KLIA - The more silent airport (What can MAHB do to increase passenger traffic? )

[Tony 1]

it's easy to become popular hub..

become a no-frill airport maa...

convert all aspect to LCCT concept, cheaper tax, attract pax..

or give 'rasuah' to world's major airliners, to come to KUL..

I don't know much about the pax side of the MH business. But on the "other" side, they are likely to offer deals so good you wouldn't turn down and then later ask for more more and more - without service improvement.

[Izanee 0]

kul cargo traffic is 670000 tonnes/year.

sin traffic is 1.9 million tonnes/year

 

a lot of malaysian cargo traffic is still flown via sin as it is easier and hassle free with more airlines and less red tape.

 

even though we have achieved so much, we are still waaay behind in terms of aviation.

 

it doesn#t help when your own countrymen ship goods via sin, but that is the situation. klia ACC is seen as having poor security - frequent break ins and robbery and stealing of high value freight.

 

that is just for cargo. don't get me started on the passenger aspects. klia is probably the best airports in the world - but even if you bribe other airlines - NO ONE (major carriers) is interested. we already are providing incentives to NO avail. yes, we got LH back , and ME carriers started increasing flights but we are still far behind SIN and even further from BKK.

 

 

singapore has made even greater progress...for e.g. it doesn't have any oil but is the largest oil trading place in asia.

caltex even moved its WORLD HQ from houston to singapore. that is what i'm talking about. however, singapore had a good head start- its infrastructure was already in place (british built) and it was a major port of call. malaysia had to concentrate and develop its rural areas to get people out of poverty....we had more on our plate and were already behind...

 

we are making it slowly but surely - just hope we dont get complacent

Edited January 1, 2008 by Izanee

[Kenneth T 0]

In my humble opinion, KLIA has not been fully utilised ever since it was built. MAB and the government shoud look into this matter seriously. We are far behind than our neightbour like Thailand and Singapore though we had an advance airport for the past few years. Now Bangkok and Singapore has their own new airport and terminal which makes them far better off than Malaysia. Is this what we canna boleh land? MAB and the government has even offer free landing rights to many airlines but still we are lack behind.

[V Wong 0]

In today's NST:

 

"MAHB misses payment restructuring deadline

 

MAHB has missed a December 31 deadline to restructure its RM856.7 million concession payments to the government...."

 

unable to find article online at the moment, go get a hardcopy if you're interested. Makes one wonder...

 

[Mushrif A 3]

fuad should know very well that he doesn't deserve that seat. he should have said no when offered. but sometimes in my opinion, certain individuals cannot live without 'subsidy'.

I think you're off target. I believe Rozhan was referring to the MD of MAHB, which holds the executive powers. Fuaad is just a director, and what happened at MH - he was a convenient scapegoat. (Why didn't the previous MD Yusuf Nor continue with the biz transformation after the WAU exercise? Why did the government just "abandon" MH after WAU?)Anyway, as you can see, the BofDirectors at MAHB are largely MoF appointees or nominees, plus dinosaurs, whose mandate is merely to see the company chugging along but would not do anything drastic or risky (but no pain no reward) that could enhance the Company. Why jeopardise one's pension? Hence, potentially a lack of drive or risk-taking initiatives.

I think you're off target. I believe Rozhan was referring to the MD of MAHB, which holds the executive powers. Fuaad is just a director, and what happened at MH - he was a convenient scapegoat. (Why didn't the previous MD Yusuf Nor continue with the biz transformation after the WAU exercise? Why did the government just "abandon" MH after WAU?)Who knows? His directorship can also be seen as compensation to go quietly and not make much noise despite being blamed implicitly for not turning around MH.Anyway, as you can see, the BofDirectors at MAHB are largely MoF appointees or nominees, plus dinosaurs, whose mandate is merely to see the company chugging along but would not do anything drastic or risky (but no pain no reward) that could enhance the Company. Why jeopardise one's pension? Hence, potentially a lack of drive or risk-taking initiatives.

[marcusaffleck 0]

[[[something to think about]]]

 

Although I live in Australia, I have not forgotten my roots. I'm a Malaysian at heart. And it pains me to see the emptiness of KLIA when we compare it to neighbouring rivals like Suvarnabhumi, Changi and Chep Lap Kok. KLIA is a world-class facility.

 

However,

 

- Passenger traffic is not very convincing

- Very mediocre and average number of airlines flying into KLIA

- The bigger players are abandoning KLIA for BKK, SIN, HKG. Namely, Qantas, British Airways (they might reinstate flights though), United Airlines, Air France, ANA, Aeroflot, Air Canada, Air New Zealand, Turkish Airlines. Man, the list goes on and on and on and on.

 

It would be such a pleasant sight to see more planes and airlines flooding the KLIA. Of course, we would prefer the bigger airlines too.

 

I flew back to KUL around early-mid December to visit my family for the holidays. When I arrived at the airport, I was devastated by the emptiness and air of silence inside KLIA, what most people regard as one of the best airports in the world.

