MAS Offers Special Fares And Holiday Packages At MATTA Travel Fair

March 14, 2012 20:50 PM

KUALA LUMPUR, March 14 (Bernama) -- Malaysia Airlines System Bhd (MAS) is offering attractive domestic and international travel airfares, MASholidays packages and travel-related products at the MATTA Travel Fair from March 16-18, 2012.

In a statement Wednesday, MAS said all-inclusive discounted airfares for economy and business class would be available through its appointed agents participating in the fair while MASholidays would offer domestic and international holiday package promotional fares.

"Business class travellers can enjoy all-inclusive return air fares from RM1,899 to Phnom Penh, Manila and Hanoi, RM3,699 to both Beijing and Hong Kong, RM4,899 to Seoul and Male and RM10,015 to Los Angeles.

"Similar fares to London start from RM20,999 and passengers will enjoy the travel comfort of the Airbus A380-800 on selected days starting from July 2012," it said.

MAS said its unit, Firefly, would also offer great deals to destinations like Koh Samui, Langkawi, Terengganu, Kota Bahru, Penang, Kota Kinabalu and Kuching. MAS said those interested and not be able to make it to the PWTC to grab these deals could get them via its website at www.malaysiaairlines.com, call centre at 1-300-88-3000 and ticket offices nationwide.

-- BERNAMA

Opportunities For MAS, AirAsia To Collaborate

March 15, 2012 21:28 PM

KUALA LUMPUR, March 15 (Bernama) -- There are still opportunities for Malaysia Airlines (MAS) and AirAsia to collaborate in areas that can benefit both, said Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Datuk Seri Idris Jala.

"They should find areas where they can work together. There are areas where they have to compete and that is very important," he told reporters after the Investment Committee Meeting here Thursday.

He said the Competition Act, which came into force in late January, would be the guideline for both airlines.

"It is very important that both comply (with the law). They are doing everything they can and are clearly aware of it," he said.

-- BERNAMA

MAS Frankfurt Keen To Promote Destination Malaysia

March 18, 2012 20:25 PM

MAS Frankfurt Keen To Promote Destination Malaysia

By Manik Mehta
FRANKFURT, March 18 (Bernama) -- Despite having limited connectivity between Germany and Malaysia -- it has five non-stop flights a week from Frankfurt to Kuala Lumpur -- the Frankfurt office of Malaysia Airlines (MAS) is very keen to promote destination Malaysia.

"Indeed, we want to do more for destination Malaysia. We have offered to closely work with Tourism Malaysia in the same way as it is doing with Singapore Airline," explained David Raj, Frankfurt-based MAS area manager for Germany, Switzerland and Croatia, in an interview with Bernama in his office.

Tourism Malaysia, which says it needs more connections to Malaysia to keep pace with the demand, has forged close cooperation with Singapore Airline, working out "special offers" for tourists visiting Malaysia and also entering into what is described as a "tactical campaign" with that airline.

MAS has also been involved in other forms of cooperation with Tourism Malaysia to promote Malaysia.

MAS provides air tickets for familiarisation tours organised by Tourism Malaysia for the travel and tour industry and the media.

But Raj, who has built up a large base of business contacts in Germany, said that MAS did not mind Tourism Malaysia working with other airlines "as long as they promote Malaysia".

Raj highlighted the corporate sector's importance for MAS' traffic to Malaysia, and said that the "business segment of travellers generate high yields" for the airline.

There were also, of course, leisure travellers who take MAS' business class.

Raj did not rule MAS increasing at some point in the future the current five flights a week from Frankfurt to Kuala Lumpur to a daily flight "subject to availability of aircraft".

MAS deploys the B-777-200 aircraft type for the Frankfurt-Kuala Lumpur sector.

MAS works on a "hub-and-spokes" network basis. It has "spokes" in Amsterdam, Stockholm, Zaghreb and Zurich.

The bulk of MAS' business, estimated at 90 per cent, was provided by travel agents, underlining the airline's close association with the travel and tour operators. The new buzzword is direct retailing.

This could be done by opening up direct channels of bookings through the Internet which currently accounts for five per cent.

"We are working on that and will introduce a German online service. We have noticed that MAS' sales in France, for example, posted three-digit growth after a French service was launched.

"Our German online service will be launched in the third quarter of this year," Raj disclosed.

