The best wines onboard your flight. 2012 Cellars in the Sky awardees.

Once again it is that time of the year to combine two passions, flying and wine.

The annual Business Traveller 'Cellars in the Sky' awards were presented for the year 2012. The awards have been running since 1985, recognising the best business and first class wines served by airlines worldwide. Over 75 carriers were contacted in the summer of 2012, with a total of 33 airlines entering.



In repeat of last year, Australian carrier Qantas, took home the greatest number of awards, winning the prizes for Best Overall Wine Cellar, Best First Class Sparkling (shared with Oman Air), Best Business Class Sparkling (shared with Singapore Airlines), and Best-Presented First Class Wine List. A surprise winner this year is the resurgent Malaysia Airlines which also picked up two prizes, for Best First Class Red and Best First Class Cellar.

Blind tastings took place in December 2012 at the Brigade Bar and Bistro, London, with four judges independently scoring the wines. The judges were:

• Charles Metcalfe, co-chairman of the International Wine Challenge and food and wine matching guru;
• Tim Atkin, Master of Wine and award-winning wine columnist;
• Sam Harrop, Master of Wine and international winemaking consultant;
• Peter McCombie, Master of Wine and top restaurant wine consultant.

The airlines that took part were: Aer Lingus, Air Astana, Air Canada, Air France, Air New Zealand, All Nippon Airways, American Airlines, Austrian Airlines, British Airways, Brussels Airlines, Cathay Pacific, Delta Air Lines, Emirates, Eva Air, Finnair, Garuda Indonesia, Iberia, Jetstar, KLM, Korean Air, LAN Airlines, Lufthansa, Malaysia Airlines, Oman Air, Qantas, Qatar Airways, Singapore Airlines, South African Airways, TAM Airlines, TAP Portugal, US Airways, Virgin Atlantic and Virgin Australia.

The list of awardees:

FIRST CLASS

Best First Class Red

Malaysia Airlines – Schubert Marion's Vineyard Pinot Noir, 2010, Wairarapa, Martinborough, New Zealand
Emirates – Château Clinet, 2001, Pomerol, Bordeaux, France
Lufthansa – Château Canon La Gaffelière, 2007, Saint-Emilion Premier Grand Cru, Bordeaux, France

Best First Class White

British Airways – Vincent Girardin Puligny Montrachet Premier Cru le Champ Gain, 2007, Burgundy, France
Emirates – August Kesseler Lorcher Schlossberg Alte Reben Riesling Spätlese, 2010, Rheingau, Germany
American Airlines – Henri Darnat Meursault Clos de Domaine, 2010, Burgundy, France

Best First Class Sparkling

(JOINT) Oman Air AND Qantas – Champagne Taittinger Comtes de Champagne, 2000, France
(JOINT) Emirates AND Malaysia Airlines – Champagne Dom Pérignon, 2003, France
Cathay Pacific – Champagne Amour de Deutz Brut, 2002, France

Best First Class Fortified and Sweet

All Nippon Airways – W and J Graham's 30 Year Old Tawny Port, Douro, Portugal
(JOINT) Oman Air – Dr Loosen Riesling Beerenauslese, 2006, Mosel, Germany
AND Qantas – Seppeltsfield Paramount Collection Rare Muscat, NV, Rutherglen, Australia
Air France – Château Guiraud, 2006, Sauternes, Bordeaux, France

Best First Class Cellar

Malaysia Airlines
Qantas
Lufthansa

Best-Presented First Class Wine List

Qantas
Cathay Pacific
Qatar Airways

BUSINESS CLASS

Best Business Class Red

TAM Airlines – Château Bel-Air-Ouÿ, 2007, Jean-Luc Thunevin, Saint-Emilion Grand Cru, Bordeaux, France
Singapore Airlines – Bodegas Roda Rioja Reserva DOCa, 2007, Spain
Cathay Pacific – Villa Maria Single Vineyard Southern Clays Pinot Noir, 2010, Wairau Valley, Marlborough, New Zealand

Best Business Class White

Oman Air – Sancerre "La Porte du Caillou", 2010, Henri Bourgeois, Loire, France
Jetstar – Main Divide Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc, 2011, New Zealand
(JOINT) Aer Lingus – Lawson's Dry Hills Riesling, 2008, Marlborough, New Zealand
AND Emirates – Metis Sauvignon Blanc, 2009, Trinity Hills/Pascal Jolivet, Hawkes Bay, New Zealand

Best Business Class Sparkling

(JOINT) Qantas AND Singapore Airlines – Champagne Charles Heidsieck Brut Reserve, NV, France
Qatar Airways – Champagne Bollinger Special Cuvée NV, France
(JOINT) Air France AND Cathay Pacific – Champagne Deutz Brut Classic, NV, France

Best Business Class Fortified and Sweet

KLM – The Stump Jump Sticky Chardonnay Riesling Semillon Pinot Gris, 2010, Adelaide Hills/McLaren Vale, Australia

Finnair – Niepoort Colheita, 1998, Douro, Portugal

Air New Zealand – Winter Solstice Glacier Wine, 2010, Reliance Wines, Marlborough, New Zealand

Best Business Class Cellar

Singapore Airlines
Qantas
Aer Lingus

Best-Presented Business Class Wine List

Air New Zealand
Finnair
LAN Airlines

OVERALL

Best Overall Wine Cellar

Qantas
Singapore Airlines
Qatar Airways

Best Airline Alliance

Oneworld

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Malaysia Airlines woos passengers with higher baggage allowance lower excess baggage charges

In keeping with its Business Plan strategy of 'Winning Back Customers', effective today, Malaysia Airlines (MAS) is offering passengers an additional 10 kilograms free check-in baggage allowance and reduced excess baggage charges for travel in all classes.

