Malaysia Airlines, Air Asia Options

[Iron Malayan]

(Bloomberg) -- AirAsia Bhd., Southeast Asia's biggest discount carrier, said its flights to the Philippines, which started today, will service as many as 300,000 passengers annually.

``We want to bring Malaysians, Thais, Indonesians here,'' AirAsia Chief Executive Tony Fernandes told reporters today in Clark Field as the airline started its Clark Field-Malaysia route. Clark is a former American airbase, 77 kilometers (47.7 miles) north of the capital Manila.

Discount carriers such as AirAsia and its rivals Valuair Ltd., Singapore Airlines Ltd.'s partly owned Tiger Airways Pte., and Qantas Airways Ltd.'s Jetstar Asia are adding destinations in Southeast Asia as competition mounts among the 10 budget carriers in the region. AirAsia was the second budget carrier to get landing rights to the Philippines after Tiger Airways.

Fernandes said the Philippines-Malaysia route, will provide as much as 4 percent of the airline's annual sales. The airline, which will fly between Clark Field and Malaysia's Kota Kinabalu and Kuala Lumpur, made 392.7 million ringgit ($103 million) in sales for the year ending June 30, 2004.

Thai AirAsia Ltd., a unit of AirAsia, will provide flights between Clark Field and Bangkok later this year, Fernandes said.

[BatangDamo]

(IMG:http://www.aeromalaysia.com/joule/IMG_7316S.jpg)

Wow, when i go to Malaysia, i want this exact same plane to take me anywhere.

[flipcombatmedic]

(Bloomberg) -- AirAsia Bhd., Southeast Asia's biggest discount carrier, said its flights to the Philippines, which started today, will service as many as 300,000 passengers annually.

``We want to bring Malaysians, Thais, Indonesians here,'' AirAsia Chief Executive Tony Fernandes told reporters today in Clark Field as the airline started its Clark Field-Malaysia route. Clark is a former American airbase, 77 kilometers (47.7 miles) north of the capital Manila.

Discount carriers such as AirAsia and its rivals Valuair Ltd., Singapore Airlines Ltd.'s partly owned Tiger Airways Pte., and Qantas Airways Ltd.'s Jetstar Asia are adding destinations in Southeast Asia as competition mounts among the 10 budget carriers in the region. AirAsia was the second budget carrier to get landing rights to the Philippines after Tiger Airways.

Fernandes said the Philippines-Malaysia route, will provide as much as 4 percent of the airline's annual sales. The airline, which will fly between Clark Field and Malaysia's Kota Kinabalu and Kuala Lumpur, made 392.7 million ringgit ($103 million) in sales for the year ending June 30, 2004.

Thai AirAsia Ltd., a unit of AirAsia, will provide flights between Clark Field and Bangkok later this year, Fernandes said.

that's convinient for people going to Pampanga and Ilocos region. for Manilenos like me or others, route straight to Manila and the NAIA is still much comfortable.

[Iron Malayan]

(XFN-ASIA) - Malaysian Airlines flight attendants are now permitted to have up to three children, from a previous limit of two, after the carrier was forced to revise its hiring policies, officials said.

Transport Minister Chan Kong Choy said in a statement that the new rules were agreed in negotiations between the airline and its workers' union last month.

Besides being allowed to have one more child, stewardesses over the age of 45 can now move into ground jobs and work up to the age of 55, instead of being forced to retire.

[Iron Malayan]

(XFN-ASIA) - AirAsia Bhd said it has signed an agreement with CFM International Inc for a firm order of 120 CFM 56-5B6/P engines and 9 spare engines, as well as the right to purchase an additional 80 engines and 6 spare engines, for a total of 750 mln usd.

The engines are to be installed on the airline's Airbus A320-200 fleet and will also be used as spares.

In a statement, AirAsia said the funding for the purchase will form part of the funding required for the Airbus aircraft acquisition.

"The company is currently considering various sources of funding, including but not limited to export credit guaranteed borrowings, commercial bank borrowings and sale and leaseback transactions," it said.

It added that Airbus A320-200 aircraft complete with the installed engines are scheduled to be delivered over a period of up to six years, with the first two aircraft scheduled for delivery in December this year.

