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Mohd Azizul Ramli

MAS A380 - Fleet to be Retained

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can you share more on these bro? from biz perspective, cost is the main driver (CASM is the indicator). increase efficiency, offer better products, better branding, etc will increase the yield. ain't it?

Cost is merely one aspect. When you talk of Yield, you must also think in terms of revenue. The A380 has low CASM because of higher number of seats! Basic fractional maths - increase the denominator and u lower your result. If you can't fill all those seats, then ur Realised costs are higher. Factor in revenue (RASK, RPK), which in an aircraft comes from utilised payload. The payload capacity between a 77W and an A388 is very very marginal (less than 5000kg advantage for some configs). But the A380 burns more fuel, has four engines and can carry less belly cargo (a real money spinner for airlines). when you can't sell out an A380, you then lower fares to fill seats and inadvertently lower revenue and thus yield. Combined with higher operating costs - you back urself into a corner. The A380 is an ideal people mover for big charter jobs like the Hajj. Personally, I think this is a business MAS can penetrate given its long standing relationship with Saudia and serve markets greater than its own.At other times of the year, the aircraft can be used for charter to major events (Olympics, football, tour operators). A fleet of 6 is ideal to manage such traffic. Airlines ole EK are really in a fix IMHO a with what to

Do with this gas guzzling, poor payload big birds! Fantastic airplane system wise - just too big for the level

Of competition that exists today.

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Nice summary Sandeep. :)

 

MH may need to think up a new strategy on how to best make use of its A380s. They cannot return it to lessors and take the penalty because the aircraft are owned by Terus Pesawat, an SPV for MH to acquire the A380s.

 

The prospects for selling these six aircraft would be rather slim - remember, Airbus still need to sell the two Skymark frames and Amadeo needs to place 20 with their customers! So what can MH do to minimise the financial strain?

 

My thoughts:

  1. If MH are not able to fill the A380s with pax, they should perhaps try to get more cargo into the holds. Since they are carrying fewer pax, it may be able to carry more cargo. This might be a better option than cutting air fares.
  2. Put more emphasis on charters and haj wet leases. This will help to keep the aircraft flying.
  3. Exploit peak season traffic more - e.g. in the Australian summer, they can deploy the A380 on some flights to MEL and/or SYD. This will increase capacity on those routes and mop up the extra demand from travellers. MH carries more leisure pax than premium pax, so frequencies beyond 2X daily don't put them at a huge advantage.
  4. Work with cruise liner companies like Star cruises - offer fly-cruise packages. These would bring in more premium customers.
  5. Explore more oneworld code shares - I think MH is yet to fully exploit its membership in oneworld.
  6. Reconfigure the cabin - remove first class seats and have a section of premium economy seats. This may help to increase yield as many first class seat passengers don't pay for them due to free upgrades and frequent flyer redemptions.
  7. Explore new genuinely long haul routes - flights that take about 12-15 hours. These flights will be where the sweet spot is for the A380 ops.

With oil prices at the USD50 level forecast to prevail for some time, it is probably better to think about a Plan B now than panic in 2018 when MH are still unable to dispose of the six aircraft!

Edited by flee

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Sigh.. Acquiring the dugongs was such a mistake.

 

I believe when the order was made, the existence of ME3 in particular on Kangaroo route was not as strong as of today's and MH thought they will be able to fill the dugongs on those Kangaroo routes

Edited by Kee Hooi Yen

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Don't forget guys, the Airlines that invested in the A380 dream paid a heavy price when the airplane was so delayed. In that time, as has been pointed out, the proliferation of the ME3 and substantial global economic events (near catastrophes) have taken place. Today, the A380 is a little bit of a lame duck... The B748 too is a failure. The trijets have departed, and now the quads are on the way out. The tango has just two engines.. But sadly, with so much competition, profitability prospects are dampened. Most big profits are some sort of accounting magic including write ups (or downs in the case of losses) - QANTAS and JAL a perfect example. They still have very severe cost pressures under the rosy profits of late. EK, it's a matter of time before the dessert sand dunes move on.

Basically... The A380 is a big VW CDT vehicle! False promises and aspirations

But I still wanna fly it :)

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Don't forget guys, the Airlines that invested in the A380 dream paid a heavy price when the airplane was so delayed. In that time, as has been pointed out, the proliferation of the ME3 and substantial global economic events (near catastrophes) have taken place. Today, the A380 is a little bit of a lame duck... The B748 too is a failure. The trijets have departed, and now the quads are on the way out. The tango has just two engines.. But sadly, with so much competition, profitability prospects are dampened. Most big profits are some sort of accounting magic including write ups (or downs in the case of losses) - QANTAS and JAL a perfect example. They still have very severe cost pressures under the rosy profits of late. EK, it's a matter of time before the dessert sand dunes move on.

