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MAS - Suggestions for improvements

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This is an extremely educational thread for me. :good:

 

I'm gonna do my part for esteemed members here.

 

There will be a contest and a reward will be given to Malaysianwings forumers for realistic, practible, implementable and 'quick win' suggestions .

 

The Admins and Mods have given me the green lite to run this contest;

 

Watch for it soon.

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My definition of flying on a premium airline with premium fares:

 

1. Have menu cards. I think this creates the atmosphere of quality service.

 

2. Decent portions of food.

 

3. Inflight giveaways like playing cards for adults, premium gifts for the front cabin pax. MAS used to hand out Cross pens, Aquascutum key rings, Noritake cruet sets etc.

 

4. Comfort kits for economy without asking.

 

MAS had it right many years ago. Only the competition down south continues with the 'romance of travel'.

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Guest Michael

Yeh shame that it is not the same as it used to be but at least it managed to turn itself around successfully hey.

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i agree with all of u bout MAS, actually even though u hv all the ideas, its not as easy as u think to enforce it. its hard. trust me

Edited by rauf

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We feel that it's hard, it's better to move forward, make the changes, be heard. These suggestions can inspire some, give new ideas to MAS. Let us put a foot forward, rather than stay still.

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MAS has been through turnaround after turnaround. Earliest record I have (via annual report) was in 1981 / 1982 when it made losses of MYR39,147.907 from a total revenue of MYR995,344.550.

 

It is difficult for outsiders to suggest how they should improve themselves if they couldn't learn from their own past mistakes.

 

Aren't there any controls in place to prevent red ink splattered all over their accounts?

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Understand from IJ ‘s presentation (matrix analysis) to the press last week; he wish to place MH at legacy airline with LCC cost base (FSLCC) quadrant, which looks idea on the matrix but believe none of Asian legacy airline is in this quadrant.

 

Also means MH will be modelling after US airlines e.g. AA, CO, etc i.e. minimum level of service to EY pax. Trimming number of IFE available may be is the next step.

 

While competing airlines like SQ, EK, CX are offering superior service, in order for MH to fill their aircraft means MH tickets need to price lower i.e. low yield.

 

From MH track record, doubt MH overhead can be proportionately lower than the expected low yield. Hence, expect MH will be going into a vicious circle of lower cost, lower yield and operating losses.

 

To satisfy the ‘FS’ in ‘FSLCC’, the only thing left for MH advertising agency to emphasize is ‘the world friendliest cabin crew’.

 

:drinks:

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I'm gonna do my part for esteemed members here.

 

There will be a contest and a reward will be given to Malaysianwings forumers for realistic, practible, implementable and 'quick win' suggestions .

Certainly an effort worth our applause ! From your postings here so far, :good: I can only assume your position within MH will allow for an avenue for some of our suggestions here to reach the 'relevant ears' within MH's management ? If so, a sincere thank you for a proactive first step. Could prove to be a breakthrough of sorts, if grassroots feedback actually reach decision making level intact (holy grail of management ?!)

 

One suggestion, bearing in mind the deep rooted problems beseiging MH from time immemorial, a "quick win" fix may be a bit paradoxical ?! Perhaps just stick to "realistic" and "practible" (sic) and "implementable" - already formidable challenges you must admit ! And in the Malaysian context "politically correct" should be another consideration, but then I digress ............... ! :)

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Certainly an effort worth our applause ! From your postings here so far, :good: I can only assume your position within MH will allow for an avenue for some of our suggestions here to reach the 'relevant ears' within MH's management ? If so, a sincere thank you for a proactive first step. Could prove to be a breakthrough of sorts, if grassroots feedback actually reach decision making level intact (holy grail of management ?!)

 

One suggestion, bearing in mind the deep rooted problems beseiging MH from time immemorial, a "quick win" fix may be a bit paradoxical ?! Perhaps just stick to "realistic" and "practible" (sic) and "implementable" - already formidable challenges you must admit ! And in the Malaysian context "politically correct" should be another consideration, but then I digress ............... ! :)

 

Nik is a management pilot.

