Istanbul's Sabiha Gokçen Airport, located on the city's Asian side, welcomed its first long-haul flight on Saturday.

The Malaysia Airlines flight landed at the airport at noon. The Airbus A330 aircraft was welcomed with a water salute to mark the occasion.

The flight crew was greeted with bouquets and the passengers received some Turkish delight. It was followed by a cocktail where a custom made cake was cut.

The number of Turkey-Malaysia flights has increased in recent years. The weekly flights from Sabiha Gokçen Airport will be on Saturdays until Jan. 11, 2020.

With the Malaysia Airlines flight, the airport's number of international destinations reached 128. Some 49 foreign airlines currently operate flights to Istanbul's second airport.

Istanbul Sabiha Gokçen International Airport is one of two international airports serving Istanbul, the largest city in Turkey.

Located 32 km southeast of the city center, Sabiha Gokçen Airport is in the Asian part of the bi-continental Istanbul and serves as the hub for some airlines, including Pegasus Airlines as well as a secondary base for Turkish Airlines and Borajet.

The facility is named after Sabiha Gokçen, adoptive daughter of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk and the first female fighter pilot in the world.

Although Istanbul Airport, located 63 km away on the European side of Istanbul, is larger, Sabiha Gokçen is still one of the largest airports in the country.

The airport was built because Ataturk International Airport located on the European side was not large enough to meet the booming passenger demands both domestic and international. The airport opened on 8th January 2001.

In June 2007, Turkish conglomerate Limak Holding, India's GMR Group and Malaysia Airport Holding Berhad (MAHB) consortium gained the contract for upgrading and maintaining the airport.

In mid-2008, ground was broken to upgrade the international terminal to handle 25 million passengers annually. The new terminal was inaugurated on 31 October 2009.

SAW's international terminal capacity originally was 3 million passengers per year and the domestic terminal capacity was 0.5 million passengers per year.

In 2010, Sabiha Gokçen airport handled 11,129,472 passengers, a 71% increase compared to 2009. The airport was planning in 2011 to host 25 million passengers by 2023, but had already handled more than 31 million passengers by 2017.

In September 2010, the airport was voted the World's Best Airport at the World Low Cost Airlines Congress in London and received the award.

The other awards received by the airport in 2010 were: Turkey's Most Successful Tourism Investment 2010, the highly commended award from Routes Europe, and the Airport Traffic Growth Award by Airline News & Network Analysis web site anna.aero.

With 28,285,578 passengers and 206,180 aircraft movements in 2015, Sabiha Gokçen International Airport is the third busiest single-runway airport in the world, after Mumbai and London Gatwick.

However, both Mumbai and Gatwick actually have two runways and are only considered single-runway because they can only operate the second runway if the main one is out of use. This makes Sabiha Gokçen the world's busiest true single-runway airport.

A second runway is currently being built and is expected to be operational in June 2019. The second runway will increase the hourly capacity from 40 to 80 movements. After the second runway is built, Lindbergh Field in San Diego will be the busiest true single runway airport in the world.

On 23 December 2015 at approximately 2:00 AM, explosions were reported to have occurred in a parked Pegasus Airlines aircraft, killing one cleaner and wounding another inside the plane.

Five nearby planes were reported to be damaged as well. The operations were reported to continue normally soon after, however with heightened security measured in place.

Three days later, it was reported that PKK-affiliated terrorist group Kurdistan Freedom Falcons had organized the attack.

Finnair Chief Executive Officer, Topi Manner, started his speech by stating that the goal of the carrier now is to deliver sustainable, profitable growth, as the airline moves forward from its previous phase of accelerated growth.

Finnair, while it’s home market is fairly small, as Finland only has more than 5.5 million people living in the country, the airline and its main hub, Helsinki Vantaa Airport (HEL), became a connecting point between Europe and Asia.

We are also a big, small airline in a sense that we are big enough to do things, we are small enough to get them implemented, the airline’s CEO said, adding that we are agile, we are known to have made courageous and determined decisions.

Like the decision to become the launch customer for the Airbus A350 in Europe. Previously, Finnair also became the global launch customer of the ATR 72 and the MD-11.

Some of these bold decisions are also to be made going forward, notes Manner. So, where does Finnair go next

Helsinki (HEL) became a connecting point between Europe and Asia for Finnair and it would further strengthen ties between Finland and Asia, as the shortest northern route is available due to the optimal geographical position of Helsinki, the airline’s CEO stated.

In the past five years, Manner noted, Finnair doubled its capacity to Asia. Interestingly enough, 50% of the carrier’s revenues come from transfer passengers, while local traffic contributes 30%. 73% of the transferring passengers are from Asia, the airline’s data shows.

And Finnair plans to grow further in the continent by focusing on Asian megacities, such as Beijing, China or Tokyo, Japan, where the company plans to further increase frequencies, rather than adding more destinations in Asia.

Its current business model allows it to be placed between the giant airlines on one hand and low-cost carriers on the other hand, Manner says.

But low-cost carriers, namely Norwegian Air Shuttle, offer no resistance to Finnair in Scandinavia the only two destinations the long-haul low-cost carrier serves are Thailand, namely Bangkok (BKK) and Krabi (KBV), meaning Finnair has absolutely no pressure from the lower price point.

The only other local competitor in Northern Europe is Scandinavian Airlines System (SAS), which flies to Beijing, Hong Kong, Shanghai and Tokyo.

The Finnish airline announced that it would introduce Premium Economy class cabin to further diversify its product on board in 2020. Finnair’s costs in fuel have been growing faster than its revenues, the company’s presentation highlighted, with the former growing by 6.1% since 2014, while the latter has grown 5.5% since 2018.

A premium economy cabin would allow Finnair to cater to the demand of the passengers and offer more comfort, as the Senior Vice President of Customer Experience, Piia Karhu, has highlighted by stating that over 50% of leisure and business class passengers responded that they would very likely or extremely likely travel on the newest cabin offering.

For Finnair itself, Premium Economy makes for very valuable real estate, Karhu said, as the airline is able to sell Premium Economy seats from one and a half to two times higher than basic economy prices, improving yields.

The airline plans to invest between $3.8-4.4 billion (€3.5-4 billion) into its fleet and other assets until 2025. Some of that investment would go into the growth, but most of it would be dedicated to the replacement of its aging fleet.

The average age of Finnair’s 83 aircraft is 10.2 years, with its narrow-body fleet, especially the Airbus A319 (eight aircraft) and the Airbus A320 (10 aircraft), being by far the oldest aircraft that the carrier operates, with an average age of 18.6 and 17.4 per aircraft, respectively.

As of October 30, 2019, Finnair only has five Airbus A350 aircraft on order and no other jets planned, Airbus Order and Deliveries file states.

Over the next six years, the Helsinki-based company plans to operate 100 aircraft in total, with approximately 30 of those being wide-bodies.

Ole Orvér, the Chief Commercial Officer of the company, did not specify any concrete plans about Finnair’s future fleet, however, stated that while the airline was happy with its current narrow-body fleet, not necessarily the same could be said in the future.

Going forward, we will have something that brings low cost, efficient operations and of course a customer proposition that works, Orver said, but whether Finnair will switch to a single type of short-haul aircraft, he was reluctant to answer, stating that it is purely down to price.

During 2019, the airline announced new partnerships with Fiji Airways and China Southern Airlines to further increase capacity and route offerings into Asia, including its existing oneworld alliance agreements with Cathay Pacific, Japan Airlines, Malaysia Airlines, SriLankan Airlines and Qantas.

Furthermore, the Finnish carrier plans to operate more than 100 weekly flights to Asia in Summer 2020. Newest destinations in 2019 include Beijing’s newest airport, Daxing International (PKX), Sapporo, Japan (CTS), while Busan, South Korea (PUS) and Haneda International Airport (HND) in Tokyo, Japan are set to be inaugurated in March 2020.

Currently, the airline has two main time banks when long-haul flights depart, between 5 and 10 AM and between 3 and 7 PM, with some flights departing around midnight.

In 2020, Finnair plans to offer midday departures, to allow smoother connections for transferring passengers. Following the expanded time banks, the airline will utilize its assets in a more efficient way, notes Ole Orvér.

All in all, Finnair’s goals are clear as the snow up in Lapland – expanding into the ever-growing Asian market and securing crucial slots and time windows to land or depart from the busiest airports in the region.

