SIA's Chew: A380 pleases, Virgin Atlantic disappoints

[S V Choong 4]

SIA's Chew: A380 pleases, Virgin Atlantic disappoints

Thursday December 13, 2007

Singapore Airlines' new A380 has performed with 100% reliability since the carrier placed it in operation about a month ago, CEO Chew Choong Seng told ATWOnline during the Star Alliance event in Beijing.

 

"The extra time [due to the program delay] was put into good use. They used it to debug the aircraft," he commented, adding that the reception of customers, pilots and cabin crew has been "extremely positive." The aircraft operates on a daily Singapore-Sydney service (ATWOnline, Oct. 26), logging some 14 block hr. each day, and achieved an 80% load factor in its first month of operations. For the coming Christmas season it will be 100%, Chew said.

 

In addition, the 12 first class Singapore Airlines Suites are selling very well, he revealed. "I suspect that our friendly competition is an enthusiastic customer," he laughed. In terms of technical performance, specifically fuel burn, the aircraft is performing better than Airbus promised. "In seat/mile terms we achieve overall a 20% better fuel burn than our 747-400s."

 

Regarding possible divestment of the 49% stake in Virgin Atlantic Airways that SIA acquired in 2000, Chew said, "We are exploring our options. We have reached no conclusion yet. There is no drain on our P&L account. We are not in a rush." He said the UK carrier is neither profitable or loss-making and conceded to this website, "To be candid, they are underperforming."

 

 

by Cathy Buyck

 

Source

http://www.atwonline.com/news/story.html?storyID=11132

[Pieter C. 5]

Hadn't seen this news here before

 

Was this purposely left out by the SG-press ?

 

Or did I miss something....

 

Airbus A380 In Singapore Ground Mishap

 

January 10, 2008

Passengers on the world's biggest plane, The Airbus A380, had to switch aircraft in Singapore after the superjumbo accidentally touched the grass on the side of the tarmac as it left the departure terminal.

 

Singapore Airlines said no one was hurt in the incident involving the A380 bound for Sydney.

 

"The aircraft -- an Airbus A380 -- came into contact with the grass verge off the airport tarmac," Singapore Airlines said in a statement. It said the plane was not using its own power at the time, but was being led by a tow truck. A fault with the truck's hydraulics had led to the incident, it said.

 

Passengers were being put on a Boeing 747 to Sydney, the airline said. The A380 will be inspected for damage before returning to service, the company said.

 

(Reuters)

[BC Tam 2]

Hadn't seen this news here before

Pieter,

If you mean the dugong on grass incident, it's here

[KK Lee 5]

Source

http://www.atwonline.com/news/story.html?storyID=11132

 

 

May be they ought to put more Malaysian incharge of investment at Temasek Holdings.

 

 

[Victor A. 2]

May be they ought to put more Malaysian incharge of investment at Temasek Holdings.

 

 

and the consequences would be SQ becoming like MH and Proton. <_>

[KK Lee 5]

and the consequences would be SQ becoming like MH and Proton. <_>

 

Nope. The success of SQ is largely because of Malaysian talents.

 

 

 

[Pieter C. 5]

Pieter,

If you mean the dugong on grass incident, it's here

 

Thanks BC, indeed, missed it completely

[Andrew Lim 1]

Nope. The success of SQ is largely because of Malaysian talents.

 

 

Really? I'm intrigued... Can you justify your comments please?

[S V Choong 4]

Nope. The success of SQ is largely because of Malaysian talents.

 

Okay, from the statement above, you are telling us that the Singaporeans are incapable and we Malaysian are the brains behind SQ. Perhaps you might say Singapore is successful largely because of Malaysia talents too. So you think Malaysian are actually THAT influential and successful?

 

I sincerely hope you have backup with this bold (or groundless) statements of yours. <_>

 

Anyone has the figure on the percentage of Malaysian employees within SQ and which level they are at?

Edited February 4, 2008 by S V Choong

[tsentsan 0]

....

Edited February 4, 2008 by tsentsan

[KK Lee 5]

Okay, from the statement above, you are telling us that the Singaporeans are incapable and we Malaysian are the brains behind SQ. Perhaps you might say Singapore is successful largely because of Malaysia talents too.

