Malaysia Airlines customers can buy Emirates codeshare flight tickets from 29 Feb 2016

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia Airlines customers will be able to purchase their codeshare flights on Emirates beginning Monday, Feb 29.

Enrich members will be able to earn 25 per cent bonus miles on any MH4500-MH4999 codeshare flights operated by Emirates between Feb 22 and April 19, 2016 in conjunction with the launch of the partnership, Malaysia Airlines said in a statement today.

The airline marked the start of its codeshare agreement with Emirates last week, with both carriers placing its codes on the Kuala Lumpur-Dubai route, as well as other routes under the codeshare agreement.

The service to Dubai will be operated three times a day on a Boeing 777 and once a day on an Airbus A380.

The agreement, which was announced in early December 2015, is one of Malaysia Airlines' largest codeshare agreements and opens up a host of new destinations for customers.

For Malaysia Airlines' customers, this will include over 30 South American and European destinations, including Rome, Paris, Zurich, Geneva, Stockholm, Madrid and Barcelona, which will be introduced progressively over the next few weeks as regulatory approvals are obtained, the airline said.

"The Malaysia Airlines and Emirates codeshare is an integral part of our future network plan as we focus on getting our customers connected globally.

"We are pleased to launch the collaboration and we are confident that our customers will benefit from this agreement," Malaysia Airlines' Chief Commercial Officer Paul Simmons said.

Meanwhile, Emirates' Executive Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer Thierry Antinori said the codeshare agreement in place with Malaysia Airlines will provide more options for travellers and seamless connections onwards to 39 European destinations.

"At the same time, the agreement will offer travellers from across Emirates' global network convenient access into Malaysia and to a number of destinations within Malaysia Airlines' extensive Asia Pacific network," Antinori said.

Source: Bernama | 28 Feb. 2016

MASKargo makes a strong pitch at Air Cargo India 2016 in Mumbai

MUMBAI: Eager to regain its prominence as a leading cargo carrier of South East Asia, MASKargo, made a strong pitch at the just-concluded three-day Air Cargo India 2016 event here.

The show, organised by the Mumbai-based STAT Media Group, has vaulted to become India's leading niche event for the air-cargo industry.

MASKargo, the cargo arm of Malaysia Airlines, occupied a large exhibition booth at the event, to showcase its products and services to a discerning crowd of dedicated air-cargo trade visitors who dropped by.

Ahmed Luqman Mohd Azmi, the Chief Executive Officer of MASKargo, told Bernama at the show that 2016 was crucial for Malaysia Airlines in respect of its transformation programme.

MASKargo currently operates a fleet of 4 A-330F freighter aircraft. Of these, only two are being deployed, with the others being sub-leased to Turkish Airline Cargo.

The Airbus freighter A-330F is suitable for regional operations, mainly, to China, India and Southeast Asia ( Vietnam and Indonesia).

"However, we are still looking for partners on the block-space arrangement, entailing the leased aircraft of another airline.

"We are looking at building up traffic from Kuala Lumpur via Central Asia to Amsterdam.

"We have been serving the Dutch market for a number of years, with Amsterdam serving as our hub in Europe," Ahmed Luqman said.

MASKargo handled 398,722 tonnes of cargo in 2015, down eight per cent from the 434,793 tonnes in 2014, resulting from a reduction in cargo capacity transported in the aircraft belly.

While MASKargo's focus has essentially, been on regional markets, it uses "blocked space" for its international traffic by using other airlines.

Ahmed Luqman revealed that it was negotiating with Emirates, the Dubai-based carrier, for the bellyhold cargo and highlighted the significance of India as a market.

"China and India are inter-related. We see strong demand for cargo from China into India, particularly in segments such as electronics and e-Commerce.

"This will be the case with outbound cargo from China.But in the case of similar cargo from India, we see good potential in pharmaceuticals, chemicals and transportation of dangerous products which are not permitted for transport in the belly of passenger aircraft," he said.