Finnair will hold the monopoly on direct flights between Busan, PUS and Sapporo for now, as no other European airline serves these two Asian cities.

However, the question remains how sustainable this model is long-term, even if the airline secures the limited capacity into the future, as current industry trends are shying away from the hub-and-spoke model and instead focusing on point-to-point traffic.

Nevertheless, the current conditions that Finnair operates in, including its top of the line wide-body fleet of 14 Airbus A350 and eight Airbus A330 aircraft, allows it to be the dominant airline on the Siberian air corridor, a crucial junction between Europe, China and Japan.

The fact that most of its passenger revenues come from transferring travelers, mitigates the risk of low-cost carriers putting a strain on the airline’s earnings on intra-European flights, as passengers are fed through its hub in Helsinki to connect either to or from Asia.

Malindo Air has made Adelaide (ADL), destination for this year’s World Routes, its fourth Australian gateway, launching a four times weekly service from Kuala Lumpur (KUL) via Denpasar (DPS) to the city.

The carrier is already present in Australia with flights to Perth, Melbourne and Brisbane. Launched 16 April from Kuala Lumpur, the carrier will serve the tri-city route using its fleet of 737-800s.

Competition on the 5,688-kilometre connection between Kuala Lumpur and Adelaide comes from Malaysia Airlines. The oneworld member already serves the airport pair five times weekly using its fleet of A330-300s.

The 3,764-kilometre sector between Denpasar and Adelaide is also served by another operator, with Jetstar Airways offering a daily rotation between the two destinations at present.

Malindo Air has added a fourth destination in Australia following the arrival of the Malaysia-based carrier’s inaugural service to Adelaide.

Flight OD173, operated by Boeing 737-800 9M-LCD, touched down in Adelaide a little after 0600 local time Wednesday morning and was greeted by an Airservices Aviation Rescue and Fire Fighting (ARFF) monitor cross as it taxied to the terminal building.

The aircraft was on the ground for about two hours before operating the reciprocal OD174 to Denpasar (Bali), following some celebrations at the boarding gate. The flight then continues onward to Kuala Lumpur.

Malindo Air chief executive Chandran Rama Muthy, who was on the inaugural flight into Adelaide, said there had been a good response to the service since ticket sales began three weeks ago.

“I see the demand as solid from Adelaide to Bali and Kuala Lumpur,” Muthy told Australian Aviation in an interview on Wednesday.

“The Australian market is really good for us. We use Bali as our intermediate hub before flying into Kuala Lumpur, mainly because our aircraft needs refuelling.”

“We found that Bali is another good destination for Australians so why not use Bali as a transit hub.”

Further, the Adelaide route also offered good connections from Kuala Lumpur to Malindo’s Asian network, which stretches north to Japan and west to countries such as India and Sri Lanka.

“We have a great range of connecting destinations from Kuala Lumpur and also from Bali,” Muthy said.

“From Kuala Lumpur you can connect to about 57 destinations.”

Adelaide Airport managing director Mark Young the airport was excited to have Malindo Air at Adelaide.

“Malindo Air will also be the first carrier since 2016 to offer a Business Class product directly between Adelaide and Bali,” Young said in a statement.

“This service provides South Australian passengers with more choice when heading to two of our most popular destinations, and also creates opportunities to attract South East Asian visitors to our city and local attractions.”

Malindo Air will operate four Kuala Lumpur-Denpasar-Adelaide flights a week with a mix of 737-800s and 737-900s featuring business and economy class seats.
Currently, Malaysia Airlines offers nonstop flights between Adelaide and Kuala Lumpur, while Qantas’s low-cost carrier (LCC) Jetstar is on the Adelaide-Denpasar route.

Malindo Air, which is part of Indonesia’s Lion Air group of carriers, started serving Australia in November 2015 when it began nonstop flights from Kuala Lumpur to Perth.

It added Kuala Lumpur-Denpasar-Brisbane and Kuala Lumpur-Denpasar-Melbourne services in March 2017 and June 2018, respectively.

All routes are served with either Boeing 737-800 or 737-900s in a two-class configuration. The airline has fifth freedom traffic rights for all it one-stop flights from Kuala Lumpur to Australia via Denpasar.

Muthy said he hoped to start flights between Kuala Lumpur and Sydney, again via Denpasar, in the second half of the year.

“We are still waiting for one final regulatory approval from the Malaysian civil aviation authority,” Muthy said. “Once that is sorted out, then we will announce the date and start operating the flight.”

“Hopefully we can catch the June school holidays. That would be great. We’ll see how it goes.”

As aviation thinktank CAPA – Centre for Aviation noted in a recent research report, Malindo is utilising the available capacity to serve Australia from Bali under the Indonesia-Malaysia air services agreement.

The bilateral allows Malaysian carriers to operate a maximum of 28 flights a week between Bali and Australia, and a maximum of seven frequencies per Australian destination.

Should Sydney launch with a daily service, that would mean Malindo would operate a total of 22 of the 28 available weekly Bali-Australia flights – four flights a week to Adelaide and Brisbane, as well daily services to Melbourne and Sydney – leaving only six frequencies for other airlines.

CAPA chief analyst Brendan Sobie said the expansion of Malindo in this part of the world has led to an intensifying of competition in the Australia-Bali market.

“Bali remains a popular and growing destination for Australians. As competition intensifies the fares will likely come down, stimulating further demand,” Sobie said in his March 19 2019 research note.

Jetstar could drive a new phase of growth as it starts to take delivery of A321neoLRs, some of which are earmarked for Australia-Bali routes, in 2020.

“The return of AirAsia X could have an even bigger impact, but bilateral constraints will need to be resolved.”

Muthy said Malindo would remain a narrowbody operator for the foreseeable future.

“I’m quite concerned to expand into widebody because the cost of operations is totally different than narrowbody,” Muthy said.

“We don’t want to take the risk of competing head to head with the national carrier and also the other carrier, fighting for market share.”


Tourism Observer

Malaysia Airlines this week filed initial changes to its winter 2018/19 schedule, effective from 28OCT18. The changes includes the extension of Airbus A380 operational schedule.

Kuala Lumpur – Seoul Incheon MH066/067 operational aircraft changes
28OCT18 – 14MAR19 A380
15MAR19 – 30MAR19 A350

Kuala Lumpur – Taipei Taoyuan eff 28OCT18 A330-200 replaces 737-800, 1 daily
Kuala Lumpur – Tokyo Narita 15MAR19 – 30MAR19 MH088/089 A380 replaces A350-900XWB

Malaysia Airlines in last week’s schedule update extended Airbus A380 operational schedule to late-October 2018. For the month of September and October, planned A380 operation as follows.

Kuala Lumpur – Seoul Incheon 01SEP18 – 26OCT18 1 daily MH066/067 (Except selected dates)
Kuala Lumpur – Tokyo Narita 06AUG18 – 27OCT18 1 daily MH088/089 (Previously scheduled until 31AUG18)

Malaysia Airlines in latest schedule update filed additional Airbus A380 service to Tokyo, which sees the Super Jumbo operating 7 of 12 weekly Kuala Lumpur – Tokyo Narita service, from 15AUG18 to 25AUG18 (16AUG18 – 26AUG18 from Tokyo). Planned schedule as follows.

MH088 KUL2330 – 0740+1NRT 388 D
MH089 NRT1020 – 1645KUL 388 D

Previously reported A380 regional service to Australia and Japan as follow:
Kuala Lumpur – Sydney MH123/122 30MAR18 – 31MAR18, 12APR18 – 14APR18, 21JUN18 – 24JUN18, 29JUN18 – 30JUN18, 15JUL18*
Kuala Lumpur – Tokyo Narita MH088/089 17MAR18 – 10APR18

Malaysia Airlines in last week’s schedule update filed Airbus A380 service on Kuala Lumpur – Seoul Incheon route, scheduled from 11APR18 to 31MAY18 (ICN departure). MH066/067 service will once again sees the A380 operating on daily basis, instead of A330-300.

The airline operates 10 weekly flights on this route.

MH038 KUL1405 – 2145ICN 333 346
MH066 KUL2330 – 0710+1ICN 388 D

MH039 ICN0010 – 0545KUL 333 457
MH067 ICN1100 – 1635KUL 388 D

Malaysia Airlines this week filed initial changes to its winter 2018/19 schedule, effective from 28OCT18. The changes includes the extension of Airbus A380 operational schedule.

