Malaysia Airlines, Air Asia Options

[Iron Malayan]

I can't believe they hired that fat @$$ ugly stewardess.

[samheisfl]

^
(IMG:http://www.asiafinest.com/forum/style_emoticons/default/embarassedlaugh.gif) 2 (IMG:http://www.asiafinest.com/forum/style_emoticons/default/embarassedlaugh.gif) 2 (IMG:http://www.asiafinest.com/forum/style_emoticons/default/embarassedlaugh.gif) 2 .. Is she one of the stewardess

[Icez]

Nvm, give chance lar.. (IMG:http://www.asiafinest.com/forum/style_emoticons/default/beerchug.gif)

[malaccan]

I can't believe they hired that fat @$$ ugly stewardess.

Iron Malayan, as subtle and politically correct as ever.... (IMG:http://www.asiafinest.com/forum/style_emoticons/default/icon_rolleyes.gif) (IMG:http://www.asiafinest.com/forum/style_emoticons/default/embarassedlaugh.gif)
I say good for you AirAsia!! (IMG:http://www.asiafinest.com/forum/style_emoticons/default/biggthumpup.gif)

This post has been edited by malaccan: Dec 1 2005, 05:22 AM

[Aranadhel]

I can't believe they hired that fat @$$ ugly stewardess.

Iron Malayan, as subtle and politically correct as ever.... (IMG:http://www.asiafinest.com/forum/style_emoticons/default/icon_rolleyes.gif) (IMG:http://www.asiafinest.com/forum/style_emoticons/default/embarassedlaugh.gif)
I say good for you AirAsia!! (IMG:http://www.asiafinest.com/forum/style_emoticons/default/biggthumpup.gif)

wished they were more pix of them airasia stewardesses...

[malaccan]

Did I mention I like it when the crew put on their caps? (IMG:http://www.asiafinest.com/forum/style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)

(IMG:http://www.airasia.com/aircraft/images/crew2.gif) (IMG:http://www.channelnewsasia.com/imagegallery/store/phpe4UY1S.gif)

And that's all for now. No, really...

[songkok]

i like the color of their uniform.. it`s hottt!!! :-))

[Aranadhel]

Did I mention I like it when the crew put on their caps?  (IMG:http://www.asiafinest.com/forum/style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)

(IMG:http://www.airasia.com/aircraft/images/crew2.gif) (IMG:http://www.channelnewsasia.com/imagegallery/store/phpe4UY1S.gif)

And that's all for now. No, really...

caps or no caps.... they are still sexily, sizzling hot in their short skirts & high heels.. oh my goodness! (IMG:http://www.asiafinest.com/forum/style_emoticons/default/love2.gif)

[Iron Malayan]

AirAsia to Take Over Malaysian Air's Domestic Routes

Updated : 06-12-2005
Media : Bloomberg
Story By : Kyunghee Park


(Bloomberg) -- AirAsia Bhd., Southeast Asia's biggest low-fare airline, said it has offered to fly 27 of Malaysian Airline System Bhd.'s domestic routes, in a move that would almost double its network of destinations.

The overhaul of the network is part of a government plan to help Malaysian Airline cut costs, improve efficiency and avoid a financial bailout, after the Kuala Lumpur-based carrier's 367.7 million ringgit ($97.3 million) loss in the second quarter.

``It will be a boost to AirAsia's bottom line,'' said Christopher Eng, a Kuala Lumpur-based analyst at OSK Research Sdn. with a ``neutral'' recommendation on the stock. ``They should be able to squeeze good margins on quite a number of these routes, better than Malaysian Airline.''

This is the second time in Malaysia's aviation history that the government had to change the operator of the country's domestic flights to ensure profits while maintaining air links with remote towns on eastern Malaysia's Borneo island. Malaysian Airline has been operating domestic flights for its 70 percent shareholder Penerbangan Malaysia Bhd. since 2002, following five years of losses.

