MALAYSIAN AIRLINES ON THE GO ! ! !: March 2009

About Me!

I am Tanvir, a marketing final year and final semester student from MMU Melaka. I am originally from Bangladesh, a country which is surrounded by the rivers and has SIX significant and magnificient seasons which many people do not beleive. So I say people go and experiene it yourself, may be we are not famous but we will make your trip a memorable one with our heartiest hospitality.

As me, I am a simple guy with lots of dreams. I want to see all my near and dear ones as happy as ever. Unlike many other ambitious persons my dream is not to be an extraordinary person in my field of work, my dream is to be a good son, good father and ofcourse a wonderful husband. I want to make everyone smile around me and morepver I want my family to love me like crazy as I love them all in a same way. I have a wonderful bunch of friends who stand by my side whenever I need them. I love my university as it gave me a lot of things to be proud about. I love watching movies, some of my favourites are A walk to remember, King Arthur, Dark knight, The constant gardener, Sweet home Alabama and many more. I prefer romantic and comedy rather than full throttle meaningless action. I also love music, movies, reading novels, traveling, eating, sleeping...actually I love living life to the fullest, so I find interest in most of the good and fun brewing things.

History of MAS

Malaysia Airlines (MAS)

(Malay: Sistem Penerbangan Malaysia; Chinese: MYX: 3786) is the flag carrier of Malaysia. Malaysia Airlines operates flights from its home base, Kuala Lumpur International Airport, and its secondary hub in Kota Kinabalu. Despite a financial restructuring exercise in 2006, Malaysia Airlines maintains a strong presence in Southeast Asia, East Asia, South Asia, Middle East and on the Kangaroo Route between Europe and Australasia. Malaysia Airlines also operatestransatlantic flights from Kuala Lumpur to Newark, via Stockholm, and transpacific flights from Kuala Lumpur to Los Angeles, viaTaipei. In 1997, the airline flew the world's longest non-commercial, non-stop flight from Boeing Field in Seattle to Kuala Lumpur, flying eastward passing the European and African continents and breaking the Great Circle Distance Without Landing record for an airliner on a Boeing 777-200ER longer than the record held by the Boeing 777-200LR.

Malaysia Airlines non-aeronautical revenue sources include maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO), and aircraft handling. Malaysia Airlines has two airline subsidiaries: Firefly and MASWings. Firefly operates scheduled flights from its home base Penang International Airport which focus on tertiary cities, while MASWings focuses on inter-Borneo flights. Malaysia Airlines has a freighter fleet operated by MASKargo, which manages freighter flights and aircraft cargo-hold capacity for all Malaysia Airlines' passenger flights. MASCharter is another subsidiary of Malaysia Airlines, operating charter flights using Malaysia Airlines' passenger jets. After recovering from past losses, Malaysia Airlines is keen on merger and acquisition (M&A) activities: particularly airlines in the Asia Pacific region. Malaysia Airlines was ranked second with score 88 in Aviation Week's Top Performing Companies which accurately measures financial viability of an airline.

Since its inception in 1963, after Malayan Airways was separated into two parts, Malaysia Airlines has built up a strong brand name in the aviation industry for service and safety, coupled with numerous awards from international bodies such as Skytrax. Malaysia Airlines is accredited by International Air Transport Association with IOSA (IATA Operational Safety Audit) for its operational safety practices.

It is one of only six airlines to be given a 5-star status airline by Skytrax (the other 5 are Asiana Airlines from South Korea, Cathay Pacific from Hong Kong, Qatar Airways from Qatar, Singapore Airlines from Singapore and Kingfisher Airlines from India). Malaysia Airlines is also listed among Skytrax's Quality Approved Airlines, alongside fellow 5-star carriers Asiana Airlines, Kingfisher Airlines and Qatar Airways

Malaysia Airlines has started its operation on 1987 after the airline changed its name from Malaysian Airline System. It is founded on 1947 by Malayan Airways. Then it transform to Malaysian Airways due to Malaysian independence. After that it changes the name to Malaysia-Singapore Airlines and ceased its operation. After it ceased, it became operational and just being divide to Malaysian Airline System and Singapore Airlines which is being operational currently.