--BERNAMA  

MAS Set To Join Oneworld Alliance By Year-end

March 21, 2012 19:35 PM

Malaysia Airlines Cabin Crew and oneworld. Pic: Courtesy of Malaysia Airlines KUALA LUMPUR, March 21 (Bernama)-- Malaysia Airlines (MAS) is well poised to become a full member of the oneworld alliance by end of this year.

In a statement Wednesday, MAS group chief executive officer Ahmad Jauhari Yahya said: "After airberlin, Malaysia's national carrier will become a full member of oneworld alliance.

"The prospect of being able to offer improved global coverage and connectivity through an expanded network of great airlines to Malaysia Airlines' guests is indeed very exciting," he said.

"Our customers, in particular members of our enrich loyalty programme, will benefit from increased rewards and recognition whilst enjoying more seamless air travel options," he added.

MAS is looking forward to a full membership that will improve its brand awareness amongst the alliance members' customers and enhance its load factors through additional partner traffic, Ahmad Jauhari said.

These in turn would drive the hub connectivity to facilitate the national carrier's global reach through oneworld's network of some 800 destinations in 150 countries.

"This membership will be among the significant catalysts that will complement our efforts to win back customers and become a profitable preferred premium carrier as outlined in our Business Plan," he added.

Oneworld aims to be the airline alliance of choice for the world's frequent international travellers, bringing together some of the best and biggest names in the airline industry including airberlin, American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific and Japan Airlines.

--BERNAMA  

MAS Launches The Big Flight Competition

March 23, 2012 19:04 PM

Malaysia Airlines' A380 'The Big Flight' competition. Pic: Courtesy of Malaysia AirlinesKUALA LUMPUR, March 23 (Bernama) -- Malaysia Airlines today launched 'The Big Flight' competition at its official YouTube brand channel which will see the winners earning a joyride on the airline's A380 plane.

In a statement, MAS said those interested in the competition need to submit a short video by April 22, stating why they are unique and deserve to fly on the Malaysia Airlines A380 Joyride.

Participants must be Malaysian, aged 18-years and above with a valid passport. Twenty shortlisted videos will be chosen based on creativity, originality and overall impression.

The shortlisted videos will then be put up on YouTube for voting by the public, and the top eight most voted videos will win the joyride tickets.

Its Marketing and Promotions Senior Vice President, Al-Ishsal Ishak said the competition was part of the airline's "A380 Pride of Nation" campaign, launched earlier this month.

Details on the competition and video submissions can be found at http://www.youtube.com/MalaysiaAirlines.

Malaysia Airlines is expected to receive the first of six A380 aircraft in mid-June this year.

The aircraft will have 494 seats in a three-class configuration comprising eight First Class, 66 Business Class seats and 420 Economy Class seats.

The A-380 will fly the Kuala Lumpur-London route from July. -- BERNAMA

Malaysia Airlines Increases Regional And Long-Haul Network Frequencies

March 24, 2012 17:28 PM

KUALA LUMPUR, March 24 (Bernama) -- Malaysia Airlines is offering increased full-service weekly frequencies effective tomorrow between Kuala Lumpur and Beijing, Manila, Phnom Penh, Los Angeles, Taipei, Bangkok, Medan and Jakarta, taking advantage of an expected rise in demand on these routes.

These sectors will see a gradual increase in total capacity from the current 19,540 seats to 24,820 by May 1, the airline said in a statement here today.

The company said these routes would mainly use B737-800 and B777-200 aircraft, all equipped with in-seat personal TV screens and more leg room for customers' comfort.

The additional frequencies also seek to offer travel enthusiasts from Malaysia more convenient connections to enjoy events like the Penghu Fireworks Festival in Taiwan, Beijing International Book Fair and Cocoa de Flores in Manila.

The company said travellers can now take advantage of the 50 per cent increased frequency of 21 weekly flights between Kuala Lumpur and Manila at all-inclusive return economy class fares starting from RM1,357.

For travel to Phnom Penh, customers can enjoy return economy class fares from only RM814 and more flight choices with the 55 per cent frequency increase to 14 weekly services by May 1.