 

May I suggest MH management to read ‘Blue Ocean Strategy’ by W. Chan Kim and Renee Mauborgne.

 

:drinks:

Edited by KK Lee

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Nik is a management pilot.

 

May I suggest MH management to read ‘Blue Ocean Strategy’ by W. Chan Kim and Renee Mauborgne.

 

:drinks:

 

I am reading easyJet. The Story of Britain's Biggest Low-Cost Airline. By Lois Jones

The issue of MAS and Air Asia in competition is not something new. British Airways

has been struggling with easyJet. And They had a similiar subsidiary GOL Airline Low Cost

airline to compete with EasyJet. We can learn from this history and prevent mistakes

from the past.

 

 

 

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BA's low cost subsidiary collapse right? By the way a typo error above... just the dots. It should read MYR39,147,907 from a total revenue of MYR995,344,550.

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British Airways has been struggling with easyJet. And They had a similiar subsidiary GOL Airline Low Cost

airline to compete with EasyJet.

GOL is the Brazilian LCC right?

 

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GOL is the Brazilian LCC right?

 

 

GOL is Brazilian.

 

The BA LCC attempt was GO

 

Not to be confused with Go! - an inter-island Hawaian based airline or GoAir of india.

Edited by Mohd Saat

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BA's low cost subsidiary collapse right?

 

Ironically, Go was bought by easyjet in 2002. What a shame, it is one of the LCC brands I greatly missed.

 

See one of their ads

;) Edited by H C Chai

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oops... spell error ... it should be GO

 

In August 2002, easJet and Go completed a merger deal to create Europe's number 1 low-cost airline. Both Go and easyJet had near-identical business models, the difference is that easyJet flew from cheaper landing and passenger fee airports, like luton, stansted and GO flew from major airports. Go did not went out of business. Instead when it is sold to easyJet, BA had a 400 percent return of investment, and UK's third largest Airline, with a fleet of 24 737-300's with a load factor of impressively 76.5 percent. BA's thought that GO wasn't the business they were in and let it go.

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Nik is a management pilot.

 

May I suggest MH management to read ‘Blue Ocean Strategy’ by W. Chan Kim and Renee Mauborgne.

 

:drinks:

 

While it is true that I am a Management Pilot, I am handling a small, very small portion of a big pie, just about RM200Million as compared to the RM12-13 Billion annual turnover MAS does.

 

Having been in MAS since 1980, beginning as a F27 F/O, and in Management for more than 10 years, starting with Operational Management in Flight Ops, and later, by choice, moved over to the Commercial side, I lived through 4 Top Management changes, 5 DFOs, and numerous turnaround initiatives.

 

Without fear or favour, I think IJ is doing not just the right thing but the only thing that can be done in the light of the political encumberences the airline has to carry by being a National carrier.

 

Not much major decisions can be made without approval from the Ultimate Stakeholder. Choosing and Buying planes, cutting routes, staff count consolidation, etc etc. There's no such thing as a 'free hand' in running an airline, and unlike other airline entrepreneurs, IJ cannot run riot to the Media wearing his heart on his sleeves about the woes he is facing, whine about unfair competition, make unsubstantiated claims to assist his course, and leverage friendship with the powers that be. The requirements of the Corporate agenda also limits him from playing it up as an aviation folk hero. Reading Management books written by Western Gurus to run a National Airline is akin to saying that one can learn to fly the B777 after memorising and understanding the aircraft flight manual.

 

Numerous inherited agreements, poorly made purchase of equipment, embedded Union issues all conspire to keep MAS in its rocky path.

 

Maybe he' s the only one with one eye in the land of the blind, and has to go fighting with one hand tied behind his back, with some inherited Generals who are more worried about personal survival rather than a collective one, but perhaps someone here can point out another today who will be able to do his job....better....