Basically... The A380 is a big VW CDT vehicle! False promises and aspirations

But I still wanna fly it :)

There's still hope sandeep,taking account what you said in yr earlier post,convert those to COMBI,like MH had before 747 combi.So A380 combi.Carry loads of cargo a 200 pax.Its not easy you may add but its not impossible. You can always modify yr VW CDT if you cant sell it!

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Who do you send your dugong to nowadays for a Pax to Combi conversion ? :)

Even the 747 Combis that MH had were built as such from new, not converted

Not that MH is in any financial state to pour money into new experiments too I guess :)

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from the very first day that MAS decided it will buy the A380 - is more of a "grandeaur thing" that our southern neighbor have ordered it and hence MAS must have it too - rather than a purely business need and or whether there have been a in dept business study into it.

Even when it did get the dugongs, it could be seen as struggling to have enough passengers to fill it. And finally now the reality comes in albeit much too late and the market for used A380s is non existent.

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Somehow, I am convinced that the A380 will work for MH on the LHR route if it is properly configured. The top deck should have business class and premium economy. They lower deck should only have economy. That way, business and premium economy class pax will feel that they have some exclusive cabins that economy pax cannot enjoy. And if the soft product is of a high standard, it can give BA a good fight on this route.

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First post here, long time member, twice every year I fly from UK to KUL/LGK for a prolonged stay, many years ago it was always MH 747 from Manchester then LHR, nowadays it's MH A380 from LHR, I've tried Qatar, Etihad and Emirates from Manchester, all takes far too long and not much cheaper than MH.

 

I've read in a thread on here recently somebody saying that Emirates 777 was comfortable, not in Economy it isn't, 10 across, talk about cattle class, I think the others are following suit with the same high density configuration.

 

For me MH's A380 is one of the most comfortable and quiet aircraft I've ever flown in, ok the seats are a bit hard and I always pay a little extra to secure emergency exit seats at the front, I can stretch my legs out secure in the knowledge that in about 12.5 hrs, I'll be at KUL, it'll be a little longer with my next flight due to their new routing.

 

It will be a very sad day when MH cease operating the A380, I'll give the new A350 a go obviously but I doubt that it will be as pleasurable an experience, we shall see.

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Somehow, I am convinced that the A380 will work for MH on the LHR route if it is properly configured. The top deck should have business class and premium economy. They lower deck should only have economy. That way, business and premium economy class pax will feel that they have some exclusive cabins that economy pax cannot enjoy. And if the soft product is of a high standard, it can give BA a good fight on this route.

IME, for such a long flight, the hard product is more important than the soft product. And by all accounts, MH hard product wins hands down in all classes (especially for Y flyers when the BA switches to the B789 from December). As far as soft product goes, I'd still rate MH a notch above BA especially with the chef-on-call option.

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I've read in a thread on here recently somebody saying that Emirates 777 was comfortable, not in Economy it isn't, 10 across, talk about cattle class, I think the others are following suit with the same high density configuration.

Yes, the high density B777 seating has received more or less a universal thumbs down with those who have tried it.

IME, for such a long flight, the hard product is more important than the soft product. And by all accounts, MH hard product wins hands down in all classes (especially for Y flyers when the BA switches to the B789 from December). As far as soft product goes, I'd still rate MH a notch above BA especially with the chef-on-call option.

The B789 in 3-3-3 Y class configuration is tight - in this respect, the A350 has wider seats when in 3-3-3 Y class seating configuration.

So, if MH can just fine tune its A380 cabins, it may not be so difficult to get the yields that would save the aircraft from the scrap heap....

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So, it seems that 9M-MNC is back flying again today after many months grounded at KUL. Did MH4 today, but with a two hour delay to the departure time.

 

Also noted that -MNF also doing charters to/from BCN.

 

This is on top of the daily MED/ JED charters by the fleet.

 

And two days ago, 2 MH A380s flew to MED within an hour of each other. Must have been a nice sight to have the two A380s parked side by side at the MED terminal. I think MED only has two A380 capable gates with bridges at the new terminal.

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32' seat pitch and 18' seat pitch on MH A380 should be standardized on their widebody fleets with extra pitch is a plus. I found the seat is quite comfy thou seat in SQ A380 is a bit wider.

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And two days ago, 2 MH A380s flew to MED within an hour of each other. Must have been a nice sight to have the two A380s parked side by side at the MED terminal. I think MED only has two A380 capable gates with bridges at the new terminal.

 

Madinah Airport gives a lot of press to MH A380. MH A380 is the first one landed in MED and handled by them. MH A380 is also the first arrival of Umrah group after the Hari Raya Haji season recently. Hopefully someone snaps a photo of the twin MH A380s in MED and uploads it somewhere.

 

https://twitter.com/madinahairport

https://www.facebook.com/madinahairport/?fref=ts

 

OT: MED new terminal is GORGEOUS! Gives me an Elven feel.

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