For Indonesia, passengers will have more flight choices with all-inclusive return economy class fares from RM647 to Jakarta and RM477 to Medan as Malaysia Airlines increases weekly frequencies to 42 flights for the Kuala Lumpur-Jakarta route effective tomorrow and double daily for the Kuala Lumpur-Medan route.

As for travel to Bangkok, all-inclusive return fares start from RM883 as the national carrier commences four daily flights between Kuala Lumpur and Bangkok, also effective tomorrow.

Other attractive deals are available on Malaysia Airlines' website www.malaysiaairlines.com, Malaysia Airlines Call Centre at its 24-hour toll-free number 1-300-88-3000, and all its ticket offices in Malaysia.

-- BERNAMA

Malaysia Airlines & Bangkok Airways Begin Code Sharing

March 27, 2012 15:38 PM

KUALA LUMPUR, March 27 (Bernama) -- Malaysia Airlines (MAS) and Bangkok Airways have commenced a code-sharing agreement on the Thai carrier's selected domestic flights and international routes between Thailand and Malaysia.

The arrangement, effective March 25, also covers MAS services between Malaysia and Thailand.

It will allow the national carrier to set its MH marketing flight code on Bangkok Airways' services for Bangkok-Koh Samui (31 times weekly flights), Bangkok-Phuket (14 times weekly flights), Bangkok-Chiang Mai (14 times weekly flights), Koh Samui-Phuket (14 times weekly flights) and Koh Samui-Kuala Lumpur (daily flight).

"Bangkok Airways will code share on Malaysia Airlines' Kuala Lumpur-Bangkok (27 times weekly) and Kuala Lumpur-Phuket (14 times weekly) services," MAS said in a statement today.

The latest Bangkok Airways' service for Kuala Lumpur-Koh Samui allows Malaysians and international passengers to fly direct into the island from KL International Airport (KLIA) without having to stop over in Bangkok.

The KLIA-Koh Samui-KLIA service is the Thai airway's third international route into Samui island after Singapore and Hong Kong.

Senior Vice President (International Affairs) MAS, Germal Singh said the national carrier was delighted with the cooperation with Bangkok Airways which was growing fast in Thailand's premier domestic and regional airline market.

"With Malaysia Airlines' current 27 weekly services between Kuala Lumpur and Bangkok and twice daily services between Kuala Lumpur and Phuket, the code share with Bangkok Airways fits nicely into the needs of our travellers.

"They now have better travel options to get to Chiangmai via Bangkok, or on circuit trips like KLIA-Phuket-Koh Samui-Bangkok-KLIA.

"The code share with Bangkok Airways also allows us to improve our Thailand product by offering seamless connectivity to these sought-after destinations whilst strengthening KLIA's position as a key gateway for travellers."

-- BERNAMA

MAS, AirAsia flights unaffected by Iceland ash cloud

Published: Tuesday May 24, 2011 MYT 3:47:00 PM

PETALING JAYA: Malaysia Airlines and AirAsia flights are unaffected by the ash cloud from the eruption of the Grimsvotn Volcano in Iceland.

In a statement Tuesday on its website, AirAsia said the ash was not affecting the Britain or French airspace

“As such, please be informed that our flights to or from Stansted, London and Orly, Paris are operating on schedule.

“We will continue monitoring the situation closely. We request that our guests check our website for further updates,” AirAsia said.

It also urged passengers to update their contact details on its website so that it could forward any notification to them should there be a need.

A check with MAS also showed that its flights were unaffected.

Meanwhile, AP is quoting the European air traffic agency as saying that the spread of dense ash from the erupting Iceland volcano could force the cancellation of up to 500 commercial flights in Northern Ireland, Scotland and parts of Scandinavia.

Between 200 and 250 flights had already been cancelled, said Brian Flynn, head of network operations at Eurocontrol. There are just over 30,000 flights within Europe on average every day at this time of the year.

Ash from the Grimsvotn volcano already forced President Barack Obama to shorten a visit to Ireland, and has raised fears of a repeat of huge travel disruptions in Europe last year when ash from the Eyjafjalljokull volcano stranded millions of passengers.

Flynn said he did not expect Obama's European tour to be further affected and authorities have said they don't expect the kind of massive grounding of flights that followed last year's eruption. They say procedures have been improved since then and the cloud is currently not expected to move over continental Europe.

Nonetheless, the British Civil Aviation Authority said strong winds over Scotland was making it hard to predict the direction in which the ash would move.

