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Arthur Van Straten

Eaglexpressair Charter

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What sort of aircraft do they own or operate?

 

From their recruitment ad, B744s. But from the plane model in their homepage, B748Fs too :pardon:

Edited by S M Tang

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NO. HEAVENS NO. NOT NOW. NOT EVER.

 

Cheers.

 

Looks like The Man already giving the answer.

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Good afternoon.

 

I am new to this forum but I did put in some research on what is going on

on this board etc.

 

It appeared to me that indeed Nik.H. is the specialist on Haj and Umrah business

and if he states as he does that he is not in any way involved than that bags the

question, who is?? Judging from the website of this new venture, there are some pics of

management but the concept of the business and it's implementation is very vague,

to say the least.

Also not clear if they have obtained an AOC, very doubtfull, and whom their target

customer base is.

 

If you want to provide ACMI services as they claim, than you need to be an airline

yourself and sell your services to other airlines. it's that simple. However, what is not

so simple, is, who would be interested? MAS? Thai, AirAsia??? Garuda, Lionair??

 

If an investor has pumped funds into this attempt than I wish him a speedy recovery of his monies

as there where several grand, (delusional), plans in the past few years to set up pax and cargo airlines.

They all failed. Never got off the ground.

 

We will see, maybe the yet to be appointed Public Relations Manager will be coming to this board soon

and enlighten us all.

 

Best regards

Art

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Mafira Air, Asmara Air, FBI, and many more, including Al Wafeer......many don't learn, in the case of the last one even our National Airline got suckered.

Apart from investors, some of whom can 'afford' to get their fingers burnt, the real pain are felt by a significant number of prospective employeees, some who left their secure jobs in chase of someone else's dream, but ending up carrying on with their own nightmare.

 

Maybe this time its real......who knows.....

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Mafira Air, Asmara Air, FBI, and many more, including Al Wafeer......many don't learn, in the case of the last one even our National Airline got suckered.

Apart from investors, some of whom can 'afford' to get their fingers burnt, the real pain are felt by a significant number of prospective employeees, some who left their secure jobs in chase of someone else's dream, but ending up carrying on with their own nightmare.

 

Maybe this time its real......who knows.....

Global Air Tourism Airlines

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PETALING JAYA: Eaglexpress Air Charter Sdn Bhd, a new air charter airline funded by investors from South Korea, the Middle East and Malaysia, will make its debut with a holiday charter flight from South Korea to Malaysia next month.

 

Spearheading this new airline are two friends: Capt Azlan Zainal Abidin, formerly with Malaysia Airlines (MAS) and South Korean national Capt Shin Man Soo. They hold 20% and 40% equity stakes respectively in the airline.

 

The balance shares in the company are held by Tan Sri Aseh Che Mat and Datuk Wan Ismail Abdul Rahman (formerly with Malayan Banking Bhd and Oriental Bank), with each holding 20% equity stakes.

 

Aseh is executive chairman of Eaglexpress and Ismail, the deputy chairman.

 

“It is a 60:40 Malaysian-South Korean joint venture. We will fund the venture and also have some institutional investors from the Middle East and South Korea that have invested in the airline,” Azlan told StarBiz but declined to say how much has been invested by the parties. The paid-up capital of the company is RM1mil.

 

The airline would be offering air charter services globally and would lease three B747-400 aircraft from Penerbangan Malaysia Bhd.

 

“Eaglexpress Air Charter’s existence and entry into the aviation industry is in response to the Government’s Economic Transformation Programme. The global open-sky policy and the vibrancy of the air charter business will enable Eaglexpress to contribute to make Malaysia an important aviation hub.

 

“We will serve the untapped and under-served market, which has not been fulfilled by the scheduled airlines,” Azlan said.

 

The airline has a contract to fly holidaymakers from South Korea to Malaysia in February and also has arrangements with some agents in Thailand and Singapore to fly people to perform the haj and umrah in Saudi Arabia.

 

“We are in talks with agents and airlines in this region and actively pursuing talks for the haj and umrah traffic in Indonesia too.

 

“China is also a market that we intend to venture into,” Azlan said.

 

He added that the airline was not competing with existing carriers as it merely offered air charter services to tour agents, companies and even airlines. It sees itself complementing AirAsia and MAS.

 

“We will not sell air tickets but we can even lease crew and aircraft to airlines in need of space,” he said.

 

Over the last two months, the airline has been hiring pilots, president commercial, flight captains, first officers, cabin crew supervisors, flight attendants, flight despatcher, sales and marketing manager, and technical service managers.

 

It has set up a core team of 100 people and would be using the KL International Airport as a base for its operations.