The new limits of 30, 40, and 50 kgs in Economy, Business, and First class will apply to all MAS flights using the weight system concept for checked baggage. It is not applicable for Los Angeles where the baggage allowance is based on the piece system. The new allowances also apply to tickets issued earlier which show a lower free allowance.

The carrier also announced reduced charges for excess baggage weights over the new free allowance. The charges will be calculated on a 'zone of travel' basis, with a rate of Malaysian Ringgit 30, 60, or 90 applied for every five kilograms of excess baggage weight depending on the zone as detailed below. (Approx RM3=US$1 or RM1=Rs.18)

RM30 (Approx US$10) for each five kilo block for each sector travelled in the zone of Malaysia and the ASEAN countries of Singapore, Brunei, Indonesia, Philippines, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam and Cambodia.

RM60 applies for sectors between Malaysia and destinations in India, China, Sri Lanka, Maldives, Hong Kong, China, Taiwan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Japan, Korea, New Zealand and Australia.

RM90 will be charged on all travel between Malaysia and the cities of Jeddah, London, Amsterdam, Paris, Frankfurt and Istanbul.

For return travel from the international cities, the RM value of the applicable zone charge will be converted into the local currency of payment during check-in.

The above guidelines apply only for travel on Malaysia Airlines and does not cover code-share flights as well as travel involving other airlines.

The Malaysian national carrier also streamlined cabin baggage rules for all its domestic and international flights. Guests travelling economy class are allowed one piece cabin baggage up to a maximum of seven kilograms. First and Business Class travellers are allowed two pieces of cabin baggage with a maximum weight of seven kilograms each.

From personal experience we can attest to the extra strict enforcement of this rule at London Heathrow Airport, even for Business and First class passengers.

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Photo Essay: Malaysia Airlines joins oneworld, unveils special livery aircraft. oneworld double mileage offer.

by Devesh Agarwal, reporting from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Malaysia Airlines officially joined the oneworld alliance of airlines, as its 12th member, at 12:01am Malaysia Time (+8 GMT), earlier today.

A day earlier on January 31, the airline had a series of events to celebrate its joining the alliance. Bangalore Aviation was present at the occasion, and brings you this photo essay of the events of the day.

In the morning the airline unveiled its aircraft painted in the special oneworld livery. In the evening, the Malaysia Airlines Group CEO Ahmad Jauhari (AJ) Yahya formally signed the joining contract at a live televised press event. The evening ended with a gala full sit down dinner with over 400 guests.

All ceremonies were attended by the CEOs of oneworld, and its member airlines, uniformed representatives (cabin and customer service crew) of all the airlines, and the world media.

The gala dinner added ministers and senior officers from the Malaysian Government, ambassadors to Malaysia from the home country of each the oneworld member and member-elect airlines, the airlines' most elite frequent flyers, a host of beauty queens, including the Malaysia Airlines cabin crew, amongst others.

Malaysia Airlines Airbus A330-300 9M-MTE in special oneworld livery. See another photo here.
This aircraft performed the first flight of the airline as a member of oneworld in the early hours of Feb 1 from Kuala Lumpur to Melbourne.

The other 88 aircraft of the airline will wear the oneworld orb near the front doors. One Airbus A380 and one Boeing 737-800 will also be painted in the special oneworld livery in the coming months.

(L-R) Alan Joyce, CEO, QANTAS who sponsored Malaysia Airlines entry in to oneworld, Malaysia Airlines Group CEO Ahmad Jauhari (AJ) Yahya, Bruce Ashby, CEO, oneworld.

AJ Yahya flanked by fellow CEOs, or senior management reps of oneworld member airlines. There is a genuine warmth and affection between Alan and AJ which was visible throughout the day. CEOs who attended the function were Qantas Chief Executive Officer Alan Joyce, oneworld CEO Bruce Ashby, Cathay Pacific Airways Chief Executive John Slosar, Finnair President and Chief Executive Mika Vehvilainen, Japan Airlines Chairman Masaru Onishi, Member elect SriLankan Airlines Chairman Nishantha Wickramasinghe and Chief Executive Kapila Chandrasena.

Uniformed cabin crew representatives from each of the oneworld member airlines standing top to bottom of the stairs in alphabetical order. AirBerlin, American Airlines, Cathay Pacific, Finnair, Iberia, Japan Airlines, LAN Chile, QANTAS, Royal Jordanian, S7 Russian Airlines, and Malaysia Airlines. The Master or rather mistress of ceremonies kept referring to the crew as "girls" requesting them to line up, forgetting that British Airways was represented by Mr. Dave.

CEOs, management reps, uniformed reps, and senior Malaysian government, immigration, airports, and customs officers.

In the humid, sticky heat, it was amazing to see how the Malaysia Airlines cabin crew of Ms. Nur Syaza and Mr. Shahrulufti kept their cool and make-up intact, despite being in full uniform. Incidentally, Malaysia Airlines has won the "World's Best Cabin Staff" award from Skytrax seven of the last 11 years.

Alan Joyce, Ahmad Jauhari Yahya, and Bruce Ashby, celebrate after signing the contract

For photos from the gala evening, please visit the Malaysia Airlines Facebook page.

Notable quotes from the three key CEOs.

