By: Shashank Nigam (Guest Blogger)

This article by Shashank Nigam extracted from http://simpliflying.com/2010/brand-essence-of-malaysia-airlines-experiencing-malaysian-hospitality/

Over the past couple of months, I’ve spent a lot of time in Singapore and Kuala Lumpur, and that resulted in an overdose of branding messages from regional airlines like Singapore Airlines, Malaysia Airlines, AirAsia and Tiger Airways.

I was intrigued in particular by Malaysia Airlines’ “Malaysian Hospitality” campaign – which is a play on the MH code of the airline. Soon enough, I got to experience the “world’s best in-flight service” myself, on Business Class from Kuala Lumpur to Los Angeles (see photos at the bottom of this article). And here’s what I feel is the essence of Malaysian Hospitality – it’s the “human-ness” of flying. Let me explain what I mean.

Malaysian Hospitality – a story of genuine care

It may sound strange, but a lot of airlines that have good service often lack “humanity” in their service. Sometimes, it even becomes robotic – I’m sure you’ve seen robotic smiles plastered on flight attendants. Malaysia Airlines’ service, in contrast, was genuine and very human – one that makes you feel good as a person. Let me share a story.

I opted to have my meal soon after take-off, while the gentleman next to me chose to have it later. I first received some traditional satay (a Malaysian specialty), and then more aromatic dishes. This obviously tempted the person seated next to me and he kept stealing glances at my food. Without him asking for anything, the leading stewardess asked him if he’d like some starters or dessert – he opted for the latter and happily munched on the tiramisu.

Not only was the service genuine, it was pro-active. I’m not saying no other airlines provide such service, just that it’s a rare feat. Moreover, we were all greeted by names, and complete eye-contact was made before we were spoken to – all the basics of providing a personal service.

The omnipresent Malaysian essence – on-board, and in the lounge

Not only was the food very Malaysian – like the satay and the teh tarik (pulled-tea), the products and service were too. The crew pointed not with their fingers, but with their thumb above their fist- a very Malaysian gesture. In the Business Class lounge, there were a variety of local foods available, and local massages too. So even if you’re in-transit, and not getting out of the airport, you can experience glimpses of Malaysian life.

Moreover, I was impressed with the lounge because not only did it have a dedicated Business Center and phone booths for private calls, but also a golf putting area and a children’s playground. I’m not sure how many children frequent the playground, but the other services were certainly desirable.

Room for improvement?

For one, the Boeing 777-200ER aircraft that Malaysia Airlines uses for this flight isn’t the newest. In fact, Singapore Airlines has retired all but two of this type from their fleet. Not only is this a competitive disadvantage, the wear and tear and the older business class product shows. In fact, the new flat-bed by AirAsia X may even prove to be a challenger, given the airline’s competitive fares.

I guess things will improve once the airline gets the new A380s over the next few years. The CEO recently mentioned that it will have a refurbished product, including a Premium Economy class.

Having said that, I think the excellent service and the genuine show of care more than makes up for the not-so-latest product. Overall, it was a pleasure experiencing Malaysian Hospitality, and I’d encourage you to give it a try.

By: Farzleen Fadzil Khan (Communications Division)

MH Magic check-in experience

Boarding flight, MH Juaras 2010

MH Magical Connectors making an energetic cheer and wonderful welcome for the guests

Capt. Azharuddin replicating an inflight announcement as Captain for flight MH JUARA 2010

They were given `boarding passes’ at point of registration, taken to the `holding lounge’ (which was our MAA cafeteria all decorated and dressed up to look like a departure hall), listened to a ‘live’ announcement made by our very own Captain Azharuddin Osman, served MH peanuts by our `crew’ (MH Juara connectors) and taken on a magical ‘journey’ with other ‘passengers’ (other Juaras).

George Aveling in action!! 

George Aveling, was once again invited to moderate this year’s workshop. He coached the Juaras through each activity and led them to realize at the end that in order for them to deliver an inspirational experience as a 5 Star Value Carrier by 2013, they ought to practice, practice and practice NSDW.

George conducting activities that are linked to NSDW

And what better way to get them reliving and showcasing NSDW than moving them emotionally from the very start with an in-house video encapsulating what NSDW means to the MH family; how MH members perceive NSDW to be between their colleagues, their bosses and customers.

MH Juaras given tools and exercises to carry out in their areas

Tengku presenting Certificates of Recognition to our MH Stars

Four moving stories were shared before our MD took centre stage to address the Juaras and after watching the video, he had this to say; ‘the best of Malaysia is here at MAS.’

“I am proud to see the amazing dedication shown by our staff as they see MAS as their home, so they take care of everything just like how they would at home.”
“There is no manual to tell you how to be NSDW. You have to live it by sharing stories and experiences with each other, and as JUARAS you play a crucial role to push NSDW to next level,” summed-up Tengku Azmil.

“I am MAS. MAS is me is all about not passing the bulk to anyone else. It’s about how `I must help fix the problem’.”

Magician teaching our MH Juaras a magic trick 

MAS team role play to deliver MH Magic experience to customers

Juaras connected with each other for several activities such as the NSDW Challenge, MH Magic Ice-breaker and MH Magic Bingo, while they role-played for their last activity, MH Magic in what seemed quite like a mini theatre setting. The activities spurred that inspirational moment in them and moved some emotionally.
A workshop which started with much sprightliness ended on the same note with an energetic `I am MAS. MAS is me’ rap by the Juaras. And it goes something like this:-

“Now I know you, AND you know me,
And two makes three, oh NATURALLY,
N-S-D-W we aim to be,
Determined and willing, SPONTANEOUSLY
So count us in, cos we can see
That I AM MAS & MAS IS ME”

By: Hazairi Hussain (Golden Lounge - KLIA)

Arrival at London Heathrow International Airport

Our crew proudly presenting Malaysia Airlines at the lounge

In the recent launching of the new London Heathrow Golden Lounge on 7 November 2009, of which I had the privilege to attend (albeit in my capacity as a member of the organizing committee),  we were honored that our event was graced by such luminaries and dignitaries such as Datuk Seri Ng Yen Yen, Minister of Tourism, Malaysia, Tan Sri Dr Munir Majid, Chairman Malaysia Airlines, Dato N Sadasivan, Deputy Chairman Malaysia Airlines, YM Raja Dato’ Nordiana Zainal Shah, General Manager Corporate Marketing & Loyalty Program, the renowned architect Dato’ Dr Kenneth Yeang, and Dato’ Professor Jimmy Choo OBE (Yes, “The Jimmy Choo of the haute couture shoes and handbags fame”). Being in the presence of such distinguished cast was, to say the least, a humbling experience.

Viewing our Inflight magazine, Temptations

Enjoying a poster portraying Malaysian lifestyle

We did not need a high-profile celebrity to lend a touch of ‘glamour’ to our event, we did not need to put on a song and a dance, but instead we had a host of Made in Malaysia big wigs, who, on their own, can command the attention of a room, let alone assembled together like what we had that afternoon.

Guest waiting area

Facilities area

The warmth it exudes

Datuk Seri Ng Yen Yen delivered an almost off-the cuff speech, not once having to refer to the notes in her hands, and that impressed me. Being a global trotter in her capacity as the Tourism Minister, she must have gone through the doors of countless airports and lounges (of the VIP category), and a host of 5 to 6 stars hotels. But she had kind words for our new lounge, and she seemed genuinely impressed with what we had delivered. She spoke of the warmth it exudes, the colors and materials used, as a representation of Malaysian in the heart of one of the global capitals of the world.

Second from left: Syed Abdillah, Regional Manager, UK/Europe, centre: YM Raja Dato’ Nordiana Zainal Shah, General Manager Corporate Marketing & Loyalty Program and second from right: Jimmy Choo  

From left: Martin Burrow, MAS Board of Directors, second from right: Tan Sri Dr Munir Majid, Chairman Malaysia Airlines

Delivering the speech in the setting of the new lounge, with the sun shining through the big, floor to ceiling glass windows, she glowed in her golden Songket jacket. It was a sight to behold, and her words were music to my ears. Even in the bleak, cold Autumnal grayness of London, her speech brought warmth to many a hearts that were there that day.

