5 Star LCC

[Nik H. 3]

Guys and Gals,

 

I do not get offended easily at all, and am imperviuos to insults and the like. Years of being a Pilot, MAPA Vice President, Chief Pilot for Regional Ops, CP Marketing and Sales and now having set up Hajj and Charters have made taught me there are more things in life than to get upset by comments based on limited information. This will be my 27th year in MAS, having started as a F27 F/O in 1981. At that time there were a few BN2s, 10 F27s, 12 B737, 3 A300 and 2 DC10s. My first seniority number was 309. I have seen the change in MAS from a kampong airline to a Global one and now operating at a lower profile than two years ago.

 

Having been representing both employee and now employer, I've had knives coming from both sides, and have learned to be amused, not offended.

 

Mas is a favourite subject of all Malaysians, and the best whipping boy amongst all GLCs. Everybody has something to say about MAS. Most start a sentence with " You know what you guys should do aaaa....."

 

Everytime i go for a social function I get bombarded by

 

a. advice

b. adverse comments

c. condemnation

d. snide remarks

e. all of the above

 

as soon as they know I am in MAS.

 

But it is still a fun ride and I'm enjoying it to the max.

 

So no worries, and keep the comments coming, good or bad. I will learn from each and everyone of them.

 

I am also a little in the dark as to the allocation of funds from sale of assets and how they are distributed, but I do know the cash flow crisis was almost fatal and it was mostly the BTP that gave a lifeline.

 

As far as employee morale, it has been low for years, the difference being the level of 'low'. If my memory serves me right, the lowest was when a certain mobile phone tycoon was entrusted to run the airline and it was run almost like a personal kingdom. There was a climate of fear and employees dare not speak up. Today, employees are free to say what they like with no fear of repercussion. MH employes are a great lot, but they also carry the legacy of unionised workrules, where annual salary increament is automatic, and at times, promotions are celebration of mediocrity.

 

MAS is also a cauldron of varied disciplines, from the important Pilots and Engineers, to equally important baggage handlers and everyone in between. Only management ( like me ) are dispensible. Hence pleasing everyone is a fairly impossible task, akin to IJ's 5Star at LCC Cost, which is incidently the topic of this thread.

 

But try we will.

 

 

 

[Naim 6]

...

I do not get offended easily at all, and am imperviuos to insults and the like.

...

 

Yes, to survive 27 yrs in any single organization, I guess one has to have this trait.

 

I left formal education in '85, and since then I've been in ... ummm ... at least 15 different environments - I just lost count. Now I run my own outfit, and regard myself semi-retired, so I suppose I should stay put till I expire ...

 

 

 

[Philip 1]

Mas is a favourite subject of all Malaysians, and the best whipping boy amongst all GLCs. Everybody has something to say about MAS. Most start a sentence with " You know what you guys should do aaaa....."

 

Everytime i go for a social function I get bombarded by

 

a. advice

b. adverse comments

c. condemnation

d. snide remarks

e. all of the above

 

as soon as they know I am in MAS.

 

Such is the life of a senior manager in MAS.

 

It's true that MAS has come from a kampung airline to a global one, but recent events have raised doubts about whether it will be able to continue as one. I'm sure most people here will agree when I say that we want to see our national airline returned to its past glory, but it does not look like the downward trend is about to be reversed any time soon. I sure hope that you guys know what you're doing.

[Izanee 0]

You have a very impressive track record Capt Nik. However, I would like to add that not all that we say on this website is based on limited information. As you say, you yourself don't know where the proceeds of the sale go to. Especially in a big organisation with many different divisions with their own heads. I agree the TR period was a very difficult time for all having known relatives and friends who worked with MH.

 

Although the cash flow crisis would have been fatal, we know that the government would not dispose of MH unlike in Belgium and Switzerland. It is a matter of national pride and importance - they were bailed out. Just like MISC who now have the biggest fleet of LNG tankers in the world. Likewise - Proton will also be bailed out.

 

I also agree that MH grew from a kampong airline to a global one. SQ was also a kampong-ish airline that grew. Yes, the british built up singapore with excellent infrastructure - ports, airports, roads, etc etc. Malaysia was only plundered for its rich natural resources. The only train lines built were from plantations and mines to our small ports and to Singapore for export.

 

But Singapore decided that they cannot be 'kampong' from the start and realised that they had to expand themselves. MH resigned to the fact that Malaysia was a small country and would only serve domestic and regional routes plus a few important long haul ones like London, sydney and tokyo.

 

The singapore government did not protect SQ - they were willing to let SQ die rather than to lose SIN's status as a hub. That is a well known fact. SIN grew and grew. Also remember that Changi was NOT built by the British but by the Singaporeans when they realised that it had the potential to be an important hub. That was almost 20 years before KLIA.