Group Chief Executive Ahmad Jauhari Yahya said

"Becoming a member of oneworld is one of the most significant landmarks in Malaysia Airlines' history. It will strengthen our competitive position considerably, enabling us to offer our customers a truly global network together with our partners who include some of the best and biggest airlines in the world. At the same time, it will enable us to benefit from all the financial benefits that come from being part of a global alliance, through additional passenger feed and the learning from best practices that it affords. As an airline that has always be proud to offer the highest quality Malaysian Hospitality, we are very pleased and honoured to be lining up as part of what is clearly the world's top quality airline grouping."

Qantas Chief Executive Alan Joyce said

"Qantas has been delighted to support Malaysia Airlines throughout its oneworld joining process, and we are very pleased now to be able to welcome another great airline on board the world's premier global airline alliance."

oneworld Chief Executive Bruce Ashby

"oneworld aims to be the first choice alliance for the world's frequent international travellers - with an unrivalled collection of quality carriers, delivering unmatched benefits to customers and to member airlines alike. That remains our focus today, as the alliance adds another great airline. Malaysia Airlines strengthens the alliance's offering in the growing economic powerhouse of South East Asia, just as we expect oneworld to strengthen Malaysia Airlines' competitive and financial positions."

Double miles offer

To celebrate the addition of the Malaysia Airlines to the alliance oneworld has announced a special double miles offer to cardholders of all oneworld® member airlines' frequent flyer programmes - including those of Malaysia Airlines' Enrich.

Members of Malaysia Airlines' Enrich loyalty scheme will receive double Enrich award miles when flying between 15 February 2013 and 15 April 2013 on oneworld partners airberlin, American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific Airways, Finnair, Iberia, Japan Airlines, Qantas, Royal Jordanian, S7 Airlines and around 30 of their affiliated airlines on tickets bought from today to 15 April 2013, provided they register first at the Enrich website.

Similarly, the 125 million members of existing oneworld airlines' loyalty programmes will receive double mileage awards when flying on Malaysia Airlines between 15 February 2013 and 15 April 2013. Each of the member airlines' website has more details.

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Exclusive photos: Malaysia Airlines joins oneworld alliance. Airbus A330 in special oneworld livery

National carrier Malaysia Airlines joins the oneworld alliance from tomorrow. Bangalore Aviation is in Kuala Lumpur to cover the event.

Below are some exclusive photos of Malaysia Airlines' Airbus A330-300 9M-MTE in the special oneworld livery. The airline will also paint one its Boeing 737-800's and one Airbus A380 superjumbo in the oneworld livery at a later date. Till then they will wear the oneworld orb next to their doors.

CEO's and representatives from all the members of the alliance were present at the ceremony.

Enjoy these special exclusive photos, brought to you first by Bangalore Aviation.

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Analysis: Malaysia Airlines entrance into OneWorld strengthens the alliance's network and Indian presence

by Vinay Bhaskara

Malaysia Airlines A330-300 9M-MTE in oneworld livery

On February 1st. 2013, Kuala  Lampur based Malaysian national carrier Malaysia Airlines will officially join the OneWorld alliance, a partnership of11 airlines around the world that serves more than 849 destinations globally. Malaysia Airlines serves 61 destinations on a fleet of 105 aircraft, and enjoys a strong reputation as one of the premier airlines in Southeast Asia, and the world. While it ran into some financial difficulties in 2010 and 2011, a successful restructuring program involving capacity cutbacks and fleet streamlining under the leadership of Malaysia Airlines Group chief executive Ahmad Jauhari Yahya has restored the airline towards a more optimal path.

From a OneWorld perspective, Malaysia Airlines fulfills an important strategic hole from a network perspective. Prior to its entry, OneWorld had very little presence in Southeast Asia outside of long haul service to major destinations like Singapore and Bangkok. Meanwhile Star Alliance has the networks of both Singapore Airlines and Thai Aiways International to leverage for travel to secondary and tertiary Southeast Asian destinations, while SkyTeam can tap into the fast growing markets of Vietnam and Indonesia through the newly minted membership of Vietnam Airlines and Garuda respectively. However, with Malaysia Airlines (and Sri Lankan to some degree) now in the fold, OneWorld instantly shoots into second place in the region, with the partnership of a world-class airline with a strong service reputation that has a strong network of Southeast Asian destinations.

The network improvement is especially important for OneWorld carriers because it now offers them another premium option with a strong onboard product and excellent ground service to offer to high yield frequent flyers and business travelers. It adds several new Southeast Asian destinations to OneWorld’s offering which makes OneWorld more attractive relative to SkyTeam and Star Alliance. Frequent flyers and high yield business travelers will now be more likely to fly OneWorld member airlines.

From an Indian perspective, Malaysia Airlines serves Bengaluru, Chennai, Dellhi, Hyderabad, and Mumbai; every major Indian Metro outside of Kolkata. But the real value comes in the fact that it offers the first easy connecting service  between India and Southeast Asia. Before, passengers flying between India and Vietnam, Indonesia, Cambodia, Thailand, the Philippines, and even Australia would have had to endure a significant detour to Hong Kong or Tokyo in order to fly OneWorld carriers. Now, there is a more direct option for Indian travelers. Best of all, they can earn rewards points in a OneWorld frequent flyer program, which can be redeemed for travel throughout the OneWorld network, and earn elite benefits. This should help shift customers with significant Indian travel onto other OneWorld flights to and from India as well, improving group profitability as a whole. The addition of Malaysia Airlines (and Sri Lankan to some degree) significantly strengthens OneWorld’s presence in the Indian market, and the alliance as a whole.