 

As for me, small time Management , part time B777 Pilot, I can attend immediately to any problems related to Hajj and Charter flights, which is my own little planet within the MAS Universe.

 

 

 

 

 

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While it is true that I am a Management Pilot, I am handling a small, very small portion of a big pie, just about RM200Million as compared to the RM12-13 Billion annual turnover MAS does.

 

Having been in MAS since 1980, beginning as a F27 F/O, and in Management for more than 10 years, starting with Operational Management in Flight Ops, and later, by choice, moved over to the Commercial side, I lived through 4 Top Management changes, 5 DFOs, and numerous turnaround initiatives.

 

Without fear or favour, I think IJ is doing not just the right thing but the only thing that can be done in the light of the political encumberences the airline has to carry by being a National carrier.

 

Not much major decisions can be made without approval from the Ultimate Stakeholder. Choosing and Buying planes, cutting routes, staff count consolidation, etc etc. There's no such thing as a 'free hand' in running an airline, and unlike other airline entrepreneurs, IJ cannot run riot to the Media wearing his heart on his sleeves about the woes he is facing, whine about unfair competition, make unsubstantiated claims to assist his course, and leverage friendship with the powers that be. The requirements of the Corporate agenda also limits him from playing it up as an aviation folk hero. Reading Management books written by Western Gurus to run a National Airline is akin to saying that one can learn to fly the B777 after memorising and understanding the aircraft flight manual.

 

Numerous inherited agreements, poorly made purchase of equipment, embedded Union issues all conspire to keep MAS in its rocky path.

 

Maybe he' s the only one with one eye in the land of the blind, and has to go fighting with one hand tied behind his back, with some inherited Generals who are more worried about personal survival rather than a collective one, but perhaps someone here can point out another today who will be able to do his job....better....

 

As for me, small time Management , part time B777 Pilot, I can attend immediately to any problems related to Hajj and Charter flights, which is my own little planet within the MAS Universe.

 

Point taken , a man fighting with a "missing" limb(s) without uttering a single complain.

But, one of the way for a leader to improve is to be always able to listen to the others opinion although he can never be in the position to please everyone. That would help alot as we do know that he is listening to the people around him.=)

 

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the difference is that easyJet flew from cheaper landing and passenger fee airports, like luton, stansted and GO flew from major airports.

 

Hmm... Go did not fly from major airports - prior to its merger into the Easyjet brand, Go operated from Stansted (Stansted is not a major airport, at least back then) and Easyjet mainly from Luton.

 

Go did not went out of business. Instead when it is sold to easyJet, BA had a 400 percent return of investment,

 

BA set up Go in 1998 as a standalone business unit to gain a share in the fast growing LCC market, but decided to sell it just after it became profitable. It was sold to investment company 3i at £110m in 2001. In less than a year's time Easyjet bought Go from 3i at £374m. BA is not the biggest winner here!

 

and UK's third largest Airline, with a fleet of 24 737-300's with a load factor of impressively 76.5 percent.

It should be UK third largest LCC

 

BA's thought that GO wasn't the business they were in and let it go.

Change of CEO = change of strategy. Lets hope the next MH CEO won't decide to get rid of Firefly one day - then AK will end up buying it and fulfils its dream of flying out of SZB (with turboprop) ;)

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Qantas bullish on upmarket services

 

By Peter Smith in Sydney

 

Published: November 6 2007 22:04 | Last updated: November 6 2007 22:04

 

The chief executive of Australia’s Qantas has dismissed the competitive threat posed by fast-growing low-cost carriers and believes airlines offering premium services will continue to thrive as the global aviation market expands.

 

In an interview with the Financial Times, Geoff Dixon said Qantas and rivals such as British Airways, Singapore Airlines and Cathay Pacific had done well by differentiating themselves with a greater focus on premium services. “All those carriers are doing very well too by the very fact that they have gone upmarket even further than they were before,” he said.

