Potential airport job for Vivocom from ECER

KUCHING: Signs of projects picking up pace in the East Coast Economic Region (ECER) may yield a potential airport job for Sarawakian Vivocom Holdings International Bhd (Vivocom).

In a recent update, the research arm of MIDF Amanah Investment Bank Bhd (MIDF Research) explained that the recent positive frenzy on the investment inflow of the ECER is a clear sign of potential construction projects within its scope picking up pace.

The project that would be most relevant to Vivocom is the East Coast Railway Link (ECRL) that will make its last stop in Kelantan at the Sultan Ismail Petra Airport (SIPA).

According to the research arm, the China Railway Construction Corp Ltd (CRCC) is expected to clinch a RM450 million to expand SIPA due to the China Construction Communication Company’s (CCCC) involvement in the construction of the ECRL.

Currently, the airport has reported a passenger growth rate of +10.37 annually for the past five years since. This immense growth rate has caused its passengers numbers to surge to 2.06 million 2016, despite the airport having the capacity to only handle 1.45 million passengers.

“Thus, it is crucial that the airport upgrade for a 4.0 million passenger capacity must be concluded before the ECRL is completed in 2024.

“Moreover, Export-Import Bank of China would be able to provide soft loans, thus allowing for increased chances of Vivocom being able to undertake the potential subcontracting job,” said the research arm in a report.

The proposed upgrades at the moment for SIPA include an apron expansion, enlargement of runway/taxiways, and the construction of new terminals such as contact pier finger terminals.

MIDF Research is anticipating that these packages will be not be segmented, leaving room for Vivocom to potentially end up taking up the entire package.

If the group ends up receiving the entire package, the impact towards Vivocom’s earnings would be highly positive as the research arm estimated it to amount to 75 per cent of its target orderbook replenishment rate fo FYE18 on the back of a 12 per cent margin.

“We are not foresseing any margin compression as the current SIPA design is based on open apron and its upgrades will not change the original layout but merely upgrading its service capacity,” added the research arm.

With that said, MIDF Research is highly optimistic on the group’s long-term prospects and reiterates its ‘buy’ call on its stock with a target price of RM0.40 per share.

Source: Borneo Post Online | Business | 11 August 2017

Malaysia Airlines will fly ex-Airberlin A330s to Auckland

Malaysia Airlines plans to fly the first of its six Airbus A330-200 jets – formerly leased to Airberlin – between Auckland and Kuala Lumpur in early 2018.

The Oneworld member airline, which has been eager to boost the size of its twin-aisle A330 fleet for some time, swooped on the insolvent German airline and took over a six-year lease on a half-dozen Airbus A330-200 jets.

The pre-loved jets will join the Malaysia Airlines fleet at a rate of one per month between February and July 2018 and in addition to Auckland will be rostered onto short to medium-range flights to Bangkok, Jakarta, Delhi and Mumbai.

They'll also be sent to Singapore and Hong Kong to cope with the peak travel demands during Chinese New Year.

The Malaysian flag-carrier will retain Airberlin's original seating rather than fit its latest A330 business class seats, although materials such as seat covers will be changed to remove the German airline's branding.

A spokesman for Malaysia Airlines told Australian Business Traveller that there were no plans to use the Airberlin A330-200 jets to recommence flights to Brisbane, as the airline wanted to offer the same A330-300 business class on all Australian routes.

"It is too premature for us to consider new routes currently. The lease of these six second hand Airbus A330-200 is as replacement for six narrowbody Boeing 737 that are being returned to lessors" and will allow the airline "to bridge the next generation wide-body aircraft orders" for the Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners.

Source: Australian Business Traveller | www.ausbt.com.au | 4 October 2017

Malaysia Airlines' fleet strategy: Still a work in progress following A330-200 and 787-9 deals

Malaysia Airlines has completed the first phase of its post restructuring fleet plan with the lease of six second hand A330-200s and the purchase of eight new 787-9s. Along with six A350-900s, 15 737 MAX 8s and 10 737 MAX 10s, the airline now has commitments for 45 aircraft, which will all be delivered over the next five years.

Most of the aircraft will be used as replacements as Malaysia Airlines phases out A380s, A330-300s and 737-800s. The six A330-200s will be delivered in 2018 and will replace six 737-800s, enabling the airline to upgauge several regional routes within Asia.

A resumption of European expansion is also in the pipeline, initially using two of the A350-900s in mid 2018, and then using the 787-9s in late 2019 or 2020. Malaysia Airlines still needs to acquire at least 20 more new generation widebody aircraft; it is considering additional 787-9s or A330-900neos and could potentially pursue an early phase-out of the A350 fleet, which would reduce the number of widebody types to a more sensible number.

Source: CAPA | www.centreforaviation.com | 5 October 2017

Malaysia Airports eyes Budget 2018 funds to upgrade 'overcrowded' airports — MD

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd hopes the Malaysian government will allocate funds under Budget 2018 to expand its airport in Selangor's Subang suburb besides those in Penang and Sabah's Kota Kinabalu in anticipation of higher flight frequency.