British Airways suspended all its flights for Tuesday morning between London and Scotland, while Dutch carrier KLM and Easyjet cancelled flights to and from Scotland and northern England at the same time. Three domestic airlines also announced flight disruptions.

The Irish Aviation Authority has ordered all flights from Ireland to Scotland to be suspended.

Budget airline Ryanair said it did not believe there was a need to cancel all flights between Ireland and Scotland, and said it would meet with regulators Tuesday morning to discuss the issue.

Norwegian airport operator Avinor said the ash disrupted traffic to and from Stavanger and Karmoey airports and is expected to spread to southern Norway later. Danish authorities say they have closed the airspace under 6 kilometers (4 miles) in northwestern Denmark. There is no airport in that area, but the ash is causing delays and some cancellations at Copenhagen airport.

Source: http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2011/5/24/nation/20110524155756&sec=nation

Idris Jala Named Orient Aviation Person 2008

December 01, 2008 14:42 PM

KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 1 (Bernama) -- Datuk Seri Idris Jala, managing director and chief executive officer of Malaysia Airlines (MAS), has been named Orient Aviation Person 2008 for being the driving force behind the national carrier's amazing comeback.

While many wrote off the airline when it made its biggest losses ever of RM1.3 billion in 9 months in 2005, Idris joined the airline and turned MAS' record losses into record profits and rebuilt confidence and morale among its 20,000 employees, all within two years.

"MAS recorded RM851 million in the financial year 2007, its highest profit in 60 years of operations, and is only one of the six airlines in the world recognised as a "5-star airline" by Skytrax, United Kingdom, an accolade it has won for three consecutive years from 2006 to 2008," said MAS in a statement.

Idris said he was pleased and honoured to accept the award as he and his team worked hard to turnaround MAS. Now, they are embarking on a business transformation journey in pursuit of their vision to become the World's FIve Star Value carrier.

Idris said he is blessed with a great team of people who are passionate about the airline.

Orient Aviation chief executive Barry Grindrod said Idris acted speedily and decisively. In the last three years, he has slashed US$500 million costs at MAS.

Idris is on target for additional cuts of US$280 million in operational costs this year. Significantly, he has also restored morale in the carrier which was rock bottom when he joined the airline, Grindrod said.

He has quickly become one of the most highly respected chief executive officers in the industry worldwide, he said.

Previous winners of the award, which was established in 1999, include Chew Choong Seng from Singapore Airlines; Geoff Dixon, Qantas Airways; Jaime Bautista, Philippine Airlines; Kanok Abhiradee, Thai Airways International and David Turnbull, Cathay Pacific Airways.

Source: BERNAMA

MAS Adopts SITA Reservations System As Turnaround Enters New Phase

December 01, 2008 23:20 PM

KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 1 (Bernama) -- Malaysia Airlines (MAS) has replaced its in-house reservations system as part of its US$130 million (US$1=RM3.59) information technology (IT)-driven turnaround programme.

In a statement here Monday, managing director/chief executive officer, Datuk Seri Idris Jala, said it has adopted the system from SITA, the aviation IT specialist.

"SITAs Horizon portfolio has been crucial to our business turnaround and that is why we are now retiring our in-house reservations system and implementing SITA Reservations and Inventory," he said.

SITA chief executive officer, Francesco Violante, said MAS has said that they are counting on the company to help meet the challenges.

"Our Horizon offering has already made a considerable impact and we are looking forward to a successful implementation of the next phase," he said.

Under the 10-year contract, SITA has so far implemented e-Ticketing and an upgraded Departure Control System which allowed MAS to offer new self-service options to passengers including kiosk and web check-in.

MAS' fares strategy has also been re-engineered to include fares workflow, competitive monitoring and effective distribution, together with the provision of an easy-to-use Internet booking engine for the convenience of its 14 million passengers.

SITA has also helped to eliminate revenue leakage through an integrity and protection programme.

Source: BERNAMA

New MAS Services Proposed To Promote Health-Tourism

November 30, 2008 21:21 PM

PENANG, Nov 30 (Bernama) -- The Health Ministry has proposed that Malaysia Airlines System (MAS) introduce direct flights from Penang to Thailand and Singapore aimed at boosting health-tourism in the state.