 

Not that Singaporeans are incapable. Just that they know how to appreciate and deploy talents.

 

No prize given for guess right where SQ ex-CEO (until 2003) and many of his management team, pilots, engineers, cc were from.

 

Find SQ is evasive on the country of birth of the current CEO.

 

[jani 0]

haha thats a nice funny fact

[S. Huang 0]

Not that Singaporeans are incapable. Just that they know how to appreciate and deploy talents.

 

No prize given for guess right where SQ ex-CEO (until 2003) and many of his management team, pilots, engineers, cc were from.

 

Find SQ is evasive on the country of birth of the current CEO.

 

 

Why would SQ want to cause 'divide' among employees by differentiating one's nationality from another... since every employee's common mission and goal is to strive for the betterment of the company?! Regardless of race or nationality, as long as you have the credentials, brains and talent, SQ would welcome you with open arms and treat you as their own, and give you equal opportunities as any Singaporean employee. Many of Singapore's top executives are Malaysians or Indian Nationals... it's a known fact. When it comes to capabilities, we certainly can't afford to discriminate!

 

In recent years, SQ has been trying to evolve into a truly Multinational organization. Increasingly we are seeing non-Singaporeans (or Asians for that matter) taking on management roles in the company. Over the years, SQ has also had the Management Trainee programme where they recruit local talents to join them (I know KUL station has employed quite a number of Malaysians to their KUL sales/marketing office). These Management Trainees, if found to be of good calibre, are eventually given the opportunity to be posted to Singapore for stints, rotated among key departments, and subsequently posted overseas to take on management role, either back to Malaysia or anywhere else in the network.

Edited February 4, 2008 by S. Huang

[S V Choong 4]

Not that Singaporeans are incapable. Just that they know how to appreciate and deploy talents.

 

No prize given for guess right where SQ ex-CEO (until 2003) and many of his management team, pilots, engineers, cc were from.

 

Find SQ is evasive on the country of birth of the current CEO.

 

 

 

The last thing we need is a generalised statement "because of Malaysian talent". Thats utter B/S to me.

 

That sort of statement will not win you with any friends (especially from the Singaporean side).

Edited February 5, 2008 by S V Choong

[KK Lee 5]

That sort of statement will not win you with any friends (especially from the Singaporean side).

 

If those kiasu can’t accept the facts, it doesn’t bother me.

 

 

[S V Choong 4]

If those kiasu can’t accept the facts, it doesn’t bother me.

 

On what sort of basis do you based your facts on?

 

A lot of people up there have continously as you for proof of your facts. Why keep us waiting?

 

Naming the former CEO alone is insufficient to support your "facts".

Edited February 5, 2008 by S V Choong

[Nik H. 3]

Why would SQ want to cause 'divide' among employees by differentiating one's nationality from another... since every employee's common mission and goal is to strive for the betterment of the company?! Regardless of race or nationality, as long as you have the credentials, brains and talent, SQ would welcome you with open arms and treat you as their own, and give you equal opportunities as any Singaporean employee. Many of Singapore's top executives are Malaysians or Indian Nationals... it's a known fact. When it comes to capabilities, we certainly can't afford to discriminate!

 

In recent years, SQ has been trying to evolve into a truly Multinational organization. Increasingly we are seeing non-Singaporeans (or Asians for that matter) taking on management roles in the company. Over the years, SQ has also had the Management Trainee programme where they recruit local talents to join them (I know KUL station has employed quite a number of Malaysians to their KUL sales/marketing office). These Management Trainees, if found to be of good calibre, are eventually given the opportunity to be posted to Singapore for stints, rotated among key departments, and subsequently posted overseas to take on management role, either back to Malaysia or anywhere else in the network.

 

I have great respect for the meritocracy policy of Singaporeans as practiced by the government, and we Malaysians have a lot to learn from that. Your post is mostly true. I have great envy looking at the way the Singaporeans organised themselves, bearing in mind the limited resources thay have. Salute.

 

A large number of Pilots and Engineers are from Malaysia. A lot of the famed 'Singapore Girls' are Malaysians. With some minor caveats, most get promoted in the course of their career. And the income they derived from their job were constantly remitted to Malaysia, which in some way contributed to our local economic.