 

Qantas in August reported record full-year profits and forecast a 30 per cent improvement in the current fiscal year to more than A$1.3bn ($1.2bn).

 

The airline’s shareholders this year rejected a recommended A$5.45-a-share offer worth A$11.1bn from a buy-out group led by Texas Pacific Group of the US and Australia’s Macquarie bank. The shares this week traded at A$5.94.

 

“In the last seven or eight years the industry has gone from being one which had a lack of discipline, I would have thought, particularly on cost,” Mr Dixon said.

 

“Now I think a lot of carriers have taken their cost down to such an extent that the industry itself is a lot more viable and there’s a lot more discipline overall in the industry and I think that’s coming through with the profitability across the board.”

 

Mr Dixon said the threat to Qantas from low-cost airlines had also been reduced after the airline launched its own low-cost brand Jetstar.

 

Tiger Airways, the budget airline majority owned by Singapore Airlines and Temasek, the Singapore state investment group, will this month begin flying on domestic routes in Australia.

 

Mr Dixon said that he did not believe the international aviation market would ever operate on a level playing field.

 

“If there’s open skies, it’s got to be true open skies – no restrictions on ownership, no restrictions on where you can fly, not having one country deciding this and another country deciding that.”

 

He said Qantas had more than 40 airlines coming into Australia almost on a daily basis competing against it. “I’d say 70 per cent of those airlines are either owned by their governments or partly owned by their governments. I would regard that as pretty strong competition.”

 

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/6c748878-8c95-11...00779fd2ac.html

 

 

MH business model and strategy is unique among its peers.

 

:drinks:

 

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MH business model and strategy is unique among its peers.

 

Of it has to be. MAS is in a unique position not shared with its peers as well....

It has lots of masters to answer to, decisions not made by itself it has to come to terms with, local competition that has a direct line with the authorities, and National Agenda it has to shoulder.

 

Besides, MAS also has to answer to local consumers who are quick to condemn but slow to appreciate.

 

I've never recalled a time when good things done by MAS are played up, as the negative is often sung about.

 

ie, A delay by MAS grabs headlines, but accepted and ignored if it was the favoured Red One.

 

When our very admired southern neighbour hit a tractor in Taipei, the whole country rallied behind the airline to a point of blaming the whole thing on the MALAYSIAN pilot. Co-incidently, we are referred to as Malaysian Airlines by the international press. That's the level of cohesiveness other Nationals are getting from their homies.

 

I shudder to think what MH will be facing under the same circumstances.....

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I think Capt Nik has confirmed what many of us has suspected before, interference in the running of the national airline.

 

And some said politics has got nothing much to do with aviation!!! =@

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And some said politics has got nothing much to do with aviation!!!

 

Hey Fitri, don't say that! The government is monitoring closely and please don't put us into jail!! =@

 

Having been in MAS since 1980, beginning as a F27 F/O, and in Management for more than 10 years, starting with Operational Management in Flight Ops, and later, by choice, moved over to the Commercial side, I lived through 4 Top Management changes, 5 DFOs, and numerous turnaround initiatives.

 

Probably the next happiest person, apart from yourself, is your wife hearing this transition in your career. ;)

Edited by S V Choong

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Believe everyone was proud when MH was at par or better than our Southern cousin. When fans sense his team is losing steam, will of course shouting out loud. Believe without public scrutiny or complaints, those politicians would had siphon more money out from the airline.

 

MH has been harping about ‘5 Stars airline’ and ‘Going Beyond Expectation’, pax have the rights to complain if service received is below expectation. Instead of blaming the public is unkind to MH, MH on the other hand should not project itself beyond capability.

 

Believe MH new advertising campaign will be emphasizing on Cabin Crews (World Friendliest Cabin Service) and we can expect to hear complain about rude and unfriendly cabin crews in due course.

 

:drinks:

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