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Malaysia Airlines to join oneworld alliance on Feburary 1

Malaysia Airlines will become a full member of the oneworld® alliance on Friday February 1, 2013. The national airline of Malaysia received clearance after successfully completing a review of its readiness conducted by its mentor, Qantas, along with the oneworld central team.

Malaysia Airlines' Airbus A380 superjumbo makes a high speed pass over the Farnborough air show 2012.

Malaysia Airlines' entry in to the alliance is being delayed due to the end-of-year holiday season and for "other administrative reasons".

The 2 million members of Malaysia Airlines' Enrich loyalty programme will integrate with oneworld member airlines - airberlin, American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific Airways, Finnair, Iberia, Japan Airlines, LAN Airlines, Qantas, Royal Jordanian, and S7 Airlines and some 25 affiliated airlines.

Editor's note: Because of an upgrade to LAN's frequent flyer information technology system being implemented shortly after Malaysia Airlines joins oneworld, frequent flyer services and benefits between Malaysia Airlines and LAN will be available from 1 April 2013.

Enrich Platinum cardholders will have Emerald status in the oneworld programme. Enrich Gold will be equivalent to oneworld Sapphire and Enrich Silver will be oneworld Ruby. Enrich Platinum and Gold members will be able to use any of the 550 airport lounges worldwide offered by oneworld member airlines whenever they fly with any of the alliance's carriers. Malaysia Airlines' First and Business Class passengers will also be able to use oneworld partner airline lounges.

Malaysia Airlines will substantially expand the alliance's network in South East Asia, where it will add 14 destinations and one country - Brunei - to the oneworld map.More importantly, the carrier will fill the large hole in the alliance's coverage between the middle east and south-east Asia.

Malaysia Airlines started operations in 1947. Today, it serves more than 60 destinations in almost 30 countries across Asia, Australasia, Middle East, Europe, and North America, including oneworld hubs Hong Kong, London Heathrow, Los Angeles, Sydney and Tokyo Haneda and Narita.
Its present fleet of 88 aircraft - including its flagship Airbus A380s - operates more than 250 departures a day. It boarded 13 million passengers in 2011, generating revenues of MYR 13.6 billion (US$ 4.5 billion).

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Qatar Airways to join oneworld alliance

Doha based, Qatar Airways is to join oneworld® airline alliance. Its election as a oneworld member designate was announced today at a press conference in New York.

The Doha-based airline's implementation into oneworld is expected to take between 12 and 18 months. British Airways will serve as the carrier's sponsor in joining oneworld. This move comes close on the heals of British Airways' close partner Qantas entering in to a strategic partnership with Gulf behemoth, and Qatar's strong competitor, Emirates airline.

Qatar Airways will be oneworld's second member airline based in the Middle East, alongside Royal Jordanian, which joined oneworld in 2007. In just 15 years of operations, Qatar Airways has built up a strong network serving 120 destinations in 70 countries. The airline operates over 100 flights a week to India, second only to Emirates.

Qatar Airways already code-shares with oneworld member designate Malaysia Airlines. It will develop bilateral links with more airlines in the alliance as it moves towards becoming a member of the group. Two oneworld member airlines currently serve Qatar's Doha hub - British Airways from London, and Royal Jordanian from Amman, along with member elect SriLankan, from Colombo. Additionally London is a major focus destination for Qatar Airways. The airline recently opened an ultra-premium lounge at Heathrow airport.

Among those alongside Qatar Airways Chief Executive Officer Akbar Al Baker at today's New York press conference to welcome the airline to oneworld were American Airlines' Chairman and Chief Executive Tom Horton, Chairman of the oneworld Governing Board; Chief Executive of IAG, parent of British Airways and Iberia, Willie Walsh; oneworld CEO Bruce Ashby; and senior representatives from other oneworld member airlines.

L-R Tom Horton (American), Akbar Al Baker (Qatar), Willie Walsh (IAG), Bruce Ashby (oneworld)

Qatar Airways Chief Executive Officer Akbar Al Baker said:

"Alliances are playing an increasingly important role in the airline industry today - and that will continue long into the future. Qatar Airways has carefully reviewed its strategic options and it is very clear that joining oneworld is by far the best way forward for us as we look to strengthen our competitive offering and give passengers what they fully deserve - more choice. Like Qatar Airways, oneworld is focused on quality and providing the best connections between the places most important to today's frequent international travellers.

"In Qatar Airways' relatively short history, we have quickly established a reputation for innovation, quality and excellence in everything we do, raising standards which our industry peers have watched with envy. We are pleased to build on that by becoming the only major airline from the Gulf to date to be invited to join any of the global airline alliances - and we are proud to have been invited to join the best of them, in oneworld. We look forward to completing all the joining requirements as soon as possible, and to fly alongside some of the best airlines in the world long into the future, bringing heightened benefits offered by oneworld to our customers."

American Airlines' Chairman and Chief Executive Tom Horton, Chairman of the oneworld Governing Board, said:

"Quality has always been the hallmark of oneworld, so we are pleased to welcome to our alliance another of the world's highest quality airlines. oneworld aims to be the first choice alliance for frequent international travelers the world over. Adding Qatar Airways will significantly improve our connectivity between many of the destinations that are most important to those customers, so today's agreement with Qatar Airways will enable us to offer even more value."