Malini Dias, Deputy Editor for StarMag standing next to Dato’ Dr Kenneth Yeang, Design Director, LDY and Dato N Sadasivan, Deputy Chairman Malaysia Airlines

MC making the speech is MAS LONTO staff, Anton Grossman

Datuk Seri Ng Yen Yen, Minister of Tourism, Malaysia, delivering a speech

At that moment, I felt really proud of being a Malaysian, and a Malaysia Airlines employee.

Launching ceremony

But the one presence that really caught my attention was that of Dato’ Professor Jimmy Choo. Not so much for the fact that he is such a global brand name, putting his creations on the feet of many a famous name, such as the late Princess Diana, no less. It did make me feel a tad conscious about my own pair of shoes that I had on though, afraid that he might look down and assess the fashion faux pas that I might have committed!

But he did no such thing. In fact, he could have passed for your regular ‘Joe’ from the kopitiam down the road. That is by no means an insult to the good Dato’, but rather a measure of the man. Jimmy Choo, to my eyes, epitomizes the ‘Rags to Riches’ story, of a local boy done good, real good, for him, and the country.  We all have, at one time or another, read of his rise to fame and fortune from his humble beginnings. Of how he strived and worked hard to be where he is today. And all the while, Jimmy Choo retains what is fundamental to his success, humility and honesty.

And that was what made venture into a moment of introspective. Being in his presence made me think that this great man has achieved success through diligence, patience and sheer graft, with some iron hard will to succeed to boot! (pun intended). His story brings to my mind the problem afflicting my current generation, the ‘get rich quick without trying’ variety. This, to me, is the root of many of our current social and economic ills.

If everybody would just take a leaf out of Jimmy Choo’s book, maybe we will realize that success and wealth does not come easy, and quickly, unless you are born with a silver spoon in your mouth.

Dato’ Professor, if you are reading this, high time for an autobiography, perhaps?

A compliment letter from our customer

By: Nordiana Nordin (Guest Blogger)

This article by Nordiana Nordin extracted from http://princess-dyana.blogspot.com/2009/12/flymasmobi-as-easy-as-123.html

This article by Budiey Isma Alifi extracted from: http://www.budiey.com/flymasmobi-as-easy-as-123/

Budiey rasa korang pun setuju kalau Budiey katakan bahawa telefon bimbit sekarang merupakan gadget paling popular dan paling TOP di dunia! Buktinya setiap orang ada telefon bimbit. Tak kiralah, dari golongan kanak-kanak hinggalah golongan dewasa. Budak-budak sekolah pun ada henset sekarang nih. Semuanya membimbit telefon mereka ke mana sahaja.

Jadi, wajarlah kalau kebanyakan laman web yang berbentuk perkhidmatan untuk kita ditukar bentuk khusus untuk pengguna telefon bimbit. Bukan apa, ini semua untuk kemudahan dan kesenangan pengguna jugak.

Malaysia Airlines (MAS) pun tak terkecuali. Baru-baru ini, mobile website flymas.mobi telah pun dilancarkan untuk kita semua. Jadi, sekarang bertambah senanglah nak booking tiket flight. Sangat senang!

Apa taknya, segalanya boleh dicapai di hujung jari. Nak tengok waktu penerbangan, berapa harga tambang atau nak tengok promosi terkini MAS pun dah boleh.

Yang senangnya tak kira di mana kita berada, asalkan kita ada kemudahan 3G atau WiFi atau senang kata ada internet, terus boleh layari flymas.mobi di henset. Pergh! Zaman dah bertambah maju!

Budiey rasa, ini satu inisiatif yang bagus dan tepat pada masanya di mana sekarang ini kebanyakan syarikat penerbangan masih menggunakan talian internet melalui laptop atau desktop, tapi MAS dah maju setapak lagi dengan menawarkan sistem booking dengan menggunakan TELEFON BIMBIT.

Okay, selepas mendapat tahu pasal berita baik ni, Budiey pun terus lah melayari flymas.mobi dengan menggunakan iPhone.

Pergh… bila tekan je url, dengan cepat sekali masuk ke laman web utama. Okay, bila dah klik laman web ni, nah, ini paparan pertama. Kiranya ini adalah HOME. Sangat basic.

Sekarang ni, Budiey nak cari tiket untuk balik ke Kota Bahru Kelantan. Saje je la, nak jenguk-jenguk orang kampung bersama dengan isteri. Last balik kampung pada hari raya haji.

Budiey pilih tarikh 23 Disember 2009. Nak pilih tarikh pun senang. Cuma scroll down aje. Senang sangat booking tiket pakai telefon bimbit nih.

Here we go. Bertolak dari Kuala Lumpur ke Kota Bahru pada 25 Disember 2009 seramai 3 orang. Class Economy. Klik BOOK!

Selepas klik BOOK, paparan ni akan keluar. Iaitu semua jadual dan masa perjalanan dari KL ke KB pada hari 25 Disember tu. Murah aje. RM194 untuk seorang.

Budiey pilih untuk bertolak pada jam 15:05 iaitu jam 3.15 petang. Harganya, RM209 selepas dikira dengan tax dan fees. Jadi, kesemuanya, Budiey kena bayar RM627.00

Okay, siap. Bolehlah klik PURCHASE.

Kemudian, kita kena isi borang. Isi nama penuh, email, telefon bimbit dan nombor keahlian Enrich (jikalau ada).

Jangan lupa untuk isikan juga nama penumpang lain. Cuma isi nama penuh aje.

Dan untuk pembayaran, kita boleh gunakan kad kredit. Jangan risau, dengan flymas.mobi ni memang selamat. Tak payah nak ragu-ragu lagi. Sistem keselamatannya sangat ketat.

Nah.. senangkan? Mission accomplished! Dan sangat basic. Lagi pun dia boleh digunakan dengan menggunakan mana-mana model phone yang ada talian internet 3G atau guna Wifi.

APA KELEBIHAN flymas.mobi?
Kelebihannya? Memang banyak! Terlalu banyak sampai tak terkira banyaknya. Features flymas.mobi yang Budiey paling suka ialah prosesnya tak sampai 5 minit. Memang cepat sangat! Mesra pengguna orang kata.

Untuk booking flight, just isi kat mana kita nak pergi dan bila. Kemudian, kita kena isi satu form pembeliam. Hanya isi nama, email, nombor telefon dan number keahlian Enrich. Itu sahaja. Then bayar menggunakan kad kredit.

Korang tak reti atau tak faham dalam Bahasa Inggeris? Mmm… jangan risau, flymas.mobi ada dwi bahasa. Maknanya dalam bahasa Melayu pun boleh.

Masih tak faham dengan cara atau segala macam persoalan? Klik aje kat FAQ kat bawah sekali tu. Jadi, sebarang masalah dan pertanyaan akan terjawab kat situ.

Eh, satu lagi yang tak kurang pentingnya, korang tau tak, kita boleh share dengan kawan-kawan kita  itinerary atau jadual penerbangan kita dengan menggunakan social networking sites macam email, Facebook, twitter dan sebagainya. Mmm.. menarik kan?

Okay… senang aje, Budiey dah cuba share itinerary kat Facebook.

Budiey sangat excited bila dapat tahu, MAS menyediakan ‘perkongsian’ maklumat penerbangan dengan kawan serta famili kita.

Ianya sangat mudah bagi setiap pengguna. Semasa membuat tempahan melalui flymas.mobi, anda boleh klik ke menu ‘SHARE YOUR ITINERARY’ yang terletak di bahagian bawah details booking.

Dengan klik di SHARE YOUR ITINERARY tu, pengguna boleh pilih samada nak share maklumat tentang booking tu melalui Facebook, Dopplr atau Tripit.

Rasa excited sangat, Budiey rasa nak mencuba untuk share maklumat penerbangan Budiey ini melalui Facebook.

Klik aje kat SHARE ITINERARY

Satu paparan akan keluar, kita kena pilih samada nak share kat Facebook, Tripit dan Dopplr.