AirAsia's shares rose 0.6 percent to a 14-day high of 1.63 ringgit in Kuala Lumpur. Malaysian Airline's shares rose for the first day in nine, advancing 1.8 percent to 2.83 ringgit.

Government Subsidies

``AirAsia can take on the bulk of the domestic routes where Malaysian Airline can't make money,'' AirAsia's Chief Executive Tony Fernandes said in an interview today in Kuala Lumpur. ``Malaysian Airline will be free to focus on medium- and long-haul flights'' without government subsidies, he said.

AirAsia, based outside the Malaysian capital, said it's offering to fly to all but three of Malaysian Airline's destinations on Borneo island in eastern Malaysia. These three towns are Lahad Datu, Limbang and Mulu, served by Malaysian Airline using De Havilland DHC6 Twin Otter, Fernandes said. AirAsia flies to 15 destinations in Malaysia.

The three destinations should be offered to the lowest-bidding airline, which means the government will fork out about 15 million ringgit to 20 million ringgit in subsidies, compared with at least 400 million ringgit it now pays, he said.

Turnaround Plan

Malaysian Airline will submit a turnaround plan to the government by February 2006. The government will look at the plan and may provide funds if needed, though it wouldn't be a ``bailout,'' Malaysia's Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said on Dec. 2.

Malaysia's Deputy Transport Minister Azlan Ibni Sultan Abu Bakar yesterday declined to comment when the government will complete the review of its domestic routes.

Malaysian Airline will benefit as the move will allow it to ``free up some resources and perhaps reallocate toward their existing frequencies or international flights,'' OSK's Eng said.

AirAsia on Nov. 28 posted its fifth quarterly profit of 11.8 million ringgit in the three months ended Sept. 30, after the company attracted more passengers with low fares and said it expects full-year profit to increase from a year earlier.

AirAsia hedged all of its fuel needs for the full-year and added a ticket surcharge from July, reducing the impact of rising fuel prices on earnings.

The discount carrier said on Oct. 24 it's covered all of its fuel requirements for the year ending in June 2006 with West Texas Intermediate futures on crude oil. With the latest hedge, AirAsia pays $48 a barrel for fuel when West Texas crude is between $48 and $60 a barrel.

AirAsia is looking to firm up more hedging options, Fernandes said today. He didn't elaborate.

AirAsia's Fleet

AirAsia, which began flying in 2002, serves 57 destinations in Malaysia and six other Asian countries with a fleet of 33 Boeing Co. 737-300 planes. It placed a $3.8 billion order in March for 60 A320s from Airbus SAS, with options for 40 more.

The airline on Aug. 29 said it has secured a loan of about $1.5 billion from an undisclosed group of lenders to pay for the new aircraft.

``We don't need to raise any money,'' Fernandes said. ``We're comfortable with our cash flow right now. If there's the right opportunity to raise it, then we'll look at it. But it's not my decision, it's the board's.''

AirAsia may raise funds next year through one or two separate share placements of about $300 million, UOB Kay Hian Research Pte. of Singapore said in a Nov. 30 research note.

Joint Ventures

AirAsia will focus on its existing operations in Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia, Fernandes said. The airline isn't interested in flying to Singapore, he said.

AirAsia's 49 percent-owned Indonesian venture, PT AWAir International, recently renamed Indonesia AirAsia, earlier this year proposed to start flights between Jakarta and the city state but the plan has been stalled.

The Singapore's aviation authority said in March it can't decide on the request because of Indonesia's decision to restrict service of overseas low-cost carriers.

AirAsia also partly owns low-fare airline Thai AirAsia Co. Ltd. in a venture with Shin Corp. of Thailand.

[forrestcat]

Singapore refuse to let AisAsia into Singapore right, i think their gov afraid AirAsia will damage SingAir business.

[Iron Malayan]

ATR Expects Mas To Announce Fokker Replacement Early 2006




LANGKAWI, Dec 7 (Bernama) -- Southern France-based regional aircraft manufacturer, ATR, expects Malaysia Airlines (MAS) to announce its decision on the replacement of its Fokker 50 fleet by the first quarter of 2006.

