Airbus A380
June 28th, 2006 | by Dusk |
MAS studies options on the purchase of six A380s
PETALING JAYA: Malaysia Airlines (MAS) is looking at all options available regarding the purchase of the six A380s even though its union, Malaysian Airline System Employees Union (MASEU), wants the airline to drop the Airbus deal.
Managing director Idris Jala told reporters after the airline’s AGM yesterday that “we have not come up with any decision on any of the options yet. We also do not want to prejudice our negotiations (by making statements before studying our options). We have ordered the six A380s and are gearing up for them and will continue to negotiate for the best outcome.’’
Chairman Datuk Dr Munir Majid said the airline was still in talks about compensation with Airbus on the “total delay’’ of the aircraft delivery but declined to comment on whether cancelling the deal was an option. He merely said: “In the normal course of things, everything is an option.’’
Airline executives also declined to comment on suggestions of cancelling the order and replacing it with an order for Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner.
The new delay has sparked a debate over the need for the super jumbos among some employees and the MASEU as filling such a huge aircraft was seen as a problem, given that the airline was already facing such problems now on some routes.
Under the business turnaround plan (BTP), MAS would cut routes to Europe and develop a hub-and-spoke concept for which the A380s could be the right aircraft to carry more passengers at one go. The A380 can seat 555 passengers while the biggest MAS aircraft now can seat only 386.
But Jala stressed that the new delay would not have an impact on the BTP.
That aside, Jala said the buyer of its headquarters building at Jalan Sultan Ismail would be announced very soon. The asset sale is part of a plan to raise cash for working capital. “We are in an advanced stage of negotiations but I am not privy to discuss the price and the buyer.’’
MAS needs RM3bil to RM4bil to take it through its difficult times and has thus far obtained a soft loan of RM1bil. It is working towards generating cash through operations and selling assets to raise another RM1bil. Jala said the airline was not in discussion with the Government for a soft loan.
“We would generate much more cash from our operations than sale of assets,’’ Jala said.
On the mutual separation scheme (MSS) that attracted 4,238 applications representing 19% of its 23,000 employees, Jala said “generally the applications (are) from the high-salary staff, (but) no, not all would be accepted. We would look at each application individually.’’
He added that the MSS, which could cost RM800mil, would be met with compensation from MAS parent Penerbangan Malaysia Bhd and “as such, the exercise would not have any impact on MAS’ profit-and-loss account.’’
On the domestic rationalisation, Jala said it was progressing well but the airline had yet to get government approval on its request to fly more than 19 routes.
Source: StarNewsOnline
What i have to say about this
They have already bought the A380 and the simulator for this Airbus is already being constructed. With the purchase of these A380, MAS gets free pilot training for every purchase. A few of our pilots will be send overseas to do the training to become instructors for the A380. They will then train the next generation pilots for the A380.
The simulator will be completed by April 2007, and new pilots can be trained locally by the instructors who took the training overseas earlier. I hope I don’t sound too confusing. Hehe. This is because the original plan was to get the A380 by June 2007. But Airbus delays every A380 delivery. They said its necessary to make it better. Well its actually kinda good because you don’t want to be sitting in an ‘incomplete’ aircraft. MAS bought 6 of these A380 for RM6.9 billion (USD1.6 billion). However handling the delayed delivery of the six super-jumbo Airbus A380s will not effect the MAS turnaround plan to generate profit by the 1st quarter of 2007. I guess.
The A380 is a HUGE plane. If it wasn’t for the first class and everything, the plane can actually fit 1000 people inside with all economy-class seats. The first flight will be to Vienna if in not mistaken. There will be 2 routes 1st I don’t remember the other one.
And its really beautiful inside. Im not sure if in suppose to tell this but the sit is like a capsule and they have a 21.9” LCD screen installed on every one of them in the first class. The sit can be reclined fully back to make it like a bed. There will be a comforter there. No more thin blankets. The lighting is great. The dim bluish light is comforting. Or is that for the new 747? Haha. I confuse myself. Anyway, now both have Movies and Music on demand. That means you can choose any movie you want form their database. They also have hundreds of MP3’s to choose from. In the older aircraft You have to wait for the movie schedule.
36 Responses to “Airbus A380”
By Michael on Jun 29, 2006 | Reply
I think buying the A380s is a great idea. It will make all those ultra-long haul flights a bit more bearable for passengers in coach. Hopefully 1 of the routes will be the Heathrow-KL one. Us 6-footers could use a bit more room in the back!
By Dusk on Jun 29, 2006 | Reply
LOL. The 747 isn’t big enough?
By Michael on Jun 29, 2006 | Reply
When was the last time you flew coach on a MAS 747 flight? I’m telling you man, even with the seat reclined (which is about 2 inches), it still feels like I’m seated completely upright. Plus I have to sit at an angle in order to give my legs some space. Usually I just have my outside leg on the aisle, annoying the trolly dolly…
By Dusk on Jun 29, 2006 | Reply
I used get the first class because -edited-. I have these free tickets u see. But its not applicable to me anymore, since im ‘employed’.
By nivlac on Jun 29, 2006 | Reply
another fly titanic
By Sam Brogden on Jan 25, 2007 | Reply
Hi there, theres fianally a Luxourous aircraft!!!i cant wait to travel in it!!!
By Sam Brogden on Jan 25, 2007 | Reply
:):P:L:):P:L:P:):):):L:P
By Brian on Feb 9, 2007 | Reply
this could be the start of a new age in Air travel. Planes could eventually evolve into cruise ships in the air
By raz on Mar 19, 2007 | Reply
this planes good but how good?