Kuala Lumpur – Seoul Incheon MH066/067 operational aircraft changes
28OCT18 – 14MAR19 A380
15MAR19 – 30MAR19 A350

Kuala Lumpur – Taipei Taoyuan eff 28OCT18 A330-200 replaces 737-800, 1 daily
Kuala Lumpur – Tokyo Narita 15MAR19 – 30MAR19 MH088/089 A380 replaces A350-900XWB

Malaysia Airlines in last week’s schedule update filed additional Airbus A350-900XWB operating service, scheduled for Seoul Incheon and Hong Kong between July and September 2018. Following is planned A350 operation, based on KUL departure.

Kuala Lumpur – Hong Kong MH072/073
13AUG18 – 28AUG18 Day 12
06SEP18 – 12SEP18 Day 34
15SEP18 – 21SEP18 Day x123
24SEP18 Day 1

Kuala Lumpur – Seoul Incheon
MH038/039 27JUL18 – 29AUG18 2 weekly (3 weekly from 04AUG18, 5 weekly from 12AUG18)
MH066/067 23JUL18 – 31AUG18 1 daily


Tourism Observer

Malaysia Airlines Bhd (MAB) is the first airline in Malaysia to offer travellers Takaful protection following the launch of MHinsure Travel Takaful.

MAB, Etiqa and Cover-More launched the MHinsure Travel Takaful, enabling MAB customers to purchase their travel protections with flight ticket.

MAB group chief executive officer Izham Ismail said there is currently a high demand for Takaful protection products from international travellers.

We are excited to launch a comprehensive product that complies with Shariah law and at the same time offers our Muslim and non-Muslim customers comprehensive Takaful travel protection with outstanding assistance services, he said in a statement.

The travel protection offer travellers the same benefits of traditional travel insurance products with two additional benefits for Badal Hajj and Ihsarr, which cater for the Islamic pilgrimage.

The Takaful protection plan is underwritten by general insurance company, Etiqa, with assistance services provided by Cover-More, an integrated insurance and medical assistance provider.

Etiqa Group chief executive officer Kamaludin Ahmad said the partnership with MAB, which began in 2008, has elevated the business to a new level.

The continued strategic alliance will further expand Etiqa’s global brand presence by leveraging on certain destinations served by Malaysia Airlines or its codeshare partners as well as Cover-More’s global network, he added.

Cover-More global director of aviation Mark Fuller said the launch of MHinsure Takaful is the latest advance in its longstanding relationship with MAB and Etiqa.

Together, we successfully launched travel insurance to Malaysia Airlines customers in 2012 and now we can provide our global medical assistance services to travellers who want the protection of a comprehensive Takaful product.

Malaysia Airlines, Etiqa and Cover-More’s association commenced in 2012 when the three companies developed a tri-partite relationship to offer conventional travel insurance policies to Malaysia Airlines passengers through the airline online ticket sales path.

MHinsure Travel Takaful is now available via the integrated MAB’s booking path.


Tourism Observer

Following the strong earthquake that struck Osaka, Japan yesterday, Malaysia Airlines announced that it will allow passengers to postpone travels between Kuala Lumpur and Kansai.

Passengers travelling from 19 until 30 June 2018 will be able to postpone their travels before 15 July 2018, subject to flight availability, the national carrier said in a statement.

It added that they are monitoring the situation and will be guided by the authorities on safety to travel into Kansai International Airport.

Meanwhile, present flights by Malaysia Airlines to and from Kansai, are operating as scheduled.

For more information, passengers may call Malaysia Airlines’ call centre at 1-300-88-3000 (in Malaysia) or +603-7843 3000 (outside Malaysia).

The 5.3 magnitude quake resulted in the deaths of at least four people while 214 sustained injuries.

Those who were killed included a nine-year-old girl.

The powerful quake rocked Japan’s second city of Osaka on Monday, killing three people including a nine-year-old girl and injuring more than 200, according to an official tally.

Television images showed buildings swaying and burst pipes spewing water after the quake, which struck at the height of rush hour in the city of around two million.

However, there was no large-scale destruction and no tsunami warning issued after the earthquake, although commuters were stranded and tens of thousands were left without power.

Among the casualties was a nine-year-old girl who died in the city of Takatsuki north of Osaka, reportedly trapped by a collapsed wall following the 5.3-magnitude quake.

The other two dead were an 80-year-old man killed by a collapsing wall and a man trapped under a bookcase in his home.

The Fire and Disaster Management Agency said more than 200 people were injured.

Prime Minister Shinzo said the government was working united, with its first priority on saving people’s lives.

And government spokesman Yoshihide Suga cautioned there was a possibility of strong aftershocks.

Large-scale quakes are likely to happen in the next two to three days, he said.

Japan sits on the Pacific Ring of Fire where many of the world’s earthquakes and volcanic eruptions are recorded.

On March 11, 2011, a devastating magnitude 9.0 quake struck under the Pacific Ocean, and the resulting tsunami caused widespread damage and claimed thousands of lives.

It also sent three reactors into meltdown at the Fukushima nuclear plant, causing Japan’s worst postwar disaster and the most serious nuclear accident since Chernobyl in 1986.

Local residents described the moment the quake jolted the highly urbanised area at 8:00 am, when platforms would have been heaving with passengers waiting to board their commuter trains.

The floor moved violently. It was a strong vertical jolt. Nearly all of the dishes fell and shattered on the floor, said Kaori Iwakiri, a 50-year-old nurse in Moriguchi just north of Osaka city.

My parents suffered a blackout and they have no water. I plan to take water to them now.

Despite its relatively low magnitude, the quake caused quite a shake, registering a lower six on the Japanese experiential scale of up to seven – meaning it is hard to stay standing.

The tremor reminded Japanese of the devastating 1995 Kobe earthquake, which killed nearly 6,500 people.

A parent said, i was worried about my son as he had just left for his high school. I was relieved when I confirmed he was safe.

NHK showed footage of firefighters tackling a blaze that ripped through a home north of Osaka.

A number of train services were suspended, including the shinkansen bullet train, as multiple smaller aftershocks followed the quake.

The Nuclear Regulation Authority said it had detected no problems at its local atomic power plants, but some companies including Honda said they had suspended operations at local plants.

Kansai Electric said on its website that around 170,000 homes in the Osaka region were briefly left without power.

There are fears that the risk of house collapses and landslides has increased in the areas shaken strongly, said Toshiyuki Matsumori, in charge of monitoring quakes at the meteorological agency.

Around 850 people were evacuated to shelters, a local government spokesman said.

Some 40 soldiers were deployed to areas where the water supply was damaged.

Local officials also issued a warning against spreading fake news online after a tweet claiming a zebra was on the loose after the quake went viral.

Tourism Observer

Malaysia Airlines has dropped plans to furnish its six Airbus A380s to a high-density seat configuration for pilgrimage flights.

Malaysia Airlines says the decision to stick to the current configuration comes as it believes that it represents a product that is superior to other Umrah and Hajj operators.

Each of the widebody aircraft was slated to have around 700 all-economy seats, an increase of 204 from its current 496.

The decision to currently stick to the configuration follows a comprehensive cost-benefit analysis coupled with a deeper understanding of our core customer segment on Hajj and Umrah pilgrimages, that tend to be more senior and elderly, says Malaysia Airlines.

The carrier says that it will also continue to deploy the A380s during peak periods in this network. As such it says that having multiple seat configurations "may not be optimal.

Although former chief executive Peter Bellew said that the seat replacement procedures would be conducted by Airbus, Malaysia Airlines says no agreements were signed between the two parties.

"There were no signed agreements with Airbus; however, we constantly have discussions with them on the optimal solutions for the aircraft in view of changing market developments.


Tourism Observer

Portuguese wet-lease operator, Hi Fly, has announced the acquisition of two former Singapore Airlines A380s, which the Asian carrier retired after ten years of operation.

Singapore took delivery of its first A380 in 2007, becoming the world’s first operator of the type. However, shy of 11 years later, it returned the two eldest double-decker planes to its lessors in June 2017.

The Asian carrier announced that its first two Airbus A380s were “undergoing de-lease work before returning to the lessor.”

For an aircraft of such young age, it is surprising to see it phased out.

The plane’s last revenue service was from Singapore to London-Heathrow, then ferried to Tarbes Airport in France where it had been painted in a full-white livery, and its four Rolls-Royce engines had been removed.