MAS had opened a bidding for the replacement a year ago, which had attracted ATR, Canadian-based Bombardier and Brazilian-based Embraer.

"We are still in talks with MAS to replace the current Fokker fleet," ATR's sales director, Christophe Potocki told reporters at the Langkawi International Maritime and Aerospace (LIMA) exhibition here, Wednesday.

He said compared with the other two, the ATR 72-500 was the most suitable to replace the airline's 10 units of Fokker as it was more economical.

Asked if its closest competitor's offering was the better one as it was faster, he said: "It is faster. It is also more expensive. (But) these aircraft are only for short hauls of under 400 nautical miles. It does not justify speed with economy."

Potocki said replacing the Fokker fleet with the ATR 72-500 would save MAS US$30 million over a period of ten years.

He said MAS also needed to look at its cost when purchasing aircraft.

"This deal is for routes in East Malaysia. But later MAS might want to enhance its routes, for example from Johor to Medan, Indonesia, and the ATR 72-500 will save them a lot in terms of cost," he said.

In the Asia Pacific area, 109 ATRs are currently operated by 23 airlines.

[Aranadhel]

Anybody else have pix of them sexy airasia stewardesses? (IMG:http://www.asiafinest.com/forum/style_emoticons/default/beerchug.gif)

[Iron Malayan]

AirAsia receives its first A320

Updated : 08-12-2005
Media : The Edge
Story By : Surin Murugiah

AirAsia Bhd received the first of its highly anticipated Airbus A320 on Dec 8, after a one-year wait, when the aircraft bearing registration number 9M-AFA landed at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport.

In a statement on Dec 8, AirAsia said the aircraft had departed from Toulouse on Dec 7 with 20 crew members, including its chairman Datuk Pahamin A Rajab, group deputy chief executive officer Kamarudin Meranun and executive director Connor McCarthy.

AirAsia had signed a memorandum of understanding with Airbus in December last year for 40 firm orders, and another 40 purchase rights, for the A320 aircraft.

In March, it increased the firm order to 60 aircraft and 40 purchase rights, bringing the total number of A320 commitment to 100 aircraft.

The additional order, it said, was a direct response to the new developments undertaken by the low cost carrier for market expansion in the region.

The statement said the 180-seater Airbus A320 is outfitted with AirAsia's signature leather seats and plush red carpet, adding the wider aisles and larger cabin overhead space created more room for movement and luggage storage.

The cabin is also equipped with a state-of-the-art touch screen management system which allows the crew to monitor the cabin environment including lighting, sound system and maintenance data.

[forrestcat]

06-12-2005: AirAsia giving away 2m free tickets
By Ashwin Raman

AirAsia Bhd is giving away a whopping two million one-way tickets for free from Dec 7 to Dec 28 for travel between Feb 7 and Oct 10, 2006, in conjunction with its fourth anniversary.

The free tickets would be available for all domestic and regional flights departing from AirAsia hubs in Kuala Lumpur, Senai, Bangkok and Jakarta.

In a statement on Dec 6, it said the free tickets excluded airport taxes and fees, fuel surcharges and may not be available on all flights, public holidays, school breaks and weekends.

AirAsia said it would be undertaking an aggressive regional advertising campaign to be launched simultaneously in eight countries for the first time from yesterday.

Only bookings made online at www.airasia.com or via mobile.airasia.com between the offer period are eligible for the free seats.

Meanwhile, on the second day of the Asia-Pacific and Middle East Aviation Outlook Summit 2006 in Kuala Lumpur, AirAsia chief executive officer Datuk Tony Fernandes said the airline’s associate PT AWAir of Indonesia would change its name to AirAsia next week.

He said the name change was a move to stick to just one brand name for the low-cost carrier. AirAsia owns 49% each of AWAir and Thai AirAsia.