 

BUT, not causing to divide is merely circumstantial and not a specific intent. I can never forget the SQ accident in Taipei. Wonder how a Malaysian working in Singapore would feel post crash.

 

The SQ plane smashed into a tractor while taking off from a Runway that was closed. Lives were lost.

 

But the Newspapers and the Media in Singapore screamed " MALAYSIAN PILOT" over and over again. And they failed to mention the fact that the Pilot was a product of SQ Flight Operations. I have never ever, in my years in this field, seen mainstream press zeroing on the Pilot Nationality when a catastrophe of this sort happens. The mention of nationality is only on info basis rather than a headline.

 

When the Silkair plane dove into the ground in Sumatra, the fact that the Captain was a Singaporean and was an ex SAF A4 driver was only an incidental sidenote mentioned probably once.

 

You will however never be able to read " Malaysian CEO leads SQ to record profits".

 

If that's not selective differentiation of Nationality I don't know what is.

[PC Yuen 0]

May I add...The first Singaporean conquer Mt. Everest was a Malaysian with Spore PR. Maybe he's a Singaporean now.

[S. Huang 0]

But the Newspapers and the Media in Singapore screamed " MALAYSIAN PILOT" over and over again. And they failed to mention the fact that the Pilot was a product of SQ Flight Operations. I have never ever, in my years in this field, seen mainstream press zeroing on the Pilot Nationality when a catastrophe of this sort happens. The mention of nationality is only on info basis rather than a headline.

 

When the Silkair plane dove into the ground in Sumatra, the fact that the Captain was a Singaporean and was an ex SAF A4 driver was only an incidental sidenote mentioned probably once.

 

You will however never be able to read " Malaysian CEO leads SQ to record profits".

 

If that's not selective differentiation of Nationality I don't know what is.

 

Frankly, if you didn't mention that the SQ006 pilot is a Malaysian, I would never had recalled. But then again, if Singaporeans don't take Straits Times seriously, I don't know why you Malaysians should! I was still working for SQ when the crash happened, and I can assure you that internally, the natonality of the pilot was never once highlighted (although colleagues who knew him knew that he is Malaysian). The local press, as with any media around the world, would always need to identify different angles to 'sensationalize'... Straits Times is no different. If the same thing happened in Malaysia, and you had a Singaporean pilot, I'm very sure the Malaysian media would have a field day as well...

 

 

As for the Silkair pilot...interestingly, I always remembered him as an ex-SAF pilot (maybe because I can identify well with the SAF). I guess we Singaporeans have selective memory too, just like Malaysian have. We choose to remember what we want to remember... sometimes to serve our own purpose.

 

As for headlines saying "Malaysian CEO leads SQ to profits"... hahaah... come on, you cant be serious. No one, not in Malaysia, not in Singapore, not anywhere else would citizens blow the trumpets of other nationalities if they can help it.

 

I believe the Mt Everest Climber was already a Singaporean when he planted the Singapore flag there... I give credit to and acknowledge Malaysians contributions to Singapore... and that is why we have never denied any of them the opportunity to contribute to our economy...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Ryan Soh 3]

I have great respect for the meritocracy policy of Singaporeans as practiced by the government, and we Malaysians have a lot to learn from that. Your post is mostly true. I have great envy looking at the way the Singaporeans organised themselves, bearing in mind the limited resources thay have. Salute.

 

A large number of Pilots and Engineers are from Malaysia. A lot of the famed 'Singapore Girls' are Malaysians. With some minor caveats, most get promoted in the course of their career. And the income they derived from their job were constantly remitted to Malaysia, which in some way contributed to our local economic.

 

BUT, not causing to divide is merely circumstantial and not a specific intent. I can never forget the SQ accident in Taipei. Wonder how a Malaysian working in Singapore would feel post crash.

 

The SQ plane smashed into a tractor while taking off from a Runway that was closed. Lives were lost.

 

But the Newspapers and the Media in Singapore screamed " MALAYSIAN PILOT" over and over again. And they failed to mention the fact that the Pilot was a product of SQ Flight Operations. I have never ever, in my years in this field, seen mainstream press zeroing on the Pilot Nationality when a catastrophe of this sort happens. The mention of nationality is only on info basis rather than a headline.