Malaysia Airports operates Subang's Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah Airport besides the Penang International Airport and Kota Kinabalu International Airport.

"The request has been put forth to the government as we plan to increase the flight frequency. Some airports are just too overcrowded.

"I have just returned from World Routes, an airline event at Barcelona. If all goes well, five new airlines from very few countries that hasn't flown here in Malaysia will fly to Kuala Lumpur by next year," Malaysia Airports managing director Datuk Mohd Badlisham Ghazali told reporters on the sidelines of the Khazanah Megatrends Forum 2017 here today.

On Malaysia Airports' business outlook, Badlisham said the group should at least sustain its performance in the current financial year ending December 31, 2017.

He said passenger "volume has been up nicely for our airports, particularly at the Kuala Lumpur International Airports" due to good government-to-government working relationships and marketing efforts by Tourism Malaysia.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak will table Budget 2018 in Parliament on October 27.

Source: The Edge Markets | www.theedgemarkets.com | 2 October 2017

AirAsia chalks up fuel savings with new landing system at Malaysian airports

SEPANG: Malaysia is the first country in Asean to use the Required Navigation Performance Authorisation Required Approach (RNP-AR APCH) as its low-cost carrier AirAsia Bhd now uses the flight procedure.

The flight procedure is designed to shorten the distance an aircraft has to fly at the airport and allows the pilot to use on-board global positioning system technology to follow a precise track, independent of ground-based navigation beacons.

AirAsia group development and efficiency head Captain Rajesh Gill said the approach was jointly developed by AirAsia, Department of Civil Aviation (DCA) and GE Aviation, a subsidiary of General Electric.

“This is a great example of how both government and private agencies have worked together to innovate and do their best to contribute more to the transportation infrastructure of the country.”

Rajesh said AirAsia had invested RM23 million on upgrading its aircraft, attaining operational certification and training the pilots.

“Over a one-year period, AirAsia will be able to reduce its costs by up to RM9 million per year as RNP-AR APCH can save the airline on average 25kg of fuel per flight compared to the standard approach path.”

Among other benefits of RNP-AR approach were a reduction in flight time, less fuel burnt, lower noise pollution and carbon emissions, he said.

He said AirAsia hailed the DCA in recognising the airline’s operational capability and approving AirAsia to operate RNP-AR APCH flight paths in Malaysia.

The DCA has implemented RNP-AR APCH procedures at eight airports in Malaysia – Johor Bahru, Kota Bharu, Kota Kinabalu, Kuching, Kuala Terengganu, Langkawi, Penang and Sibu.

Soon, RNP-AR APCH flight procedure will be instigated at all 14 airports nationwide by the end of the year, said Rajesh.

Earlier, AirAsia Bhd (AAB) said it plans to consolidate its various regional affiliates under one holding company – in contrast to a scattered structure now – as the airline takes off on a rapid expansion path in its core Southeast Asian markets.

The Malaysia-based carrier, currently the listed investment holding company and the operating firm for AirAsia‘s Malaysian airline business, proposed a share exchange and transfer of listing with newly created AirAsia Group Bhd, or Newco.

Under the reorganisation, the investment holding function and the Malaysian airline business will be separated. Newco will become the investment holding vehicle and take on AAB’s listing.

AAB will retain the Malaysian airline business and become Newco’s wholly owned unit, the airline said in a Bursa filing – including a plan to expand its fleet by over 20% in the second half.

“This is a positive step forward as the current corporate structure is awkward. It makes sense to have one holding company that controls all the various airlines and related businesses,” said Corrine Png, CEO at research firm Crucial Perspective.

Co-founder and group CEO Tan Sri Tony Fernandes has grown AirAsia from a two-plane operation in 2002 into Asia’s biggest low-cost airline – with affiliates in Indonesia, Thailand, India, Japan and plans to set up ventures in China and Vietnam.

But Fernandes has cited regulatory caps on ownership and complexity surrounding his businesses for not getting the desired valuations from investors.

Following the internal reorganisation, Fernandes said he plans to further streamline the group structure to facilitate future spin-off of operations.

AirAsia is already discussing a sale of its leasing arm and expects to close this before the year-end. Reuters has reported AirAsia was in talks with a South Korean group.

Separately, AirAsia has agreed to partially sell and convert perpetual securities investments in PT Indonesia AirAsia into new shares in a PT Rimau Multi Putra Pratama TBK, to support financing needs of its growth in Indonesia via capital markets ahead of a potential IPO.

AirAsia is battling competition from larger groups such as Singapore Airlines and Indonesia’s Lion Air.

Source: Agencies | 31 August 2017

Malaysia Airports to enter expansion, upgrading phase

BARCELONA: Malaysia Airports Holdings Berhad (MAHB) will embark on an initiative to expand and upgrade its key airports at home, as it looks to capitalise on the growing tourist boom in Southeast Asia.

In an interview with FlightGlobal at World Routes in Barcelona, MAHB's managing director Badlisham Ghazali said that Langkawi airport would have an upgraded terminal with an annual capacity of four million passengers, up from the current 1.5 million.