 

New charter airline takes to the skies next month

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New Widebody Charter Airline Planned For Malaysia

 

Jan 20, 2012

By Leithen Francis

 

A new privately owned airline, Eaglexpress Air Charter, is planning to start Boeing 747-400 operations in Malaysia as early as next month, assuming its air operator certificate (AOC) is approved.

[The AOC] "hasn’t been approved yet, but they have been issued with a service permit for provisional approval,” says Mohd Yunus Charlie Charrington, director of air transport within Malaysia’s department of civil aviation. “They have to pass a technical audit before they are issued with an AOC and certificate of airworthiness.”

Airline CEO Azlan Zainal Abidin says the carrier hopes to receive its AOC on Feb. 13, the same day it completes its proving flight. He says the airline on Monday signed a contract with Malaysia Airlines’ (MAS) parent, Penerbangan Malaysia Berhad (PMB), for the purchase of a former MAS Boeing 747-400, and it plans to buy two more 747-400s from PMB for delivery in March and April. MAS Engineering & Maintenance will help Eaglexpress with maintenance support, says Azlan.

In addition, Eaglexpress plans to acquire one 747-400F that will be used to launch wet-leased freighter services in April from Kuala Lumpur to Los Angeles and Anchorage via Seoul Incheon International Airport. Azlan says the carrier has already secured one customer for its freighter.

The passenger business, meanwhile, will be operating charter flights on behalf of travel agents, beginning with services from Malaysia to Australia, South Korea and China, says Azlan. The airline also wants to cater to Muslim pilgrimage traffic from Asia to Saudi Arabia. Azlan says there always seems to be a shortage of air services for Haj and Umrah, and this explains why the airline decided on the long-range 747-400s.

Once it has established its widebody passenger aircraft business, Eaglexpress hopes to expand into narrowbody passenger charters by flying Boeing 737-800s to destinations within Asia, Azlan says. Longer-term, it hopes to be in a position to acquire 747-8s and Boeing 787s, he adds.

Having a new airline in Malaysia—particularly a passenger airline operating aircraft as large as a 747—is significant because the Malaysian market is now largely dominated by AirAsia and MAS. It is difficult to get an AOC in Malaysia for scheduled services because this is a cabinet-level decision. But Eaglexpress needs approval only from the department of civil aviation because it will operate only charters. Azlan declines to rule out the possibility that it may operate scheduled services, but says this is up to the government to decide.

Azlan, who is a former MAS pilot, says he owns 20% of the airline, while South Korean pilot Shin Man Soo owns 40%. The other shareholders, each with 20%, are Wan Ismail Abdul Rahman, former CEO of Maybank Finance, and Aseh Che Mat, former secretary general of Malaysia’s Ministry of Home Affairs. Aseh is now chairman of MWE Holdings, a Malaysian company that makes clothing and electronic goods. He also sits on the boards of some other companies, including Pos Malaysia, the national postal service.

 

SOURCE: http://www.aviationw...0For%20Malaysia

 

 

This country needs more scheduled airlines, new domestic/regional/global who are not owned by either MAS or AirAsia. Why can't Malaysia be more like Thailand or Indonesia. They have more airlines for their people to choose. Unlike here, the monopoly seems so obvious. Too much politics going on. Where r u MYCC?

Edited by reezal

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Eaglexpress strikes first deal worth RM35mil

 

 

KUALA LUMPUR: Newly-launched airline company Eaglexpress Air Charter Sdn Bhd has struck its first deal of RM35mil with a travel agent to roll out haj and umrah flights from March to September.

 

Eaglexpress will provide 31 flight services to travel agent Noz Usaha Sdn Bhd for its pilgrimage travel packages from Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

 

The airline will carry 15,000 passengers under the pilgrimage packages by Noz Usaha, a subsidiary of Singapore-based Muhammadiyah Travel & Tours Sdn Bhd.

 

At this point, the air charter airline has only one aircraft, a Boeing 747-400, with a seating capacity of 450 passengers. The company is looking to purchase two more aircraft by April in a vision to have 20 planes in the next three to five years.

Eaglexpress executive chairman Tan Sri Aseh Che Mat said the agreement with Noz Usaha was unique in that the travel agent went straight for a contract signing after approaching them.

 

“What is special about this agreement is Noz Usaha did not even sign a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with us but went straight for an agreement. I was impressed with their number of haj and umrah customers from Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand of more than 100,000,” he said.

 

At the signing ceremony, he said that while Eaglexpress was not able to accommodate the customer base at the moment, he hoped that the partnership between Eaglexpress and Noz Usaha would last.

 

He added that there were interested parties from the Asean region to partner with the air charter but nothing was concrete yet.

He revealed that there were several MoUs lined up to be converted into contracts.

 

As for Eaglexpress' total capacity, Aseh said it was premature to set any figure considering the company was still expanding.

“There are plans to buy more Boeing 747 planes, perhaps four Boeing 737-400 aircraft and subsequently Boeing 747 freighters, all of this hopefully by year-end,” he said.