On 12 October 1937, the Liverpool-based Singaporean Steamshipping Company and Imperial Airways proposed to the colonial governments in Penangand Singapore a scheduled flight service between the two cities. Malayan Airways Limited (MAL) was founded, but the first paying passengers could be welcomed on board a plane only 10 years later, on 2 February 1947. The airline's first flight was a charter flight from the British Straits Settlement ofSingapore to Kuala Lumpur, on 2 April 1947, using an Airspeed Consul twin-engined aircraft.[8] This inaugural flight, with only five passengers, was bound for Kuala Lumpur instead of Penang. Weekly scheduled flights quickly followed from Singapore to Kuala Lumpur, Ipoh and Penang from 1 May 1947 with the same aircraft type.[9] The airline continued to expand during the rest of the 1940s and 1950s, as other British Commonwealth airlines (such as BOAC and Qantas Empire Airways) provided technical assistance, as well as assistance in joining IATA. By 1955, Malayan Airways' fleet had grown to include a large number of Douglas DC-3s, and went public in 1957. Other aircraft operated in the first two decades included the Douglas DC-4 Skymaster, the Vickers Viscount, the Lockheed L-1049 Super Constellation, the Bristol Britannia, the De Havilland Comet 4 and the Fokker F27. Over the next few years, the airline expanded rapidly, boosted by post-war air travel demand when flying became more than a privilege for the rich and famous. By 12 April 1960, the airline was operating Douglas DC-3s, Super Constellations and Viscounts on new routes from Singapore to Hong Kong, and from Kuala Lumpur to Bangkok via Penang. Flights were also introduced from Singapore to cities in the Borneo Territories, including Brunei, Jesselton (now Kota Kinabalu), Kuching,Sandakan and Sibu.

In 1957, the airline became a state-run stock corporation. With the delivery of an 84-seat Bristol Britannia in 1960, the airline launched its first long-haul international flight, to Hong Kong. When Malaya, Singapore, Sabah and Sarawak formed the Federation of Malaysia in 1963, the airline's name was changed, from "Malayan Airways" to "Malaysian Airlines" (though still abbreviated to MAS). MAS also took over Borneo Airways. In 1966, following Singapore's separation from the federation, the airline's name was changed again, to Malaysia-Singapore Airlines (MSA). The next year saw a rapid expansion in the airline's fleet and routes, including the purchase of MSA's first Boeing aircraft: the Boeing 707s, as well as completion of a new high-rise headquarters in Singapore. Boeing 737s were added to the fleet soon afterward.

The differing needs of the two shareholders, however, led to the break-up of the airline just 6 years later. The Singapore government preferred to develop the airline's international routes, while the Malaysian government had no choice but to develop the domestic network first before going regional and eventually international. MSA ceased operations in 1972, with its assets split between two new airlines; Malaysian Airline System (MAS)(now Malaysia Airlines), and Singapore Airlines.

With the Singapore government determined to develop Singapore Airlines' international routes, it took the entire fleet of seven Boeing 707s and fiveBoeing 737s, which would allow it to continue servicing its regional and long-haul international routes. Since most of MSA's international routes were flown out of Singapore, the majority of international routes were in the hands of Singapore Airlines. In addition, MSA's headquarters, which was located in Singapore, became the headquarters of Singapore Airlines.

The initials MSA were well regarded as an airline icon, and both carriers tried to use them. Malaysian went for MAS by just transposing the last two letters and choosing the name Malaysian Airline System, while Singapore originally proposed the name Mercury Singapore Airlines to keep the MSA initials, but changed its mind and went for SIA instead. Acronyms for airline names later became less fashionable, and both carriers then moved on to their descriptive names.

Malaysian Airline System took all domestic routes within Malaysia and international routes out of that country, as well as the remaining fleet of Fokker F27's. It began flights on 1 October 1972. Soon after that, Malaysia Airline System rapidly expanded its services, including introducing long-haul flights from Kuala Lumpur to London.