In addition, the Kota Bharu, Penang, Kuching and Kota Kinabalu airports will also undergo an expansion and upgrading phase.

Ghazali did not go into the details of each airport's planned expansion, but says that studies are being carried out and could be completed by 2020.

He adds that the airports operator is partnering with the Malaysian government to explore establishing a brand new airport in central Malaysia, north of Kuala Lumpur, as well as in the eastern state of Sarawak.

There are also plans to expand Kuala Lumpur International Airport's KLIA 1 terminal by increasing the number of aircraft contact piers. This will raise its annual passenger capacity to 30 million, from the current 25 million.

MAHB is looking to develop a satellite terminal, which will have a capacity of 10 million passengers. When added to KLIA 2 terminal's capacity of 45 million, KLIA will have a total capacity of 85 million passengers, compared with 70 million today.

Ghazali adds that KLIA has land for expansion "going into the next 40, 50 years… for four or five runways", and that MAHB's airport expansion and upgrading plan "goes hand-in-hand" with Kuala Lumpur's own decision to upgrade Malaysia's airspace management with improved air traffic control towers.

Separately, besides China and India, Ghazali says MAHB's next growth markets are the countries in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.

"ASEAN has been encouraging trade, and building tourism promotions in each country is getting a lot easier. This is not only because we are becoming closer as a region, but also because of the growing middle-income population."

Ghazali says more people are travelling for both leisure and for business within ASEAN, and that has been helped by the rise of low-cost airlines funnelling traffic from greater China and India.

He adds that MAHB has also been able to secure international flights into non-Kuala Lumpur airports, and has been seeing steady origin-to-destination growth at three particular airports: Kota Kinabalu, Langkawi and Penang.

The airports operator's forecast was about 6.5% passenger growth in international travellers for 2017, but over the last six months, the figure has hit double digits and MAHB now a 9.5% increase for the year as a whole.

Source: Flight Dashboard | 25 September 2017

Landasan LTSIP, LTS dan LTM dipanjangkan kepada 2,500 meter

Landasan LTSIP akan dipanjangkan daripada 2,400 meter kepada 2,500 meter bagi membolehkan LTSIP mengendalikan pesawat berbadan lebar terutamanya A330-300 dengan sekatan had muatan. Foto ihsan: TRC Synergy Berhad

KEMENTERIAN Pengangkutan (MOT) telah meluluskan tiga projek pemanjangan landasan di bawah Rancangan Malaysia Kesebelas (RMK-11: 2016 - 2020), iaitu melibatkan landasan-landasan Lapangan Terbang Sultan Ismail Petra Kota Bharu (LTSIP), Lapangan Terbang Sandakan (LTS) dan Lapangan Terbang Melaka (LTM). 

Landasan LTSIP, LTS dan LTM masing-masing bakal dipanjangkan daripada 2,400 meter (m), 2,133 m dan 2,135 m kepada 2,500 m bagi membolehkan pesawat berbadan lebar terutamanya Airbus A330-300 beroperasi dengan sekatan had muatan.

Projek pemanjangan landasan LTSIP dijangka dapat dimulakan pada awal tahun hadapan bersama-sama dengan projek pembesaran bangunan terminal untuk menampung sehingga empat juta penumpang setahun dengan peruntukan RM450 juta yang telah diluluskan Kerajaan Persekutuan. 

Dalam pada itu, peruntukan sejumlah RM80 juta telah diumumkan YAB Perdana Menteri pada 7 Mei 2017 lepas untuk projek naik taraf dan pemanjangan landasan LTS yang dijangka mengambil masa selama 18 bulan bermula Ogos 2017 dan dijangka siap pada Januari 2019, manakala projek pemanjangan landasan LTM dijangka melibatkan kos berjumlah RM140 juta bakal dimulakan pada awal tahun hadapan. 

Menurut Majlis Pembangunan Wilayah Ekonomi Pantai Timur, LTSIP akan dinaik taraf kepada sebuah lapangan terbang wilayah (regional airport), iaitu sebuah lapangan terbang antarabangsa yang mengendalikan jumlah penerbangan atau penumpang domestik lebih banyak berbanding penerbangan atau penumpang antarabangsa. 

LTS merancang untuk menarik perkhidmatan penerbangan sewa khas dari Asia Timur terutamanya China terus ke Sandakan sebaik sahaja landasan siap dipanjangkan serta untuk menjadi pintu masuk kedua terpenting ke negeri Sabah selepas Lapangan Terbang Antarabangsa Kota Kinabalu (KKIA). 

LTM pula bercita-cita tinggi untuk menarik lebih banyak penerbangan dari negara China terus ke Bandar Raya Melaka walaupun LTM agak sukar untuk menarik minat syarikat penerbangan tempatan dan antarabangsa untuk beroperasi di LTM. Setakat ini, LTM hanya beroperasi dengan dua laluan, iaitu Melaka - Pulau Pinang dan Melaka - Pekanbaru. 

Sumber: Kota Bharu Airport (www.kotabharuairport.blogspot.com)