"I will write to Transport Minister Datuk Ong Tee Keat asking that MAS introduce new services to Thailand and Singapore," Health Minister Datuk Liow Tiong Lai told reporters here.

He said the new services would popularise Malaysia as a country that offers good health services in Asia.

On the Kuala Terengganu by-election, Liow who is MCA vice-president said the party would work hard to ensure that the 11 percent Chinese voters vote for Barisan Nasional (BN).

The parliamentary seat fell vacant with the death of Deputy Education Minister Datuk Razali Ismail on Friday.

Source: BERNAMA

Thai unrest: AirAsia, MAS stop flights to Bangkok

2008/11/27

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia Airlines and AirAsia temporarily stopped its operations into Bangkok beginning yesterday following the closure of the Suvarnabhumi International Airport after it was taken over by anti-government protesters.

Both airlines could not say when their flight operations would resume.

Low-cost carrier AirAsia called off 30 flights.

The routes include destinations connecting Bangkok to other cities in Thailand, as well as flights to and from Kuala Lumpur, Penang, Singapore, Macau, Jakarta, Ha-noi and Yangon.

AirAsia, in a statement posted on its website, said all affected passengers would receive a refund to be credited into their accounts.

Passengers were told that they could use their credit shell to redeem a seat on the next available flight to/from Bangkok within 3 days from their original date of travel. This is subject to the reopening of the airport and availability of seats.

Its corporate communications head, Hamdan Mohamad, said the company hoped its service would resume soon.

Malaysia Airlines said all its flights to Bangkok were cancelled but those to Phuket were operating.

Operations director Datuk Tajuden Abu Bakar said: "As the closure is indefinite, we are unable to advise when our flight operations will resume."

A Wisma Putra official in Kuala Lumpur said: "We advise those who want to go to Bangkok to reconsider doing so unless they have pressing reasons to go there."


Deputy chief of mission Syed Bakri Syed Abdul Rahman said all Malaysians in Bangkok were safe.

"There are about 370 Ma-laysians registered with the embassy.

"Some of them are students, but the majority are working here."

Syed Bakri said most areas in Bangkok were safe. "One would have to avoid the areas where people are demonstrating, but the greater part of Bangkok is fine.

"The demonstrators are not hostile to foreigners. Their anger is directed at the government and they are friendly to outsiders."

Source: NST

MAS and AirAsia cancel flights to and from Bangkok

Thursday November 27, 2008

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia Airlines (MAS) and AirAsia have cancelled flights into and out of Bangkok after Thai authorities closed Suvarnabhumi International Airport.

MAS operations director Datuk Tajuden Abu Bakar said that as the closure was indefinite, the airline was unable to say when flights would resume.

Tajuden advised customers in Malaysia to call 1-300-88-3000 for further updates. Passengers in Bangkok could call +662-2630572 or +662-1343184.

AirAsia, on its website, said all affected customers would automatically receive a refund via a credit shell.

The statement said the credit shell could be used to redeem a seat on the next available flight to or from Bangkok within three days from the passenger’s original date of travel, subject to the reopening of the airport in Bangkok and availability of seats.

It added that arrangements for the next flight to or from Bangkok must be done at the AirAsia sales counter at the respective airport of departure.

In George Town, Penang Thai Airways International general manager Niruth Sripawatakul said yesterday about 250 passengers who were supposed to board an 8.10am flight were turned back.

Source: The Star

No route cuts for MAS

Monday November 24, 2008

By B.K. SIDHU

Airline wants to make profit from every flight despite challenges

MALAYSIA Airlines (MAS) will make seasonal adjustments to its capacity but not scrap routes in the current economic slowdown.

It aims to make profit from every flight even though there are challenges such as a global lack of demand for passenger air travel, the threat of overcapacity and more competition that puts yields under pressure.

“We want to innovate and make the most of what we have. We look to survive but not cut routes and frequencies. We will make adjustments to meet our cost,’’ he told StarBiz.

Earlier this year, MAS announced a 6.4% reduction in capacity. MAS will make ad hoc adjustments to ensure that it retains a balance in network and fleet utilisation for supply and demand in air travel. The airline’s load factor is “still holding’’ at about 70%.

Newly-appointed senior general manager of sales Datuk Bernard Francis wants to beef up sales to grow market share.