The fate of these two planes remained uncertain. There was a strong likelihood that the A380s were to be potentially scrapped for parts.

However, increasing rumors suggested that Hi Fly wanted to purchase these two planes to substantially add capacity to its diversified fleet, and cater to airlines that need peak season capacity at the lowest possible cost.

Hi Fly operates a fleet of 15 widebody A330s and A340s.

Hi Fly president Paulo Mirpuri says the acquisition of the world’s largest airliner has been part of our company’s plans for a while.

The airline expects to take delivery of the first A380 in mid-2018.

The planes will be configured with a three-cabin layout, totaling 471 passengers in First, Business, and Economy Class.

Hi Fly says that in its upper deck, the A380 will offer 12 First Class spaces, followed by 60 Business Class seats.

On the lower deck, 399 positions will add to a total of 471 passengers.

The airline also mentioned that future high-density configurations might carry up to 868 passengers.

The Portuguese wet-lessor usually operates flights on behalf of airlines that need backup planes in case issues arise with their fleet, or a sudden spike in capacity is required.

The service it provides consists of an airplane, fuel, and crew, operating on behalf of the contracting carrier.

With the current Boeing 787 engine woes, for instance, Hi Fly has wet-leased numerous A330s and A340s to airlines around the world who desperately needed a replacement until the Dreamliners come out of maintenance.

Venezuelas Estelar recently entered into a wet-lease agreement with Hi Fly’s Maltese subsidiary to open up a new route between Caracas and Madrid.

Hi Fly provided an Airbus A340-300 for the service, but when the aircraft was scheduled for maintenance, a bigger A340-500 was provided.

However, the fact that the A380 is a niche product could be a cause for concern for Hi Fly.

Only 14 airlines around the world operate the type and not every airport in the world is A380 ready, tightening the opportunities for airlines to show real interest.

Furthermore, the fact that Emirates has been the only carrier to order more A380s, and airlines like Singapore and Malaysia Airlines are looking to get rid of the oldest units, suggests that the future of the plane, as a whole, is in trouble.

Nevertheless, having a high-density plane capable of carrying up to 868 passengers could prove lucrative during the Hajj pilgrimage season, which is the most productive season for a wet-leasing airline.

But an aircraft the size of the A380 would need to be operational year-round for it to make financial sense.

It is positive news for the A380 program. Scrapping an aircraft after ten years of service is a definite proof of failure.

Hi Fly’s endorsement of the type will give the airline great relief.


Tourism Observer

Malaysia Airlines experienced a tough second quarter with heightened competition and adverse forex movement. Load factors continued to be strong and passenger revenue saw positive year on year (YoY) growth amidst the tough operating environment.

Group CEO Peter Bellew said, “The second quarter passenger revenue saw an increase of 8%, on the back of 1.8% higher capacity (ASK) compared to same period last year.”

Load factor remained stable at 77.8%, a marginal reduction from 79.4% in the first quarter this year. The lean travel period during Ramadhan presented challenges, but these were offset by the Hari Raya peak period. Malaysia Airlines managed to increase international loads compared to Q2 2016 by a significant 16.9%, whilst only sacrificing a reduction of 4.5% in average fare.

“However, we continue to see a challenging environment in the domestic sector due to overcapacity and relentless competition, which led to a small reduction in domestic loads to 73% from 75.2% in Q2 2016. Moving forward we remain focused on improving services with a better steer on pricing. We have already seen progress on this front via a 2.6% increase in domestic average fare,” said Bellew.

Technical issues, severe weather, air traffic control delays and operational constraints led to a 5% reduction in on time performance (OTP). These issues have been addressed, and the improvements put in place have seen a steady improvement in OTP, to 78.4%, in the month of June.

“I am extremely pleased to see forward booking showing healthy YoY growth on both the Business and Economy class, despite the tight discipline we have put on pricing to avoid irrational competition. We continue to focus on China, which has tremendous growth potential. The airline’s new routes, Fuzhou, Nanjing, and Wuhan, which were launched in the month of June, are already showing encouraging figures in their early months. We will continue to focus on improving the customer experience, develop a stronger and broader alliance network, and increase our focus on the world’s fastest growing aviation region, Asia, he said.

Bellew also noted that Malaysia Airlines continues to be the only airline in the country to be certified continuously since 2005, by the International Air Transportation Association’s Operational Safety Audit (IOSA) certification after successfully undergoing stringent checks by the world body’s safety audit standards.

“We have been IOSA certified, a benchmark for global safety management in airlines, since 2005. Maintaining safety standards has always been at the core of our existence at Malaysia Airlines. We remain committed to ensure Malaysia Airlines provides a safe and secure operational environment for our customers, staff and other stakeholders,” he said.

Bookings

Passenger load factors remained steady for Q2 2017 with Malaysia Airlines maintaining fare discipline despite competitor fares dropping significantly. Recovery in international business continued in the quarter with a load factor of 78.8% in 2017 versus 67.4% in 2016. Domestic business load factor did marginally decline due to overcapacity. The airline is expecting the ongoing price war in Malaysia to suppress average fares for the remainder of 2017.

Fleet

The airlines is still exploring various options for widebodies, for possible delivery in 2018 and 2019, to address the rapid growth in international sales which requires additional widebody aircraft. Discussions are continuing with a range of lessors, other airlines and aircraft manufacturers to acquire good quality aircraft with lie flat beds and high quality inflight entertainment systems.

The airline is looking forward to the delivery of the six leased new Airbus 350 aircraft from Air Lease Corporation (ALC), with the first A350 aircraft planned to arrive at the end of 2017. The A350s will operate Malaysia Airlines’ flagship service to London Heathrow from Q1 2018 and are expected to result in a more efficient operating cost on the route.

The A350 is a technologically advanced aircraft and to assist a smooth introduction of this fleet, Malaysia Airlines has entered into a detailed maintenance agreement with Airbus in which the majority of the parts and components for the A350 and A330 will be maintained directly by Airbus in Kuala Lumpur.

Malaysia Airlines will in future pay a fixed price per hour of usage of the aircraft for this comprehensive parts and components support. Airbus will be setting up and staffing a dedicated manufacturer team in Kuala Lumpur to support Malaysia Airlines, which is expected to minimise the future risks of AOG (aircraft on ground) and greatly simplify the procurement of parts for the Airbus fleet.

Malaysia Airlines in June announced an option to convert 10 of its 737 MAX 8s on order to the newest version of the 737 MAX family, the MAX 10s. The airline will be a launch customer for the new Boeing 737 Max 10 aircraft, and will fit the aircraft with 16 innovative lie flat business seats and 166 economy seats. The first deliveries will be in January 2021. The current plan is for delivery of the MAX 8 to commence in 2019 and the MAX 10 in 2021.

The airline is currently assessing the feasibility of a dedicated A380 charter airline, as early as Q4 2018, to service the growing global traffic on the Hajj and Umrah to Saudi Arabia.

The quarter also saw the unveiling of the ‘Negaraku’ livery on the airline’s B737-800 aircraft in the presence of the Prime Minister of Malaysia, YAB Dato’ Sri Mohd Najib Tun Abdul Razak. The livery is part of the ‘Negaraku’ initiative, a nationwide movement driven by Malaysians for all Malaysians with the objective of fostering unity among all and inspiring the spirit of patriotism. The B737 aircraft, the first of several to display the national flag, will be flown and visible all across the world on flights below seven hours, from Shanghai to Perth.

Cost control

Given the adverse impact on foreign exchange and a challenging competitive environment, reducing costs will remain a focus for 2017. The quarter saw continued cost management initiatives to generate more savings in several areas across the various divisions. This included a total of 77 Operations initiatives registered and tracked for FY2017. To date, the programme has registered a 48% completion rate with estimated savings of nearly RM14 million for the quarter and a total savings of RM16 million for the first half of 2017.

Operational improvements continue

Punctuality dipped in 2Q 2017, which recorded a lower OTP of 73.3% mainly due to aircraft constraints which resulted in tight operations and aircraft swap or changes. Other factors affecting OTP included the high consequential delays due to late arrivals of aircraft impacted by external factors (weather in Kuala Lumpur and air traffic control at international stations). Some of the issues have been addressed which has led to steady improvement of OTP to 78.4% in June 2017. Aircraft utilisation also improved in the quarter with all fleet registering a higher than planned daily average aircraft utilisation.

