Aerospace Diary

ATC Neelam Mathews   - IHS Jane's Airport Review 30 April 2015     A380-800 in Singapore Airlines (SIA) livery. SIA and Malaysia Airlines are the first carriers to adopt the SITA OnAir AIRCOM Flight Tracker. Source: SIA Malaysia Airlines (MAS) and Singapore Airlines (SIA) will implement global flight tracking using SITA OnAir's AIRCOM Flight Tracker, starting in mid-2015. The system will be rolled-out across their entire fleet. SITA made a conscious decision to focus only on a couple of airlines for the trials in order to bring the solution to the market quickly. In pursuit of this objective it worked closely with SIA and MAS,  IHS Jane's  learned. The trial period helped overcome challenges in collaboration and coordination between the two partners and in the two airlines identifying their specific requirements. While SITA is in talks with other airlines in the region, the decision to identify Asian carriers was a natural corollary to ...

Neelam Mathews Dec 3, 2014 Steeped in the heat of intense competition, Asia-Pacific airlines must now confront additional challenges related to safety and health pandemics. With the loss of Malaysia Airlines flights  MH 370  and  MH 17  earlier this year, it came as no surprise that safety became the prime focus at the recent 58th Assembly of Presidents of Association of Asia Pacific Airlines ( AAPA ) in Tokyo. The 16-member  AAPA , which recently added Air Astana to its membership base, articulates views on common areas of interest of airlines in the region that jointly fly 5,911 aircraft, carrying 31 percent of global passenger traffic and generating $163 billion in annual revenues. “ AAPA  urges governments to improve efforts in the sharing of accurate intelligence and information related to flight safety on a global basis and to support the development of an augmented distribution system for the enhanced sharing of conflict zone ri...

AIN AIR TRANSPORT PERSPECTIVE  »  APRIL 15, 2013 by    NEELAM MATHEWS Thanks to Chinese funding, Sri Lanka now has a second international gateway, Mattala Rajapaska International Airport, and Sri Lankan Airlines is among the first carriers to commit to operating there. (Photo: Sri Lankan Airlines) April 15, 2013, 2:15 PM Sri Lanka’s second international airport–the $200 million China Exim Bank-funded Mattala Rajapaksa International Airport ( MRIA )–opened last month and has already attracted national carrier SriLankan Airlines and its subsidiary, SriLankan Cargo; Sharjah-based budget carrier Air Arabia; and flyDubai. Emirates Airlines, Korean Airways and Sichuan Airlines all plan to start services soon, while British Airways and Abu Dhabi’s Etihad Airways have also “committed” to establish a presence at  MRIA , located in the district of Hambantota, some 100 miles southeast of the capital, Colombo. Looking to attract ...

Neelam Mathews Kuala Lumpur Jan 31, 2013 (Story to follow)

Neelam Mathews Dec 18, 2012 Malaysia Airlines has signed an MoU with ATR for 36 new ATR 72-600s. MAS subsidiaries Firefly and MASwings will get 20 and 16 respectively. The aircraft are scheduled for phased delivery from the end of mid 2013.

AIN AIR TRANSPORT PERSPECTIVE  »  NOVEMBER 26, 2012 by    NEELAM MATHEWS Singapore Airlines’s recent acquisition of a 10-percent stake in Virgin Australia is a prime example of the wave of strategic realignments now happening in the Asia Pacific air transport sector. (Photo: Airbus) November 26, 2012, 6:00 PM Tough economic times are resulting in innovations by carriers in the Asia Pacific region looking beyond traditional business models through strategic realignments and new product offerings. Recent ground-breaking deals include Virgin Australia selling a 10-percent stake to Singapore Airlines ( SIA ) and buying 60 percent of Tiger Airways; the new partnership between Emirates Airline and Qantas; and Etihad Airways purchasing a 10-percent stake in Virgin Australia. “It is hard to say who is next. Qatar Airways said it would never enter into an alliance, and within a week it was in bed with British Airways,” commented ...

Neelam Mathews Nov 19, 2012 The festival of lights may have come and gone, but commercial organisations don't stop at promoting their good deeds- which isn't such a bad idea sometimes. On my trip from KL, I was surprised to get diwali greetings from a smiling Malaysian Airlines staff alongwith a small packet of salted munchies. Give it to the French to bring in finesse- passengers on board the Air France flight were given candlestands. Kool and thoughtful.

Neelam Mathews Nov 15, 2012 MAS has received its third A380. The fourth will be delivered by the end of this week. Malaysia Airlines is the eighth operator of this new aircraft and will receive its remaining two A380 by the first quarter of 2013. Malaysia Airlines will use two 494-seater aircraft to commence day-time flights from KLIA to London Heathrow starting Nov 24. Flight MH4 will depart KLIA at 10.45am daily to arrive London Heathrow the same day at 4.15pm. The return flight MH1 departs London daily at 10.00pm and arrives KLIA the next day at 6.20pm. This day service will complement Malaysia Airlines’ current daily A380 night service to the UK capital, where MH 2 departs KLIA at 11.40pm and arrives in London at 5.50am the following day with the return flight MH3 departing London at 12.00 noon and arriving KLIA at 7.25am the next day. With the introduction of the double daily A380 services effective 24 November 2012, Malaysia Airlines will cease the 359-seater B747-...