“We want everyone in Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia to feel that they own the airline, that it’s theirs,” Fernandes said.

Speaking on a panel on mergers and acquisitions in the airline industry, he said AirAsia believed in partnering smaller airlines that share the same vision.

However, he said AirAsia's core philosophy was to grow on its own and not through acquisitions of big airline companies.

Fernandes said AirAsia had already come a long way on its own since it began four years ago without acquiring airlines and was confident it would one day be able to operate a fleet of 400 aircraft.

OMG, its oweady 9/12

[yana19384]

^^alamak...bestnye...but im already going to go for a holiday elsewhere later next year...i cant go 2 places a year...sigh....hopefuly there are more to come (IMG:http://www.asiafinest.com/forum/style_emoticons/default/icon_sad.gif)

[Iron Malayan]

LANGKAWI, Dec 9 (Bernama) -- Low cost carrier, AirAsia hopes to bring back its maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) business to Malaysia from Singapore, said chief executive officer, Datuk Tony Fernandes.

For many years we wanted to have more of such in Malaysia.

In the past Malaysia Airlines could not provide any space for us and there was no one else to turn to really, he told reporters at Langkawi International Maritime and Aerospace (LIMA) exhibition here Friday.

But now with the government's move to have more MRO facilities, there are more local MROs emerging like Airod and Aermac Services, he said.

Earlier, AirAsia signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with MRO provider, Aermac Sdn Bhd to service its fleet of aircraft.

The timing of the MoU augurs well with the incoming fleet of A320 aircraft for AirAsia, as this would create opportunities for the airline to develop a long term MRO arrangement right from the start.

AirAsia has started to receive the 100 units Thursday of the A320 it purchased with 35 units allocated for Malaysia, and the rest for its Thailand and Indonesian operations.

[malaccan]

My goodness.... AirAsia is now worth more that MAS itself! (IMG:http://www.asiafinest.com/forum/style_emoticons/default/eek.gif)
Excerpt from Malay Mail:

AirAsia overtakes MAS on the Bursa Malaysia
Dec 5
AIRASIA Bhd, South-East Asia’s largest discount carrier, has overtaken Malaysian Airline System Bhd (MAS), the country’s national carrier, as the largest capitalised airline stock on Bursa Malaysia.

Based on AirAsia’s closing price of RM1.62 a share, the stock now has market capitalisation of RM3.78 billion, as opposed to MAS market capitalisation of RM3.55 billion.

MAS, South-east Asia’s largest airline by fleet size, closed at RM2.83 a share. The national carrier has a paid up capital of 1.25 billion shares, while AirAsia’s paid up capital is at about 2.34 billion shares.

Hey Aran, just do a Google search lah. You'll find enuff photos to fulfill your AirAsia stewardess fetish. I'm not a pimp!
(IMG:http://www.bharian.com.my/Entertainment/ABP/ImagesLama/ceritapix/mac14ritastewardes.jpg) (IMG:http://business-times.asia1.com.sg/mnt/media/image/launched/2004-10-05/air5-202449.jpg)
You also die-hard Man U supporter right?
(IMG:http://thestar.com.my/archives/2005/7/23/nation/n_p4airasia.jpg)

[Aranadhel]

My goodness.... AirAsia is now worth more that MAS itself!  (IMG:http://www.asiafinest.com/forum/style_emoticons/default/eek.gif)
Excerpt from Malay Mail:

AirAsia overtakes MAS on the Bursa Malaysia
Dec 5
AIRASIA Bhd, South-East Asia’s largest discount carrier, has overtaken Malaysian Airline System Bhd (MAS), the country’s national carrier, as the largest capitalised airline stock on Bursa Malaysia.

Based on AirAsia’s closing price of RM1.62 a share, the stock now has market capitalisation of RM3.78 billion, as opposed to MAS market capitalisation of RM3.55 billion.