There are currently 15 fuel initiatives registered for the year with 10 currently running in the quarter. Actual burn off registered better than budget for Q2 2017, with a variance of 1.38 million kg against budget. However, fuel cost registered higher than budget due to forex.

Read also: Airberlin To Cut All Caribbean Long-Haul Routes
Investing in the Customer

Customer satisfaction and experience continue to be a key priority for the airline. Malaysia Airlines has returned to the Skytrax quality auditing scheme this year and aims to restore its previous high ratings by the end of 2019. Customer experience areas of particular focus for the airline include soft skills training for frontliners and on-board offerings such as seats, food and in-flight entertainment. Engagement with Skytrax commenced in June 2017 with a final audit expected to be completed in late 2018.

Malaysia Airlines has continued investing in aircraft, products, service and technology as a core principle of its transformation programme. One of the initiatives rolled out in quarter two has been new menus on the domestic and regional sectors with more emphasis on Malaysian and Asian dishes, which have received encouraging response thus far. To ensure that Malaysian Hospitality begins on board, the airline has introduced classic Malaysian dishes to its menu such as Hainanese Chicken Rice, Nyonya Fish Curry and Yong Tow Foo. For the Hari Raya celebrations, Malaysia Airlines also offered satay to its Economy Class passengers on all domestic flights which offer hot meals. Other recent F&B improvements include menus with seasonal influences on the airline’s Kuala Lumpur- London flights.

The airline has also commenced work on the upgrading of the domestic and regional lounges in Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA), which are expected to be completed by the Q4 2017. These upgrades will be progressively rolled out to cover the international lounge in the satellite terminal at KLIA, as well as the Malaysia Airlines lounge in London Heathrow.

Technology driven company

The successful implementation of Information Technology is key to the turnaround with IT being an important tool in improving the airline’s customer experience and overall operational efficiency. The airline has almost completed 70% of its overall planned IT transformation, which began in March 2016.

MAG has now entered into the third phase of its digital transformation with the launch of its first innovation lab, known as iSpace. The lab, which was launched by the Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation, Datuk Seri Panglima Wilfred Madius Tangau, will serve as a testing ground for staff to incorporate multifaceted aspects of digital solutions, which will benefit the airline’s guests.

Already there have been a number of impressive prototypes and apps being developed by the winning teams of the MAB Hackathon, a competition held in February 2017 to promote innovation in technology. Collaboratively, the winning solutions, generated by the MAB Hackathon, include the tracking of unaccompanied minors, an interactive social media app that offers passengers personalized content, an app that provides key destination information on tours and trips, as well as an upgrade bidding app which can be used on mobile devices. These apps have the potential to add tremendous value to the airline’s product offerings.

The quarter also saw the successful migration of the airline’s new passenger sales system (PSS) to the Amadeus system. The PSS cutover was completed in record time of less than 12 months compared to approximately 2 years for other carriers. The new PSS is now stabilized, with minimal issues encountered during weeks that followed and without the expected dip in bookings that typically follows any major systems cutover.

The new system will enable the airline to offer customers enhanced speed and convenience, a more intuitive web booking experience, state-of-the-art mobile applications and offers to suit individual needs.

Expansion in Asia

Throughout 2017, the airline will commence its expansion of 11 new routes to China. The quarter saw new services to Wuhan, Fuzhou and Nanjing. Services from Kuala Lumpur to Chengdu and Chongqing are targeted to be launched by the Q4 2017.

The airline will also be introducing three extra flights to Seoul, bringing the route frequency up to ten flights a week from seven. Other planned improvements will include a service upgrade, for the night Kuala Lumpur-Mumbai sector, with the widebody Airbus 330 replacing the Boeing 737.

Enhancing corporate governance

The Business Integrity unit achieved several milestones in the quarter towards a more transparent and accountable Group. Over 3,000 employees have now been trained by the Knowledge Management Unit, set up to ensure understanding by staff on all policies within the group including fraud and wildlife trafficking. This has seen significant improvements towards a culture of compliance with over 2000 declarations made in the past six months against 97 in January of this year. Warning letters have also been issued for Procurement non-compliance matters, a first for the Group, stressing the zero tolerance stance of the Group.

Investing in a talent pipeline and local succession planning

As part of an initiative to institutionalise the Group’s performance management system (PMS), a series of workshops and clinics were conducted for all employees. To date, approximately 2,500 employees, from executives to general managers, have been trained on KPIs and target setting.

In addition, as part of the Group’s focus on leadership development and succession planning, 389 leaders within MAG have been trained on building and strengthening their leadership skills and capabilities. Plans are underway to roll out the initiative to the middle management group, executives, senior executives and assistant managers.

The Group is continuously sourcing and identifying talent to join the organization to ensure a strong talent pipeline. In this second quarter of the year, the Group participated in the Malaysian career fair Aspire, which over 5,000 potential candidates attended. A university outreach programme was also held with Sunway University, Kolej Kemahiran Tinggi Mara (KKTM), and UNITEN.

The first Works Council Conference of the year took place in April. The session served as a platform to share information about the business as well as raise awareness on employee issues. The council has enabled the airline to implement change more rapidly and efficiently with a closure rate of 82% on issues raised as of May 2017.

Outlook

The Group maintains its cautious outlook in fiscal year 2017. The aggressive price war on the domestic market is expected to continue with a weak Ringgit and increased fuel prices adding to an already challenging cost environment. Advance bookings are far stronger in 2017 than 2016, but the airline is seeing yield pressure across all routes as low fares are available from many legacy carriers as well as the traditional low cost carriers.

For Malaysia Airlines, the market is diverging with consistent growth and improvement on international services, but a loss of market share domestically where fares are increasingly low. The Group will continue to be prudent in controlling capacity and has already scaled back on domestic route frequencies allocating the Group’s aircraft where MAG sees the best potential returns.

The airline is still on track to be profitable in 2018.

Starting from September 1st, Malaysia began imposing its tourism tax.

The tax will be collected from all types of premises used as accommodation for tourists, such as registered hotels and inns.

Hotels have begun claiming the RM10 nightly fee from foreign tourists lodging at their premises.

Malaysian Association of Hotels president Sam Cheah Swee Hee said, Not all hotel operators are ready. We will do it manually until the system is ready.

Any hotel with five rooms or more is applicable for the tax regardless of their star rating.

Malaysian nationals who hold a MyKad or permanent residents with MyPR cards are exempted from the tax.

The tax is not included in the reservation cost. It will be collected by the accommodation premises.

The tourism tax introduced this year was initially planned for roll out from August 1 and taxation was originally meant to cover Malaysians staying at hotels as well.

The scheme was later reviewed, delayed and changed to only foreign tourists at a flat charge of RM10 (approx. US$2.3 or €2) a night following public uproar.



Tourism Observer

Armed police stormed a Malaysia Airlines flight which was forced to return to Melbourne after a passenger tried to enter the cockpit claiming he had a bomb, officials said Thursday.

Passengers told of fearing for their lives, but Malaysian Deputy Transport Minister Abdul Aziz Kaprawi said a Sri Lankan national, who appeared to have been drunk, was overpowered by the plane's crew and later arrested.

It is not a hijack. One disruptive passenger tried to enter the plane's cockpit,he said.

The passenger claimed to have a bomb. But it was not a bomb but a powerbank, Aziz said.

Everyone on board is safe.He was taken out of the plane handcuffed by Australian security officers."

Kuala Lumpur-bound Flight MH128 left Melbourne at 11:11pm (1311 GMT) on Wednesday but turned back shortly afterwards when a man allegedly threatened those on board, Australian police said.

It is alleged that a man tried to enter the cockpit and threatened the safety of passengers and staff, Victoria state police said in a statement, but added that he did not gain entry to the cockpit and was subdued.

Superintendent Andy Langdon said the suspect appeared to have a history of mental illness.

We do not believe this is terrorist-related at the moment,Langdon said.

Photographs on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation website showed black-clad officers armed with rifles on board the plane.

While officials tried to play down the incident, passengers told of some 90 minutes of onboard drama and fear after take-off.

A business class passenger, who identified himself as Andy, said the arrested man had threatened to blow the plane up.

The staff were saying 'Sit back down sir, sit back down sir'. He goes 'No, I'm not going to sit back down, I'm going to blow the plane up', Andy said.

"The staff screamed out 'I need some help, I need some help'. So I jumped up, undid my buckle, and approached him."