Kemudian, kena login Facebook dengan menggunakan akaun dan password sendiri.

Yeay! Sukses!

NAK MENANG TIKET KE SYDNEY ATAU MELBOURNE?
Tahun depan, pasti ada yang nak bercuti. Jadi, apa kata, cuba layari flymas.mobi untuk book tiket anda sekarang.

Nak terbang dengan MAS secara PERCUMA? Ha, ada caranya, serta peraduan yang dianjurkan oleh MAS ini. Ini khusus untuk semua penulis blog seluruh Malaysia. - It’s so easy as 1,2,3!

Macamana nak menang tu?

Okay senang sahaja. Korang kena tulis satu entry. Dalam entri tu, korang kena cakap sikit mengapa laman web mobile MAS yang baru ini sangat mudah untuk digunakan. Tajuk entri tersebut mestilah : flymas.mobi – as easy as 1,2,3!

Kemudian, emailkan blog link anda itu besertakan dengan nama penuh, email, dan nombor telefon bimbit  kepada flymas.mobi@nuffnang.com

Korang takde blog? Mmm… okay, boleh jugak nak tulis tapi kenalah menghantarkannya kepada: http://www.malaysiaairlinesblog.com/flymasmobi/index2.php dan letakkannya di Living Malaysian Hospitality blog. Senang kan?
Okay kita tengok hadiah yang menanti anda semua!

Hadiah Pertama
2 X tiket ekonomi pergi balik ke Sydney/Melbourne.

Hadiah Ke-2
2 X tiket ekonomi pergi balik ke mana-mana destinasi di ASIA Tengggara.

Tempat Ke-3
 X tiket ekonomi pergi balik ke mana-mana destinasi di Malaysia.

Peraduan ini terbuka kepada seluruh rakyat Malaysia sahaja dan contest akan berlangsung dari sekarang hingga 30 Disember 2009.

Hantarkan entry anda itu secepat mungkin. Yang penting, kasi kreatif sikit.

Selamat mencuba!

Anda ada telefon bimbit. Yes Of course! Jadi, apa kata, cuba layari sekarang flymas.mobi di telefon bimbit anda sekarang!

By: The Living MH Blog Team

Hi everyone!

Malaysia Airlines today announced the launch of MHmobile - flymas.mobi - the most comprehensive menu of mobile phone functionality available to airline passengers anywhere in the world.

flymas.mobi launch

(From left to right) Malaysia Airlines Senior General Manager Network & Revenue Management, Dr Amin Khan, SITA Chief Technology Officer, Jim Peters, Malaysia Airlines Managing Director/CEO, Tengku Dato’ Azmil Zahruddin and Maxis Chief Operating Officer, Jean-Pascal Van Overbeke

flymas.mobi offers more choices and convenience to the airline’s 14 million passengers by allowing them to book, pay, and check-in and board their flight simply using their mobile phone. In a world first, it also harnesses the capabilities of smart phones to offer passengers context-aware services using geolocalisation.

Let's go mobile!

It is also the first mobile airline application which connects bookings to Facebook, TripIt and Dopplr enabling friends and colleagues to be informed about each other’s travel plans.

In another major first, it allows passengers to check the status of a delayed bag using flymas.mobi because the application can link to SITA’s WorldTracer, the industry-standard, fully-automated system for tracing lost and mishandled passenger baggage used by over 440 airlines and ground-handling companies worldwide.

Sneak previews of the web application have meant that it is already a success with Malaysia Airlines customers who have been flocking to flymas.mobi ever since news of the application’s existence started to circulate in Kuala Lumpur two weeks ago. In advance of today’s official launch, page hits have been averaging over 5,000 per day.

All major operating systems and manufacturers are supported including Blackberry (RIM), the iPhone, Android Google phone, Symbian (Nokia, Motorola, Samsung, Sony Ericsson) and Windows Mobile (HTC, LG, Samsung, Sony Ericsson). flymas.mobi supports any screen above 128 pixels.

By: Vivienne Soh (Inflight Services, Cabin Crew Training & Standards)

In conjunction with the Learning & Growth initiative, the 5 Star Food Program was re-launched on the 6th October, 2009. The program was held at MAS Academy, Kelana Jaya and Lufthansa GMBH Sky Chefs (LSG) at KLIA.

The 3 day program on food and culinary had an excellent participation from various categories of W/B cabin crew. The core objective is to raise the standard of cabin crew food knowledge and to be at par or higher with the current aviation service industry and gastronomic world. The topics covered include food preparation, culinary terms, route specific menu planning, Halal and Hazard Analysis & Critical Control Point (HACCP) and some of the future initiatives on food and beverage. Participants were given a CD for their learning continuity. In addition, they were taken on a field trip to visit the Five-star F&B outlets and LSGB. It is an opportunity not to be missed.

CCTS would like to thank Manager Culinary/Executive Chef Zainuddin Hj Mohd Isa and his team for their endless contribution & support.

By: The Living MH Blog Team

Click here to know your way around and to find out where our check in counters are in London Heathrow Terminal 4.

Also, check out photos of our new Golden Lounge in Terminal 4.

These are artistes impression of our London Golden Lounge.

The design of our London Lounge is a progression of the successfully executed KLIA Regional Lounge concept of ‘RIMBUN’ the canopy of the forest, but in an international setting; it is less ethnic and has a more cosmopolitan appeal.

Things you need to know about our London Golden Lounge.

• The opening hours will be catered to our 2x daily flights, i.e. 4 hours prior to  each departure

• Only departing passengers are allowed to use the facilities.

• The Malaysia Airlines London Golden Lounge is open to First and Business Class passengers

• Enrich Platinum and Gold members also have access to the lounge irrespective of their class of travel

• Enrich Silver members can gain access to the lounge when they opt for the Golden Lounge Privilege Programme or redeem their Enrich Miles on a per-entrance basis.

In the lounge, you will find:

• Reception
• Cloak & Luggage Area
• Muslim Male & Female Prayer Room
• Bistro Bar
• Child Play Room
• Open Concept Business Centre
• Buffet Counters
• Showers and Washroom
• Baby Changing Facility
• Lactation Room
• Handicapped Toilet
• Relaxation Room with massage chairs
• Oxygen Bars

London Heathrow T4 here we come!!!!

This article was written by our customer and featured in The Star newspaper dated 04 October 2009.

By: Global Traveller (From Our Guest)

I AM an aviation-industry professional with 30 years experience in a business covering nearly 300 airlines from all over the world.

It is an unvarnished fact that since its inception decades ago, Malaysia Airlines (MAS) has consistently been rated in the industry as being among the top five carriers in the world where service is concerned.

My own experience bears this out.

Recently, my flight, MH371, from Beijing to Kuala Lumpur was delayed for 12 hours due to unavoidable circumstances.

This happens, unfortunately, from time to time in commercial aviation, anywhere in the world. What was remarkable, however, was how the MAS staff handled this crisis from beginning to end.

Beijing station manager Chong handled the complicated situation with aplomb and admirable efficiency.

He quickly arranged alternative flights with other airlines for passengers where possible, and provided five-star hotel accommodation for those who remained, all the while dealing with disgruntled or confused passengers firmly and courteously.

The rescheduled flight took off at precisely the time he promised passengers. Subsequent enquiries have revealed that this veteran Malaysian commands considerable respect from his foreign peers and staff – a tribute to the years of training and experience provided by the airline known as “MH” (since it launched its latest branding exercise that equates its international call sign, MH, with “Malaysian Hospitality”).

A fresh complement of cabin crew was quickly drafted for this flight, and instead of grumbling at their truncated leave, they served the passengers with the smiling Malaysian Hospitality that the airline rightly prides itself on.

Seeing that I was temporarily disabled, Captain Shageer took the initiative to call ahead to KL International Airport and arrange for the complimentary use of the Golden Lounge until I could proceed with my journey.

Not many airline captains with the stress of such a situation would take the trouble to attend to an individual passenger’s needs. The fact that this Malaysian professional did this in a pleasant, attentive and considerate manner is further testimony to the caliber of the airline’s service standards.