 

When the Silkair plane dove into the ground in Sumatra, the fact that the Captain was a Singaporean and was an ex SAF A4 driver was only an incidental sidenote mentioned probably once.

 

You will however never be able to read " Malaysian CEO leads SQ to record profits".

 

If that's not selective differentiation of Nationality I don't know what is.

Eh beb....

 

relax lah. Press sensationalism is always a problem we have to deal with. It is for this reason I have almost stopped reading Straits Times (ST) and stopped watching Singapore's free-to-air channels for a while now. It is no secret that the "MALAYSIAN" section of ST always feature stories of... hmm... negative connotations of my dearest neighbour up north. From flash floods in Johor, to landslides in Cameron Highlands, or another express bus plunging into a ravine or bursting into flames along the North-South. If there are Singaporeans involved, you can almost be assured of a prime time slot on News at 9.

 

So it was no surprise that when they found out about the nationality of the captain in charge, ST lapped it up and put a spin to it. Yes it hurts. It hurt me reading it that a nationality (not the person) had to be dragged through the mud like that. We all know that being rationale adults that we are, the news that we receive nowadays has to be taken with a pinch of salt.

 

No matter how balanced a news report claims to be, it is still written and edited by a human being influenced by his surroundings.

 

Howerver, being an ex-employee of SIA myself, I guess I am the best person to say that it is the performance that gets you where you want to be, not nationality/race/pribumi/bumiputra/cinabumi discrimination that gets in the way. When I was there, nationality almost never came up until sometimes during CNY when so and so is going back to KL/JB/Kuching/Penang etc...

 

As far as I am concerned, nationality is a non-issue. If anything, I feel that Malaysians working in Singapore have a sense of gratitude and seems more willing to slog than us Singaporeans who do nothing but complain about the government being this and that. Complain about jam, highway appears. Complain about weather, buses become air conditioned. Complain about long waits for buses, MRT line gets built. Complain about MRT lines, the train network gets extended to the point where out island looks like a spider web.

 

Apa lagi nak complain?

 

So my dear friends up north, no need to get your knickers all knotted up over our press coverage of your country, because we don't take it seriously. After all, Singaporeans make up the LARGEST number of tourist arrivals every year, no? Singaporeans like to "eee" about Malaysian related stuff here and there but it is all a facade lah. To me, I make no qualms about driving up north all the time. In fact, I am even considering buying a house in Gelang Patah in Johor!

 

So take a chill pill.

 

Cheers

Ryan

[Guest Michael]

Just on this topic, does anyone here think MAS will ditch the A380 at all?

[Ahmad M 1]

The general believe is they would if they could but there are plenty of other factors to take into considerations...

[jani 0]

I posted in the Boeing-sale thread and made a rough (and simplistic) calculation..

 

If MAS decide to shell out $5b on new Boeing aircraft, and basing on the press release by Boeing;

 

MAS will purchase 45 737NG's to replace its current fleet of 39 costing $3.5b and five 77W's for $1.5b to replace the current fleet of 744's.

 

Adding to the orders of the A388's, all of the 11 744's would be replaced with a combination of five 77W's and six A388's.

 

 

[Ryan Soh 3]

I posted in the Boeing-sale thread and made a rough (and simplistic) calculation..

 

If MAS decide to shell out $5b on new Boeing aircraft, and basing on the press release by Boeing;

 

MAS will purchase 45 737NG's to replace its current fleet of 39 costing $3.5b and five 77W's for $1.5b to replace the current fleet of 744's.

 

Adding to the orders of the A388's, all of the 11 744's would be replaced with a combination of five 77W's and six A388's.

Seriously speaking, does MAS REALLY NEED the A380s at all? The only routes I can see them operating those giants are on the LHR-KUL-SYD route. Why not convert these orders into more A330s and have more planes to offer more frequencies to the region?

[jani 0]

For the LHR-KUL-SYD route and at the frequency operated at the moment, don't you think at least three A388's would be needed?

 

The other three could be used for the likes of KUL-AMS and the KUL-JHB-CPT-EZE route.

 

But I do agree with you though, a couple of medium-range regional aircraft should be considered. The A330's would probably be the cheapest for the short term, but in terms of efficiency I see them ordering the either the 787's or the A350's.