MAS to be asked to resume flights to Cairo

[Andrew K 0]

Monday May 19, 2008 MYT 3:13:35 PM

MAS to be asked to resume flights to Cairo

By ZULKIFLI ABD RAHMAN

 

 

CAIRO: Malaysia Airlines (MAS) will be asked to resume its Kuala Lumpur-Cairo route after its flight was cancelled in 2006 due to financial constraints.

 

Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak said MAS could re-open the route following its financial recovery recently.

 

“I will ask the MAS management to resume this route now that its financial position has improved.

 

“At the same time, MAS can offer affordable pricing strategies, such as introducing special prices to students,” he said at a question-and-answer session during a dinner here with Malaysian students on Sunday.

 

His visit was in conjunction with his participation in the World Economic Forum on the Middle East, which is being held in Sharm El-Sheikh.

 

The KL-Cairo route was among those reviewed and suspended when MAS announced its three-year turnaround plan early 2006.

 

The national carrier has a code-share agreement with Gulf Air to provide more connectivity between KL and Cairo through Bahrain and Muscat.

 

Other destinations considered unprofitable by MAS were Kolkata, Ahmedabad, Xian, Chengdu, Fukuoka, Vienna, Zurich and Manchester.

 

It was reported that the MAS turnaround was aimed at nursing its financial health.

 

Last year it made RM610mil in profit from RM1.3bil losses in 2006.

 

 

 

 

Don't you just love politics? "Maybe it'll work this time...now that you have cash in hand..."

Re-opening routes? Whats next? Zurich? Manchester?

[Tim Lee 6]

Here we go again.

 

The embers are still alight and they are already at it.

 

Lets help AK, ask them

Edited May 19, 2008 by Tim Lee

[H Azmal 0]

Resuming is not enough, still have to give special price summore. Sigh.

 

That's the thing with this country. Once someone from some country visit or if our leader visit them, everything also got to do with that country. Air routes lah, purchase of machineries lah. In 1994 when S. Africa came out of Apartheid, Mahathir deiced to give the country 'some support' by ordering electric trains from a manufacturer there. We want to appease China, we buy locomotives from there. Ceh.

 

Next MAS will be asked to fly to Timbuktu if Amadou Toumani Touré comes over for a visit.

Edited May 19, 2008 by H Azmal

[Azuan Zahdi 2]

This one just politician talk. I don't think its going to happen anytime soon. Probably peak-season special flights only. My 2 sen

[Mohd. Helmi 0]

It was a QandA session with Malaysian students, so I honestly believe he was pandering to the audience and politicking. Politicians are interesting creatures, they'll promise you the moon if that's what you wanted to hear.

 

Overseas Students being students, thus generally pretty broke, they would have really wanted to hear MAS coming back to Cairo, have nonstop flights to the tanah air and better still cheap fares, good old DPM delivered to the audience.

 

 

[affendi osman 0]

Monday May 19, 2008 MYT 3:13:35 PM

MAS to be asked to resume flights to Cairo

By ZULKIFLI ABD RAHMAN

 

 

CAIRO: Malaysia Airlines (MAS) will be asked to resume its Kuala Lumpur-Cairo route after its flight was cancelled in 2006 due to financial constraints.

 

Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak said MAS could re-open the route following its financial recovery recently.

 

“I will ask the MAS management to resume this route now that its financial position has improved.

 

“At the same time, MAS can offer affordable pricing strategies, such as introducing special prices to students,” he said at a question-and-answer session during a dinner here with Malaysian students on Sunday.

 

His visit was in conjunction with his participation in the World Economic Forum on the Middle East, which is being held in Sharm El-Sheikh.

 

The KL-Cairo route was among those reviewed and suspended when MAS announced its three-year turnaround plan early 2006.

 

The national carrier has a code-share agreement with Gulf Air to provide more connectivity between KL and Cairo through Bahrain and Muscat.

 

Other destinations considered unprofitable by MAS were Kolkata, Ahmedabad, Xian, Chengdu, Fukuoka, Vienna, Zurich and Manchester.

 

It was reported that the MAS turnaround was aimed at nursing its financial health.