He said India supplied pharmaceutical products to the rest of the world, and this comes with tremendous business potential for cargo carriers.

MASKargo operates freighter flights to Chennai and Bangalore on a twice weekly basis.

"We are looking into the possibility of adding another destination of either Mumbai or Delhi in our future operations.

"This could be possibly decided by the third quarter of the year," Luqman added.

He identified Asia, Europe and Australia as the carrier's markets.

Meanwhile, German carrier Lufthansa intends to discontinue its daily service to Kuala Lumpur effective end-March, according to Dr Alexis von Hoensbroech, a member of the executive board of Lufthansa Cargo (product and sales).

He said this on the sidelines of the Air Cargo India 2016.

Source: Bernama | 27 Feb. 2016

Malaysia Airlines announces partnership with Booking.com

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia Airlines today announces a partnership with Booking.com, the world leader in booking accommodation online, providing its customers with over 860,000 accommodation options worldwide.

The partnership gives the airline's customers access to all the benefits of booking accommodation through Booking.com, including a best price guarantee, free cancellation for most properties and pay on check-out options, it said in a statement.

Malaysia Airlines' Head of Marketing, Charles McKee said we are delighted to enter into this strategic partnership with one of the world's leading online travel brands, Booking.com.

"Booking.com's wide range of accommodation options will enable Malaysia Airline's customers to customize their holidays, specific to individual needs, for both international and domestic travel," he said.

On the other Hand, Director Strategic Partnerships APAC, David Peller said at Booking.com, it's our passion to connect both business and leisure travellers with the world's best accommodation options, whatever their budget or preferred accommodation type is.

"By partnering with Malaysia Airlines, we are able to provide their customers with a massive selection of accommodations, from apartments, 5-star hotels, B&B's, villas, hostels and more, no matter where their destination or what their travel purpose," David said.

In conjunction with this partnership, Malaysia Airlines' loyalty programme, Enrich, will be offering 250 Enrich Miles exclusively for Enrich members once they make a booking with Booking.com via Malaysia Airlines' website and have completed their stay.

Booking.com, which is available in 42 languages, has over 70 million verified reviews written by guests who have completed their stay, meaning customers can trust the reviews.

Source: Bernama | 25 Feb. 2016 

No more network cuts for Malaysia Airlines

SEPANG: National carrier Malaysia Airlines Bhd (MAB) will no longer cut its network capacity this year, after its final flights to Europe last month and as it bids farewell to Dubai next week. 

The airline will now focus on expanding its network to emerging markets in the region instead as it sets its eyes on being profitable by 2018. 

“The good news is that the capacity cuts are behind us. We will not cut our routes further. We now have to regain altitude and we have to become profitable. That is our plan in two years’ time,” MAB’s newly appointed chief executive Christoph Mueller said in an interview yesterday. 

He also said the airline plans to expand its network to countries that are currently undergoing economic developments as well as those that Malaysia will establish new trade relationships with. 

However, Mueller declined to give any hint on the exact destinations the carrier is planning to fly to. MAB has announced a series of route cuts as part of its rationalisation plan since 2012. 

Previously, when it was known as Malaysian Airline Systems Bhd (MAS), the airline had axed Buenos Aires, Cape Town, Johannesburg and Rome in 2012 and Los Angeles in 2014 under the watch of the previous head Ahmad Jauhari Yahya. MAS also crossed Kunming, Krabi, Frankfurt, Kochi, Brisbane, Istanbul and Male out of its network last year. 

The recent network cuts made by MAB include Amsterdam, Paris and Dubai as part of its codeshare deal with Dubai-based Emirates Airline. The move will see MAB relying on the Emirates’ codeshare to destinations in Europe, the United States, Africa and the Middle East. In return, Emirates will bank on MAB’s extensive network in Asia Pacific, Asean and domestic routes in Malaysia. 

Besides introducing new destinations, MAB will also focus on cutting its operational expenditure by reducing its unit cost as the airline plans to weather out of its current financial struggles. “We will lower our absolute cost base and we also want to increase our production in this three to four years’ time. “So both factors together will result in 20 per cent unit cost decrease,” Mueller said. 

