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Malaysia Airlines (MAS) is now a new entity.

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Once upon a time, not so long ago, MAS failed.

It took a foreigner to save her. He leaves soon, after reviving the old bird but it won’t be long before UMNO cronies try to grab control…

Is FAIL time near?

22 April 2016

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20 April 2016

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Malaysia Airlines said chief executive Christoph Mueller would step down little more than a year after joining the struggling carrier in September, an early departure that raises concerns over the future of the aviation veteran’s turnaround strategy.

The airline said late yesterday that Mueller’s exit was triggered by “changing personal circumstances”. Hired last May on a three-year mission to revive the state-controlled firm after years of heavy losses, the German executive could not be reached for comment.

Malaysia Airlines made no further comment on Mueller’s personal situation, but said it has begun the search for a new chief executive. Mueller, 54, intends to remain on the carrier’s board as a non-executive director, it said.

The departure, amid early signs Mueller’s recovery strategy might work, is a major blow for a carrier still coping with 2014’s loss of two Boeing 777s, separate disasters that triggered a RM6 billion (US$1.55 billion) state restructuring package. Though still in the red, the airline has reported improved traffic and on-time-performance and last month Mueller forecast annual profit by 2018.
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Malaysia Airlines said that while it looks – externally and internally – for a new boss, it has appointed chief operating officer Peter Bellew, formerly with European budget carrier Ryanair executive, to the board.

“They need someone with Christoph’s vision for the airline’s future, the drive to push the changes through, and the nous to manage the politics that come with running a state-owned airline,” said one industry source familiar with the company’s executives and operations.

“They did well to get Christoph, but it may be even harder to find an adequate replacement.”

– Reuters

https://www.malaysiakini.com/news/338558

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14 February 2016

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Malaysian Insider

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DHAKA (THE DAILY STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK) – Three employees of Malaysia Airlines (MAS) have been arrested for smuggling 30 tortoises that were seized at the Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Bangladesh’s capital Dhaka on Friday (Feb 12) night, Bangladesh daily Prothom Alo reported.

They were identified as deputy station manager Samiur Rahman, 35, passenger service specialist Jewel Ahmed, 29, and baggage handler Mizanur Rahman, 30.

All three were fined 100,000 takas (S$1,777) each by a mobile court at the airport, while two of them – Jewel Ahmed and Mizanur Rahman – were also sentenced to one year in prison, according to Prothom Alo.

It quoted Armed Police Battalion (APBn) senior deputy superintendent Alamgir as saying that the consignment of tortoises was seized at Departure Belt No. 4 at the airport around 6pm local time on Friday, inside three trolley bags with MAS tags.

The report said that three passengers en route to Kuala Lumpur were found not to be involved with the smuggling after interrogation and checking of video footage.

Further investigation found that the three MAS officials were involved in the smuggling, along with Civil Aviation scan operator Hasan Parvez, who managed to escape, the law enforcement official added.

Civil Aviation authorities have been instructed to take action against him.

http://www.straitstimes.com/asia/south-asia/3-malaysia-airlines-employees-arrested-in-bangladesh-for-smuggling-30-tortoises

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9 February 2016

Malaysia Airlines is a new entity but is still struggling with image problems related to its rude staff.

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Leng Yein, Malaysia’s female DJ, is gorgeous!

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6 January 2016

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.@MAS restores normal baggage allowance after temporary ban prompted by “strong head winds” http://bit.ly/1OLuOAL 

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Tiada lagi had bagasi, operasi MAS ke Eropah kembali normal http://bit.ly/1OMmKtm 

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5 January 2016

Malaysia Airlines temporarily stops check-in luggage on all Europe flights

 

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4 January 2016

Malaysiakini

Crying MAS stewardess, best to quit and join Rayani Air

YOURSAY | ‘Don’t expect or demand non-Muslims to eternally dance to Islamic tunes.’

MAS stewardess wept for having to serve alcohol, says mufti

Vijay47: Mohd Asri, I have been an admirer of yours, as you were a welcome change from the usual morons here passing themselves off as Islamic scholars or pillars of moderation.

There have been times when our stands were at opposite ends, but I took that in stride since it cannot be expected that we would always be on the same page.

But of late, after your recent anti-Israeli comments and now your MAS anguish, it looks as though you have joined the dark side.

I will accept that some Muslims would want to comply with the tenets of their faith, but please do not expect or demand that we non-Muslims must eternally dance to Islamic tunes.

If your stewardess friend is disturbed by alcohol being served on MAS, she can always leave and join the Islam-compliant Rayani Air.

I may or may not enjoy a tipple 12.8km in the sky, but I sure as hell will not agree with MAS changing its service choice merely because some Muslims demand it.

How sad, Asri, that you have decreed that MAS – after all these years – is flying with the devil.

