MAS Entry Into SkyTeam

[Josh T 0]

It probably makes more sense for MH to join ST but I wouldn't complain if MH ended up with OW, since I'd benefit from it being a member of QF and live in Australia.

[Kee Hooi Yen 0]

How about forming another alliance with MH & EK as the pioneer

[Izhar Z 1]

Pardon my ignorance. From what i read, i thought among the 'speculated' reasons AF are against MH joining ST is that they want to protect their codeshare with QF on kangaroo route via SIN. How is this different with GA's inclusion? Or are they totally different altogether? But 2 years on, it does look like MH has almost zero chance of joining ST. GA was not even in the picture in '08. Heh...

[Wilson Kook 0]

How about forming another alliance with MH & EK as the pioneer

 

Interesting that you brought this up.

There are a number of premier airlines (especially middle eastern carriers) still without alliances.

Just to name a few: EK,QR.

Might even be able to rope in Air Asia + Virgin (almost impossible, but anything can happen eh?) or Kingfisher, tho I'm not sure about the latter's current status in terms of joining an alliance. Have they committed themselves to an alliance already?

 

As for other options, I think if MH were to join OneWorld, it would give them more depth as far as "strengthening" their presence in Asia is concerned. CX does cover a healthy number of Asian routes, but MH would offer them greater variety.

 

What you guys think?

[Ja Singh 2]

Interesting that you brought this up.

There are a number of premier airlines (especially middle eastern carriers) still without alliances.

Just to name a few: EK,QR.

Might even be able to rope in Air Asia + Virgin (almost impossible, but anything can happen eh?) or Kingfisher, tho I'm not sure about the latter's current status in terms of joining an alliance. Have they committed themselves to an alliance already?

 

As for other options, I think if MH were to join OneWorld, it would give them more depth as far as "strengthening" their presence in Asia is concerned. CX does cover a healthy number of Asian routes, but MH would offer them greater variety.

 

What you guys think?

MH;s identity is already in a very confused state and hence joining with likes of Air Asia is not a good idea and on the other hand I dont think EK will be interested to form alliace with MH for 2 reasons, one is it flies to all international destination MH flies to and secondly it is cash rich and hence no need alliance.

 

The thread title is no more relevant as MH is not the airline being reconsidered to join Sky team in 2010 but is is Garuda.

Mod please change to appropriate title.

Edited June 30, 2010 by jadivindra

[Ruiz Razy 1]

Maybe it's not MH fault. I suspect it has to do with some political influences that were afraid of losing National Identity. And when they say it's ok .... it will be too late!

 

Proton and VW is a classic example. In the end VW no longer have any interest. Do note that VW have a very good track record of transformation. SEAT and SKODA are fine examples by them.

[Mohd Azizul Ramli 2]

Do not lose hope guys, MH is still wanting to be part of a global alliance as revealed in their presentation slide during the financial result announcement on 25 May 2011. MH is in fact considering all 3 alliances based on this exhibit:

 

[Josh T 0]

There is no way MH will join StarAlliance, not with both SQ and TG already there.

Strategically, it makes the most sense for OneWorld to have MH, as they don't have a member based in SEA, so I can understand why OneWorld approached MH in the first place and they won't be directly competing with CX.

SkyTeam would be the easiest to join simply because it already has so many arrangements (either FFP or code-share) with member airlines like KLM, Alitalia, Delta, Korean and Garuda.

 

Personally, I think MH will gain the most out of joining OneWorld. MH have a strong presence in Australia and it will gain a lot of passengers from QF and BA who want to travel within Asia. At this point in time, QF and BA passengers will either go through SIN or BKK but there are no arrangemnets with other OneWorld airlines out of those 2 cities (they are both Star Alliance strongholds). As a One World passenger who wants to travel within Asia, flying with MH will make the most sense then. The other thing is that MH will provide a reliable alternative (together with CX) for QF and BA regulars who travel between Australia and London/Europe, thanks to all the strikes these 2 airlines constantly face. It will also give QF passengers more seemless access to European cities like Paris, Amsterdam and Rome since QF only flies to London and Frankfurt and the other cities will have to go via London. Finally, MH being part of OneWorld will provide the alliance with another major SEA city as part of their "portfolio".

Edited May 29, 2011 by Josh T

[Mohd Suhaimi Fariz 2]

There is no way MH will join StarAlliance, not with both SQ and TG already there.