In the same year, MAS operated flights to more than 34 regional destinations and six international services. In 1976, after receiving its DC-10-30 aircraft, MAS scheduled flights reached Europe, with initial services from Kuala Lumpur to Amsterdam, Paris and Frankfurt.

An economic boom in Malaysia during the 1980s helped spur growth at Malaysia Airlines. By the end of the decade, MAS was flying to 47 overseas destinations, including eight European destinations, seven Oceania destinations, and the United States destinations of Los Angeles and Honolulu. In 1993, Malaysia Airlines reached South America when the airline received its B747 aircraft. When Malaysia Airlines introduced its service from Kuala Lumpur to South America, MAS became the first and only airline in Southeast Asia to serve South America via its flights to Buenos Aires, Argentina. Services extended to Central America when Malaysia Airlines began flying to Mexico City in the 1980s, which route was terminated in the 1990s.

Prior to the Asian Financial Crisis in 1997, the airline suffered losses of as much as RM 260 million after earning a record-breaking RM319 million profit in the financial year 1996/1997. The airline then introduced measures to bring its P&L back into the black. For the financial year 1999/2000, the airline cut its losses from RM700 million in the year 1998/1999 to RM259 million. However, the airline plunged into further losses in the following year, amounting to RM417 million in FY2000/2001 and RM836 million in FY2001/2002. With these losses, the airline cut many unprofitable routes, such as Brussels, Darwin, Honolulu, Madrid, Munich and Vancouver.
The airline recovered from its losses in the year 2002/2003. It achieved its then-highest profit in the year 2003/2004, totaling RM461 million.

In the year 2005, Malaysia Airlines reported a loss of RM1.3 billion. Revenue for the financial period was up by 10.3% or RM826.9 million, compared to the same period for 2004, driven by a 10.2% growth in passenger traffic. International passenger revenue increased by RM457.6 million or 8.4%, to RM5.9 billion, while cargo revenue decreased by RM64.1 million or 4.2%, to RM1.5 billion. Costs increased by 28.8% or RM2.3 billion, amounting to a total of RM 10.3 billion, primarily due to escalating fuel prices. Other cost increases included staff costs, handling and landing fees, aircraft maintenance and overhaul charges, Widespread Assets Unbundling (WAU) charges and leases.

The Government of Malaysia appointed Idris Jala as the new CEO on 1 December 2005, to execute changes in operations and corporate culture. Several weaknesses in airline operations were identified as the causes of the RM1.3 billion loss. These included esclating fuel prices, increased maintenance and repair costs, staff costs, low yield per available seat kilometer ("ASK") via poor yield management and an inefficient route network. Under the leadership of Idris Jala, Malaysia Airlines launched its Business Turnaround Plan in 2006, developed using the Malaysian Government'sGovernment-linked company (GLC) Transformation Manual as a guide.
The most substantial factor in the losses was fuel costs. For the period, the total fuel cost was RM3.5 billion, representing a 40.4% increase compared to the same period in 2004. Total fuel cost increases comprised RM977.8 million due to higher fuel prices and another RM157.6 million due to additional consumption. In the third quarter, fuel costs were RM1.26 billion, compared to the RM1.01 billion in the corresponding period in 2004, resulting in a 24.6% increase or RM249.3 million.

Another factor for the losses was high operating costs. MAS substantially lagged its peers on yield. Some of this gap is due to differences in traffic mix,(less business traffic to and from Malaysia than to and from Singapore), but much of it was due to weaknesses in pricing and revenue management, sales and distribution, brand presence in foreign markets, and alliance base. Malaysia Airlines has one of the lowest labor costs per ASK at USD0.41, compared to other airlines such as Cathay Pacific and Singapore Airlines at USD0.59 and USD0.60 respectively. However, despite its low labor cost, the ratio of ASK revenue (millions) to this cost was, at 2.8, much lower than Singapore Airlines, where the ratio is 5.0, and slightly higher than Thai International Airways
There are other factors listed in the Business Turnaround Plan of Malaysia Airlines, all leading to the net loss of RM1.3 billion in the year 2005.