Falcon: There is something called “personal choice”. But of course, this is about something else, after all, as his paragraph six eventually alludes to?

It is a pity some people are not “tormented” seeing injustices taking place like abuse of power, high-handed corruption, the garage sale of our family jewels – or for that matter, racism, fascism and a mother losing her kids through unilateral conversions?

Whatever respect I once had for you, Asri, is forever eroded. May the Almighty help us all to see through fact, fiction and fallacy.

Abasir: So, to get back to your concern about the weeping stewardess; what do you have to say about that tormented mother who has been weeping over the last seven years, Asri?

You know, the one whose daughter was separated from her by the ‘Islam’ you practice? What’s that, you say? That’s okay because she is not a Muslim?

Malaccan: With respect to the mufti and Muslims in general, that’s enough with the constant demand for special privileges and treatment for Muslims. They are not kids.

Malaysia was never meant to accord special benefits to Muslims, but to accord special status to the religion.

We have had enough people who take advantage of Islam for their personal benefit. Nothing in what they do is for Islam, but more to be enjoyed as Muslims. These are not the same.

Instead of finding her a suitable job or commiserating and encouraging her for being brave and taking care of her kids with honest work, the mufti succumbed to his lurking bias towards ‘privilegism’.

Don’t Hindus qualify for the mufti’s concern as well, for the beef served or other insensitivities in government offices? Is justice a special privilege too?

No one forced the job on the good lady, nor was the dress policy unknown before she accepted the job.

I just wonder if she shed any tears over her work benefits or salary, or even the special privileges both enjoyed as Malay-Muslims in Malaysia.

Roguekiller: With due respect Mohd Asri, I thought all this while that you are a clear-minded and sensible person, able to see reason in other perspectives. You have proven me wrong, first with the Israelis’ issue and now this.

To run an airline, there are rules, regulations and policies that employees must adhere to. MAS caters for multi-nationalities, hence, all sorts of services are provided.

If the uniform states “no headscarf”, it means “no”. The said stewardess should be well-versed with the requirement during her interview before accepting the appointment.

On long-haul flights, it is inevitable that passengers want alcohol to be served. What’s wrong in serving it? She is not being asked to drink it.

There are Muslim bartenders at restaurants and clubs serving liquors too; they don’t cry. If such a job is not suitable, she could find other jobs.

Anynomous: Next time, don’t be a stewardess… just be part of the ground staff.

Patriot1: MAS is going to be embroiled in another religious issue, which is going to hasten its demise. Its new CEO, Christoph Mueller, will not be able to save MAS. It needs divine help.

It also proves a point; government-linked companies do not do well in business because decisions are often made not in the best interests of the company, but rather on a politically correct basis.

I think the new CEO can start looking for another job.

https://www.malaysiakini.com/news/325347

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3 January 2016

We championed wearing tudung for decades, says ex-MAS union

A female cabin crew checks on passengers aboard Rayani Air, Malaysia’s first shariah-compliant airline. The Malaysian Insider file photo.
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KUALA LUMPUR — For decades, the now-defunct MAS Employees Union (MASEU) pushed Malaysia Airlines to allow its Muslim cabin crew to wear the tudung and not serve alcohol on flights, said its former executive secretary Jabarullah Abd Kadir.

But the management turned a deaf ear for fear it would affect revenue, while government leaders ignored the matter because they did not “internalise Islam” (menjiwai Islam), said Mr Jabarullah when contacted.

“We’ve been championing this since the beginning. We told our management that our members have been in tears because they want to be allowed to wear the tudung and not serve alcohol. But nothing has happened.

“When our Muslim leaders won’t internalise Islam, how can we ever change?” he said.

And now MASEU, once the airline’s biggest and most powerful workers’ union, can do nothing about it as it ceased to exist after Malaysia Airlines completed its restructuring exercise.
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The National Union of Flight Attendants Malaysia (NUFAM) has similarly raised this issue many times to the government, only to be met with silence, according to its president, Ismail Nasaruddin.

But he said it was a “delicate issue” since Malaysia Airlines was seen as an international carrier.

“If the Muslim cabin crew want to wear the tudung and not serve alcohol, then what happens when most or even all of the cabin crew on a particular flight are Muslims?

“Who will serve alcohol to the non-Muslim passengers? Will Malaysia Airlines have to completely overhaul its image and stop serving alcohol? It can’t. This is a complex issue,” said Mr Ismail.

He suggested that Malaysia Airlines cabin crew who felt strongly about the matter consider joining Rayani Air instead, since the new airline requires Muslim air stewardesses to don the tudung.

http://www.todayonline.com/world/asia/we-championed-wearing-tudung-decades-says-ex-mas-union?page=1

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2 January 2016

Under attack. From Perlis Mufti.

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Singapore Airlines make money. Tons of it.There is no need for bail outs.