At 3.30am, the Golden Lounge at KLIA was closed for cleaning but the officer on duty, Ms Zaleha, readily unlocked the doors and gave me a cheery welcome.

Seeing that I was obviously tired and in physical discomfort, she wisely dispensed with formalities and instructed her staff to provide me with all the facilities I required, even though it was apparent they were quite busy with maintenance work.

Once again, I was served with cheerful, courteous hospitality and unobtrusive, efficient service.

Although it was approaching sahur (morning prayers) when it was time for me to leave on the next leg of my journey, the MH staff insisted on making sure that I was safely on my way before returning to attend to their duties and personal obligations.

A senior Chinese station manager, a young Indian pilot, and an able Malay woman lounge manager – each leading a team of airline professionals working in very different aspects of aviation operations, with no obvious link to each other.

While their individual identities represented an enchanting cross-section of the Malaysian population, the consistency in their courtesy, care and excellence in service represented an accurate sample of MAS’ world-class standards.

As a professional with an experienced and objective perspective, I have only one question: Why is it that while the rest of the world is bestowing awards and accolades on Malaysia Airlines, Malaysians continue to underestimate and undervalue your own national carrier?

By: The Living MH Blog Team

In an extremely tough and challenging business environment, the recognition anointed by Aviation Week is encouraging for all of us in Malaysia Airlines. Aviation Week, the largest information and services provider to aviation players, has named Malaysia Airlines as one of the top three carriers to perform in 2009.  32 major airlines were evaluated in this study, and we were ranked after Singapore Airlines and Lufthansa.  The annual Top-Performing Companies (TPC) identifies relative strengths and weaknesses in companies' operational performance and evaluates how well they are executing business strategies.

This study’s airline analysis shows the effects of the recession on the industry – few airline business models are immune!  And we at Malaysia Airlines still remain in the eye of the storm.  While we have done many things in the past 3 months to change things around, we are definitely not out of the woods.

We will remain resilient!

AVIATION WEEK Announces Leading Airline Industry Rankings: 2009 Top-Performing Companies

 Top Ten Major Legacy Airlines:

1. Singapore Airlines
2. Deutsche Lufthansa AG
3. Malaysian Airline System Berhad
4. Turk Hava Yollari AO
5. Qantas Airways Ltd.
6. LAN Airlines S.A.
7. Air New Zealand Ltd.
8. Aer Lingus Group PLC
9. Iberia Lineas Aereas de Espana S.A.
10. Finnair Oyj

Note: Launched in 1996, AVIATION WEEK's TPC Study identifies relative strengths and weaknesses in companies' operational performance and evaluates how well they are executing business strategies. For the second year in a row, separate studies were conducted on the A&D and airline sectors. Proprietary metrics have been refined over the past 13 years with input from industry leaders to include scores in five performance categories: Liquidity, Financial Health, Earnings Performance, Fuel Cost Management, and Asset Utilization. The benchmarking tool and microsite  AviationWeek.com/TPC are produced in partnership with PricewaterhouseCoopers.

By: Zaileen Hashim (Communications Division)

Last week, we had our 1st 2009 Customer Awareness Week (CAW). This is a system wide campaign where all MH staff rallied together and reminds one another that we need to make sure that we enhance our customer service delivery. The campaign ran for a week from 06 to 10 July.

This is the time we keep on our toes to remember that we need to keep our customers the centre of what we do in MH and that they are everything single thing that we do.

A few activities were organized throughout the organization such as manager’s turun padang (walkabout), briefings and cross functional visits.

At Communications, we went for a familiarization trip to 3 customer servicing departments – Customer Response Unit, Call Centre and KL Sentral Ticketing Office and Check-In.

All 3 departments shared with us the functions and processes of each area. In addition, we also got a chance to observe and learn how our teams handle customer queries and complaints.

Here are photos of our teams visiting these areas.

By: John Low (Customer Response)

Following the announcement yesterday evening, it would be pretty hard to miss the follow-up adverts covered in today’s major newspapers.

I am of course referring to the <b><a target=”_blank” href=”http://www.malaysiaairlines.com/MHStimulus/”>MAS Stimulus Package.</a></b>

My first inkling of such a term, <i>“stimulus package”</i>, was from the US Government, in their efforts to soften the worsening economic situation. With my basic knowledge of economics, an economy only starts improving when the people, including the governments, start spending. Either by pumping money into the economy, or in the case of the Australian government recently, giving out AUD900 “bonuses” to every resident.

With that I could buy (close to) an iPhone there already J

But that is the point isn’t it- to get people to spend on something that wasn’t reachable before.

Our version of the Stimulus Package is also with a similar intent: To make something that was earlier not within (easy) reach.

Internally we already know for a fact that people are still willing or keen to travel. It is only that people are weary about spending the expected amount on airfares.

So what do we do? We lower that expectation of airfares. <b>Which means that now you can expect to pay a lot less for your travel needs.</b>

From our experience with tailoring inflight food menus based on preferences of passengers based on routes, our Stimulus Package is also designed to cater to specific needs.

I am sure you have already checked out the Stimulus Package by the time you read this; it is after all all over the local news as well as international news. You’d therefore note that the specific packages are tailored to specific <i>needs of people</i>, not specific <i>groups of people.</i>

Don’t you need to go visit that family member of yours, that you have been putting off for so long?

By: Zaileen Eileena Hashim (Communications Division)

A popular question always targeted at me during dinner conversation with friends “Why are MAS fuel surcharges still so high?”  After which I would explain airlines continue to pay higher because of hedging positions locked in when prices were still high. Fuel has been our biggest cost, only 30% is recovered from fuel surcharges. 

Over the past few weeks I was delighted to learn that our airline has been slashing fuel surcharges on domestic and international flights by as much as 73%. The reduction and removals will help ease costs attached to travel especially during this gloomy economic outlook. And hopefully I don’t get that question shot at me again…

Here are some reductions and in some cases removals of fuel surcharge over the past few weeks:

 1. Removed domestic fuel surcharge for travel in Malaysia effective, 14 January 2009.

(An enticing deal - to travel domestically on a five star airline with no fuel surcharge) 

2. Effective 30 January, fuel surcharge was removed from our Singapore and Brunei flights.

3. There has been a worldwide reduction of up to 54% in fuel surcharge to/from across ASEAN.

4. By 1 February fuel surcharge on flights from China will be reduced up to USD100,

5. Flights from Australia and New Zealand reduced up to USD210

6. Flights from Middle East will see a drop of up to USD150.

7. Flights from Africa and North America will also see a reduction of up to USD160 and USD185 respectively.

I suppose what’s really important for customers is that the total sum of parts whether it’s the fares alone or fares in combination with the fuel surcharge should be competitive.

Off course there is a realization that travelers these days do not only and always make decisions based on price alone. This is where MH Value Fares allows us to be making a decision based on the occasion and circumstances of our travel. We can start making decisions based on our own travel needs.

One Response to “Fuel Surcharges….lower now!”

•  Saravanan Subrmaniam says: 
  Its an excellent idea to decrease the price on the fuel surcharge. I reckon the response would be overwhelming. The use of the dailies for advertising and reports are an added advantage as well if you ask me. Cheers to MAS on that and thank god someone finally reduced the fuel surcharge

By: Zaileen Hashim (Communications Division)

Most of you may have already seen the video “MH = Malaysian Hospitality” on YouTube.com. I am taking this liberty to add the link http://www.youtube.com/user/malaysiaairlinesMAS just in case you haven't and want to check it out.

Our "MH = Malaysian Hospitality" was the first video which we put together to rally our 19,000 staff to come together and hurdle to deliver our brand promise “5 Star Value Carrier". We had 30 employees across the organizations, our management teams who volunteered to talk about MH = Malaysian Hospitality and our tasks on what we needed to do to deliver our promise to our customers. We also featured our customers and business partners to talk about “What MH = Malaysian Hospitality means to them” and vice versa their feedback on “What we as an airline should do to deliver MH=Malaysian Hospitality”.