Under the various initiatives, launched together with the Business Turnaround Plan, Malaysia Airlines turned losses into profits between FY2006 and FY2007. When the Business Turnaround Plan came to an end, the airline posted a record profit of 851 million Ringgit (265 million dollars) in 2007, ending a series of losses since 2005. The result exceeded the target of RM300 Million by 184%.
Among the initiatives that turned losses back into profit, route rationalizing was one of the major contributors. Malaysia Airlines pared its domestic routes from 114 to 22, and also canceled virtually all unprofitable international routes (such as Kuala Lumpur-Manchester, that required a 140% load factor to break even). Apart from that, Malaysia Airlines also rescheduled all of its flight timings and changed its operations model from point to pointservices to hub and spoke services.

Additionally, the airline started Project Omega and Project Alpha to improve the company's network and revenue management. Emphasis has been placed on six areas: pricing, revenue management, network scheduling, opening storefronts, low season strategy and distribution management.
Malaysia Airlines has been involved in discussions for new aircraft purchases, using its cash surplus of 5.3 billion Ringgit to eventually purchase 55 narrow-body aircraft and 55 wide-body aircraft.

Malaysia Airlines took an unprecedented move with its “Everyday Low Fares” (ELF) programme on May 6, 2008 which offers 1.3 million RM 0 for all domestic routes operated by Malaysia Airlines and Firefly. According to the managing director of Malaysia Airlines, Datuk Seri Idris Jala the Everyday Low Fares programme will create new demand for people who do not fly with Malaysia Airlines.
The Everyday Low Fares programme offers a maximum of 30% of the total seats on every flight which are unsold due to the average load factor of 70% on each flight. Thus, Malaysia Airlines is generating income for the airline through fuel surcharge, administrative fee and airport tax. By May 14, 2008, Malaysia Airlines has sold more than 150,000 seats since the launch of the programme and 50,000 tickets has been sold in the first two days. Malaysia Airlines is also extending the programme to all Asean routes operated by Malaysia Airlines.
However, the Everyday Low Fares programme launched by Malaysia Airlines has been strongly opposed by Asia's largest low cost carrier, AirAsia which claims that Malaysia Airlines is competing directly with AirAsia's business model but at the same time not allowing the budget carrier to compete against the national airline.

Malaysia Airlines is listed on the stock exchange of Bursa Malaysia under the name Malaysian Airline System Berhad (MYX: 3786). The airline suffered high losses over the years due to poor management and fuel price increases. As a result of financial restructuring (Widespread Asset Unbundling) in 2002, led by BinaFikir, Penerbangan Malaysia Berhad became its parent company, incorporated in 2002, in exchange for assuming the airline's long-term liabilities. On the operational side, the Government of Malaysia appointed Idris Jala as the new CEO on 1 December 2005, to execute changes in operations and corporate culture. Under his leadership, Malaysia Airlines unveiled its Business Turnaround Plan (BTP) in February, 2006, which highlighted low yield, an inefficient network and low productivity (overstaffing). The airline headquarters building in downtown Kuala Lumpur was sold. The new corporate headquarters is now at Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah Airport in Subang, Petaling.

Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777 flight MH138 docked at Adelaide Airport awaiting departure

Following the Widespread Asset Unbundling (WAU) restructuring of Malaysia Airlines, Malaysian Government investment arm and holding company,Khazanah Nasional's subsidiary, Penerbangan Malaysia Berhad [21] is the majority shareholder with a 52.0% stake. After Penerbangan Malaysia Berhad, the second-largest shareholder is Khazanah Nasional, which holds 17.33% of the shares. Minority shareholders include Employees Provident Fund Board (10.72%), Amanah Raya Nominees (Tempatan) Sdn Bhd (5.69%), State Financial Secretary Sarawak (2.71%), foreign shareholders (5.13%) and Warisan Harta Sabah (2.4%). It has 19,546 employees (as of March, 2007). Malaysia Government has been reporting that the government's holding company, Khazanah Nasional is keen on selling shares of Malaysia Airlines to remain globally competitive in an industry which is fast-consolidating.