 

So in my personal opinion, 'kampong' cannot continue to be our excuse for anything that fails.

 

And I would like to thank Capt Nik for his humbleness and his well thought out discussions and arguments.

In Malaysia - not many people in high offices can accept 'constructive' criticisms in order to learn more. I don't know IJ personally but I am very suspicious of his ability to accept criticisms and to perform surveys - I do not think that it is a true representation of what the customers think.

 

 

 

 

[Kenneth T 0]

the problem is that MH is achieving its profit by selling 747s, their headquarters, and many town offices. Yield has only increased slightly, as has the load factor. Their turnover is nothing compared to SQ's or TG's.

 

Selling things to attain profit is good, but at some point you will run out of things to sell. Maybe they can sell the top management's bums off.

 

I don't think much money will be made from that either.

 

Agreed to what Izanne has just said...what we should bear in mind is part of the profit genaretd may be from the compensation for the delay of the A380s...and that's probably make MH so reluctatnt to cancel it.

[Sri Ramani K. 0]

just to add more fuel to the fire, if you have today's copy of the NST, check the front sheet out. 4 pages of advertorial from airasia. this is just getting a little bit too far i guess...

[BC Tam 2]

..... I don't know IJ personally but I am very suspicious of his ability to accept criticisms .....

Since by your own admission you do not know the chap, perhaps it's only fair not to speculate on his character, flawed or otherwise Furthermore, at corporate level, there may be constraints as to what he is allowed to publicly utter, perhaps even against his personal belief ?

 

Well, for all we know, Datuk IJ could well be tapping upon our discussions here, unbeknown to us ? If not already, perhaps Capt Nic can make such suggestion to the man himself ?!

[BC Tam 2]

..... I do not get offended easily at all, and am imperviuos to insults and the like

 

..... I've had knives coming from both sides, and have learned to be amused, not offended

Yikes, you do realize those are probably the initial symptomatic manifestations of "Tidak Apa-thy" syndrome ?!

[Rozhan 0]

I believe that the gov helped pay for staff who chose VSS. Will MAS ever pay it back, or will taxpayers' money continue to help MAS as and when required?

[Izanee 0]

well....i don't know him personally so i cannot comment on him. i don't think anyone else is coming up with the crap snackbox concept, but if that were the case, then IJ must have the final say.

 

and from his press statements and his emails - I think that whatever the customers say - he is going ahead with it. the survey is a load of bull crap designed to show lay people that they care about what their customers think.

 

come on. 91% agree with the snack box? I really cannot believe that. Not in Malaysia...Malaysians are extremely price sensitive, and I am one of them. If i can get better deals elsewhere, I'll take it. NOt wasting my hard earned money on exorbitant prices and cheapo meals.

 

I expect value for money NOT low cost with (5 star) high price crap.

 

 

Edited November 14, 2007 by Izanee

[Galson Y. 0]

well....i don't know him personally so i cannot comment on him. i don't think anyone else is coming up with the crap snackbox concept, but if that were the case, then IJ must have the final say.

 

and from his press statements and his emails - I think that whatever the customers say - he is going ahead with it. the survey is a load of bull crap designed to show lay people that they care about what their customers think.

 

come on. 91% agree with the snack box? I really cannot believe that. Not in Malaysia...Malaysians are extremely price sensitive, and I am one of them. If i can get better deals elsewhere, I'll take it. NOt wasting my hard earned money on exorbitant prices and cheapo meals.

 

I expect value for money NOT low cost with (5 star) high price crap.

 

[Mohd Azizul Ramli 2]

Seeing from business point of view, MH can really adopt a LCC cost structures IF they have firmed up on what they would like to become in a macro level. In my opinion, at the moment, MH still doesn't have a solid objective on what it would like to become in the future.

 

Quoting an example, EK is adopting LCC cost structures, especially when involving staffing cost. The airline has a lean workforce, which can be compared to low-cost carriers rather than traditional flag carriers (it also helps that all forms of strikes are banned in the UAE). However, something that set the world apart between MH and EK in this sense is that EK has a simple organizational structure, that allows the airline to maintain low overhead costs. MH on the other hand...

 

I read somewhere that read some industry analysts believe EK is second only to Ryanair on a cash cost per seat basis due to the low operating costs at its base in DXB.

[Izanee 0]

Dubai is not a cheap place to be - in fact it is increasingly becoming more expensive. it is now catering mostly for the rich western tourists.

 

However, they might have low operating costs due to the fact that they can recruit thousands of workers from the Indian subcontinent to work for their ground services.