Strategically, it makes the most sense for OneWorld to have MH, as they don't have a member based in SEA, so I can understand why OneWorld approached MH in the first place and they won't be directly competing with CX.

SkyTeam would be the easiest to join simply because it already has so many arrangements (either FFP or code-share) with member airlines like KLM, Alitalia, Delta, Korean and Garuda.

 

Personally, I think MH will gain the most out of joining OneWorld. MH have a strong presence in Australia and it will gain a lot of passengers from QF and BA who want to travel within Asia. At this point in time, QF and BA passengers will either go through SIN or BKK but there are no arrangemnets with other OneWorld airlines out of those 2 cities (they are both Star Alliance strongholds). As a One World passenger who wants to travel within Asia, flying with MH will make the most sense then. The other thing is that MH will provide a reliable alternative (together with CX) for QF and BA regulars who travel between Australia and London/Europe, thanks to all the strikes these 2 airlines constantly face. It will also give QF passengers more seemless access to European cities like Paris, Amsterdam and Rome since QF only flies to London and Frankfurt and the other cities will have to go via London. Finally, MH being part of OneWorld will provide the alliance with another major SEA city as part of their "portfolio".

 

I totally agree, and lets face it, with SkyTeam already having both GA & VN in their ranks I don't see the need for SkyTeam to have another SEA airline now.

[Mushrif A 3]

Do not lose hope guys, MH is still wanting to be part of a global alliance as revealed in their presentation slide during the financial result announcement on 25 May 2011. MH is in fact considering all 3 alliances based on this exhibit:

 

 

Azizul - I wouldnt put much weight on that rectangle piece - it's probably just a gap filler in the otherwise empty bottom LHS part of the powerpoint slide. MH has been exploring and will continue to explore, but where and when does it end? How long have we heard this same 'ol story? Notice the absence of any meat on the bare alliance-joining bones. Doesnt seem to have made much progress on this front, as the mngt did not offer anything new rather than the generic "continue to explore alliance opportunities" that we all have heard over the last few years. Over this period, GA has leapfrogged MH.

[Johan Z 0]

MH just put on the slides, so people will think MH is very serious about joining alliance.

[Edwin P K 0]

The keyword is 'exploring'... LOL

 

And they should really change the year in the footer. And how is that highly confidential when it ended up here? LOL

 

Either way, please friggin join an Alliance!

[Raymund Yeoh 1]

The keyword is 'exploring'... LOL

 

And they should really change the year in the footer. And how is that highly confidential when it ended up here? LOL

 

Either way, please friggin join an Alliance!

 

I think its more of does any alliance wants MH since they are so protective over certain things....

[Johan Z 0]

I don't know who to blame about overprotecting, MH or the government?

[Kris Kim 0]

Wouldn't it be ironic if MH wanted to join OW? Several years ago they had the membership in a silver plater for them and decided not to and now they regret that decision?

 

Possibilities:

Star Alliance: Would never happen with SQ & TG still in, looked what happened when SQ joined, TG threw a large tantrum! SIN & BKK are great HUBs and connect Asia Excellently.

SkyTeam: Possibly, VN & GA focuses mainly on VFR traffic and don't really work a HUB system, BUT! VN are showing serious signs of jumping into the business market, wanting to be only second to SQ in SE Asia. So VN might block them from joining, plus, what's in it for VN?

Oneworld: Would be the smartest option, would give MH an advantage for being the only airline in the region, although MH must find a way to persuade QF & BA to operate to KUL to feed into it's Asian network as both have strong operations in BKK & SIN.

[KK Lee 5]

Given bitter experience BA had with MH and MH don’t have team spirit to work with others, doubt BA or QF is keen to have MH to join OW.

[Mohd Suhaimi Fariz 2]

Given bitter experience BA had with MH and MH don’t have team spirit to work with others, doubt BA or QF is keen to have MH to join OW.

 

That's the old management. Considering QF was considering a merger wiith MH before (blocked, thanks to the government), I don't see why they can't set aside old grudges and work together.

[kandiah k 0]

That's the old management. Considering QF was considering a merger wiith MH before (blocked, thanks to the government), I don't see why they can't set aside old grudges and work together.

 

 

Perhaps an issue with the owners who are not willing to give up their benefits hence AF's resistance and QF and BA's similar connections ?

[Mohd Suhaimi Fariz 2]

Perhaps an issue with the owners who are not willing to give up their benefits hence AF's resistance and QF and BA's similar connections ?