Malaysia Airlines has diversified in to related industries and sectors, including aircraft ground handling, aircraft leasing, aviation engineering, air catering, and tour operator operations. It has also restructured itself by spinning-off operational units as fully-owned subsidiaries, to maintain its core business as a passenger airline. Malaysia Airlines has over 20 subsidiaries, with 13 of them fully owned by Malaysia Airlines.

The operating air fleet of Malaysian airline...

8:41 PM / Posted by Socialist Inc. / comments (1)

Good day folks, today I am going to talk about the wide coverage of Malaysian Airlines. You can all see the map of coverage I have put up here, the red lines are Malaysian Airlines net covering the world. Malaysian Airlines are competing with all the big names in the airlines industry these days by covering this wide network of flights, the airlines company is considered right after the Emirates, American Airlines, and Kuwait Airlines etc. This airlines company covers a wide area of the world including Asia, Africa, Americas, Europe all these continents. The numerous flights per day are maintained without delay with a large fleet of aircrafts under the hood of the airlines. There are total seven types of aircrafts in this airline company. They are: Airbus A330-200 and -300, Boeing 737-400, Boeing 747-400 and Boeing 777-200ER and its freighter (MASkargo) aircraft are Airbus A300-600, Boeing 747-200F and Boeing 747-400F. I have added quite a few pictures to amaze your eyes.

A beoing 747

An Airbus A330

An Airbus A330-200

An Airbus A380

A Boeing 777

A Boeing 737 (MASKargo)

Out of all these selections the airlines company use Airbus A330 for the smaller routes like flights to KLIA-Zia International Airport (Bangladesh). For the longer routes they use boeing 747 and 777. Boeing 737 is used for MASKargo, which is an extension of MAS for flying cargo. Malaysian Aitlines has also ordered airbus A380 to include in their fleet. But it is yet to be delivered. I travelled mostly in airbus A330 and I felt really comfortable in that aircraft. One of my friends in Australia also took Malaysian Airlines and the flight used a boring 747 and he said it was more comfortable then the Singapore Airlines. So I think Malaysian Aitlines is finding its way to the top slowly. I wish all the best for the company. This is all for today. See you in my next blog. Take care you guys...:)

Theme of MAS...beauuutiful...:)

5:14 AM / Posted by Socialist Inc. / comments (1)

Hey my favourite bloggers, I am back with my journey of Malaysian Airlines on ground. Till now I only wrote about the major marketing changed of MAS, which can seem very boring to many of you. But you guys should know it as future marketers as those changes have been done by some people who were at your position once upon a time.

Enough with my lecture, phew, I realized I can talk a lot to teach people staff, lol. Today I am going to talk about something really nice about my favourite airlines brand and that is the theme song for MAS after they launched their branding as MAS. The theme song is clearly one of the best I have listened among many of the big shot companies. The title of the theme is "WE FLY." The theme song is for about 2 minutes and 45 seconds and it consists of a sooting music that will catch your attention but with it refreshing tune. I found it from my blogging's sake but now I listen to it every now and then to sooth me up in between writing my thesis for my fyp. Boy, fyp stresses me a lot!!! The lyrics for the theme is also very clear cut and it is same with the title, "We fly... beyond We fly... we fly Relax ... smiles We fly... Beyond... blue sky Beyond... we fly." They put these words in between the music and that's all from the theme. So you can get a clear message from the theme and it is that Malaysian Airlines fly you you all around the world. I request all of you to just listen to the theme even for once. We will know what am I talking about after that.

By the way my theme music for my blog is also this same music, so you guys can listen to it everythime you visit my blog and scroll to the end. Thanks to my friend Chien Hui to find this for me. That's all from me today. See you guys in one week time...:D

Branding of MAS, part-II...

8:55 PM / Posted by Socialist Inc. / comments (0)

“MH is not just our airline code, it stands for Malaysian Hospitality."

Welcome back to my blog folks, I am going to continue my analysis on the branding of Malaysian Airlines which is MH-stands for Malaysian Hospitality.

