just a few small pieces. The snack served a bit later was a cheesy mixture piped into a dry bun. Due to the coldness of the sandwich, the filling was hard. It was also very plain; the only other thing in the sandwich was a tiny piece of lettuce. On the return trip, the main meal was not too bad and the snack, again a cheese (slice) sandwich, was a little bit better. Perhaps the airline kitchen in Beijing had put in more effort in preparing the food. Come on, MAS, you can do better than that even if you are trying to cut costs. Cheaper meals do not have to equate to terrible food. How about some quality control? A TRAVELLER, Petaling Jaya. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Keith T 2 Report post Posted October 30, 2007 I don't mind sandwiches - but it sounds like they aren't even serving good quality sandwiches? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Walter Sim 1 Report post Posted October 30, 2007 Positive response my head! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
V Wong 0 Report post Posted October 30, 2007 Extremely disturbing view from IJ in response to KUL-SIN route opening to LCC (excerpt from Bernama as found in another post) : "We will not behave like a low-cost carrier. We will always provide superior products and services to customers but we will drive down our costs so that we will then be able to offer highly-competitive rates to passengers, "he said. Just how LOW can MH go is anyone's guess.... shivering in anticipation Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Rozhan 0 Report post Posted October 30, 2007 That fella is transforming MAS into a low class carrier, going by experiences by recent travellers. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Izanee 0 Report post Posted October 30, 2007 the floodgates of annoyances have opened! IJ bashing time! Have they published a response yet? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Alan B. 5 Report post Posted October 31, 2007 the floodgates of annoyances have opened! IJ bashing time! Have they published a response yet? No response yet as they have to appoint another CONsultant to spin doctor a "positive" reply........... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Azuddin 1 Report post Posted October 31, 2007 If MAS keep this up, we might be seeing a line of blank out 9M-M++ aircraft within 5 years. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Georg Burdicek 1 Report post Posted October 31, 2007 To quote the other thread... QUOTE(Georg Burdicek @ Oct 30 2007, 08:29 PM) By the way, the box already changed from posh black/gold design to a cheapo printed cardboard box. I knew it! Those sick people must have been planning to do this sick cost cutting flick!!!... sick! sick! sick! This is how it looks like now: And these are those tasty and inviting looking sandwics. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Seng Lim 0 Report post Posted October 31, 2007 By looking at the newly 'revised' meal box, I'm wondering those who are impressed and interested to collect the mealbox earlier on (as collectible items) will have the interest to do so anymore, haha. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Chan CS 0 Report post Posted October 31, 2007 Oh lovely! If a five stars hotel offers me to eat this, I'll get the captain and ask him to eat in front of everybody! But since MH is low class so called five stars airline, I will try avoid to go in to their plane. Sorry MH...... You made this... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
EricD 0 Report post Posted October 31, 2007 ewwh.. those "sandwic" is terrible. even i can make better sandwich. Malaysia Airlines is like the embassador of our country, the natinal carrier of Malaysia. Hope those are in charge dont ruin the reputation builded over the years. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Philip 1 Report post Posted October 31, 2007 And these are those tasty and inviting looking sandwics. Are those 2 pathetic looking pieces of bread in the middle supposed to be a lemon + tomato sandwich or something? I can't figure it out. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