To do that, he is reviewing the existing strategies as he feels there are opportunities even in a slowdown. Francis was assigned to his present post on Nov 1. He was previously senior general manager of network revenue management.

To grow its share of the market, he is segmentising the market, customising product offerings to the different market segments, broadening the distribution channels and revving up corporate sales.

“We want to create a lot of products and the biggest would be branding Malaysia as a centre for meetings, incentives, conventions and exhibitions (MICE).’’

Francis believes Malaysia has good infrastructure, facilities and services to support the MICE business. He wants to work with Tourism Malaysia to bring in quality customers.

MAS operates in nine regions inculding Malaysia. The others are Asean, Australia, North Asia, South Asia, Middle East and Africa, Britain, Europe and the Americas. Francis says in each region, the aim is to be the first or second player. “We want to anchor strongly in Malaysia even though we are already a dominant player here,’’ he said.

To be the lead player in a particular region means MAS must carry the most number of passengers from KL International Airport (KLIA) to the region.

Other than its lead position in the domestic market, Francis said MAS also carried the most number of passengers from KLIA to China, Europe and Asean countries but he did not provide the passenger numbers.

Francis said MAS would also review its products in greater detail in every single market.

“What is important is that we understand consumer needs and come up with products that cater to that market. Products (in future) will be differentiated. We want to customise them for the different market segments,’’ he said.

Products that MAS will continue to have are “everyday low fares and all inclusive fares.’’

Francis said these were popular products and MAS would consistently innovate and create offerings for the market.

“We will be offering more competitive fares so that we are able to give customers more choices,’’ he added.

To him, marketing should be taken to a new level at MAS. Online booking is becoming a popular option and MAS’ lowest fares are found online. But travel agents are still the biggest contributors to sales for the airlines, making up 80% of sales. Online sales bring in 7%. The rest is from MAS sales offices and centres.

“Travel agents are our important stakeholders and we want to further enhance the incentive programme that is in place.

“We will refine the programme to include all the 670 travel agents. The more they sell, the higher their incentives. MAS will track the agents’ performance from within,’’ Francis said.

Corporate sales is another big area that can grow further. MAS has 1,000 corporate customers and a team that will be pushing for corporate sales to hit 10% of total sales by end-2009 from 5% currently.

MAS’ sales division was previously regionalised but it has now been aligned to the headquarters for the airline to respond quickly to market dynamics. Francis believes he has an excellent team that can help the airline withstand the many challenges in the aviation sector.

“It is a rough patch but we will strive to survive with good leadership,’’ he said.

Source: The Star

Nortel Solution To Support MAS Five-star Value Carrier Vision

November 12, 2008 21:37 PM

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 12 (Bernama) -- Malaysia Airlines (MAS) has invested in a new communications solution from Nortel to support its vision of becoming a five-star value carrier by 2012.

A significant component of this transformation is the upgrading of the legacy information technology (IT) network infrastructure at MAS to enable and support strategic and critical airline business activity, Nortel said in a statement here Wednesday.

Nortel is a recognised leader in delivering communications capabilities that make business simple to its customers.

The company said its technologies are designed to help eliminate today's barrier to efficiency, speed and performance by simplifying networks and connecting people.

"Nortel's converged enterprise network solutions stood out from the crowd, providing a secure, future-proof and agile infrastructure that will support our ongoing business transformation through 2012 and beyond," said MAS chief information officer Faridah Abdul Rahman.

Nortel Malaysia general manager for channels and enterprise business, Bernard Chiang, said the Nortel solution will help MAS in achieving its five-star value carrier objectives.

The airline's new enterprise communications infrastructure is built around Nortel Ethernet Routing Switch 8600, a resilient terabit-class enterprise switch that scales to 384 Gigabit Ethernet ports.

SOurce: BERNAMA

MAS All Inclusive Low Fares Goes Global Sale Begins Thursday

November 12, 2008 20:56 PM

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 12 (Bernama) -- Malaysia Airlines' (MAS) first All Inclusive Low Fares Goes Global sale begins Thursday for 66 domestic and international destinations.

One-way fares start from RM63 nett for domestic travel, RM158 nett for Asean and RM472 nett for international, MAS said in a statement here.