With a highly dispersed population, a wide range of airport facility capabilities, lots of short-haul routes and cash-strapped passengers, Asia could be seen as a problem area for airline operators. But one class of aircraft – the turboprop – is proving that all these hurdles can be overcome to offer a viable business mode l. By Neelam Mathews AS ASIAN SKIES OPEN  AND MORE secondary airports with short runways are developed, the need for propeller driven turboprops is being recognised. With low buy-in and maintenance costs, high usage rates, low running costs and small-airfield landing capability, turboprops look like the perfect solution to Asia’s dispersed yet large population. They offer convenience, tested technology and environmental acceptance, which all  make them perfect for Asia’s scattered and airport-sparse environment. John  Moore, Head of  Sales for ATR Regional Aircraft asserts that turboprop aircraft are in ...

Posted by- Neelam Mathews Malaysia Airlines (MAS) took delivery of its first A380, becoming the eighth operator of the world’s largest  airliner.    The aircraft was handed over to MAS Group Chief Executive Officer Ahmad Jauhari Yahya by Airbus Chief Operating Officer Fabrice Brégier in Toulouse today and is expected to arrive at the Malaysian national carrier’s Kuala Lumpur base tomorrow (30 May 2012).  “The A380 showcases our latest premium offering in products and services. This will be our latest flagship aircraft, offering new levels of comfort, luxury and convenience for long haul travel,” said Ahmad Jauhari Yahya, MAS Group Chief Executive Officer. “With the A380 in our fleet, MAS will reinforce its position as one of the world’s preferred premium carriers bringing great Malaysian Hospitality to our customers.” Malaysia Airlines has ordered six A380s. Powered by Rolls-Royce Trent 900 engines, the aircraft feature a premium three class layout, wi...

Neelam Mathews April 30, 2012 Starting early July, Malaysia Airlines’ first A380 aircraft will be inducted  into commercial service on the Kuala Lumpur – London daily route. Sporting its own blue wau logo and a new livery, the 494-seat aircraft will have a 3-class configuration. The Main Deck will have 8 First seats and 350 Economy Class seats, whilst the Upper Deck will have 66 Business seats and 70 Economy seats. First and Busines class will have full-flat seats.

Neelam Mathews Singapore Air Show   Breaking free from the shackles of legacy technology to embrace the benefits of high-speed, high-capacity computing power, Malaysia Airlines, became the first carrier last year to introduce a successful pilot of IT provider, SITAs Desktop-as-a-Service, the air transport community cloud computing services. Having completed a number of projects, it is now moving forward to the next phase of going online to use cloud as part of its mainstream operations, says Damian. J. Hickey, Regional Vice President, Sales & Relationship management, South Asia & India to AIN.   SITAs Command Center in Singapore launched in October last year includes a Cloud processing Center to support its airline clients looking at moving their operations to Cloud. The company says it is in discussions with many large Asian carriers with announcements to de made on their decision to adopt Cloud Computing this year. In view of the restructuring of MAS (it ma...

Posted by- Neelam Mathews Jan 19, 2012 The recent decision of AirAsia X  to stop  flying to Mumbai and London raised many eyebrows about the sustainability of long haul low cost services. Though the immediate concerns  point  towards high jet fuel prices, immigration concerns as well as  high  airport  taxes  have  also impacted the overall grand strategy to increase  yields,  rationalization and allocation of aircraft fleet to more profitable routes, says consultancy Frost & Sullivan. “These routes (Delhi and Mumbai and Paris and London) were  bleeding  on  a  low cost model and with the MAS-AirAsia collaboration, cutting off duplicate capacities makes sense,” says Amartya De, Frost & Sullivan Senior Consultant for Aerospace & Defense. “Part of the  network rationalisation process is also to bring passengers from European destinations on MAS up to Kuala Lumpur and then giving the...

AIN Air Transport Perspective » January 16, 2012 by  Neelam Mathews Europe's ETS, higher UK passenger duty taxes and high airport and handling costs in India have convinced AirAsiaX to refocus on Asia. (Photo: AirAsia) January 12, 2012, 10:24 AM AirAsia X, long-haul subsidiary of Malaysia’s AirAsia, the largest Asian budget carrier, plans to withdraw 11 weekly services to Mumbai and Delhi in India and 10 weeklies to its only European destinations—Paris and London—from its Kuala Lumpur hub. Services to Mumbai and Delhi will cease from January 31 and March 22, respectively, while flights to London and Paris will end on March 30 and March 31. “The implementation of the Emissions Trading Scheme and escalating Air Passenger Duty taxes in the UK, which will rise yet again in April, have forced our decision to withdraw our services to Europe,” said Azran Osman-Rani, CEO of AirAsia X. AirAsia X has faced excess capacity a...

  Neelam Mathews Jan 2, 2012 Malaysia Airlines has unveiled a management structure effective January 1. In the new structure, Customer Experience, Operations, Human Capital, Network, Alliance, Strategy & Planning will now report directly to GCEO Ahmad Jauhari who also takes on the role as CEO of Long-Haul.  Mohammed Rashdan, in his capacity as Deputy Group CEO and CEO of Short-Haul, will lead the charge for the operations of Short-Haul, Group Finance, Aircraft Finance & Management, and in the interim helm Commercial. Ahmad Jauhari said: “The organisation structure ….involves the setting up of several new business units and the re-naming of existing functions as well as the introduction of new leaders to take over from familiar faces who have decided to pursue other career opportunities.This will ensure both the smooth transfer of responsibilities and the successful execution of the Business Plan to enhance the Group’s reputation and significance for its eventua...