It was definitely an exciting experience for me when I was given the task to produce our 1st video. As I was new to producing internal corporate video, I had the opportunity to learn from my colleagues who gave a lot of
Once again, mid of last year, we took on a few more projects and produced a series of videos, built around the oneMH theme. This video oneMH - Passion. Heart, Mind and Soul which you are about to watch represents the dynamic changes happening within the organization and included interviews with employees from various departments. 

Taking on a slightly different approach from the MH = Malaysian Hospitality video, the oneMH video is produced in a home-made stylized video. I very much like to think of it as “A MTV Style Corporate Video”. A mixed of fun with a strong message that builds on employees’ strengths and passions. 

Motivating and light-hearted, this short clip oneMH – Passion. Heart, Mind and Soul features our unsung heroes of the airline and the passion our team has for the arts and cultural activities they engage in.

I was fortunate to be given this task once again. Together with my colleague Farzleen, we set out to plan the production of this video. From planning the timetables, arranging the interviews, making logistics arrangements, all of these were done in merely 3 months. The most challenging of all is getting people together. But our effort has been paid off well!

My colleagues and I are very much excited to hear from you. Let us know what you think of this video. Tune in to this blog - more videos coming your way!  I will also be posting more stories about arts and cultural committees, so check out our blog!

• Open Letter from our Managing Director/CEO, Dato Sri Idris Jala which appeared in 'The Edge' on Saturday (15 November 2008).

After achieving a record profit of RM851 million in FY2007, we are determined to remain resilient in this highly challenging environment and to emerge as a winner.

Quick on the heels of rising fuel price which recorded a high of USD182 per barrel in July and which saw over 30 airlines declaring bankruptcy, global passenger traffic also fell for the first time in 5 years in September since the SARS crisis in 2003, with the onset of the economic crisis.

The result: Airlines worldwide, in all likelihood, will probably report combined losses of as much as USD5.2 billion in 2008. This is according to an estimate by the International Air Transport Association, whose members account for 93% of the world's air traffic. Believe it or not, this will be the biggest industry loss since 2003.

We are in the midst of the most difficult operating environment ever for the industry where many major airlines have lost money and others are reporting lower profits. Airlines which fail to swiftly adjust their strategies will not survive. Change – and I mean drastic change – is a must, and not an option.

What is Malaysia Airlines doing to remain resilient? We remain focused on our Business Transformation Plan, and we have fast tracked our vision of becoming The World’s Five Star Value Carrier. Underpinning our transformation is our 4 pillar strategy - dynamic pricing, network optimization, cost management and innovation.

Dynamic Pricing

Dynamic pricing is a key pillar as it will help us grow our customer base. Like many airlines, our load factors are affected by overcapacity and liberalization, and we knew we had to act swiftly to attract customers. In May this year, we launched Everyday Low Fares or ELF. We are the first full service airline to offer rock-bottom low fares. On routes that we were not able to fill up our planes and had low loads, say 70% of capacity, we sold the remaining 30% cheaply. Intuitively, it appears that by doing this, we inevitably lose money because we are dropping fares drastically. But we made money, and our online revenue grew 150%.

Building on this success, we recently launched our All-Inclusive Low Fares promotion where we reduced our fuel surcharge by 50-73% for domestic travel, ASEAN and Australia. Customers loved the cheapest deals in town. Our sales surged 400%. Shortly after, we ran a `three days only Global Online Sale, which again chalked in high sales. We are currently running an All-Inclusive Low Fares Global Sale, and up next are various initiatives to strengthen our market share in Singapore and other ASEAN destinations.

We are winning market share and seeing strong increases in forward bookings with these initiatives. Our dynamic pricing strategy ensures that we are accurately managing the pricing and yields.

Fuel Surcharge

In recent weeks, fuel prices have fallen and many customers are asking the question: When will Malaysia Airlines reduce its fuel surcharge?

Fuel surcharge only provides us partial relief from the increased jet fuel cost, which remains high and volatile despite the recent correction. On average, the fuel surcharge that we impose only recovers about 40% of the fuel cost. Despite this, we have already reduced fuel surcharge on routes where this is justifiable from a competitive standpoint. Our policy is that our fares combined with the fuel surcharge must be competitive. For instance, we have already reduced our fuel surcharge for our All-Inclusive Low Fares promotion.

Our competitor analysis on a route by route basis shows that some airlines who reduced or removed their fuel surcharge actually maintain relatively high fares whilst other airlines which did not lower their fuel surcharge have reduced their fares. Consequently, it is often observed that what the customers ultimately pay for is the same in both cases. In the final analysis, it is the total sum of the parts that counts. After all, customers pay for both the fares and fuel surcharge. The total amount must be competitive.

We are closely monitoring the situation so that fuel surcharge can be adjusted on a route-by-route basis for us to remain competitive.

Network optimization

At the same time, like many other airlines, we have been embarking on network optimization strategy. The biggest US airlines are parking more than 460 planes and slashing capacity at least 10% to pare costs. With this strategy, Malaysia Airlines is looking at reducing capacity by 6.4% system wide and we are doing ad-hoc adjustments to ensure that we retain the correct balance in network and fleet utilization given supply and demand.

Having emerged from the peak of oil prices in July, the months from July to September posted many challenges to the travel segment in and within the region. The 2008 Olympic Games during this period saw visa restrictions impacting travel into China from the region and around the world. In this part of the region, the fasting month of Ramadhan resulted in less travel. In comparison, the fasting month last year was in the final quarter of the year.

All Asian carriers faced the same pressures as demand for air travel in the region shrunk significantly, while capacity was much higher than demand. Major carriers in the region have recently announced lower seat factors.

In addition, one should not compare load factors for all airlines equally. Load factors for regional carriers operating out of the financial centres such as Singapore and Hong Kong are predominantly long-haul whereas Malaysia Airlines has a diverse mix of domestic, regional and international. Comparing these carriers and Malaysia Airlines would be akin to comparing apples to oranges.

Ultimately, load factor is only one part of an equation which determines an airline’s profitability. An airline could easily get 100% load factor by selling every seat on a flight at a price of RM1 but it would be unlikely that that flight would breakeven, let alone be profitable, in spite of the 100% load factor.

Cost management

We are also doing things smarter, and faster at Malaysia Airlines. We are set to save RM1 billion this year through operational efficiency with various initiatives such as e-ticketing, fuel efficiency programmes, rationalization of facilities and customer service/ preference analysis.

Our cost management includes hedging. In the case of Malaysia Airlines, we have hedged about 48% of our fuel requirement at an average crude oil price of USD102 per barrel. As crude oil prices falls, there may be concerns of potential hedging losses from our fuel hedges. However, these potential losses are small, relative to the cost savings from our actual fuel consumption. Therefore, the decline in fuel prices is actually a net positive for Malaysia Airlines.

Innovation

Finally, and most importantly, we will continue to innovate to increase revenue. One of the key projects is Project Pit-stop to reduce aircraft turnaround time. This is done by being more efficient in all process aspects from boarding to the uplift of meals, with continuous safety and customer comfort in mind. We have started this project with the B737-400 plane for domestic flights, and hope to expand this project to cover other aircraft soon.

We are committed to delivering the highest quality at affordable prices under our vision of being the World's Five Star Value Carrier. A contradiction in terms, you might say but we are succeeding. We continue to be rated as having one of the best cabin services of any airline in the world. We have won many awards for the quality of our products and services.

Malaysia Airlines is attractively valued

Some analysts have taken Price to Book as a valuation matrix for Malaysia Airlines. However, we do not believe that this is an accurate valuation methodology as we lease all our aircraft. This translates into a lighter book value as the leased aircraft are not represented as assets on the balance sheet. This is different from other major airlines which have a portion of their fleet represented in their balance sheet. Valuing Malaysia Airlines by using a Price to Book value will always result in us appearing deceptively overvalued.

Perhaps a better methodology for valuing Malaysia Airlines would be to use a multiple based on the value of the firm as a whole or how efficiently the airline is able to generate profits for its shareholders. Using these methodologies, MAS has a compelling valuation and is currently trading at attractive Price-Earnings (PE) multiple of just 5 times and Enterprise Value to EBITA (EV/EBITDA) of less than 1 time. Our nearest competitors are currently traded at PE multiples of between 7 times and 9 times respectively.