"Our sales for the recent All Inclusive Low Fares promotion showed a 400 percent increase, clearly demonstrating that customers loved our low fares, transparent pricing and recognised the value of flying five star," said MAS senior general manager, sales, Datuk Bernard Francis.

He also said MAS was also looking at offering all inclusive low fares for other destinations soon.

"We are dynamically pricing our fares to ensure that customers benefit from low fares and to stimulate travel," Bernard said.

Three million seats are on offer, covering destinations in Malaysia, Asean, the Asia Pacific, South Asia, Australia, the Americas and Europe.Customers can choose to travel from Kuala Lumpur and/or Kota Kinabalu.

The booking period starts from November 13-30 and the travel period is from November 20-September 30, 2009.

Source: BERNAMA

Tourism Malaysia Melbourne Concludes Roadshows In Victoria, Tasmania

November 12, 2008 11:22 AM

By Neville D'Cruz

MELBOURNE, Nov 12 (Bernama) -- Tourism Malaysia Melbourne has just concluded an outstanding roadshow to several provincial and regional centres in the states of Victoria and Tasmania.

The aim of the two-month campaign, backed by Malaysia Airlines (MAS), is to stimulate interest in travel to Malaysia and to highlight and showcase the destinations to the travel industry in the thriving and prosperous regional centres - away from the big cities.

The annual event, which began after Tourism Malaysia opened an office here in October 2005, has since grown in importance and has been well-received by regional travel agents and tour operators.

The Tourism Malaysia Melbourne office coordinated with several key wholesalers in the market to travel with the roadshows so that regional agents had access to their Malaysia product.

The wholesalers that took part were Creative Holidays, Malaysia Holidays, Discovering Borneo, Golden Holidays, Travel Indochina, Adventure Destinations, Explore Holidays, Freestyle Holidays, Adventure World and Viva Holidays.

The roadshows were held at Frankston, Geelong, Warrnambool, Traralgon, Shepparton, Bendigo and Ballarat, all in the state of Victoria, and Launceston and Hobart in Tasmania.

Agents from nearby towns attended the shows. A final event was held here on Oct 30. Comments from attendees were positive and encouraging.

"Another fabulous show from Tourism Malaysia," said Meryl Edwards of Travelscene in the petroleum-rich city of Sale, near Traralgon.

"Tuesday night was well organised and very informative for me. Malaysia is a place I would love to visit," said Chelsea Ambrose, from Travel Plus Travel Services of Warragul.

Brigette Richards, from Coopers Travel Centre in Bairnsdale, also near Traralgon, said: "I was the one at the end of the night begging and pleading for you to send me your presentation and any additional information to know more about Malaysia."

"It was great to catch up with some suppliers," said Jeff Dimand of FBI Travel in Melbourne.

Several travel agents said Tourism Malaysia having an office in Melbourne was very convenient for them and much appreciated.

At the roadshows, Tourism Malaysia and MAS gave presentations on airline products and destination information to enhance Malaysia products promoted by wholesalers.

The evenings were a tremendous success with many agents travelling over an hour to attend the shows.

Prizes in the way of accommodation prizes around Malaysia from such establishments as Shangri-la Hotels & Resorts, Parkroyal Hotels, Starwood Hotels, The Berjaya Group, GHM Group, Crowne Plaza Hotels, Holiday Inn Hotels, Sunway Hotels & Resort, Bayview Beach Resort Penang, Equatorial Hotel Group were offered as lucky prizes at the shows.

In addition, MAS sponsored return economy class tickets to Malaysia which were complimented by land touring prizes sponsored by Adventure World and Wildlife Expeditions, GAP Adventures, Adventure Destinations and Travel Indochina.

Source: BERNAMA

Insufficient KL-London Flights By MAS Will Be Raised In Cabinet, Says Azalina

November 11, 2008 23:19 PM

From Haslinda Zainal

LONDON, Nov 11 (Bernama) -- The Tourism Ministry will bring up the matter of insufficient Kuala Lumpur-London flights by Malaysia Airlines (MAS) to the Cabinet, said its minister Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said.

She said the problem had affected tourist arrivals from Europe and London.

"Now with global fuel prices at a very low level, MAS should use the opportunity to increase its flight frequency on the KL-London route," she told reporters after opening Tourism Malaysia's booth known as Malaysia Pavilion at the World Travel Market fair at the ExCel London exposition park here Tuesday.