Willie Walsh, Chief Executive of IAG, parent of British Airways and Iberia, said:

"In Qatar Airways, oneworld is pleased to welcome another great airline that will enhance oneworld's network and product offerings in one of the world's fastest growing regions for air travel demand. Its fine reputation for customer service mirrors oneworld's own focus. British Airways is delighted to be serving as the sponsor of Qatar Airways in joining oneworld."

oneworld CEO Bruce Ashby added:

"The big three Gulf carriers have been embraced by millions of consumers the world over - just as consumers have embraced global airline alliances. Our own analysis clearly demonstrated that Qatar Airways is the best fit for oneworld's network, requirements, philosophy and strategy. oneworld is delighted to be the first of the global alliances to welcome a member airline from this region, enabling us to be the first to offer consumers the services and benefits offered by both a global alliance and a Gulf carrier. We look forward to welcoming another great airline to oneworld.

"oneworld's flexible approach to bilateral cooperation with carriers outside our alliance means that links already established between our member airlines with other carriers from this region may continue in tandem with Qatar Airways' addition to oneworld, further strengthening the choice and convenience we collectively offer our customers."

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Photos: Malaysia Airlines reveals special livery for its first Airbus A380

Malaysia Airlines (MAS) and Airbus revealed a special celebration livery on the national carrier's first A380 ahead of the aircraft's entry-into-service next week on the Kuala Lumpur-London Heathrow route.

The livery was designed by MAS specifically for it its new A380 flagship and was applied post-delivery by Airbus in Toulouse.

MAS has ordered six A380s with a seating for 494 passengers in three classes.

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Analysis: SriLankan Airlines set to join oneworld in 2013

Will SriLankan Airline's entry into oneworld force a change in the carrier's network strategy?

Image courtesy Wikimedia

Early Monday, SriLankan Airlines, the flag carrier of India’s southernmost neighbor, is set to be announced as the newest member of the oneworld, the global alliance of airlines. The carrier, which serves 60 destinations on a fleet of 21 aircraft, will add Kochi, Tiruchirapalli and Thiruvananthapuram to oneworld’s network of 850 destinations in 150 countries.

Sri Lankan’s entry into oneworld is being sponsored by Cathay Pacific, which serves SriLankan’s hub in Colombo 7 times per week from its own hub in Hong Kong via Singapore and Bangkok onboard Boeing 777-300 aircraft. SriLankan Airlines also has a code-share agreement with oneworld member-elect Malaysian Airlines and plans to implement code-shares with oneworld members Royal Jordanian and S7 Airlines. The carrier will enter the alliance in 2013.

"With the world airline industry increasingly focused on alliances, SriLankan has carried out in-depth analysis of the options open to the airline as we enter this latest phase of our development. Oneworld is very clearly the best option for us. Joining the alliance will help put SriLankan more firmly on the global aviation map and vastly improve our connections with the rest of the world," says airline chairman Nishantha Wickremasinghe.

For SriLankan, there is clear value added with entry into oneworld. The carrier already serves 3 Oneworld hubs; Tokyo, Moscow, and London and is rumored to be starting up service to 2 more; Sydney and Melbourne. Now, it will have access to the global alliance’s network and its marketing arm, which can help it win more passengers away from competitors, and add incremental sales revenue. Its frequent flyer base, limited as that may be, will also get expanded redemption opportunities around the globe.

From oneworld’s side, the value proposition is a little less clear. To a certain degree, simply adding an airline to the network, especially one in a region that can be considered a “hole” for that alliance, is always a good thing. And to the extent that South Asia is a hole for oneworld, that is true of SriLankan’s entry. But adding such a small airline doesn’t really do much for oneworld’s coverage of South Asia (really India). And Sri Lankan’s long haul network strategy, which consists of less than daily flights (in a lot of cases less than 3 per week) to a broad base of destinations scheduled for O&D purposes, isn’t exactly conducive to an alliance seeking to provide seamless global connectivity.

That’s not to say that Sri Lankan won’t have immediate benefits for oneworld. Oneworld frequent flyers will now have many more redemption options, especially to Colombo and Male (where Sri Lankan operate a whopping 38 flights per week). But I do think that entrance into oneworld will necessitate some changes in SriLankan’s network. For a long time now, oneworld has had substandard coverage of India. While its European connections are competitive, both SkyTeam, and especially Star Alliance have taken advantage of hubs located in regions with strong ethnic ties (Saudi Arabia and Singapore/Bangkok respectively) to strengthen their reach within India’s second and third tier cities.

The entrance of Kingfisher Airlines into the alliance was supposed to have solved this problem, but since Kingfisher’s entry was suspended indefinitely back in February, oneworld once again has problems here. SriLankan currently serves 7 Indian destinations; Bangalore, Chennai, Delhi, Mumbai, Kochi, Tiruchirapalli and Thiruvananthapuram. To add more value into oneWorld, look for SriLankan to also add (in some cases restore) flights to regional Indian destinations like Hyderabad, Coimbatore, Mangalore, Vijaywada, Kozhikode, and Pune. Doing so would substantially increase SriLankan and oneworld’s penetration into the Indian market.