[yana19384]

i hate MAS stewardess these days..they are not so very nice to the ladies..

they were rough and not so smiley anymore like they used to be..everytime i fly back home they dont seem to be very friendly to any of the girls flying with me..but to the drunken boys..well..they enjoy teasing each and every one of them..

im hating this so much.. (IMG:http://www.asiafinest.com/forum/style_emoticons/default/madgo.gif)

[Iron Malayan]

Thats appalling

but I'm not surprised. Most of the good looking and pleasant ones have married the rich men they meet in the first class; leaving the ugly ones who are not as pleasant.

[malaccan]

^^Ouch, IM (IMG:http://www.asiafinest.com/forum/style_emoticons/default/embarassedlaugh.gif) Sorry to hear abt your experience yana, it's true though isn't it that the stewardesses would naturally have a bias for the male passengers. Maybe you can get better treatement from the stewards if there are any. There are always more female flight attendants than there are male ones. And the ones who are there, some of them are quite gay! MAS flight attendants are paid pittance compared to what SIA pays, that's why you find that about 40% of SIA flight attendants are Malaysians.

Dunno why la, this year again MAS is in the red, and yet AirAsia manages to remain in the black. Both are affected by the increase in oil prices.

[Iron Malayan]

Dunno why la, this year again MAS is in the red, and yet AirAsia manages to remain in the black. Both are affected by the increase in oil prices.

Malaysia Airlines are burdened with national obligations like serving the unprofitable rural destinations in Sabah and Sarawak.

They also have to send pilgrims to Jeddah at unprofitable rates and their jets return to Malaysia empty. Then they have to fly back to Jeddah with no passengers on board just to bring those pilgrims back.

These social obligations are something other airlines don't have to deal with.

[malaccan]

Hot off the press!

The new MAS 777 'Freedom od Space' special livery plane had gone for a flight test today. Looking good! The colour scheme is nice, though I would have prefered if they'd used a darker shade of blue. Blue for the 777 and red for the 747. Sweet! (IMG:http://www.asiafinest.com/forum/style_emoticons/default/love2.gif) (IMG:http://www.asiafinest.com/forum/style_emoticons/default/biggthumpup.gif)
Photos taken from aeromalaysia.com
(IMG:http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v235/malaccan/IMG_1633A.jpg)
(IMG:http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v235/malaccan/IMG_1737A.jpg)

Things I can't wait for:
1. AirAsia to serve the Cambodia/Vietnam, especially from the new Bangkok airport.
2. MAS A380 to serve KUL-AMS, so far it's the only airline to send the Airbus380 to Amsterdam.

[Iron Malayan]

^^ Even their new livery scheme is nothing compared to Thai and KLM

[malaccan]

^^Never mind, I support them also, but of course MAS is top of the list lah. (IMG:http://www.asiafinest.com/forum/style_emoticons/default/embarassedlaugh.gif) 2 In SEA, I fly MAS, Singapore and Thai. In Europe, it's either KLM of BA.

An article on Tony Fernandes, AirAsia's chief. Tabik tuan!

AirAsia's Tony Fernandes flies high

By VIJAY JOSHI

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) - Tony Fernandes is as no-frills as his airline.

AirAsia's boyish CEO with a ready grin dislikes suits and comes to work in T-shirt and baseball cap. He drives himself to office ("I just feel very odd sitting in the back of the car''), gets on AirAsia flights once a month to serve passengers drinks, and his speech is generously sprinkled with the catch-all "cool.''

It is a style befitting the 41-year-old Malaysian businessman who became the poster child of Asian entrepreneurship after buying bankrupt AirAsia less than four years ago for 1 ringgit (25 U.S. cents) and turning it into the region's most profitable budget carrier now worth nearly US$1 billion.

The slightly chubby Fernandes even used to help load and unload baggage from planes until recently when he hurt his back heaving suitcases on a flight to Indonesia.

"On Indonesia flights they generally bring their house and their neighbor's house,'' Fernandes said with a chuckle in an interview at his cramped, windowless office at Kuala Lumpur International Airport.