He added that MAB would also review its jet fuel hedging strategy in a meeting with its board of directors in three weeks as part of the airline’s cost-cutting measures. Although the current Brent crude oil price is at its lowest, Mueller viewed that fuel hedging comes at a cost and the airline is currently very restricted on its cash. 

“We will decide whether we will be active in the fuel hedging market in our upcoming meeting… Hedging is very often perceived as speculative argument in the airline business. “It’s really complex but the truth about hedging is, it’s a risk management tool.” “Oil is cheaper today than it is next week or in three weeks or in three years. But of course hedging fuel at current prices makes sense but who knows whether the fuel price will fall further,” 

Mueller said, adding that MAB had recently received the first tranche of its funding of RM3 billion from its shareholder Khazanah Nasional Bhd. As at press time, the price for Brent crude oil was US$30.55 per barrel. 

MAB was taken private by Malaysia’s state investment fund, Khazanah for RM1.4 billion, or 27 sen per share in end-2014. The privatisation was part of Khazanah’s RM6 billion restructuring plan to revive the national carrier, which had continuously posted net losses since 2011, within three years.

Source: New Straits Times | Business | 12 Feb 2016

Rayani Air dicadang perkenal laluan Kota Bharu - Saigon dengan kekerapan 3 kali seminggu

KUALA LUMPUR: Cadangan awal syarikat penerbangan Rayani Air untuk memperkenalkan laluan Kota Bharu - Bandar Raya Ho Chi Minh (KBR-SGN) dengan kekerapan dua kali seminggu bermula Mei atau awal Jun ini merupakan suatu cadangan yang baik yang boleh merangsang industri pelancongan Kelantan dan Pantai Timur serta Komuniti Ekonomi ASEAN (AEC) secara keseluruhannya.  

Namun begitu, penerbangan dua kali seminggu amatlah tidak praktikal berbanding amalan biasa industri yang menawarkan perkhidmatan penerbangan sekurang-kurangnya tiga kali seminggu bagi penerbangan berjadual. 

Rayani Air boleh sahaja menawarkan perkhidmatan penerbangan dua kali seminggu katakan pada setiap hari Khamis dan Sabtu tetapi penumpang dari Kelantan terpaksa berada lebih lama di Bandar Raya Ho Chi Minh (HCMC) atau dikenali juga Saigon untuk mengambil penerbangan pulang dengan Rayani Air. Penumpang dari Kelantan yang ke HCMC pada hari Khamis boleh mengambil penerbangan pulang ke Kota Bharu pada hari Sabtu selepas dua malam berada di HCMC.

Bagaimana pula yang mengambil penerbangan pada hari Sabtu dari Kelantan dan perlu mengambil penerbangan pulang ke Kelantan pada hari Khamis selepas lima malam berada di HCMC? Sebenarnya, jadual penerbangan dua kali seminggu langsung tidak praktikal. 

Oleh itu, Rayani Air dicadangkan supaya memperkenalkan laluan ini dengan kekerapan tiga kali seminggu, iaitu setiap hari Selasa, Khamis, dan Sabtu atau setiap hari Ahad, Rabu, dan Jumaat sahaja. 

Sementara itu, Rayani Air juga diharap dapat segera mengatasi masalah kelewatan dan pembatalan penerbangan bagi laluan-laluan domestik sedia ada yang amat kerap berlaku pada ketika ini sejak awal bulan Februari lagi kerana permasalahan ini boleh menjejaskan keyakinan pengguna ke atas syarikat penerbangan ini. 

Permasalahan tersebut boleh diatasi dengan pelan kontigensi yang cekap, penambahan pesawat baharu, penyelenggaraan pesawat secara berkala, penjadualan semula bagi semua laluan, dan perkhidmatan pelanggan yang cekap.