However, to take full advantage of this would also necessitate a restructuring (moderate) of SriLankan’s longer haul operations. Currently, the carrier serves Tokyo 4 times per week, and London 7 times per week after cancelling 4 weekly service via Male, as well as twice weekly services to Moscow via Dubai on an Airbus A320. Reportedly, SriLankan is looking to add 9 further long-haul aircraft to the fleet by 2015; a mix of Airbus A330-300 and Boeing 777s. What this would allow is for SriLankan to enhance its long haul operation to better fit in with oneworld. London could be buffed up back to 12 flights per week (its level this summer), Tokyo could be made daily, and Moscow could be de-coupled from Dubai. The airline also has leeway in adding new sub-daily services to oneworld hubs like Berlin, Dusseldorf, Madrid, and the like. Thus in time, SriLankan Airlines’ network will likely shift to become a stronger asset for the oneworld alliance.

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Photo: Malaysia Airlines takes delivery of its first Airbus A380 super-jumbo

Airbus has delivered to national carrier Malaysia Airlines (MAS) the first of its ordered six Airbus A380 superjumbos. Malaysia Airlines becomes the eighth A380 carrier.

The MAS A380 has 494 seats in a three class configuration with 8 seats in first class, 66 in business, and 420 in economy. The first class is in a 1-2-1 configuration and boasts the widest first class seats in the world. Business class is in a 2-2-2 configuration while economy is 3-4-3.

Malaysia Airlines will deploy the A380 on its Kuala Lumpur London Heathrow route from July 2 in thrice a week flight. The service will become a daily once the carrier receives its second A380 in August.

The carrier is due to join the oneworld alliance at the end of this year.

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Photos: Malaysia Airline's Airbus A380 in new livery

Some high resolution photos of the first Airbus A380 super jumbo destined for Malaysia Airlines in the new livery.

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Video: Malaysia Airline's first Airbus A380 revealed

The first Airbus A380 of national carrier Malaysia Airlines was painted recently. In this time lapse, video watch the A380 in the paint shop.

Observe the subtle changes between the existing livery and the new livery on the A380. Doesn't the font look awfully similar to neighbouring Singapore Airlines? What are your views? Share a comment.

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Podcast: AirAsia Malaysia Airlines stock swap, Star's India misfire, Air India's 787 Dreamliner

Another edition of the Asian air scene podcast featuring Addison Schonland, Vinay Bhaskara and Devesh Agarwal. We covered the share swap between AirAsia and Malaysia Airlines and what benefits would it offer and what would it take away. In the India scene we covered the suspension of the application of national carrier Air India and the reported fait accompli presented by the Star Alliance to the Government of India, and how this is going to backfire on the alliance's members. We also covered the slightly delayed, yes again, entry of the 787 Dreamliner in to the Air India fleet, now expected in December 2011.

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Photo: Malaysia Airlines new livery Boeing 737-800

Malaysia Airlines took delivery of the airline's first Next-Generation Boeing 737 with the new Boeing Sky Interior. The national carrier, is the first full-service airline to operate the 737-800 with the new Boeing Sky Interior.


9M-MXA also sports the new livery of Malaysia Airlines.

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Aircraft spotting: Unusual images - Diarrhoea aboard Malaysia Airlines Boeing 737-800

On October 29th I was very surprised to see this Malaysia Airlines Boeing 737-800 departing for Kuala Lumpur in the evening, since the flight is scheduled around 01:00 at night.

Click on the image for a larger view.

We were informed that the Captain suffered a severe case of diarrhoea while operating the incoming flight. Since the flight between Kuala Lumpur and Bangalore is just a little over three hours, the crew operates the return leg too. The Captain was unable to perform his duties and the flight had to be delayed till he recuperated and was strong enough.

I am not going to comment about airline food.

See more photos on JetPhotos and on Flickr

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Malaysia Airlines offers ultra low fares ex India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh

Malaysia Airlines has announced whopping discounts of up to 55% to 35 cities worldwide under the popular Malaysia Airlines Travel Fair (MATF) till May 3, 2009 for travel between April 14 and October 31, 2009.

Travellers can purchase their tickets through their travel agents, airline ticket offices and from Malaysia Airlines online. The promotional fares meant primarily for the South Asia Region of India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, are targeted at vacationers.

India return airfares
Travel is offered from five Indian gateway cities Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Bangalore and Hyderabad.

• ex-Delhi to Kuala Lumpur or Penang at Rs 19,775, Langkawi Rs 20,808, Singapore Rs 18,702, and Hong Kong Rs 19,500.
• ex-Mumbai to Kuala Lumpur Rs 17,050, Langkawi Rs 19,755, Penang, Rs 18,700, Singapore or Bangkok or Phuket Rs 21,456, Bali Rs 24,100, and Hong Kong Rs 19,500.
• ex-Bangalore to Kuala Lumpur Rs 15,600, Langkawi Rs 19,755, Penang at Rs 17,650, Singapore Rs 17,120, Bali Rs 24,000, and Hong Kong Rs 20,000.
• ex-Chennai to Kuala Lumpur Rs 14,945, Langkawi Rs 19,755, Penang at Rs 17,120, Singapore Rs 15,545, and Hong Kong Rs 19,500.
• ex-Hyderabad to Kuala Lumpur Rs 15,600, Langkawi Rs 19,755, Penang Rs 17,650, Singapore Rs 17,120, Bali Rs 24,000, and Hong Kong at Rs 20,000.
• ex-Delhi or Chennai or Bangalore or Hyderabad to Australia (either Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide, Brisbane or Perth) is Rs 22,840, Auckland Rs 29,155. One-way trips to Australia and New Zealand are Rs 14,578 and Rs 17,736 respectively.

Pakistan return airfares:
ex-Karachi to Kuala Lumpur PKR 32,330, to Penang or Langkawi or Singapore PKR 36,207, to Australia (Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide or Brisbane) and Auckland PKR 54,734. One-way ex-Karachi to these Australian cities PKR 32,525, and Auckland PKR 43,156.