It is understood MAS, which used to operate some 14 flights a week on the route, had reduced the frequency to between 10 and 12 a week.

Azalina said this and other shortcomings like expensive airfares had caused Malaysians and Europeans to opt for other airlines.

She said apart from this, the London-Langkawi and London-Penang routes that had been scrapped, would also raised in the Cabinet.

Azalina also said that despite the economic crunch the world was facing, tourist arrivals in Malaysia showed an increase of 4.8 per cent as of October.

She said tourist arrivals from Britain as of October was 303,569, an increase of 36.1 per cent compared to arrivals for the whole of last year from that country.

"The daily average spending of tourists from the United Kingdom amounted to RM3,500 and their average length of stay was 9.6 days. This augurs well for Malaysia," she added.

Source: BERNAMA

MAS To Further Reduce Fuel Surcharge

November 11, 2008 19:38 PM

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 11 (Bernama) -- Malaysia Airlines (MAS) is looking to reduce its surcharge further to give customers the best value for their money, its senior general manager, sales, Datuk Bernard Francis, said Tuesday.

In response to enquiries on the national carrier's fuel surcharge, he said MAS has already reduced it by 50-73 percent for its all-inclusive low fares promotion, covering domestic travel, Asean, Australia and many other countries.

Customers loved the cheapest deals in town, and the airline's sales surged 400 percent, he said in a statement here Tuesday.

"We hear our customers loud and clear, and we are looking at reducing the surcharge further to continue to give customers what they want -- low fares plus five-star products and services, giving customers the best value for their money," he said.

Low-cost airline AirAsia Bhd has also abolished the fuel surcharge for all its domestic and international flights, effective Tuesday.

AirAsia, under its regional campaign, is also giving away 500,000 free seats to all destinations from tomorrow until Nov 16 for travel between June 22 and Oct 24, 2009.

Source: BERNAMA

MAS/Boeing Offering Holiday Packages To Nine Lucky Winners At Global Online Sales

November 10, 2008 21:03 PM

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 10 (Bernama) -- Buy one of Malaysia Airlines' tickets at its Global Online Sales which started today and you might be one of the nine lucky winners to walk home with a holiday package for two.

In providing its customers with more value for money, MAS has partnered Boeing to offer holiday packages to Rome, Kunming, Yogyakarta, Saigon and Bangkok.

Malaysia Airlines Senior General Manager Sales, Dato Bernard Francis said, "While we expect very encouraging response to the Global Online Sales offer, we are making it more exciting for our customers who purchase these offers."

"Not only will they get to plan early and buy tickets to the destinations of their choice, but also stand a chance to surprise themselves by winning our reputable Golden Holiday packages at absolutely no additional cost for yet another vacation," he said in a statement here today.

Participation is easy and simple. Customers just have to buy one ticket during the three-day day only sales which ends on Wednesday, November 12.

Tickets can be purchased at www.malaysiaairlines.com.

A total of 26 international destinations go on sale for three days only beginning Sunday until Wednesday, Nov 12 with Malaysia Airlines' Global Online Sales.

They include Xiamen and Kunming, Male and New Delhi, Dubai and Istanbul, Paris and London, as well as Sydney and Auckland with one way fares starting from as low as RM429.00 for Male and New Delhi, RM759.00 to Sydney, RM999.00 to Paris and RM1069.00 to London.

Fares do not include taxes and surcharges. All they need to do next is register their names, provide valid email addresses, answer a question and write a slogan to stand a chance to win the following prizes:

*1 First Prize: 6 days / 3 nights package to Rome.

* 2X Second Prizes: 4 days / 3 nights package to Kunming.

*2X Third Prizes: 4 days / 3 nights package to Yogyakarta.

*2X Fourth Prizes: 3 days / 2 nights package to Saigon.

*2X Fifth Prizes: 3 days / 2 nights package to Bangkok.

All the Golden Holidays holiday packages are for two persons.

The packages, valid till 31 March 2009, are inclusive of return economy class airfares, hotel accommodation with daily breakfast, and return airport transfers.

Another delight for the winners is airport taxes, insurance, fuel surcharges will be borne by Malaysia Airlines.

Contest results will be announced two weeks after the Global Online Sales period.

Source: BERNAMA