MAS - Suggestions for improvements

[Nik H. 3]

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!!!

 

Political influence in the running of the National Airline comes with the territory. This is after all the Flag Carrier, an airbridge of commerce for our country. The political masters do and must have an interest in the way it is run. One must look back into the mission statement of MAS to see the context of the business MH is engaged in.

 

Take for example an international route that does not make money for MH. The servicing of the route must still be done as it allows freer flow of foreign investments and business travel via the air link. The country as a whole gains though MH may lose. Its OK in the grand scheme of things.

 

Where the new entity is interested in purely commercial gains ( the fact that everyone can fly is coincidental ) for Mh route servicing and schedules must take into account the country's needs. Hence comparisons may not be correct between the two.

 

That leaves the Management of MAS to find other 'creative' ways to look for better margins via cost rationalising measures and /or wastage control, some methods of which invites criticism here and other sites.

 

Therefore, political influence is not a bad thing, however.............

[Guest Michael]

It is still amazing how MAS turned itself around from just having 5% of cash in April last year it is quite an achievement for any carrier.

[Ivan L. 0]

“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.”

 

Geoff Dixon probably forgot that he has lobbied so hard against SQ flying US-Australia routes.

 

 

Political influence in the running of the National Airline comes with the territory. This is after all the Flag Carrier, an airbridge of commerce for our country. The political masters do and must have an interest in the way it is run. One must look back into the mission statement of MAS to see the context of the business MH is engaged in.

 

Unfortunately, many politicians do not know how to run an airline, that is why Singapore leave it to the expert. What mission does MAS have to fly to EZE? or even EWR? when they know its not profitable. It's time to move on, prestige and Malaysia boleh needs to be look on the context as well. The taxpayers money are better spent on education, health, and welfare of Malaysians. Although, I do believe certain domestic flights are still needed to connect the rural towns.

[Keith T 2]

Geoff Dixon probably forgot that he has lobbied so hard against SQ flying US-Australia routes.

 

He actually lobbied against SQ using the same arguments - that SQ is government-owned, and that there is no level playing field because QF isn't allowed unfettered accesss to certain cities in Europe, whereas SQ has an open skies agreement with the US.

 

Not saying that I agree with him entirely, but at least he's consistent.

 

The fact that SQ's campaign was so poorly run politically didn't do them any favours either. They went hard on the fact that Australia is losing a huge chunk of tourism receipts from the US. But they failed to emphasise on the other positives that they'd bring - like increased Australian jobs, and draw a nexus to the overall benefit to our national interest in allowing SQ to compete with the national carrier. They also failed to address the QF arguments about the offshoring of Australian jobs if QF was forced to be more competitive (they could've easily said a base in Australia would be required to operate SYD-LAX and SQ would actually offset the loss of jobs; plus the additional jobs in the travel industry higher tourist numbers would create).

 

And in the end the government decided to keep SQ out on the guarantee that QF would keep jobs local. So they're actually shooting themselves in the foot now by sending maintenance work overseas.

Edited November 7, 2007 by Keith T

[Nik H. 3]

MAS is still a great place to work with, and a great airline, warts and all. This will be my 27th year with the airline, and i have seen many people who have gone on to better things after working with MAS and subsequently gone for interviews with MAS in their resume.

 

The pilots are definitely the among the best in the world, likewise the engineers. A large majority can just walk into just about any airline in the world and get a job that pays not less than USD10-15K monthly. Many of them are holding training positions in Korean, China, Emirates and Etihad, a domain reserved mostly for 'First World ' pilots not too long ago.

 

It helped give jobs to the Aussies who lost theirs during the great big strike 17 years ago. The Iraqis, whose country was torn apart by two invasions also managed a good living here, not to mention Canadians, a couple of Americans and British pilots. Indonesians also built a good reputation before moving on to other airlines. All of them were accepted after they built up their experience here and have MAS ratings and training under their belt.

 

Many do not realise but Ex MAS pilots and engineers working overseas are amongst the most profitable 'export commodity' Malaysia has ever traded in. With 150 pilots remitting at least USD 8K each home, that's a cash inflow of RM49 million with '0' production cost as they are selling expertise.

 

Granted, there are hiccups and a feeling of being let down by some quarters in possession of partial facts, but in the big picture, MAS is still great in many ways.

 

Many may complain, but even those who do have no doubt that when they step into a MAS flight, issues of flight safety and engineering competency are far from their mind.

 

MAS has the operational bit in place, and given time, and management space, I'm very sure the other pieces will eventually fall in place. Its not an easy task, and the scorecard can never be 100% given the challenges of being the National carrier. There will always be slackness, within and external.

 

Take the case of the RAS, that was taken away, then used, then outlived its usefulness, and MAS was forced to pick up the pieces, while the favoured one is subsequently rewarded with the ability to fly international. Many do not even realise what took place from under their very noses, for they are too busy picking on the Red & Blue.

 

The management today may not act to the desire of some who feels they know better, but in my humble opinion, they are working intensely day and night with various initiatives, from the obvious to the far fetched, to ensure MAS will be bigger than ever, and more importantly, ensure the success is sustainable.

 

Here's to my Airline, the Pilots, the Engineers, The Cabin Crew, the Ground staff et al.

 

SALUTE and KEEP ON GOING

 

 

[Jessnor Arif 1]

Wow that a great motivational "speech" by Nik. Frankly I am moved by it... even though i am some one from outside.

 

 

[Azuan Zahdi 2]

One big improvement. start saying yes to my resume after numerous times of submissions. ok i;m emotional

 

love this topic. i'll contribute some of my ideas later tonight

[Seth K 3]

I'm going to Jakarta at the end of this month, of course first option will be MH. Browsing over the website, I found that the fare start at MYR1000, last year I paid MYR800 rt. only and this is before the snackbox being introduced! KLM offer the same route at half price which is MYR490 iirc. The downside of KLM is that I want to depart early morning Friday flight and arrive by noon on Sunday, both KLM flight depart at 4PM and 7PM respectively. Win lose situation here...........ergh, MH wth!

 

p/s:Unc Pieter, can u adjust the timing for me hehe

Edited November 11, 2007 by Seth K