Andy said the man ran to the back of the plane, where two other men grabbed and disarmed him of a "giant black thing" and "put hog ties on him".

Superintendent Langdon described the experience for passengers as "very traumatic", adding passengers and crew were "heroic".

Passenger Arif Chaudery said he joined several others to subdue the man.

"Families, kids, they were very scared, and some screaming... so three or four guys, we jumped as quickly as possible," he told Channel Nine.

"We just put him on the floor and finally staff brought the belt, so we handcuffed him and tied his legs and put his face on the floor."

Laura, who asked for her surname to be withheld, told the ABC she feared for her life.

"I thought the plane was going to go down, I thought the bomb was going to go off, I really did think I was going to die," she said.

Malaysia Airlines said the plane's passengers would be put up at hotels and offered another flight.

Melbourne airport said inbound and outbound flights had been affected and advised passengers to check with their airlines.

The incident came just months after Canberra called off the search for missing flight MH370 carrying 239 passengers and crew, after a vast underwater hunt off Australia's west coast failed to find the plane.

MH370 disappeared in March 2014, while another passenger jet, MH17, was shot down in July of the same year while flying over Ukraine in twin tragedies to hit Malaysia's national carrier.

Qantas Airways has plans to drop the Melbourne-Dubai-London flights it is currently operating with Emirates in order to boost its services on the UK route and meet high demand from the Asian market.

The move also comes in the wake of heightened security measures that affect flyers from Dubai and other parts of the Middle East.

The Aussie carrier revealed the plans on Thursday when it announced the sale of tickets for its upcoming non-stop flights between Perth and London, which will begin on March 24, 2018.

The new Perth-London service will fly passengers from Melbourne to the UK and back without passing through Dubai, eventually reducing the travel time by more than one hour.

“The new QF9/10 will replace Qantas’ existing Melbourne-Dubai-London services,” Qantas said in a statement released on Thursday.

“With a faster flying time and quicker connections in Perth, customers travelling to London from Melbourne will reduce their total travel time by more than an hour compared with existing Qantas A380 services.”

The airline’s A380 that currently serves the Melbourne-London route will be redeployed to meet periods of high demand from Melbourne and Sydney to destinations in Asia, such as Singapore and Hong Kong, Qantas added.

The airline, however, assured that its partnership with Emirates will continue to deliver services for the European market.

Qantas customers in Melbourne will have the option to fly with partner Emirates on Qantas code to Dubai and then direct nearly 40 destinations in Europe. Emirates is up-gauging its third daily flight from the Victorian city from a Boeing 777-300ER to an A380 service from the 25th March, 2018.

Qantas Group CEO Alan Joyce said the route will boost tourism in Australia and meet the growing demand from travellers. He noted that since its announcement in December 2016, the Perth-London service had attracted a lot of interest.

This route makes Western Australia a new tourism gateway for Australia. We know from our research that there’s a lot of appetite to explore the West, not just from British and European visitors but also from Aussies on their way to London.

A lot of business travellers, particularly in the resources sector, will stop off in Perth on their way to the UK.

Oman’s new budget airline SalamAir will operate as many as 12 Airbus A320 narrow body jets by 2020, as it aims for profitability by the end 2018, its chief executive said on Wednesday.

Launched in January, SalamAir has started flights from Muscat to Dubai in the United Arab Emirates, Jeddah in Saudi Arabia and Salalah in Oman.

It plans to increase its fleet to between 10 and 12 A320s by 2020 from the three it has leased from Chile’s LATAM Airlines, CEO Francois Bouteiller said in Dubai.

Two to three of those will be added in 2018, he said.

Bouteiller said the airline is yet to decide if it should purchase or continue to lease aircraft but that it would only be interested in current model Airbus A320s and not the ‘neo’ variant.

SalamAir expects to carry between 750,000 and 800,000 passengers in 2017 with a load factor or how full its planes are of between 70 per cent and 80 per cent.

Bouteiller said the airline would mostly fly to destinations within three hours flying time of Oman.

The carrier, owned by the Omani government pension funds and the Muscat municipality, will launch up to five new routes from May: Medina in Saudi Arabia, Sialkot, Karachi and Multan in Pakistan and Dhaka in Bangladesh, Bouteiller said.

SalamAir is the second airline operating in Oman after state-owned Oman Air. SalamAir operates a single economy class product with 174 seats.

Malaysia Airlines has offered to lease Airbus A330 jets from Alitalia if the struggling Italian airline is wound up, the Asian carrier’s chief executive said on Wednesday.

Alitalia is preparing for special administration proceedings after workers rejected its latest rescue plan, making it impossible for the loss-making airline to secure funds to keep its aircraft flying.

Workers are hoping the Italian government will step in with an alternative rescue deal.

Malaysia Airlines could take between six and eight Airbus A330s from Alitalia, CEO Peter Bellew told Reuters in Dubai. “I hope Alitalia stays in business but it doesn’t look good to me today. I think it’s hard to see how they are going come back from the pressure they are sitting on at the moment,” he said.

An Alitalia spokesman declined to comment.

Malaysia Airlines is emerging from a turnaround after suffering two tragedies in 2014, when flight MH370 from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing disappeared in what remains a mystery, and then flight MH17 from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur was shot down over eastern Ukraine.

Its load factors or how full its planes are averaged around 80 per cent in the three months to March 31, Bellew said.

Malaysia Airlines wants to lease between six and eight A330s or Boeing 777s for use from 2018 and a further seven to nine from 2019, he said, expecting to finalise most of those deals in the next four to six weeks.

This is an increase on the six for 2018 and six for 2019 he told Reuters last month he was interested in. “The world really is awash right now,” Bellew said with regard to spare wide-body aircraft, adding that he also saw opportunities to take aircraft from Middle East carriers.

There are really good deals out there at the moment. It’s a buyer’s market right now. Bellew also said he planned to make a decision on an order for 30-35 new Airbus A330neo or Boeing 787-9 wide-body planes in the next four to six months to replace existing aircraft in its fleet from the end of 2019.

If the prices are good we will do an order, he said.

But they need to sharpen their pencils because they are still unrealistic with the pricing in the current market. Malaysia Airlines would look for more leases if it doesn’t get the pricing it wants, he said.

It could also convert or add to an existing order for 25 of Boeing’s new generation 737 MAX 8 narrow body aircraft or the proposed bigger MAX 10 version currently being offered informally to the market by the US plane maker.

Bellew did not say how many could be ordered or when a decision might be made.

Industry sources said on Tuesday that Boeing was nearing a decision to launch the MAX 10 plane at the Paris Airshow in June.

Malaysia Airlines plans to trim its narrowbody fleet to between 35 and 40 aircraft from 54 currently and increase its number of wide-bodies from 15 to 35.

The airline is aiming for a return to profitability by 2018 and stock market listing in March the following year.

Bellew said he believed a majority of the airline would be listed.

oneworld®, the world’s most awarded global airline alliance, today unveiled key enhancements to oneworld events, its one-stop, easy-to-use travel service for the conferences, conventions, meetings, exhibitions and special events markets.

Key improvements include:

Lowering by half the minimum requirement for the number of delegates flying internationally to an event, to just 50.
A simpler and more generous incentive for event organisers.

The changes are being made on the back of a record year for the programme – with more events and conventions selecting oneworld as their official air travel partner.

They were announced on the opening day of one of the biggest events of the year for this sector of the travel industry – IBTM World. Reed Travel Exhibitions, which manages IBTM worldwide, has itself selected oneworld as its official and exclusive global air travel partner for the market-leading events in its portfolio.

oneworld Director of Sales José María Alvarado said: “The past 12 months have seen oneworld events break all records with twice as many events and conventions signing oneworld to be their global air travel partner than in the year before. So far in 2016, through the oneworld events programme, oneworld has been chosen as the global air travel partner for organisers of events and conventions in more than 100 different cities in 30 plus different countries.

“It is very clear that event organisers and delegates love the attractive flight discounts the programme offers on a collection of some of the world’s leading airlines, to say nothing of the programme’s ease of use and the many other benefits oneworld events provides. Now oneworld events is even better.”

oneworld events is aimed at conferences, conventions, meetings, exhibitions and special events targeting, from today, a minimum of 50 attendees flying internationally - half the previous minimum requirement. Requests are accepted as early as five years in advance and up to three months prior to the event date.