Sri Lanka return airfares:
ex-Colombo to Kuala Lumpur at LKR 34,033, to Penang or Langkawi or Singapore LKR 42,469, Hong Kong LKR 50,373, to Australia (Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide or Brisbane) LKR 84,194, and Auckland LKR 65,215. One way fares ex-Colombo to Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide or Brisbane LKR 27,957, to Auckland at LKR 65,215.

Bangladesh return airfares:
ex-Dhaka to Kuala Lumpur USD 383, Penang or Langkawi or Singapore USD 437, Bali or Hong Kong USD 600, to Australia (Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide or Brisbane) USD 938, and to Auckland USD 1100. The one-way fare to Singapore is priced at USD 251.

For full terms and conditions visit the airline's website.

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Bengaluru International Airport runs out of gates to accomodate widebody flights

Last night, as Easter Sunday came to an end, a traffic jam began at Bengaluru International Airport (BIA), which exposed the weakness of having only four "contact stands" (aero-bridge equipped gates) at the new Bengaluru International Airport, capable of handling wide-body aircraft.

In the current summer schedule, the peak period for international flights, is between 22:00 (10 PM) and 02:00 (2 AM), with eight flights and all of them wide-bodies with the exception of Air India and Tiger Airways. Singapore Airlines SQ502 is the first to arrive at 21:50, Air India IC594 at 22:10, Tiger Airways TR652 at 22:20, Thai Airways TG325 at 23:15, Malaysia Airlines MH192 at 23:40, Air France AF192 at 23:55, Lufthansa LH754 at 00:10, and Dragonair KA152 at 01:20. Each flight spends typically 90 minutes at the stand.

This rush requires accurate scheduling, and provides the airport operators BIAL very little leeway in handling exceptions, as demonstrated last night.

Singapore Airlines flight SQ502 from Singapore to Bangalore which normally arrives at 21:50 was delayed by two hours and arrived at 23:45. By the time SQ arrived, the other gates were occupied with the Air France, Thai, Malaysia, and Lufthansa flights. As the picture below shows, the SQ flight was forced to park at a "non-contact" stand i.e. with no aerobridge connection to the passenger terminal building. I do not even want to hazard a guess on where the Air India and Tiger Airways flights were accommodated. Incidentally, if you see the large version of the image, the aircraft is 9V-SYL a Boeing 777-300 instead of the normal 777-200 operated by Singapore Airlines to Bangalore.

International passengers regardless of aircraft type need a contact gate since they normally have a lot more carry-on baggage, and courtesy of longer flights, are generally more tired. Commercially too, while domestic air traffic has crashed more than 20% since the new airport opened, thanks to the economic slowdown, international operations at BIA have been the saving grace and increased by about 8%.

It raises an interesting point of discussion. Keeping in view the Rs. 1070 (approx $21.40) User Development Fee international passengers pay, which, by the way, is almost 400% more than domestic passengers, is it not incumbent on the airport operators to create adequate infrastructure to provide leeway for exceptional situations like last night ? or provide adequate buffer capacity for future growth ? On the flip side, creating infrastructure for a potential situation that occurs very rarely, or growth which may take time to come, could be considered unneeded and wasteful.

What do you think? Please share your views via a comment.

For more photos visit my Flickr site.

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Singapore Airlines slashes fares from India

Singapore Airlines has announced a new low fare sale from India to select destinations in South East Asia and Australia.

As per the ad in today's Times of India, Bangalore edition, the fares round-trip ex-Bangalore to Singapore is INR 16,830, Denpasar/Bali/Kuala Lumpur/Penang/Langkawi/Kuching/Bangkok INR 23,980, Sydney/Perth/Brisbane/Melbourne/Adelaide INR 41,350. These include taxes and surcharges.

Fares are for economy class travel. Tickets must be purchased by January 15, 2009 and will be valid for travel from December 29, 2008 to March 31, 2009 for Singapore and South-East Asia and from February 01, 2009 to June 30, 2009 for the Australian destinations.

Similar offers are available from other Singapore Airlines cities in India.

One can also expect SQ's competitors, Malaysia Airlines, Thai Airways, and Jet Airways, to follow suit.

Since the travel agents' boycott of Singapore Airlines commences today, I recommend Bangalore Aviation readers to visit the Singapore Airline website.

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A real deal for Qantas - Malaysian Airlines

As I indicated in my previous article, there are strong rumours of a "merger" or "tie-up" between Australian carrier Qantas and Malaysian Airlines (MAS). Given the regulatory stranglehold and national politics involved in Asia, a full merger is next to impossible.

Not only do I feel that this tie-up will happen, I strongly believe that it will result in positive results for all the players, not just the airlines.

The future for Qantas is Asia, but either due to a difference in business culture, or national ego, or economic and/or market positions, Qantas really has no serious potential partners in Asia, other than Malaysian. A tie-up with either Singapore Airlines or Cathay Pacific or Japan Airlines and can be written off due to culture or ego reasons. Garuda, Thai, Philippines, Eva, China Air, Air China, or any of the Taiwanese or Chinese airlines are too small or do not offer adequate economic benefits to Qantas.

Qantas CEO, Alan Joyce, had said that Qantas was looking to be the senior partner in any merger or similar relationship that the carrier entered into. The recent failure of the merger talks with British Airways highlights Joyce's desires.