The travellers travelled with MAS will surely feel the difference of the services provided inside the aircraft along with the attitude and attribute of the cabin crews as well. Malaysian Airlines is trying to attach Malaysian tradition with the branding of Malaysia and that is why the focus went to execute this latest branding strategy. In addition the budget of the company in this branding campaign was also a big factor beyond this. Malaysian Aitlines budget for this campaign was not enough to have a global campaign. So what the company did was execute the branding campaign focusing on the country of origin and make poeple aware that the brand name is attached with Malaysia. This was atwo way arrow, as it attracted the Malaysian passengers in terms of patriotism and also attracted foreigners who want to experience a touch of Malaysia on air. Following this strategy the airline company has teamed up with Tourism Malaysia to make the campaign stronger. The advertisements, overhead billboards, cabin crew attire and in flight catering everything followed the branding to make it a succesful one.

That is why the senior general manager Indira Nair has said that, “MH is not just our airline code, it stands for Malaysian Hospitality. It is the hospitality of Malaysians that we want to bring to our customers; to make them feel the warmth, friendliness and culture we have in Malaysia when they get on our flights while Malaysians will feel at home. The whole idea behind the campaign was to build on what we already had and to make it stronger. Our strategy is to offer a unique Malaysian experience and distinct offerings, which are aligned to the nation's aspirations. When customers talk about hospitality, they are looking for the basics. They want to feel important, be treated well and with respect. We believe we need to treat every passenger as we would treat a guest in our own homes. We are looking at Tourism Malaysia to make Malaysian hospitality something that every Malaysian can 'own', and that would be even more amazing.”-Star Bizz.

To me as a customer the airline company has done an excelent job and they surely made Malaysian Airlines far more strnger than before by attaching MH with it.

This will be all for today from me. Stay tuned for the next fact that will make you understand MAS more. Ciao!!!

Branding of MAS, part-I...

8:34 PM / Posted by Socialist Inc. / comments (4)

"The evolution of MH-Malaysian Hospitality."

Hello everyone, I am back with my marketing focused research and blogging on Malaysian Airlines. This time I am goingto talk about the branding of Malaysian Airlines, which is MH-Malaysian Hospitality. Malaysian hospitality-MH is Malaysian Airline's latest marketing and publicity campaign, which has earned enormous acceptance in the airlines industry and traveling world. It has elevated the effort that Malaysian Airline has been putting on for a long time to position it in a new and elegant place in the airline industry. Now let us talk about the emergence of MH-Malaysian Hospitality as Malaysian Airline's unique marketing technique.

Malaysia Airlines' branding and publicity efforts have revolved primarily around flight crew, unlike most other airlines which tend to emphasize aircraft and an extensive route network. Malaysia Airlines uses its flight attendants to promote the airline. This branding strategy seeks to portray cabin crews of Malaysia Airlines as representative of Malaysian hospitality and friendliness. During the late 1990s to year 2007, Malaysia Airlines has been using the Going Beyond Expectations slogan to brand itself internationally by heavily promoting its service excellence. With the rollout of the Business Transformation Plan in 2008, the CEO of Malaysia Airlines rejected the idea of using MH's network or certain other features as its new branding strategy. Instead, the new branding strategy slogan is MH is Malaysian Hospitality, to emphasize the hospitality of its cabin crew instead of the airline's extensive network and its premium cabin and economy class cabin products.

The airline runs a training program for cabin and flight crew to ensure that the Malaysia Airlines brand experience is delivered correctly. The airline's repute, and the resulting prestige of the job, has allowed it to be highly selective during its recruitment process. Of every thousand candidates who go for interviews, only 50 or 60 are chosen. So it is clearly seen that Malaysian Airline has not just only put MH as a marketing or branding strategy but also has taken care of the elegance to be retained as promised.

In my next blog I am going to talk about a little more on this topic, till then it is bye from Tanvir.

MALAYSIAN AIRLINES ON THE GO ! ! !

Me!

About Me!

My older posts

My Blog List

Malaysian Airlines' Blog

Share your insights here...:)

Starter...

History of MAS

Book Your Flight Now!!!

The operating air fleet of Malaysian airline...

Theme of MAS...beauuutiful...:)

Branding of MAS, part-II...

Branding of MAS, part-I...

We Fly - MAS Theme Song