 

Eaglexpress, launched last Thursday, is jointly owned by South Korean chief operating officer and chief financial officer Captain Shin Man Soo, chief executive Captain Azlan Zainal Abidin, Aseh and executive vice-chairman Datuk Wan Ismail Abdul Rahman. Shin has a 40% stake in the airline while the other three have equal blocks of 20% each.

 

The airline is currently funded by investors from South Korea, the Middle East and Malaysia and works on a business model that should see it breaking even in the second year, with a revenue of US$100mil in its first year of operations.

 

It operates from KLIA and will offer hajj, umrah, holiday and humanitarian charter services.

 

Source: http://biz.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2012/1/28/business/10554381&sec=business

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Given the extremely difficult avaition world today, I wish them luck...

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So if Eagle express is going to lease the 2 remaining Alwafeer B744's -MPI and -MPJ how are they going to get them out of Jeddah as I was under the impression they were 'impounded'? Capt Nik H maybe??

 

Lease rates of a B744 are quite reasonable now and the MH ones would be a logical choice as they are already on the 9M registery and they seem to be in demand due to their low hours and cycles.

 

Although I'm having visions of Oasis I wish them all the best.

Edited by Tom/PER

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So if Eagle express is going to lease the 2 remaining Alwafeer B744's -MPI and -MPJ how are they going to get them out of Jeddah as I was under the impression they were 'impounded'?

 

I believe the 2 aircraft have been returned about 2 months ago.

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My take on this is that although the purchase price of USD. 18 Million as per a previous press release, seems not bad, I like to stipulate that said aircraft have been sitting in the Saudi sun for some time and hence, certain maintenancew issues will occur. Now, or in the very near future.

 

Apart from that, as i understood, there is no AOC yet so, how to go operating charters this month as advertised.

 

Now, do'nt get me wrong here. Every initiatif to get avaition off the ground in a more brighter scale then the previous players deserves applaus.

However. when i see in a press relaesa that 31 Umrah flights have been contracted for RM 35 Million, I did become a little bit sceptic.

 

A tipical rotation KUL JED is about 19 hours, at best, and given yesterdays fuel prices , we talking about full charter here, gives a hourly cost of a 744 operation, all inclusive, of USD. 17,000,- per block hour.

You don't have to be a rocket scientist to do the math.

I must admit though that i do not know what hourly cost on the airframe the esteemed management has allocated to the calculation. So, please take my estimate with a pinch of salt.

 

Furthermore, and I have said that before, to outright putchase 744 aircarft without having signed long term viable contracts and without an AOC is a cunning business model.

 

If I look around in aviation world today as it is, I hold my breath.You aint see nothing yet. It is going to be brutal and, for the people who are willing to see, just look at the AirAsia/Mas deal and it's aftermath as it going to be played out from now on.

 

I am with R. Branson here. His famous quote, " How to become a Millionaire in aviation.? Start with a Billion."

 

Nevertheless, all of luck to the new employees. They a are ones in the combat zone.

 

Cheers

Art

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They must know something good. Total Malaysian Umrah market is RM270 million ( air transport segment ). With MH, SV, EK, Qatar, RBA to fight it out. These legacies have sufficient battle funds to play with prices on the route.

AOC only allows you to operate aircraft, but its not the permit that allows an organisation to conduct business. Strictly speaking, AOC is essentially a DCA matter.

 

The ASL/ASP is MoT's prerogative.

 

I really hope this start-up will not be 'victimised' by the incumbent behemoths.....

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I am with Nik H. here.

 

One may have obtained an AOC, (do they have it yet?) but that does not give you the traffic rights.

Are they still starting ops this week, as adverttised?

 

@ Carina, can you enlighten us further, as I am not follolwing you here on your comments objectives?

LUB is Luna bar and HRC is Hard Rock Cafe and BBC is Belgian Beer Cafe?

 

Chjeers

Art

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So if Eagle express is going to lease the 2 remaining Alwafeer B744's -MPI and -MPJ how are they going to get them out of Jeddah as I was under the impression they were 'impounded'? Capt Nik H maybe??

 

Lease rates of a B744 are quite reasonable now and the MH ones would be a logical choice as they are already on the 9M registery and they seem to be in demand due to their low hours and cycles.

 

Although I'm having visions of Oasis I wish them all the best.

 

So if Eagle express is going to lease the 2 remaining Alwafeer B744's -MPI and -MPJ how are they going to get them out of Jeddah as I was under the impression they were 'impounded'? Capt Nik H maybe??

 

Lease rates of a B744 are quite reasonable now and the MH ones would be a logical choice as they are already on the 9M registery and they seem to be in demand due to their low hours and cycles.

 

Although I'm having visions of Oasis I wish them all the best.

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