For meeting, event and convention organisers, oneworld events provides:

An efficient and user-friendly centralised process, with one set of terms and conditions covering travel on all oneworld member airlines that can be ready for acceptance just days after submitting the online request form.
Attractive discounts for attendees on flights on oneworldmember airlines, which together serve more than a thousand destinations in 150 plus countries around the globe.
Access to the easy-to-use oneworld events online booking tool, together with option to designate a travel agency.
The chance for organisers to earn and redeem travel credits for flights on participating oneworld member airlines.
Simple online access to real-time management reports 24/7, when using oneworld’s own online booking tool, to help meet attendees’ travel needs.
A ready-to-use oneworld promotional toolkit to build attendee awareness.

For attendees, oneworld events offers:

Attractive discounts on flights for attendees and one travel companion each, on oneworld member airlines, which together serve a thousand destinations in more than 150 countries around the globe. From today, those discounts can be obtained not just by booking direct via oneworld events' easy-to-use website but also via designated travel agencies.
Option to book those discounts direct via oneworld events' easy-to-use website and via designated travel agencies.
A user-friendly booking tool that displays the most convenient flights and multiple fare options from hundreds of departure points all over the world to the event or convention location.
Travel on a collection of some of the world’s leading airlines.
Round-the-clock support, when booking via oneworld’s own online booking tool, with the oneworld events helpdesk ready to help via email or phone.
All the usual privileges and benefits afforded to members of any oneworld member airline frequent flyer programme – including the ability to earn miles/points and, for top tier cardholders and one companion each, to use any of the 650 plus airport lounges provided by the alliance’s airlines the world over. Attendees who are not yet members can sign-up before they depart and then receive their benefits and privileges on their way to or from their convention or event.

About oneworld

oneworld is an alliance of some of the world’s leading airlines, committed to providing the highest level of service and convenience to frequent international travellers. They include airberlin, American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific, Finnair, Iberia, Japan Airlines, LATAM Airlines, Malaysia Airlines, Qantas, Qatar Airways, Royal Jordanian, S7 Airlines and SriLankan Airlines, and around 30 affiliates. As part of oneworld, these airlines:

Serve more a thousand airports in 150 plus countries, with 14,000 daily departures.
Carry some 550 million passengers a year on a combined fleet of 3,500 aircraft.
Generate US$ 130 billion annual revenues.

oneworld member airlines work together to deliver consistently a superior, seamless travel experience, with special privileges and rewards for frequent flyers, including earning and redeeming miles and points across the entire alliance network. Top tier cardholders (Emerald and Sapphire) enjoy access to more than 650 airport lounges and are offered extra baggage allowances. The most regular travellers (Emerald) can also use fast track security lanes at select airports.

oneworld is the world’s most highly prized global airline group, with more “best alliance” awards than its competitors combined, including currently:

FlightStats’ On-Time Performance Award 2015 for the third time running.
Business Traveller’s 2016 Best Airline Alliance, for the fourth year running.
World Travel Awards’ World’s Leading Airline Alliance 2015, for the 13th consecutive year.
Global Traveler magazine’s 2015 GT Tested Reader Survey Award – for the sixth year in a row.
Premier Traveler’s Best of 2015 Awards – for the third year running.
Business Traveler North America’s 2015 Best in Business Travel Awards.

Malaysia Airlines has announced an order for 25 Boeing 737 MAX 8 airplanes. The deal is valued at $2.75 billion dollars at current list prices. The order also includes purchase rights for additional 737 MAX 8 and 737 MAX 9 airplanes.

“This deal is a game-changer for Malaysia Airlines with much lower costs and greater efficiency which we will pass on to our loyal customers with lower fares,” said Peter Bellew, Malaysia Airlines’ Chief Executive Officer.

“With the 737 MAX’s longer range capabilities, we will be able to connect our passengers to more destinations, in greater comfort and with superior economics.”

The Malaysian national carrier has operated almost every derivative of the 737 airplane family and took delivery of its 100th 737 in December 2014. Malaysia Airlines currently operates more than 50 737-800s.

“The 737 MAX will continue the superior operating economics and reliability of the 737 that Malaysia Airlines has depended for more than 40 years,” said Dinesh Keskar, senior vice president, Asia Pacific & India Sales, Boeing Commercial Airplanes.

The 737 MAX will deliver 20 percent lower fuel use than the first Next-Generation 737s and the lowest operating costs in its class – 8 percent per seat less than its nearest competitor. The new single-aisle airplane incorporates the latest technology CFM International LEAP-1B engines, Advanced Technology winglets and other improvements to deliver the highest efficiency, reliability and passenger comfort in the single-aisle market.

I’ve been tracking my flights since early 2012 and according to Jetlovers I’ve taken 370 flights, flown over 385,000 miles and spent around 40 days in the air. I love flying, but my favorite part is the meal service.

The anticipation of what may be served and how it will look and taste all adds to the inflight passenger experience. As I’ve said numerous times before, airline food is a form of inflight entertainment, whether good or bad. There are some airlines who really know how to do airline meals correctly whilst others who need a lesson or two. Here’s a look at some examples of memorable inflight meals over the years, each with its own reason why.

Norwegian Airlines
Back in 2012, I flew with the airline from New York to Oslo (remember all those issues they had with its Boeing 787s?) the food was bad, really bad. But they redeemed themselves recently, I flew from Oslo to Bangkok only 2 weeks ago with the airline and managed to book a number of meals. My inflight taste test cost me €35.00 and I received a main meal as well a second service breakfast pack. The crew saw me taking lots of photos and ended up giving me an extra hot meal to test out. I immediately noticed a massive improvement in quality and taste. The meals were fresh, served hot and most importantly tasty and yes the chicken was succulent too.

Xiamen Airlines
I wasn’t expecting much from this Chinese airline even though I would be flying business class, but was pleasantly surprised on a flight from Amsterdam to Xiamen on their Boeing 787. It was Christmas Day 2015 and I was served a delicious meal of chicken with roast potatoes, French onion soup and a crisp salad. Not only did the airline hand out dinner candles to all passengers, but the service and inflight product was just fantastic. Sure the lounges weren’t the best in China, but inflight this airline was perfect!

Malaysia Airlines
Well known for its fantastic satay sticks in business class, Malaysia Airlines didn’t disappoint on this flight from Kuala Lumpur to New Delhi. Passengers on Malaysia Airlines gobble up 20,000 satay sticks each day! They are cooked in a special way at around 60 degrees and blast chilled (cooled down very quickly) then kept cool until they are served inflight no later than 12 hours after being cooked. Passengers can choose between lamb or chicken, and have the satay sauce drizzled all over the meat, or on the side. Whilst the the rest of my meal was mediocre on this flight I thoroughly enjoyed those satay sticks!
Swiss International Airlines
SWISS really knows how to consistently serve some of the most amazing looking meals in business class on their European flights. The airline is well known to support local Swiss producers and offer these products to passengers inflight. Back in November 2014 the airline had a pop up restaurant event on flight LX16 from Zurich to New York. Swiss chef Chef Andreas Caminada and his ten-member team took 12 months to plan for the inflight event. Passengers in all cabin classes were served an array of meals that were freshly prepared inflight. Here’s a perfect example of how Swiss even treat economy class passengers to Swiss produce.

Turkish Airlines
Whether you’re in business, premium economy or economy, Turkish Airlines certainly knows how to deliver a fantastic meal no matter what cabin class you travel. Even on short flights within Europe the airline will offer something delicious. Like this inflight snack box on a flight from Athens to Istanbul featuring a typical Turkish breakfast, not bad for a flight of around 1:20!

Singapore Airlines
Probably my most memorable meal was flying SQ in their A380 suites, I pre ordered the Japanese Kyo-Kaiseki dish. My favorite part of the meal was the Nino-Zen, it was the third course in this four course tasting menu. It included:

An amazing suites experience on Singapore Airlines from Hong Kong to Singapore.

Mueller will finish in September, long before end of three-year contract, due to ‘changing personal circumstances’

Malaysia Airlines said on Tuesday its chief executive officer, Christoph Mueller, will leave his job in September, far ahead of the end of his three-year contract, due to “changing personal circumstances”.

MH370: debris found in Mauritius to be examined by investigators, Australia confirms

Mueller, a turnaround veteran, formally began his job last May to oversee a $1.56bn overhaul that included cutting 6,000 jobs and axing unprofitable routes.

