Published on: Sunday, January 24, 2021
By: Mohd Kamil Abu Bakar
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THE airline business is not easy to run and it is hard to make it profitable. There are a lot of challenges to encounter along the way, but it is necessary to have them. Otherwise, how do we cross the seas, oceans and mountains?
In its early days, during the time of Tan Sri Saw Huat Lye, Tan Sri Abdul Aziz Rahman and Datuk Kamarudin Ahmad leading Malaysia Airlines (MAS), the business environment was different.
There was virtually no competition and the fuel back then was still affordable.
Some entrepreneurs then came up with the idea of making air travel cheap, to make flying affordable to the masses. It was then that low-cost carriers, airlines with no frills were born.
By: Mohd Kamil Abu Bakar
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THE Airbus A380, the world’s biggest commercial aircraft, went into service on Oct 2007 with Singapore Airlines.
To date Airbus Industrie, the European manufacturer, has received 251 firm orders for the aircraft and delivered 242, with Emirates being its biggest customer with 115 of the wide-bodied aircraft.
Hot on the heels of Singapore Airlines, Qantas and Thai International Airways, Malaysia – through Malaysia Airlines Berhad, a Khazanah Nasional company – ordered six of these giants, targeting its key trunk routes to Europe and the Asia-Pacific Region.
Has the purchase of the A380 proven to be a success or are they destined for long-term parking at Pinal Airpark Marana, Arizona or Alice Springs in Australia? Or was it a wrong buy?