Fernandes' character epitomizes the philosophy of AirAsia, the region's first no-frills airline that revolutionized air travel in Asia by breaking the stranglehold of national airlines and drastically reducing fares.

Much of the airline's success lies in its cost-cutting strategies: no free food, faster turnarounds at airports to save on parking fees, flight crews clean the planes, Internet reservations to eliminate booking offices and new fuel-efficient aircraft. The company's headquarters, an area smaller than a football field, is reached after a long walk across the tarmac, past idling jetliners and airport vehicles.

At the far end of the office is the Fernandes' cubbyhole, which consists of an old L-shaped desk, two chairs for visitors, a safe, two aircraft models, a notebook computer and a collection of baseball caps hanging on the wall behind him.

"I have the worst office in the world for a CEO of a billion-dollar company,'' said Fernandes, an ethnic Indian.

His dream of running an airline was sparked when as a boy his father told him he could not join his mother on a flight to Singapore because they couldn't afford two tickets. "I didn't want to be a pilot or anything like that,'' he said. "One thing that is consistent from 5 years old to now was that I wanted to own an airline that would make it affordable to fly.''

Three decades later, Fernandes owns an airline whose slogan is, "Now Everybody Can Fly.''

Fernandes was educated in the United Kingdom in finance, and joined Virgin Group after graduating in 1987. He moved to Warner Music International in London in 1989, and appointed Warner Music Malaysia's Kuala Lumpur-based chief 1992 at age 28, the youngest person to hold that post.

A music buff - he plays the keyboards and the drums - Fernandes excelled, and Warner CD sales jumped. But Fernandes says relations with his superiors deteriorated after Time-Warner's merger with AOL. Office politics and egos began suffocating him, making him want to leave.

It was during this time that he saw a broadcast on TV about easyJet, a British budget carrier, and thought such a venture might work in Asia as well.

He got together three other investors, mortgaged his house, took out his savings and made a pitch for the badly managed, money-losing AirAsia, then owned by DRB-Hicom, one of Malaysia's biggest conglomerates.

Wasn't that a crazy idea, especially with a wife and two children to support? "Yeah it was!'' Fernandes says. "But I didn't want to sit there at 55 and say I should have done it. I don't mind failure. I have never been one to be scared of failure. But I hate having regrets.''

Fernandes says it wasn't easy giving up the perks of the Warner job _ "fly first class everywhere, stay in the best hotels, dinner with Madonna, lunch with another artist.'' "But I was so so fed up,'' he said. "Warner drove me to set up my own business.''

Fernandes signed an agreement on Sept. 8, 2001, to buy AirAsia and its two planes and assume its 40 million ringgit (US$10.5 million; euro8.77 million) in debt.

Three days later, New York and Washington were hit by the terrorist attacks. "Just as a I got home I saw (on TV) the second tower collapse,'' he said, referring to the World Trade Center. "And I am like, 'Christ, this is the last thing we need!''

But AirAsia coasted through the crisis. It was profitable from the first day of operations in January 2002. Today, it has 1,600 employees and a fleet of 21 Boeing 737s, operating over 100 domestic and international daily flights in Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, Philippines, China and Macau.

And in a clear sign of Fernandes' ambitions, AirAsia has signed an agreement to buy 60 new Airbus A320s over the next five years for more than US$1.5 billion (euro1.25 billion).

The company does not have a rigid hierarchy, evident in the way junior workers came into Fernandes' office to talk to him about operational matters during the interview.

"We trust our people. We give them a job to do and they got to do it,'' he said. "We develop talent. We never let talent down. We will never kill a spirit.''

Fernandes says he has no intention of making AirAsia a full-service, long-haul airline. Instead, he wants to expand regionally, focusing on China.

He derives pleasure in proving wrong critics who had predicted AirAsia would go bust. "If I drop dead tomorrow no one can take away the fact that if anyone here started a revolution in Asia, it was AirAsia. No one can take that away from us (even if) we go bankrupt tomorrow,'' he said. "I think that's cool.''
END
Cool! (IMG:http://www.asiafinest.com/forum/style_emoticons/default/biggthumpup.gif)

[Iron Malayan]

Buying new Airbuses will give Air Asia a big advantage over rivals who fly old jets.