There are also concerns about potential forex losses from the weakening of the ringgit against the USD. Although the generally weak ringgit against the USD is somewhat not favourable to us as a substantial portion of our cost components are driven by the USD, this is mitigated by our expanding maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) business with revenue in USD. Our MRO business is expected to generate revenue of RM400 million this year. This is a massive improvement from RM100 million in 2005.

 Aviation Week, a major aviation magazine has ranked us second after SIA (amongst all the airlines in the world) as being in the best shape to face the current challenges citing the underlying survivability factors as underpinned by disciplined operational improvements, sound management, focus on efficiency and liquidity.

Given all that is being done, will Malaysia Airlines be resilient? The answer: Yes. We are committed to ensure that we emerge as a winner in these challenging times. I have confidence in our ability to weather the storm because the 20,000 staff in Malaysia Airlines has an enduring commitment to keep the Malaysian flag flying sky high.

Thank you, Malaysia, for supporting us.

7 Responses to “Staying Resilient after Remarkable Comeback”

November 20th, 2008 at 6:20 am

• holidays in Malaysia says:

malaysia airlines is the best low cost carrier. it’s very nice n helpful. makes everybody flying.
Cheers,

November 20th, 2008 at 9:50 am 

• Mike O'Neill says:
  

Well done for Idris staying on this man has a plan and his finger on the pulse for the future as well.

November 24th, 2008 at 11:17 am

• Zaileen Hashim says:

Hi Adrian,

In our BTP2 we spoke about our fuel efficiency programme. In short, it is part of our various operational initiatives to save RM1 billion this year. We have introduced fuel efficiency measures such as identifying closer alternate airports, revising taxi fuel policy at stations, optimising uplift of fuel, water and meals and many other similar initiatives. We also implemented IATA’s best practices (GO team recommendations)on fuel efficiency.

Thank you for visiting the Living MH Blog!

December 2nd, 2008 at 1:39 am

•  Hafidz Fikri Abdul Aziz says:
  

Dear Idris,

I would like to congratulate you for the further 3 year extension of your contract as Chief MH Officer.I must say that you have done a brilliant job in turning MAS around into a profit making 5 Star Airline.I must admit that there have been times in the past when I was an Employee with MAS that I was a bit sceptical about certain parts of your management philosophy.But fortunate to say that your philosophy has proven itself especially in this challenging times of Global Economic Turmoil.

Eventhough I am working for Rolls Royce now, I still actively keep up with what is going on in MAS.I have read your article in the ‘My Say’ column two weekends ago and I must say that it does make a lot of good sense.It is also nice to know that MAS has been ranked together with Singapore Airlines as the Top 2 airlines in the world now that are resilient to the current economic situation.I wish you all the best in your next 3 years as Cheif MH Officer and I also hope that you will continue to steer MAS to greater heights.I also hope that I would also be able to keep in touch with you from time to time and probably meet up with you again at some point in the future.

“Congratulations Idris for a job Well Done”

Thank you and regards,

Your former Employee
Hafidz Fikri Abdul Aziz

December 2nd, 2008 at 5:33 am

•  H P Gunther says:

Your business class seat modules as currently installed have enough space to make the seats recline fully horizontal, to offer “flat bed” comfort. Most major international carriers are now offering flat-bed seats in business class. It’s the new world standard. Your engineering department could explore a modification to the seat mechanism to effect full horizontal reclination if you can’t afford to buy new flat-bed seats.
Best regards,

H P Gunther

February 11th, 2009 at 10:44 am

•  Azmil Hisham Abdul Rahman says:
  

Dear Gunther,

Thank you for your comment via our Living MH Blog.

We have thought about converting our Business Class seats from an “angled” flat bed to a true horizontal flat bed and have explored the idea with the seat manufacturer. Unfortunately the structure and mechanism does not support a modification for full horizontal conversion. Whilst it may be true that on board our B777 there may be enough space in BCL to possibly install the latest generation true horizontal flat bed without displacing further seats it is not possible to just “modify” the existing model to go horizontal. Unfortunately the purchase of a brand new model is required to do this. For installation to be carried out on our B747, we discovered the need to remove quite a number of seats within the current Business Class zones to accommodate a true horizontal flat bed seat. At the end of the day full horizontal seats takes a lot of cabin real estate and it’s a balancing act of product features versus what the pax is willing to pay for the fares.

We thank you for your feedback.

Azmil Hisham Abdul Rahman
Assistant General Manager
Product Development and Services

April 3rd, 2009 at 4:47 am

By: John Low (Customer Response Unit)

If you have not already heard, we have introduced exciting new Indian cuisine onboard on our flights between Malaysia and India.

Our guests flying with us Nov 1st onwards will get to relish cuisines like Chettinad chicken, Kerala Vegetarian curry, Kodaikaanal mutton, Chettinad cauliflower/mushroom curry, Gongra lamb, Chettinad Garlic chicken and Vegetable rice Briyani.

After much experimentation on ground and listening to customers’ feedback, we are delighted to serve these wonderful dishes brought to you by our Chef Satish Arora – the man behind our new Indian dishes. In fact, together with our leading crew, Ramesh and Inflight Steward, Mazlan, he was personally onboard on 25 October. He went around explaining to our passengers about the dishes and preparations involved.

By: John Low (Customer Response Unit)

If you have not already heard, we have introduced exciting new Indian cuisine onboard on our flights between Malaysia and India.

Our guests flying with us Nov 1st onwards will get to relish cuisines like Chettinad chicken, Kerala Vegetarian curry, Kodaikaanal mutton, Chettinad cauliflower/mushroom curry, Gongra lamb, Chettinad Garlic chicken and Vegetable rice Briyani.

After much experimentation on ground and listening to customers’ feedback, we are delighted to serve these wonderful dishes brought to you by our Chef Satish Arora – the man behind our new Indian dishes. In fact, together with our leading crew, Ramesh and Inflight Steward, Mazlan, he was personally onboard on 25 October. He went around explaining to our passengers about the dishes and preparations involved.

We managed to get his thoughts on his experience onboard, “Flight was fantastic, all passengers were enjoying the food uplift.”  He was also pleased with our passengers’ comments about the meals.

We hope that you are just as excited as we are about these enhanced menus and want to know if it satisfies your taste buds. If you have tried these new Indian cuisines, let us know your thoughts on these dishes.

Do read my earlier article about the sampling session we conducted for our Enrich members. They were the first to get the first taste to these new Indian cuisines. 

We managed to get his thoughts on his experience onboard, “Flight was fantastic, all passengers were enjoying the food uplift.”  He was also pleased with our passengers’ comments about the meals.

We hope that you are just as excited as we are about these enhanced menus and want to know if it satisfies your taste buds. If you have tried these new Indian cuisines, let us know your thoughts on these dishes.

Do read my earlier article about the sampling session we conducted for our Enrich members. They were the first to get the first taste to these new Indian cuisines.

By: Ignatius Ong (Commercial)

Has anyone gone to any good restaurant lately where these establishments start to shore in the customer to deal with their lean “makan time” like lunch and tea by offering Set Lunch and Special High Tea Offers respectively? Now, bear in mind, these restaurants do experience good patronage mostly during dinner time especially so during weekends but what are they to do during the weekday lunches, etc.? Keep the restaurant closed or maybe have some specials using Set Lunches being the traditional popular choice of offer by the eatery business to bring in the customer.

Now, have you seen offers to pay RM12.90++ for pea soup, a piece of tough sirloin steak with fries on the side and to close if off with tea/coffee? You actually think the owner will make a healthy profit out of it? Allow me to do the math. It cost almost just as much to buy the steak, the peas and tea bags from the nearest hypermarket. So, how would the RM12.90++ cover the cooking oil, gas, electricity, overheads, etc.? The answer is NO, it does not but it does contribute towards the restaurant by way of:-

a)       marginal contribution towards the fixed cost of the business

b)       promote the restaurant and familiarize the customer with its menu

c)       knock-on effect on future lunch diners using their ala-carte menu

d)       knock-on effect on even further filling up their dinner crowd

Well, the positivity is in abundance doing such things. However, what I really don’t enjoy are the “++” imprinted on the end of the RM12.90. What does this means? Gomen tax? Service charge? Upgrade your regular coffee to Latte with another RM5? You never know. Imagine if I see the price RM12.90 and I walk into the joint with only RM13 in my wallet, what will happen to me when the bill comes? Do I need to wash plates or worse still, clean those forever dirty restaurant toilets?