 

Last year it made RM610mil in profit from RM1.3bil losses in 2006.

 

 

 

 

Don't you just love politics? "Maybe it'll work this time...now that you have cash in hand..."

Re-opening routes? Whats next? Zurich? Manchester?

 

 

Codeshare with GF?

Recently I heard MH agreed to have codeshare agreement with MS on CAI-KUL-CAI route.

 

This is just a political talk i suppose. Remember the KUL-NBO route discussed last time?

[S V Choong 4]

It is best to privatise the damn national airline, so that it becomes a profit driven entity.

 

I can tell Najib is a great PM, should he become the next one.

[Ruiz Razy 1]

Possible,

 

thrice weekly with 738 flights via somewhere in India.

 

Don't forget those snackboxes as inflight meals and operated by just 3 cabin crew -- a definate low cost value carrier !

[Isaac 0]

Overseas Students being students, thus generally pretty broke, they would have really wanted to hear MAS coming back to Cairo, have nonstop flights to the tanah air and better still cheap fares, good old DPM delivered to the audience.

Tell them they can always fly with EK, QR, EY or even GF. All these carriers provide daily flights (**except EY which operates 6x weekly flights) and often cheapest fares come from these airlines.

 

 

It is best to privatise the damn national airline, so that it becomes a profit driven entity.

 

 

[KK Lee 5]

 

Guess DPM or his staffs haven’t travel on MH for a while else they will have noticed Cairo is on MH very extensive network He is again been ill advised

 

As he may be the next PM, MH will serve Cairo.

 

[Tamizi Hj Tamby 1]

Just want to know here,How about the passenger loads for KUL-CAI flights?

[Mohd. Helmi 0]

Tell them they can always fly with EK, QR, EY or even GF. All these carriers provide daily flights (**except EY which operates 6x weekly flights) and often cheapest fares come from these airlines.

 

 

 

 

Daily flights? hmm, we're talking about students here not business men, they're more concerned about fares rather than timings and daily schedules. MH never offered daily to CAI if I'm not mistaken, thrice weekly was it? Students fly cattle class on the most rock bottom fares they can find, not the kind of business that brings in the dosh, especially the kind of dosh that MH needs.

 

Besides the airlines above, SQ fly to CAI, not to mention IY and KU, whilst also serving KUL, don't know about prices or how good the connections are but SQ might be reasonable.

 

Perhaps "red is ours" Whining Cheapo Airlines might see it as a market for them instead of MH??

[Isaac 0]

Daily flights? hmm, we're talking about students here not business men, they're more concerned about fares rather than timings and daily schedules. MH never offered daily to CAI if I'm not mistaken, thrice weekly was it? Students fly cattle class on the most rock bottom fares they can find, not the kind of business that brings in the dosh, especially the kind of dosh that MH needs.

Rock bottom fares are usually found on EK, QR, EY and GF ...

 

 

Tell them they can always fly with EK, QR, EY or even GF. All these carriers provide daily flights (**except EY which operates 6x weekly flights) and often cheapest fares come from these airlines.

 

 

[Jessnor Arif 1]

and here i though student always avoid MH due to its high fare (although I relentlessly promoting MH to my peers.)

My friend here in germany even fly with egyptair. And we malaysian student in continental west europe (france and germany) receive among the highest monthly allowance as compare to other PSD sponsored student. Why it has to be MH?

 

MH holds advantage here in germany because its the fastest way home since it offer direct flight FRA-KUL. But from CAI.... there always egyptair.

[Fitri Shukri 0]

Why ask MAS?

 

Our students in Al-Azhar will have no problem flying on Air Asia X for their annual balik kampung. And yes, many of our students in Cairo come from poor rural background.

 

Personally, I hope Air Asia X will eventually fly to Cairo.

[H Azmal 0]

I'm still waiting for that service to Timbuktu. Hee hee

[Mohd Azizul Ramli 2]

My opinion is that EgyptAir has manage to recommence the route based on pure business basis, 3 times a week via BOM on an A332 when MH pulled out in October 2006. So just left MH alone, shall we? Those students can return home using so many other carriers, why must it be MH?