Under the able stewardship of Idris Jala, Malaysian has staged a phenomenal comeback. After years of losses, government intervention and its resultant inefficiencies, Jala has moved MAS in to profitability, for the last 3 years. Even until the third quarter of 2008, despite the economic crises, he has delivered profits. Driven by its formidable low cost carrier (LCC) competitor AirAsia, and Jala, MAS has undertaken ruthless cost cutting and route rationalisation. Despite this, Jala recognises, MAS will never meet the cost base of AirAsia, and has moved the airline up the value chain, focusing on the higher end of the market, instead.

Financially, Qantas has been in good profit for many years, thanks to the "Kangaroo Run", and has a decent cash balance sitting ready, should a deal with MAS come about.


At the same time, liberalisation is spreading through the region, may be in fits and starts. On December 1, the 70 year old duopoly of Malaysian Airlines and Singapore Airlines on the lucrative Singapore-Kuala Lumpur sector was opened up, after 5 years of lobbying by the LCCs of both countries, but Malaysia predominantly. Capacity has trebled virtually instantly.

Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) has much to offer. The airport was built and promoted by former Malaysian Prime Minister Dr. Mahathir Mohammed, as a competitor to Singapore's famous Changi Airport, a base for many international airlines, including Qantas.

Despite trying as hard as they could, KLIA could never match the economies of scale, and frequencies of Changi, which brought in increasing numbers of passengers. For many years, KLIA lagged, almost becoming a colossal white elephant. The poor situation at KLIA was further aggravated by its own government. For years, Malaysia resisted liberalisation of the KL-Singapore route. Apart from being one of Malaysian Airlines' most profitable routes, there was a constant fear of the undermining of KLIA as a hub, since Changi is easily the more preferred hub by both airlines and passengers.

Thanks to the fast growing AirAsia, KLIA is now making a comeback, as a low cost hub, but we should keep in mind, the airport still has high end facilities as well. KLIA is also a spacious airport, and with its planned expansion, will offer considerable growth opportunities to any global scale airline.

This low cost positioning is important. While Qantas withdrew from KLIA, due to low yields, and preferring to build economies of scale at Singapore, it has two low cost subsidiaries JetStar and Singapore based JetStar Asia. Jetstar Asia already flies to KLIA, and Jetstar used to fly the Sydney-KL route, but has withdrawn temporarily during the economic slow down.

Jetstar Asia has only a narrow body fleet, but is already reaping benefits from the recent KL-Singapore route liberalisation. Jetstar has a fleet of six Airbus A330's, two of which fly Australia to Japan (service due to terminate in December 2008), and can easily use KLIA as a base to expand the Qantas brand in to India, south-east Asia, the middle east, Europe, and especially the United Kingdom, in response to the challenges of the ever busy AirAsia who is making KLIA as a low cost hub for Australians, with its upcoming UK service. Once Jetstar receives its Boeing 787 Dreamliners, hopefully in 2010, the KLIA base will blossom as an alternate "Kangaroo run" route.

A well established base in the backyard of arch-rival Singapore Airlines, while still maintaining its presence at Changi will suit the Qantas/Jetstar group just nicely, affording them and potential partner, Malaysian Airlines, more options, with Qantas still maintaining presence at Changi.

Unlike the talks with British Airways, in case of Malaysian Airlines, the Malaysian government are serious and any deal will have their blessing. So it will behoove Qantas to proceed. In the near future, Qantas and Malaysian can extend their Oneworld alliance membership further with code sharing and various joint strategies. In the medium term, to overcome the restrictive regulatory framework in South-East Asia, I expect that Qantas and Malaysian Airlines will have to enter in to some time of cross-holding and also for Qantas buy a significant minority share in Malaysian.

A deal, if consummated, with help re-define the south-east Asian skies, and benefit not just the airlines, but also KLIA.

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British Airways plans cuts at Gatwick, merger with Malaysian Airlines?

As per a Bloomberg article, in the face of continuing declines in global air travel,

British Airways Plc, Europe’s third- largest airline, will cut more than 100 jobs at London’s Gatwick airport as it reduces services there by 15 percent from mid-2009.

The number of aircraft based at the airport will be reduced to 37 from 41, the Harmondsworth, England-based airline said today in an e-mailed statement. The cuts to ground operations staffing will be on a voluntary basis, according to the statement.

The story also refers to the ongoing merger discussions between British Airways and fellow OneWorld partner Qantas.

In parallel I read about a PTI report about Malaysian Airlines seeking global partnerships. As per the report

Malaysia’s national carrier, Malaysia Airlines (MAS), is seeking partners to grow further but has not commented on reports that it is seeking a merger with British Airways and Australia’s Qantas. “We are in talks with a number of airlines on collaborating and creating synergies for growth. This ranges from Joint Ventures and code shares to interlining partnerships. For example, we have signed a memorandum of understanding with Qantas on a joint venture on maintenance, repair and overhaul,” Idris Jala, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, MAS said in a statement day before yesterday.

In Malaysian, Qantas will get access to the lucrative ASEAN, and intra-Asian routes, and will fulfill it's goals of becoming a truly global carrier. A Malaysian merger or partnership with also give the behemoth base level access to the ultra-large and very under-utilised Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA). KLIA does have the potential to become a formidable competitor to Singapore's Changi Airport, a purpose for which former Malaysian Prime Minister Dr. Mahathir Mohammed championed its mammoth construction. It just needs the right amount of traffic, the amount a global carrier British Airways-Qantas-Malaysian will give.

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