Well, to bring you back into the airline fray, we and many other airlines has in a long time ago used to just charge passenger a fare and that is essentially what he pays before making his way into the aircraft. However, we do see some airline business model being different such as those in the LCC arena. Their modus operandi is no frills but if the customer so decide to want the frills, they pay for it separately. Not a bad model but just a different model from us in the full service carrier business.

In advent of fuel price escalation especially in the last 2 years, most airlines have also imposed the now ever popular fuel surcharge item onto our ticket. Primarily, this amount is used to off-set the high fuel bill but a lot of questions being asked, why do we not “build in” this portion onto the fare? From my simplistic mind, the reason is simple. The fuel cost as we have witnessed the whole of this year fluctuates where we have seen a high of USD147 (crude oil) per barrel sometime in July and now it has gone down to below USD80 per barrel. Such is the case of the volatility, its wise not to build into the fare as then, we may need to revise the fare every so often. Using a separate charge item seems more feasible in terms of changing and modifying it with ease and speed.

However, this has also brought about some grouses from the public that says, hey … the fare advertised as RM1000 but by the time I actually pay for it, its RM1900. We are taking some of these feedbacks into consideration and MAS has been propagating to move into all-inclusive price strategy. However, to start the ball rolling, our popular Every Day Low fare which kickstarted on 5th May this year will lead the way in advertising all-inclusive price. This will ensure the public and our customer will pay what they see as advertised and nothing further. Hence, such transparency will assist our customers in making the right decision in terms of the actual amount of money they need to fork out to get a ticket. One extra mileage on this is that unlike budget carriers, MAS do not have any further hidden costs such as fast boarding, onboard food charges and other payments which need to be factored in either at the point of purchasing on during flight.

This step forward will take commencement on 20th October where we will be renewing our Everyday Low Fare (now branded as All-Inclusive Low Fare) approach to be absolutely and extremely attractive to commuters and leisure travelers for domestic and ASEAN. To pepper this even more, we have specifically included 3 destinations in Australia namely Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth to share this same platform.

Now, making the price all-inclusive is not where we put a stop to it. We have taken the bold approach to also subsidise the fuel surcharge for our customer purchasing our new All-Inclusive Low Fare offering whereby the price is the LOWEST we have ever seen in the history of Malaysian commercial airline scene or at least in MAS stable. Many may ask, how is it possible for MAS to do this? As we have highlighted this when Everyday Low Fare came into the picture in May, these are in actual fact surplus seats which would have been left unsold on normal circumstances. Hence, we are now able to say, if you pay us the minimum amount required for the incremental cost allocated to that extra person, we will fly you and best of all pamper you on 5-star service levels. This is also our way to thank our customer and the Malaysian public for making MAS what it is today, A TRULY 5-STAR PREMIUM AIRLINE.

So, if I were to channel this back to the restaurant scenario, we might as well be offering RM9.90 for ox-tail soup, medium rare T-bone steak and top notch chendol without any further hidden cost, just RM9.90 and pay only that … oh … and you can have as many glasses of orange juice, tea/coffee and water as you wish without the need to extract your wallet and pay for it. Now, isn’t that the best deal you can get in town? Be smart … choose the RM9.90 tender T-bone steak set and not the RM12.90++ tough sirloin steak set.

By: Azman Ahmad (Inflight Services)

Back in August 2007, the team and I were tasked to come up with a concept of serving meals in a box to reduce aircraft turnaround time and making our current services more personalized and efficient.   At that time, I believe everyone totally understood the real meaning of the famous idiom of burning the midnight oil.  Imagine, it was not just to manage the perception that MAS is cutting cost but also changing the idea of a complete meal for Malaysians from a normal hot meal to cold entrée such as salads, rojak and sandwiches.

In addition, the box in which the meals are to be presented must be appealing too that our customers would want to take the box down to be further extended as a token.

This then resulted into a 3 month trial beginning October 2007 on selected flights that are within 1 to 3 hours which include Kuching, Kota Kinabalu, Miri and even to selected regional sectors such as Bangkok, Saigon and Phnom Penh.  3 phases of implementations were identified, each to be in effect with surveys and monitoring of customers’ responses to the products.  No one was more nervous than the team at In-flight in waiting for the responses.  It was really a relieve when the initial feedback received was overwhelmingly positive and the team is further cheered to go on to the next phase of implementation. 

In February 2008, we went through another review of the meals provided based on the feedback.  If in October 2007, we introduced sandwiches, this time we have added salads and appetizers as additional choices.   In April 2008, these salads, appetizers and sandwiches were given another facelift by adding choices of either western or asian main choices.

As I have mentioned earlier, amongst the objectives of presenting the meals in the box were to allow flexibility of customers to either have the meals while on board or take it down with them.   This consequently enables them to have more resting time and for our crew to have more quality time in interacting with the customers.  Of course it goes without saying that if more customers take the box down with them, there will be less time spent on cleaning of aircraft and the efficiency of turning around our aircraft quicker can be realized.

Beginning 1 July 2008, we have incorporated hot meals to replace the earlier cold selection based on the feedback and surveys that we have continuously conducted.  This time, though the results that we have been collecting from the surveys are still premature, I think we have hit the right spot (mind you, we are still carrying out a survey until the 15 of August to be really sure that this is what our passengers want)!  The numbers of negative feedback on the content of the meals have reduced but there are still rooms for improvement on the taste and the consistency of the meals.  One thing for sure, the idea of the box is a welcome change for our customers and for us here in MAS.

Though the results have been positive and I am quite sure that everyone is roaring to go, I reckon we should wait until we have the complete feedback from our customers before we make any further changes and to further extend this service to other sectors!

By : Muzzaffar Othman (Strategic Procurement)

If Nike has “Just Do It” and Adidas has “Impossible is Nothing” then MAS has “Discipline of Action” (DoA). My personal interpretation is “Discipline of Doing the Impossible”. I can see t-shirts being sold with these wordings already.

Coming back to DoA, when I was asked to facilitate a pilot oneMH DoA workshop series in early July, I jumped to the opportunity. I thought it would be quite fun to do something different for a change. It was noted that the main objective of this workshop is to provide quick fixes in our service delivery to our passengers (‘guest’ from this point forward) at all touch points. It is that simple….or so I thought.

What it means is that, a cross functional team will look at all touch points where MAS staff will interact with our guests. It started the moment guest procure their tickets via our call center or internet until they disembark at their destination. Below is a simplistic view of the scope.

My team has been asked to specifically look into how we can better engage and delight our customers at check-in, lounges and the boarding gate (i.e. Pre-embarkation and Embarkation only). These parameters are set to ensure the team has focus.

Now, let’s look at the team. The team was assembled from various areas within the organization. We have Gabe (Audit Business Advisory), Fab (Development), Faza (Risk and Policies), Vijay (International Relations), Maureen (Quality Assurance), Leena (Business Development), Rokiah aka Rock (Airport Operations) and Ninuk (Group IT). It is truly a good cross functional team.

To complete the task at hand, the team spent four full days to familiarize ourselves to the processes as well as to analyze all available data. We spent time talking to operations team to understand the process and the constraints they are facing. We also spend some time at our Golden Lounges sampling our excellent F&B and hospitality. I believe some of my team members enjoyed this more than we should. Who can blame them?

At the end of the assignment, the team recommended few quick fixes and presents our findings to the key stakeholders. I would be lying to say there were no challenges faced. They were plenty. I have nothing but the deepest respect for my team for taking the challenges in strides. They were proactive and positive most of the time.  I would like to believe that they were selected because of these characteristics. The presentation to key stakeholders was on 31st July. The team reward themselves with ice creams at the end of that day. Delicious end to the assignment.

