Call home from MAS flights

Wednesday November 5, 2008

PETALING JAYA: Passengers travelling on certain Malaysia Airlines flight will be able to use their mobile phones and Blackberry devices effective immediately.

MAS has teamed up with AeroMobile, the world’s leading in-flight mobile phone operator, to become the first carrier in Asia to offer inflight mobile phone and data services.

The lightweight system was installed on one MAS Boeing 777-200 aircraft.

That aircraft will operate the route to Tokyo’s Narita Airport as flight MH70 today and passengers on board will be able to use the service.

The service will cover selected European routes, Australia, and across the Asian region including China and Japan.

The facility has been extensively tested on the aircraft over the last few weeks, testing all aspects of the system inflight using stan–dard BlackBerrys and mobile phones.

Passengers can only use their mobile phones or Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs) during the “cruise” phase of the flight and would not affect the aircraft systems and ground telecommunication networks.

AeroMobile supports the general packet radio service (GPRS) mobile data to support BlackBerry and other “push e-mail” services including e-mail attachments, as well as voice calls and SMS.

All four Malaysian mobile operators have agreed to allow their customers to roam internationally on board the aircraft and users would be billed on their regular phone bills as with any other international roaming call.

The GPRS data feature exploits AeroMobile’s unique capability to operate BlackBerry and other e-mail services using Inmarsat’s Swift64 satellite system, which has been added to the trial B777 aircraft.

The aircraft was equipped with the system during a routine maintenance check, and has received aviation safety approvals from both the Malaysian Department of Civil Aviation and the European Aviation Safety Agency.

MAS managing director/CEO Datuk Seri Idris Jala said the service was part of its promise of a Five Star Value Carrier.

“The trial will be conducted for a period of time and if the evaluation findings are positive, we aim to have this facility fully operational in the remaining wide body aircraft of our fleet by next year,” he added.

SOurce: The Star

Malaysian airports: Bring back AirAsia to save KLIA

2008/08/11

By : AZMI ATAN, Petaling Jaya

The Low-Cost Carrier Terminal is seeing a surge in the number of passengers while the Kuala Lumpur International Airport looks deserted.

I WISH to make a comparison. On a recent trip to Bangkok, I landed at the Suvarnabhumi Airport. It was a great experience. It was money well spent.

I got to enjoy all the facilities at the new airport and I feel this is what passengers, irrespective of what airline they are flying, should get.

When I compare this with the Low-Cost Carrier Terminal, I feel shortchanged.

Yes, the LCCT is built for AirAsia and other low-budget carriers. But look at Kuala Lumpur International Airport in Sepang. With all AirAsia flights originating and terminating at the LCCT, KLIA looks deserted.

Passenger volume is not at its maximum although the facilities at the airport are world-standard.
Compared with Suvarnabhumi, KLIA is rather quiet and too peaceful.

It would have been better if AirAsia returns to KLIA so that more people will be able to enjoy the facilities.

More passengers also means good business for the commercial outlets at KLIA.

I have accepted the fact that the return of AirAsia to KLIA is almost impossible, especially with the construction of the new LCCT.

I just hope that the new terminal will give the passengers greater comfort and better facilities.

We are humans and not robots. We want to enjoy good facilities and comfort.

We would love to see many shops and outlets and spacious waiting areas.

Yes, we pay a small amount as far as airport tax is concerned, but I wonder what the point is of having a big, modern and world-standard airport when most of the passengers and activities are centred at the LCCT?

I still harbour a small hope that AirAsia flights will one day originate and terminate at KLIA to make the airport relevant and make air travel via budget carriers like AirAsia more comfortable and worthwhile.

Source: NST

MAS extends travel fair by six days

Tuesday February 6, 2007

PETALING JAYA: The Malaysia Airlines Travel Fair has been extended for another six days to give travellers more time to plan their holidays.

The annual fair, which began on Jan 31, was to end today but has been extended until Monday.

MAS commercial director Datuk Rashid Khan said: “The response has been overwhelming. A significant number of people have shown interest in our offers but have not had much time to plan their journeys, hence the extension to cater to these customers.”

For this fair, five million seats covering 59 international destinations are up for grabs. There are 49 packages to various foreign cities and 55 domestic packages.

Rashid said in a press statement that MAS would continue to offer the special airfares through all their distribution channels, including their website at www.malaysiaairlines.com, ticketing offices and appointed travel agents locally and in Asean countries.

Customers can also contact its 24-hour call centre at 1-300-88-3000.

The 10 most sought-after international destinations this year are London, Sydney, Melbourne, Tokyo, Shanghai, Perth, Auckland, Hong Kong, Guangzhou and Beijing, according to the statement.

Source: The Star

Midnight closing for some shopping centres

Sunday January 14, 2007

PETALING JAYA: Selected shopping complexes may be allowed to operate until midnight in conjunction with Visit Malaysia 2007.

Deputy Tourism Minister Datuk Donald Lim said the move was to attract more tourists, especially Middle Eastern visitors to literally “shop until they drop.”

He said the extension of hours had been discussed with several local councils and also the Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Ministry.

“The shopping industry is one of the major contributors to the country's tourism revenue, accounting for at least 20% of takings,” he said during The Summit Subang USJ 9th Anniversary Celebration here yesterday.

“Last year's tourism revenue was estimated at RM37bil, and it is expected to increase this year with a projection of 20 million tourist arrivals,” he added.

Lim said any move to extend the shopping hours would, however, be market driven, rather than be made compulsory.

“We're not rushing into any decision yet as the pros and cons of such a move are still unclear.”
He urged industry players to provide more opportunities for local Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) to display their products instead of just carrying foreign brands in shopping complexes.

Source: The Star - Nation