“I am proud of what we have achieved as a team in such a short time unfortunately, personal circumstances will make it difficult for me to complete my full term,” Mueller said in a statement, without elaborating.

Mueller said he is confident the airline is on the right track to succeed in its next phase of growth under a new CEO.

The airline said it has begun searching for a new chief executive from a pool of internal and external candidates. It said Mueller would stay until September to ensure a smooth transition, and would remain a non-executive director.

MH17 report identifies Russian soldiers suspected of downing plane in Ukraine

The national airline suffered years of financial losses before two disasters in 2014 — the disappearance of Flight 370 and the loss of another plane shot down over Ukraine. The airline was taken private by state investment agency Khazanah Nasional and Mueller was hired to oversee its overhaul.

Khazanah said in a separate statement that Mueller has put in place a strong management team and has helped lay the foundation for a sustained turnaround that has produced encouraging signs of progress.

In an interview with two weeks ago, Mueller described the airline as a “ship that has many leaks” but said things are back on the right track. He said the carrier recorded a profit in February, its first positive monthly result in years, and is on track to return to the black by 2018.

I travelled with Malaysian Airlines together with 3 other adults and 3 young children. It was the worse flying experience I have ever suffered.

The flight was cancelled days before departure but we were not advised! When we arrived at the airport (Sydney) we were required to wait some 7 hours for an alternative Malaysian Airlines flight.

When we arrived at Kuala Lumpur we discovered that we had missed our connection (another Malaysian Airlines flight).

We were then required to queue for several hours at a Malaysian Airlines 'service desk' to get overnight accommodation. We were then required to queue for a further hour to board a coach to take us to a hotel.

The next day when we returned to KLIA to board the next flight we found we had been allocated seats scattered around the plane such that the three children (aged 3, 6 and 8 years old) were all sitting away from their parents!
Does this sound unbelievable?

Sadly it gets worse! I complained to Malaysian Airlines and I received an automated response stating that I would get a response. That further response never arrived so I chased them up and again got no response – other than the automated response! I then sent them a final request and guess what – other than the automated response I received silence.

This has to be the height of disrespect and total disregard for customer service!!

By
Peter Fowler

Suspected aircraft debris has been found on the coast of Mozambique, and Malaysia's transport minister said there was a "high possibility" it came from a Boeing 777, the same model as missing flight MH370.

"Based on early reports, high possibility debris found in Mozambique belongs to a B777," Liow Tiong Lai said on his Twitter feed.

US television network NBC earlier reported a piece of debris had been found along the eastern African coast between Mozambique and Madagascar.

If confirmed, it would be the second piece of debris found from MH370, which disappeared on March 8, 2014 while on a routine overnight flight from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing with 239 passengers and crew aboard.

Last July, a man on the French Indian Ocean island of Reunion found a wing fragment experts later determined came from the Malaysia Airlines flight, the only confirmed evidence of the plane's fate so far.

Citing US, Malaysian and Australian investigators who had seen photos of the object, NBC said the Mozambique debris could be a horizontal stabilizer a wing-like part attached to the tail.

Liow said Malaysia was working with Australia, which is coordinating an Indian Ocean search for the ill-fated jumbo jet, to retrieve the debris for closer study.

He stressed that the origin of the item was "yet to be confirmed and verified".

"I urge everyone to avoid undue speculation as we are not able to conclude that the debris belongs to MH370 at this time," the transport minister said.

The find comes just days before the two-year anniversary of MH370's disappearance.

Investigators believe the plane rerouted to the southern Indian Ocean, where it crashed, but no site has been found and the cause of the disaster remains unknown.

The debris was found on a sandbank in the Mozambique Channel by an American who has been blogging about the search for MH370, NBC said.

Mozambican authorities confirmed a possible plane part had been handed in by an American tourist, who found it near the coastal town of Vilankulo in Inhambane province.

"We received this afternoon a piece of plane that was brought by an American visitor named Blaine Gibson," Joao de Abreu, president of Mozambique's Civil Aviation Institute (IACM),said.

"He said he had been walking on the beach two days ago and found the piece near Vilankulo, on a sand bank called Paluma near Benguerra Island," which is part of the Bazaruto archipelago.

De Abreu said the grey piece of "composite" material, which measures 57 by 90 centimeters (22 by 35 inches), was still in Mozambique and would be turned over to experts for analysis.

"It's still premature and speculative to say that this piece belongs to a Boeing or an Airbus or another plane," he added.

A spokesman for the Australian Transport Safety Bureau, which has been coordinating the search, said it was "working with officials in Mozambique and Malaysia to investigate".

The disappearance of flight MH370 in 2014 gripped the world and remains one of the greatest mysteries in aviation history.

Theories of what happened include a hijacking, rogue pilot action, or sudden mechanical problem that incapacitated the crew, but there is nothing to support any one theory.

Families of passengers accuse Malaysia Airlines and the Malaysian government of a slow and bungled response, as well as withholding information and treating families poorly. Both strongly deny the charges.

A slew of lawsuits targeting the struggling carrier have been launched in US, Malaysian, Chinese and Australian courts ahead of the two-year anniversary, a deadline for taking legal action against the airline.

Aviation-law specialists say the suits are likely to result in payouts of possibly hundreds of millions of dollars.

Malaysia Airlines Berhad has announced that it has entered into a memorandum of understanding with Malaysia Healthcare Travel Council.

Under the terms of the deal, Malaysia Airlines will be positioned as MHTC’s preferred healthcare tourism airline with both parties jointly exploring marketing activities to position Malaysia as the premier healthcare destination regionally and globally.

As the official airline, Malaysia Airlines will support MHTC with sponsored tickets for familiarisation trips to Malaysia.

This will also be supplemented with discounted rates for guests traveling to Malaysia for medical tourism purposes.

The offer begins today and is valid for a period of one year.

The deal was signed by Paul Simmons, chief commercial officer of Malaysia Airlines and Sherene Azli, chief executive of MHTC and witnessed by the Malaysia minister of health Datuk Subramaniam.

Simmons said: “Malaysia Airlines is delighted to be partnering Malaysia Healthcare Travel Council for this important market segment.

“As the country’s national airline, we are fully supportive of the country as the leading destination for medical tourism.

“Guests who choose Malaysia for health tourism will have the opportunity to benefit from the internationally accredited medical facilities as well as the beauty and tranquillity of Malaysia to recuperate in.

“Our comprehensive network within the country is the perfect complement to this, as the best way to fly to, from and around Malaysia”.

The signing took place during the Malaysia Healthcare Media Week, which was organised by the Malaysia Healthcare Travel Council, an agency under the ministry of health Malaysia.

The MHMW is used as a platform to further strengthen and grow the Malaysia Healthcare brand positioning among the local and international media.

Family of Chong Ling Tan claims the airline was negligent and did not ensure the safety of the flight on which he died.

The widow and sons of a man who is among the lost passengers of the missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 are suing the airline for "nervous shock".

Yen Li Chong and sons Justin Jia Tian Tan and Javier Jia He Tan, who live in Australia, have filed a legal action in the state of Victoria, for unspecified damages.

Her husband, Chong Ling Tan, was travelling in business class cabin of the jet when it disappeared on a Kuala Lumpur to Beijing flight on 8 March, 2014.

The Chong family are suing Malaysia Airlines under the 1999 Montreal Convention, which establishes airline liability for accidents.

"The defendant is liable for such nervous shock sustained by the first, second and third plaintiffs as a result of the death of the deceased," the writ revealed.

It alleges that the "aircraft would not have disappeared" if the carrier had ensured the safety of the flight, that reasonable or adequate precautions were taken, and that the flight was "monitored and tracked at all times".

The nervous shock suffered by the 49-year-old widow and sons, now aged 19 and 15, was a "direct and foreseeable consequence of the disappearance of the defendant's aircraft", it added.

The action is not the first case involving MH370, which mysteriously vanished with 239 people on board almost two years ago.

A Malaysian family in In October 2014, sued the carrier for negligence over the plane's disappearance, in what was believed to be the first lawsuit filed over the disaster.

In January last year, Malaysia declared all those on board to be presumed dead, allowing relatives to seek compensation and closing the uncertainty friends and families felt.

A two-metre-long flaperon wing part that washed up on a beach on the Indian Ocean island of Reunion in July was later confirmed as part of the aircraft.