In the end, all our efforts are for the benefit of one very important person – our guest. We want to engage and delight our guest. We want them to feel at home when they are with us. We want them to experience our MH=Malaysian Hospitality.

By: Ignatius Ong (Commercial)

There are essentially 2 groups of people in this world. 1 belongs to the REALIST and the other IDEALIST ... at least, that is what I have personally encountered in my last decade of working in various industries. Being in the Airline arena is no different and in fact more apparent especially in the days where flying is no longer reserved for the rich and famous but everyone who holds a decent paying job are now accessible to air travel. Hence, you now have a good mix of all sorts of individuals who travel with MAS.

As with the multi-mix of customer segments, you will undoubtedly experience a varied and colourful bag of feedbacks. One on the top of the list which never ceases to amuse me is why are fares offered by other airlines and compared with MAS is different and more often than not, MAS is always more expensive.

I love to use analogy to make reference to how airlines work. I believe most of us have been to hypermarkets and have purchased products which has the same function but under different branding. There are differences in term of the prices between these products. Take for example if you are looking at hair shampoo, a good bottle branded Vidal Sassoon and another branded as Follow Me has the same function which is to cleanse your hair but why the difference in price?

Now, bringing you back to the airline perspective, why MAS fares are different? We look at product offering, branding, schedule, timing, service and value proposition. If you are flying to London from KL, taking MAS means flying with a 5-star carrier, shortest flying time, direct flight which means no stopover and catching a connecting flight, reliable baggage management, comfort, excellent air safety record, great aircraft maintenance, etc.

Now, if say you fly with another less well known carrier, it will have at least 1 minimum transit point which is the carrier's home base, maybe poorer service, cabin crew not as friendly, aircraft not well maintained, etc. In addition, if that carrier is not a well sought after brand, means lesser people will fly and how do you think they can attract passengers? Put cheap fares in the market. So, that is just a handful of thousand of reasons why fares can be different.

What about timing? MAS may have a good flight time say to London where you board at 11:45pm and reaches London at 6:00am which means you will not waste a day there and you can go about doing your business or leisure outing immediately. Perfect, wouldn't you say? What if you have to fly another airline which has to make a transit at their home country for 8 hours before connecting to London and when you finally reach the end destination, its 10:00pm. You now have to find a hotel room (mind you, London hotels are extremely expensive) to sleepover. A day wasted and accommodation money spent which WILL exceed the fare differential between MAS and that other airline. This is a case of penny wise, pound foolish?

There is a myriad of reasons for why fares are different. Another point I like to touch on scarcely is Revenue Management which is my forte. Many people do not and will not understand what this means especially if one is not from the airline industry. I like to call it the black art of managing an airline business but at the same time its just common business sense. For example, if I have a flight which is highly demanded, price per seat for that flight will be high and vice versa. So, when some of my closest friends ask me why is it that MAS is more expensive than the other guy? My answer is that the other airline may not have the demand and as such, to build the customer base, they need to use cheap fares to lure them in. Now, that airline is not ignorant as they too manage their revenue. They WILL NOT sell all its seats at that cheap price. As seats are being sold for that one particular flight, that low price will go "missing" and higher price will set in. I remembered telling one customer once, this is the invisible hand of demand and supply in a capitalist country such as ours. It’s almost like stock market. When demand is good, price will automatically go up to capture the higher revenue and vice versa.

In simplistic term, our business model is a mixture of a robust stock market operations and a night market fruit seller. If you think about it, our aircraft seats are perishable meaning the moment the door closes and the plane departs, whatever not sold are perished. Hence, we need to ensure all seats are sold at the best price catering to all the different market segments. It’s not just expensive price that MAS has. Look at our ground breaking initiative of Everyday Low Fare! It defies traditional conventions and sets new standards within the premium airline realm.

We will always hear the group of people complaining about expensive MAS tickets but there are also those whom are the quiet but satisfied customers where they have purchased the cheaper seats earlier and knowing when and where to buy.

So, the next time you ask yourself why different airlines have different fares, visit your nearest friendly 7-11 and do a price check on items sold there. The answer is just right in front of you. The other way to see it is why a Mercedes Benz is priced differently from a Proton Saga ... your guess is as good as mine.

By: Sam Ho (Engineering & Maintenance)

As a proud member of the MH family and having lived the MH way and experienced good Malaysian Hospitality from colleagues all over, it was only natural that I should sell MH and ELF to all family, friends, neighbours and acquaintances the very moment it was launched. I did sell MH to a pilot from a low cost carrier as well, for him to enjoy what a Five Star Value Carrier can deliver from the convenience of award winning KLIA (not LCCT), at very little cost difference - if any!

The only way to ensure that I have sold them the right MH, is to experience it for myself. I took the opportunity to treat my family of 5 to a long weekend in BKI on ELF, as a normal passenger would - booked early over the internet with no refunds. As I had used myself as an example for my family and friends, I booked on the very first day (early in the morning) to check out the system. There were some hiccups (which was later solved on the second wave - the staff was very helpful and had put the reason of the ambigous booking confirmation down to overwhelming response from the public).

Generally, the experience was smooth and got better when I tried out the second wave for the BKK route. The ETKT check in and dedicated bagage check in was smooth (with a very helpful staff in attendance - she didn't know I was a staff as I was a bona fide passenger in this case).

Looking from a bona fide passenger's point of view, I had got good value for my money (though I would have paid even less on my staff rebate fare). The 5Star Value Airline difference has been widely advertised and rightfully so. The convenience of a prefered seat allocation, extra baggage allowance and meals on board makes flying a cherished experience instead of a drag. With the extra airport security that doesn't even allow a bottle of water in the hand luggage on checking in - a welcome drink or two onboard makes a world of difference!

On 7/16/08, phang_cy@yahoo.com wrote:

Congratulations!
What a great way to reach your customers / potential customers! Both my wife and our little 9-months old daughter had a enjoyable journey on board MAS to Shanghai and back to KL. Your services have improved.
Thanks.

Gary Phang
(recent travel)
MH386 1-Nov-07
MH387 15-Nov-07

One Response to “Customer’s Letter 5”
 

• Mike O'Neill says:

I think it is good to hear that services are continually improving and Merry Christmas to all in MAS.

December 25th, 2008 at 2:53 pm

By: Sam Ho (Engineering & Maintenance)

As a proud member of the MH family and having lived the MH way and experienced good Malaysian Hospitality from colleagues all over, it was only natural that I should sell MH and ELF to all family, friends, neighbours and acquaintances the very moment it was launched. I did sell MH to a pilot from a low cost carrier as well, for him to enjoy what a Five Star Value Carrier can deliver from the convenience of award winning KLIA (not LCCT), at very little cost difference - if any!

The only way to ensure that I have sold them the right MH, is to experience it for myself. I took the opportunity to treat my family of 5 to a long weekend in BKI on ELF, as a normal passenger would - booked early over the internet with no refunds. As I had used myself as an example for my family and friends, I booked on the very first day (early in the morning) to check out the system. There were some hiccups (which was later solved on the second wave - the staff was very helpful and had put the reason of the ambigous booking confirmation down to overwhelming response from the public).

Generally, the experience was smooth and got better when I tried out the second wave for the BKK route. The ETKT check in and dedicated bagage check in was smooth (with a very helpful staff in attendance - she didn't know I was a staff as I was a bona fide passenger in this case).

Looking from a bona fide passenger's point of view, I had got good value for my money (though I would have paid even less on my staff rebate fare). The 5Star Value Airline difference has been widely advertised and rightfully so. The convenience of a prefered seat allocation, extra baggage allowance and meals on board makes flying a cherished experience instead of a drag. With the extra airport security that doesn't even allow a bottle of water in the hand luggage on checking in - a welcome drink or two onboard makes a world of difference!

One Response to “ELF Experience”
 

• lucas says:

why MAS did not provide the aircraft engineering scholarship for outside people but only for the son of MAS staff only ! this is unfair for student the parent are not working in MAS and interest in aviation field .I hope MAS can provide the trainee course for the candidate for interest in aviation field ! thank you

January 1st, 2009 at 6:57 am