Its much safer to fly in new airplanes.

[malaccan]

A lot of Malaysian business bigshots are in the UK at the moment, including Tony Fernandez.

Monday September 12, 2005
Halftime thrill at Old Trafford

BY BRIAN MARTIN

MANCHESTER: The skies over Old Trafford, Manchester United’s famous football ground, were dull and grey but there could not have been a brighter day for AirAsia CEO Datuk Tony Fernandes.

During the halftime break in Saturday’s English Premier League match between United and local rivals, Manchester City, Fernandes, together with Youth and Sports Minister Datuk Azalina Othman exchanged souvenirs with club director Sir Bobby Charlton on the pitch, witnessed by over 68,000 fans.

The digital 'A' boards around the stadium repeatedly flashed “Welcome Malaysia’s Minister of Youth and Sports” and “AirAsia, Manchester United’s official low fair airline,” as the crowd clapped enthusiastically when the public address system announced the partnership between AirAsia and one of the richest clubs in the world.

(IMG:http://www.thestar.com.my/archives/2005/9/12/nation/tony.jpg)
AT THE THEATRE OF DREAMS: Fernandes presenting a souvenir to Sir Bobby in front of 68,000- strong cheering crowd during halftime on Saturday.
The deal, worth about RM10mil, is the first sponsorship agreement United has signed with an Asian company.

“Our partnership will be a platform for us to promote the AirAsia brand in the region.

“It will also drive more Europeans to visit Malaysia,” Fernandes said a day earlier.

The club’s commercial director Andy Anson said both companies could sell co-branded merchandise together.

END
AirAsia - Man U's official Asian low cost carrier
but at the same time, Malaysia Airlines - Man U's official Asian carrier
(IMG:http://www.asiafinest.com/forum/style_emoticons/default/confused.gif) (IMG:http://www.asiafinest.com/forum/style_emoticons/default/icon_smile.gif)

[Iron Malayan]

Malaysia Airlines should buy more double deckers like the A380 or 747. They are much more prestigeous in the eyes of the world compared to the 777 and other small jetliners.

National carrier Malaysian Airlines is unlikely to suffer any fallout from the six-month delay in Airbus delivering its new super-jumbo A380 aircraft, a senior minister said.

"MAS has 17 Boeing 747 and 17 Boeing 777 aircraft ... a very big fleet, so it should not really affect the airline," Transport Minister Chan Kong Choy was quoted as saying by Bernama news agency.

Chan said the carrier may be forced to reschedule some flights to address the delay.

Malaysia Airlines said yesterday it was "disappointed" with Airbus over the delay and may demand compensation.

"We are naturally disappointed with this delay," Azmil Zahruddin, executive director of the national carrier said in a statement.

Malaysia Airlines said it was informed by Airbus recently that its first A380-800 aircraft would be delivered in July 2007 instead of January that year, with the last of the six aircraft being handed over in May 2009.

The carrier said that together with its holding company, Penerbangan Malaysia Berhad (PMB), "it will discuss with Airbus the compensation for the delayed delivery".

In December 2003, PMB signed a deal with the European consortium for the supply of six A380-800s.

The A380 is a giant double-decker aircraft that holds between 555 and 840 passengers.

This post has been edited by Iron Malayan: Sep 12 2005, 10:58 AM

[malaccan]

News says that MAs wants to get compensation from Airbus for the late delivery off the A380. The date's being set back by about 6 months. Currently I much prefer the 747 to the 777.

[Iron Malayan]

I don't think its a good idea to sponsor a sports team that has nothing to do with your company or country. Supporters of other teams may boycott you.

It would be more prudent to sponsor a sporting event or league.

A lot of Malaysian business bigshots are in the UK at the moment, including Tony Fernandez.

Monday September 12, 2005
Halftime thrill at Old Trafford

BY BRIAN MARTIN

MANCHESTER: The skies over Old Trafford, Manchester United’s famous football ground, were dull and grey but there could not have been a brighter day for AirAsia CEO Datuk Tony Fernandes.