Dalam pada itu, Rayani Air hanya perlu memberi fokus kepada Lapangan Terbang Antarabangsa Kuala Lumpur (KLIA) sebagai hab utama dan Lapangan Terbang Sultan Ismail Petra Kota Bharu (LTSIP) sebagai hab sekunder dengan menggugurkan Lapangan Terbang Antarabangsa Langkawi (LIA) sebagai hab utama.

Sumber: Kota Bharu Airport | www.kotabharuairport.blogspot.com

Penerbangan Bayu Air bermula Ogos ini

Ketua Pegawai Eksekutif Bayu Mutiara Skyways Sdn Bhd, Mohd Saiful Rizal Raffien (tengah) bergambar bersama krew penerbangan Bayu Air pada majlis prapelancaran Bayu Air.

KUALA LUMPUR: Pesawat Bayu Air akan memulakan operasi penerbangan pada Ogos ini dengan perancangan fasa pertama ke Jeddah dan Madinah bagi destinasi umrah dan laluan pelancongan ke China.

Ketua Pegawai Eksekutif Mohd Saifulrizal Raffien berkata Bayu Air akan menggunakan tiga pesawat Boeing 777-200 dan menyediakan hidangan masakan kampung selain menawarkan produk perusahaan kecil dan sederhana (PKS) tempatan.

Beliau berkata konsep yang diketengahkan Bayu Air akan dapat memperkasakan lagi produk PKS tempatan selain mempromosikannya ke peringkat dunia.

"Ini akan memberikan pengalaman baharu dan keselesaan kepada para penumpang dan kami amat komited dalam menjadikan perkhidmatan kami yang terbaik.

"Secara tidak langsung ia juga akan dapat membantu meningkatkan pendapatan dan taraf hidup masyarakat tempatan bagi menjana ekonomi negara," katanya di majlis prapelancaran penerbangan Bayu Air di sini Selasa.

Mohd Saifulrizal berkata penglibatan pihaknya dalam industri itu akan membuka peluang pekerjaan seperti anak kapal dan juruterbang kepada orang ramai terutama bekas kakitangan Malaysian Airlines (MAS).

"Kita akan adakan program untuk membawa seramai 40 orang fakir miskin dan tidak berkemampuan pada setiap bulan untuk mengerjakan umrah yang ditaja sepenuhnya Bayu Air dengan kos RM15,000 setiap orang," katanya.

Bayu Air dimiliki syarikat bumiputera Bayu Mutiara Skyways Sdn Bhd, ditubuhkan pada 2014 yang berpusat di Cyberjaya dengan mempunyai sehingga 300 kakitangan.

Sumber: Bernama | 16 Feb 2016

Bayu Air to recruit former MAS staff

Saifulrizal (centre) with members of Bayu Air cabin crew at the carrier's soft launch on Tuesday.

KUALA LUMPUR: Bayu Air, which is scheduled to begin its flight operations in August, will be recruiting former Malaysia Airlines (MAS) staff. 

Chief executive officer Mohd Saifulrizal Raffien said Bayu Air’s entry would provide job opportunities in the aviation industry, including 100 ex-MAS crew members and 25 ex-pilots who had lost their jobs. 

MAS retrenched 6,000 employees in August last year as part of its restructuring plan to cut down its losses over the years. 

Speaking at the pre-launch of Bayu Air flight operations in Kuala Lumpur on Tuesday, Mohd Saifulrizal said three Boeing 777-200s would be used for the first phase of the airline flight operations to Jeddah and Madinah as well as routes to China. 

Bayu Air, owned by Bayu Mutiara Skyways Sdn Bhd, was set up in 2014 and is based in Cyberjaya with 300 staff. 

Meanwhile, Domestic Trade, Cooperatives and Consumerism Minister Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainudin said the Government fully supported efforts by Bayu Air to promote the bumiputra economy. 

“I am also attracted by Bayu Air concept which showcased local small and medium enterprise products as this would give a huge impact to the industry,” he said. 

Hamzah’s speech was read by his political secretary, Faizul Arby Mohd Shohor.

Source: Bernama | 16 Feb. 2016