 

I think MAHB and the Malaysian Tourism Board ought to double or even triple their current efforts if they really intend to keep up with their fellow competitors. It is noticable that the number of flights into KLIA are gradually increasing, but at a very, very slow pace. At this rate, KLIA wont be able to keep up with other airports. That, I assure everyone.

 

I hope, in two or three years time, when I make my next visit to KUL, the KLIA will shape into a much busier airport. It has alot of potential. KLIA has a beautiful facade and it is situated in a fantastic location, where ample room is available as far as development and improvement is concerned. But it is up to the airport officials to make full use of this opportunity. If we claim that MAHB is doing a good job at the moment, that is not enough. Everyone else is doing an even better job. In order to finish ahead of your competitors, you simply need to be outstanding.

 

Well, I have made my point clear.

 

I look forward to all your comments and questions.

 

However, just for your information, KLIA's design is meant to disperse human traffic so you would feel comfortable unlike LHR.

[Azri M. 0]

However, just for your information, KLIA's design is meant to disperse human traffic so you would feel comfortable unlike LHR.

 

That's what they say, but is it really true? Look at the satelite building, all the shops and goods are in the centre of the satellite. So all the happening stuff is in the centre, while the quiet bit is at the end. Is this a dispersal?

[Guest Michael]

KLIA is in the perfect location for expansion isn't it?

[T Azahan 1]

nope, i am not off target. a person responsible for the loss of rm1billion in MH doesnt deserve a seat in any listed company more so a government listed company. whether he has the executive powers or not is not an issue.

[Mushrif A 3]

nope, i am not off target. a person responsible for the loss of rm1billion in MH doesnt deserve a seat in any listed company more so a government listed company. whether he has the executive powers or not is not an issue.

 

I think you are, as it is the MD at MAHB that holds executive powers (i.e. Bashir), not a mere BoD member. This was Rozhan's main target. Yes, AFuaad was at MH too but not holding executive powers at MAHB like the MD.

 

And seriously, AFuaad didn't bleed the company - he wasn't over-invoicing the company through related party transactions like TR (whose motivation was to get enough cashflow to service the Bank Bumi loan he took to buy MH shares from Bank Negara). He just didn't get a serious mandate from the shareholders to turnaround the company. The losses during his tenure at the top were a direct consequence from the fragile nature of the Company's capital structure and poor operational management which are hardly profit-oriented.

 

Yusuf Nor did the WAU which temporarily addressed the capital structure issue. To support MH's operations & obligations - it was way undercapitalised (e.g., amongst others MH just placed an order for some 10 744s and 11 772ERs and 4 773 at THAT TIME.) TR proposed a rights issue but timing was extremely bad as it was made just before the '97 Asian crisis. As the capital markets were not receptive to any fund raising, the other option was to remove the liabilities off MH's books - hence you had the WAU (which effectively transferred the problem to somebody else actually..i.e. Khazanah aka taxpayers via PMB, but this is a different story).

 

But the Part 2 refinements to the Company were only partly done - there was no continuous real enhancement to the operation. AFuaad was there at the wrong time/ wrong place - and the Government didn't have the political will to do something drastic operationally - maybe it needed a wake-up call in the form of mega losses, before getting somebody with the mandate to do so (in the form of IJ). Maybe AFuaad could have done more, but he surely didn't get the support & political will of the shareholders to do a brain surgery as opposed to a mere appendectomy. IJ did, but only after the shareholders were rudely shaken by the financial results.

 

ANyway, back to topic - it is the MD of MAHB that you should have your cross-hairs on.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[T Azahan 1]

fuad started with a clean sheet after wau implemented. bulk of debt in balance sheet and interest expenses reduced very significantly thru sales of assets to the govt. tr issue resolved. fuad only needed to concentrate on operation and kpi. and he screwed it big time. he could not understand figures. he wasted what could have been saved under wau.

 

big chunk of his resume was about selling tickets. its like someone been chosen to head petronas group after managing several petronas petrol kiosks all over the country. no way! we knew all along he's gonna mess up mh.

 

basir is good. every mh flight number was at his finger tips when he was at mh. but klia needs more than basir. klia needs people with passion and klia needs a better kuala lumpur. like changi needs singapore, heathrow needs london, frankfurt main needs frankfurt and dubai international needs dubai. successful airports become successful because the cities they are based at are financial centres (of course not to forget tip top management).

[NWT 0]

I have been flying on business through Asia for many years and remember the disgusting state of Subang, however the KLIA is an excellent airport to use. I personally prefer it to SIN or HKG as it is quieter. However the question of how to attract more passengers numbers through;... I have been involved in a study by a leading European airline to see if it was worth flying to KUL/Malaysia. Unfortunately the answer is no. Yes there is a demand for leisure/economy seats, but the demand for premium seats (first/business etc) is not strong enough for major airlines to fly the route. Therejust isn't the level of demand to warrant starting flights to KUL. I certainly wish there was more choice on some routes....

[Simon 3]

I think if without the present of AK, don't know what will happen to KLIA..........