During the halftime break in Saturday’s English Premier League match between United and local rivals, Manchester City, Fernandes, together with Youth and Sports Minister Datuk Azalina Othman exchanged souvenirs with club director Sir Bobby Charlton on the pitch, witnessed by over 68,000 fans.

The digital 'A' boards around the stadium repeatedly flashed “Welcome Malaysia’s Minister of Youth and Sports” and “AirAsia, Manchester United’s official low fair airline,” as the crowd clapped enthusiastically when the public address system announced the partnership between AirAsia and one of the richest clubs in the world.

(IMG:http://www.thestar.com.my/archives/2005/9/12/nation/tony.jpg)
AT THE THEATRE OF DREAMS: Fernandes presenting a souvenir to Sir Bobby in front of 68,000- strong cheering crowd during halftime on Saturday.
The deal, worth about RM10mil, is the first sponsorship agreement United has signed with an Asian company. 

“Our partnership will be a platform for us to promote the AirAsia brand in the region.

“It will also drive more Europeans to visit Malaysia,” Fernandes said a day earlier.

The club’s commercial director Andy Anson said both companies could sell co-branded merchandise together. 

END
AirAsia - Man U's official Asian low cost carrier
but at the same time, Malaysia Airlines - Man U's official Asian carrier
(IMG:http://www.asiafinest.com/forum/style_emoticons/default/confused.gif)   (IMG:http://www.asiafinest.com/forum/style_emoticons/default/icon_smile.gif)

[malaccan]

Hot off the press! AirAsia to commence KL-Chiang Mai and KL-Pnohm Penh from next month!! (IMG:http://www.asiafinest.com/forum/style_emoticons/default/biggthumpup.gif)



For immediate release
27 Sept 2005

AIRASIA EXPANDS ITS WINGS REGIONALLY

AIRLINE TO LAUNCH DIRECT FLIGHTS TO PHNOM PENH
AND CHIANG MAI FROM KUALA LUMPUR


Now Everyone Can Fly to Phnom Penh and Chiang Mai for less then RM 100*


Kuala Lumpur – AirAsia Berhad, the leading low fare no frills airline in Asia, is expanding its wings to two new international routes ; Chiang Mai in Thailand and Phnom Penh in Cambodia. Daily services to Chiang Mai would commence on October 20th, while daily flights to Phnom Penh would begin on November 1st. Both flights depart from KL International Airport.

To commemorate AirAsia’s latest expansion, a whopping 10 000 seats to each of these new exciting destinations would be offered at an introductory fare. Introductory low fares to/from Chiang Mai are available from RM 49.99* / THB 599* one way and to/from Phnom Penh from RM 49.99 * / USD15* one way. To enjoy these special fares, seats must be purchased at www.airasia.com from 28th September to 12th October, for travel up to 25th March 2006. Seats are available for sale from Sept 28th onwards.

Notes: * All fares quoted are excluding airport taxes and fees, and are applicable for travel one way only.

“We are thrilled with our latest expansion to Indo China. AirAsia would be the first and only airline to offer direct flights between Kuala Lumpur and Chiang Mai. This destination marks the 4th major city in Thailand for AirAsia, after Bangkok, Phuket, and Hat Yai.

The inclusion of Phnom Penh to AirAsia’s route network now established in Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, Singapore, Macau, China, and the Philippines, further strengthens the (AirAsia) Group’s connectivity and increasing presence in the region. Thai AirAsia’s upcoming venture into Vietnam on October 17th via flights to Hanoi from Bangkok, signals that the AirAsia Group has all but covered most of the major cities in Southeast Asia. We will continue to strive to add more points and connect more dots while offering low fares for a fraction of the costs, so that more people can fly.
- Datuk Tony Fernandes, Group Chief Executive Officer, AirAsia Berhad

[malaccan]

Was flicking through AirAsia's website and came across this photo of some pilots. I noticed there seems to be a weird shadow outline just around the pilots. Looks like the photo had been manipulated, probably to enhance the contrast or something.

(IMG:http://www.airasia.com/aircraft/images/pilot.jpg)

[Iron Malayan]

(IMG:http://www.asiafinest.com/forum/style_emoticons/default/book.gif)