 

Perhaps its an issue with the alliance members asking too much from the airline that is detrimental to the airline's well being. There's always two sides to a story.

[Raymund Yeoh 1]

Perhaps its an issue with the alliance members asking too much from the airline that is detrimental to the airline's well being. There's always two sides to a story.

 

I don't think its the alliance asking too much from MH but things that MH needs to open up to if given the chance to join an alliance which they are not willing to to so for now....

[KK Lee 5]

If MH to join OW, will BA and QF give up either BKK or SIN for KUL? If not, will MH reschedule MH flight and offer very cheap fare on KUL/BKK and KUL/SIN for BA and QF? Will MH give up CDG, FRA, AMS for BA, BNE for QF?

 

If a pax travel SGN/KUL/SIN/LHR on BA/QF ticket, will MH offer the pax SGN/KUL/LHR?

[Mike P 0]

Joining OneWorld is a real win-win situation where not only MH could expand the network but also KUL gets to attract QF and BA to operate in KUL.

[KC Sim 2]

Frankly, unless a new alliance is formed somewhere else in the world, it is hard to envisage Malaysia Airlines in any of the three existing alliances.

 

One of the key criteria for joining an alliance is a good fit ... primarily a good network that adds new destinations and city-pairs to the alliance's existing coverage. There must also be a good fit in corporate culture and brand perception. And MH will have to also make major adjustment to ensure the its IT and many other operational processes are compatible with that already in use in the alliance.

 

A key challenge faced by Malaysia Airlines now is timing ... a decade ago, it might still be able to pick its alliance but today, all three alliances have somehow covered the world pretty well.

 

Star Alliance is definitely out of the question because just as KLIA faces an uphill task building its hub connectivity in between two existing and bigger hubs - Bangkok and Singapore, Malaysia Airlines will find it near impossible to gain a foothold in Star Alliance due to the existing membership of Thai Airways International (a founding member of Star Alliance) and Singapore Airlines.

 

Skyteam would have been a very likely alliance for Malaysia Airlines had it made a more serious attempt to gain membership there. Its relationship with KLM was excellent and one might even say that MH already had half a foothold in Skyteam. There were rumblings about Air France's opposition to MH's membership in Skyteam but timely negotiations with KLM holding its hands could possibly have made progress. I personally feel that the door has slammed shut on MH when Skyteam accepted the membership of Vietnam Airlines and Garuda Indonesia. Contrary to an earlier post here, both airlines are not in the alliance to service VFR and O&D traffic - both VN and GA have ambitious hub plans indeed. Again, MH is sandwiched between two other existing members - a similar situation to Star Alliance.

 

oneworld is the only alliance without a Southeast Asian partner ... but it has never admitted to having any loophole in its coverage in this region. Cathay Pacific Airways has always maintained that it provides coverage in this region and with Qantas, Jetstar Asia, Jetstar Pacific and Jetstar Airways (and the possibility of a QF subsidiary operating premium full service flights out of KUL or SIN) now increasingly looking at intra-Asian city pairs, I doubt MH is welcomed there at all. Qantas once flirted with the idea of purchasing a stake in MH but I personally felt that action never came close to becoming a reality.

 

Maybe MH could band together with a couple of Middle-eastern carriers (but not EK, QR and EY) that do not have ill-feelings for one another ... and grab a couple more airlines around the globe to form the world's fourth alliance. But it has to learn from the failed efforts of Qualiflyer which grouped airlines such as Swiss, Sabena, Austrian, Crossair, TAP etc ... in essence, a band of loss-making airlines. Till this day, I do not know what kind of business model this group had that made it think a band of losers could come together to form an alliance of winners

 

For too long, Malaysia Airlines have taken the high road and said that it does not see value in alliance membership and was confident that its basket of interline and special pro-rate agreements with many airlines is sufficient. JAL did the same but soon - but perhaps not soon enough - realised its mistake and quickly entered oneworld. Emirates take the same high road ... but it has the fiscal and physical muscle to go alone. I have still not seen any serious statement from MH indicating the airline is making a concerted effort to gain membership in any alliance. Any statement made thus far seemed to sound hesitant, exploratory and unconvinced.

 

KC Sim

Edited May 31, 2011 by KC Sim

[Mike P 0]

Probably just stick to the Interline Spa Alliance will do enough for MH.

[Cornelis Boersma 0]

Wasnt El Al going to erect a new alliance together with some other smaller carriers?