It serves alcohol and has female attendants dressed like this:

Singapore’s paper Today reports what Perlis Mufti said.

Allow @MAS stewardesses to cover up, not serve alcohol: Perlis mufti tells Putrajaya http://tdy.sg/22D7yZR 

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MAS stewardess wept for having to serve alcohol, says mufti

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28 December 2015

Report that 250 Boeing 777 pilots forced to quit untrue, says MAS

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KUALA LUMPUR — Malaysia Airlines has denied a report that its pilots are forced to leave the national carrier, after Malay-language tabloid Kosmo published an article saying 250 of its Boeing 777-ER pilots will lose their jobs next year.

Malaysia Airlines confirmed that its rationalisation exercise would have an impact on its pilots, but said they have been offered options, which did not include sacking.

“Malaysia Airlines’ network rationalisation exercise, which saw a reduction in capacity and suspension of flights to selected destinations, will have an impact on pilot requirements.

“The pilots will have a choice of career options, including voluntary secondment to other airlines in Asia or the Middle East, voluntary no-pay long-term leave to pursue other careers or to remain at Malaysia Airlines and await possible long-term vacancies on other aircraft types.

“The opportunities for secondment to another airline are entirely voluntary for the individual pilot and no 777 pilot has been requested to leave the airline,” the national carrier said in a statement to The Malaysian Insider.

http://www.todayonline.com/world/asia/report-250-boeing-777-pilots-forced-quit-untrue-says-mas

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Peter Clark, the head of New Zealand’s aviation regulator, commended the airline’s pilot for spotting the error quickly and resolving the problem instead of “blindly flying off and ending up in the Southern Ocean”.

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28 December 2015

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Peter Clark, the head of New Zealand’s aviation regulator, commended the airline’s pilot for spotting the error quickly and resolving the problem instead of “blindly flying off and ending up in the Southern Ocean”.

Malaysia Airlines says probing case of MH132 that flew south to head north

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KUALA LUMPUR — Malaysia Airlines Bhd (MAS) said the southerly route that Flight MH132 took to go from New Zealand to Kuala Lumpur was an “approved flight path”, but was investigating the mix-up.

Responding to reports over the deviation that left the pilot of the Christmas Day flight out from Auckland perplexed, MAS said the error was due to the plane and air traffic controllers being given conflicting flight plans, with the latter receiving an outdated version.

“Both routes were following an approved flight path and the aircraft had enough fuel for both routes,” it said in a statement yesterday (Dec 27). “The safety of both passengers and crew were never compromised at any time.”

“Malaysia Airlines is currently conducting its investigation in the flight plan submission.”

The Malaysian carrier insisted that it strictly observes all safety procedures and regulations, adding that safety was the airline’s utmost priority.
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The pilot of Flight MH132 noticed the Airbus A330’s strange heading and immediately contacted Auckland Oceanic’s air traffic controllers, who provided the original flight path logged with Airways, the air traffic manager for flights in New Zealand and the South Pacific.

http://www.todayonline.com/world/asia/malaysia-airlines-says-probing-case-mh132-flew-south-head-north

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27 December 2015

Probe after Malaysia Airlines flight from New Zealand to KL deviates from normal route

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PETALING JAYA (THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK) – Investigations will be carried out after a Malaysia Airlines (MAS) pilot questioned why the flight path from Auckland to Kuala Lumpur differed slightly on Christmas Day, according to a report.

The New Zealand Herald said the pilot on flight MH132 raised concerns eight minutes after take-off when his Airbus A330 was instructed to fly further south than usual.

The plane, which left at 2.23am on Christmas Day (7.23am Malaysian time) was heading towards Melbourne rather than a more direct flight path to Kuala Lumpur, it said.

The Auckland Oceanic control centre informed him that the flight plan had been given to Airways, which managed air traffic control for New Zealand and the South Pacific.

The report said the plane continued continued across the Tasman Sea before heading north-west to Kuala Lumpur. There was no apparent safety concerns with the flight path.

Airways confirmed it was investigating the incident. A spokesman was quoted saying an internal safety team would be looking into the matter.
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The report said New Zealand aviation commentator Peter Clark praised the pilot for his actions.

“The pilot has done a very good job by noticing it, querying it and not just blindly flying off and ending up in the Southern Ocean,” he told the daily.

Flights on the route often travel around the bottom of Australia to avoid bad weather or headwinds, Mr Clark said.

http://www.straitstimes.com/asia/se-asia/probe-after-malaysia-airlines-flight-from-new-zealand-to-kl-deviates-from-normal-rout

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Malaysia Airlines‘ Christmas route surprises pilot leaving Auckland http://dlvr.it/D6PlBc 

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Malaysia Airlines (@MAS) pilot spooked after plane headed north begins flying south http://bit.ly/1RLW5mN 

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