MAS, South-east Asia’s largest airline by fleet size, closed at RM2.83 a share. The national carrier has a paid up capital of 1.25 billion shares, while AirAsia’s paid up capital is at about 2.34 billion shares.

Hey Aran, just do a Google search lah. You'll find enuff photos to fulfill your AirAsia stewardess fetish. I'm not a pimp!
(IMG:http://www.bharian.com.my/Entertainment/ABP/ImagesLama/ceritapix/mac14ritastewardes.jpg) (IMG:http://business-times.asia1.com.sg/mnt/media/image/launched/2004-10-05/air5-202449.jpg)
You also die-hard Man U supporter right?
(IMG:http://thestar.com.my/archives/2005/7/23/nation/n_p4airasia.jpg)

ahahhahahhahhahahahha... you're my saviour, malaccan..

[Iron Malayan]

KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 10 (Bernama) -- If there's one company that can truly be regarded an Asean company, AirAsia wins hands down.

It operates domestic and international daily flights in Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, the Philippines, Vietnam and even further in China and Macau. Flights to Siam Reap in Cambodia are to begin soon.

Its Group Chief Executive Officer Datuk Tony Fernandes said he was a great believer in Asean and regards low-cost carrier AirAsia an Asean brand.

"Market integration will take place and countries stand to gain from embracing open sky policies," he told reporters on the sidelines of the first day of the Asean Business and Investment Summit here today.

Tony, who will speak on "Growing and Transforming Asean Companies" at the summit tomorrow, said brisk movement of travellers facilitated by AirAsia catering to a certain segment of the people would boost Asean tourism.

"Even Europe can't match Asean's cultural diversity -- from the jungles of Borneo, the Angkor Wat, to Singapore's high-tech backdrop," said Tony.

As such, it would be natural for Southeast Asian leaders to be proud of AirAsia as they meet for their 11th summit.

But as much as Tony riles about Asean's potential, he is miffed by Singapore's attitude whose deeds did not match its rhetorics.

On the one hand, Singapore raves about open sky policy, but does not allow AirAsia to fly into the island republic.

As if that is not frustrating enough, Malaysia allowed Singapore's budget carrier Silk Air to fly to Sabah and Sarawak.

But Singapore government "does not reciprocate this," said Tony, who added that there has to be a give-and-take attitude to foster regional business.

Even more exasperating was Singapore's decision not to allow feeder buses to transit AirAsia passengers from Senai to Changi when thousands of buses ply between Kuala Lumpur to Singapore, he said.

Undaunted, Tony said it was important to have continuous dialogue.

"Hopefuly, one day Singapore will have a change of heart because AirAsia can bring much more travellers to the island from which the island can benefit from the economic spin-offs," he added.

[Iron Malayan]

KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 11 (Bernama) -- South-East Asia's largest discount carrier, AirAsia Bhd, is fully prepared to service all the domestic routes it has proposed to take over from Malaysia Airlines (MAS), says its group chief executive officer Datuk Tony Fernandes.

He had recently said that AirAsia could operate all domestic routes, except for Lahad Datu, Limbang and Mulu in East Malaysia which are being operated by MAS' De Havilland DHC6 Twin Otter aircraft.

"We have ordered 100 Airbus aircraft. We can speed up (delivery)," he told reporters at the 2005 Asean Business and Investment Summit 2005 here Sunday.

He was asked whether AirAsia could serve the routes if the government decided to pass the bulk of them under the rationalisation of domestic routes.

MAS, the national carrier, will submit a turnaround plan, which may cover its domestic routes, to the government by February next year.

AirAsia had made a firm order for 60 Airbus A320s and 40 purchase rights of the same aircraft.

It took delivery of its first Airbus A320 on Dec 8 and is scheduled to receive its second A320 on Dec 25, 2005.

Fernandes was also asked about the five hour-long meeting he had recently with MAS newly-appointed managing director, Idris Jala.

"The five hours was more than what I had with MAS in the last four years," he said but he declined to provide details of the meeting.