By raz on Mar 19, 2007 | Reply
its gonna be a target and get blown up!!!!!!!
By guitarhero on Mar 19, 2007 | Reply
it’ll be the best aircraft in the universe…….A380 is completely, ironically, summarisely, statisticaly experimented 100%…..with good effort…..an expert pilot flew this plane like a toy plane……seriously, i’m not lying!
By kdavis on Mar 22, 2007 | Reply
maybe a good aircraft. can you imagine being on a plane with that many people and how long it will take to board and deboard and then not to mention waiting on your luggage?
By Shenel on Mar 22, 2007 | Reply
It looks like soul plane!!!
By elvin on Mar 25, 2007 | Reply
HE !MY NAME IS LVIN.I AM FOURTEEN.AND I LIKE VERY
AIRROBUS,IT IS INTERESTING FOR ME.
By Ellen on Mar 25, 2007 | Reply
OMGosh
I dont like them I think that they are a waste of space and bad for the environment! GOD I sound like such a hippie lol! Think about it Long Haul flights are bad enough but this is like shuvin a massive great ship in the air and filling it with 10 times more rubbish and 20 times more fuel and making loads of money out of it! i think it should be a ridiculous price for the tickets so less people would go on it and the money they pay extra should go to planting trees somewhere to make up for all the carbon emmisions!
From Hippie Ellen x lol
By S B DIXIT on May 7, 2007 | Reply
A SMALL COLONY FLY IN THE AIR. KINDLY DONT FORGET SECURITY ABOUT LARG NO OF PASSENGERS. ALTHOUGH ALL PASSENGER WILL BE NEAR TO GOD. MAY GOD HALP THEM. AT LAST IT IS ULTIMATE.
By Rajiv Unnithan on May 9, 2007 | Reply
It looks like a huge dino within the fleet of other planes .
A very good plane for a country like India,where the population & the people using them frequently are so large in numbers.
Hope the years just fly off & we see it pretty often …
Congrats to the entire team of A380…Job well done
By uday on May 13, 2007 | Reply
The AIRBUS A380 is a wonderful piece of Superb Engineering. Lots of hard work and planning has gone into it. But have the designers planned for how much time and effort it will take the passengers and the airline staff to board so many passengers and then offload them at their destinations, not to speak of the time taken to seat so many passengers in their respective seats, and securely belted up for take off?
Have the planners considered how a bad situation could become worse, and finally become completely uncontrollable, just because of the huge size of the aircraft and the number of passengers flying in it together in the following situations:
In times of a “NORMAL” crisis like severe air turbulence making most of the passengers sick or stressful, sudden fall in cabin air pressure resulting in mass panic and hysteria, numerous elderly passengers developing stressful discomfort of the heart needing urgent medical attention, the aircraft developing problems in mid-air or while landing, some kind of gas leaking into the passenger area making the passengers uneasy and sick, etc.
In times of an “ABNORMAL” crisis like an attempted hijacking, an attempt by terrorists to single out persons of a certain religion from among the passengers and kill them, an attempt by terrorist(s) to damage or blow up the plane if their demands are not met, etc.
The above are all very likely crisis situations that could develop on board the AIRBUS A380 Super Jumbo. Have the planners, designers, owners of airliners who have bought them or are planning to buy them ever given a thought about how to protect the passengers from situations developing completely unexpectedly? Will the hundreds of innocent passengers be left completely at the mercy of the Gods and their luck? This is a very important question which needs to be answered before anybody can think of boarding the A380, lest it become an air borne TITANIC.
My suggestion is that every airline operating the A380 aircraft should have its own onboard medical as well as security staff. The medical staff should be fully trained for inflight situations. The security staff should be in plain clothes and be seated strategically throughout the aircraft among the other passengers so that at least one of them is present “on the spot” when an “ABNORMAL” situation(described above)develops. All security staff must be unarmed but fully trained in Martial Arts and the ability to disarm a dangerous weapon bearing hijacker before he can use his weapon. Security staff should have access to stun guns placed in the aircraft for their use in times of such emergency to momentarily immobilize a dangerous person and handcuff him/her. All security staff should have a concealed walkie-talkie to stay in touch with each other.
By Hari Prakash on May 16, 2007 | Reply
The big man made flyin bird with desired facilities.. Its Great and im eager to fly in one of those…
By Gorge on Jun 3, 2007 | Reply
why the a380? it costs like a quarter billon! 747 is enough for the airlines
By Sudhakhar on Jun 11, 2007 | Reply
This is a huge bird. I am looking forward to fly in this aircraft. Hope the seating is not as cramped as in A320 liners and having sufficient seat belt lenths for fattys.
By jay on Jun 13, 2007 | Reply
all i can say is that this is a crap!!!
By Hurrman on Jul 17, 2007 | Reply
I’m buying one TOO!!!!! XD
By david on Jul 29, 2007 | Reply
Hi! i think this is Great
By Andrei Michael Ruckman on Aug 11, 2007 | Reply
It is very very cool and I have got a plane design of my own. Iam !@ years old
By jay on Sep 7, 2007 | Reply
My dream fly with A 380
By Nirav on Oct 3, 2007 | Reply
too much of delays
By pbcmbeez2 on Oct 7, 2007 | Reply
i think the A380 is the best idea ever. I’m only 13, but i want to become a realworld pilot someday. Making the airplane bigger will actually be better on the enviroment (in my opinion) because there won’t have to be as many flights going back and forth everyday/week. I travel a lot on airplanes, and i ahte having to sit in my tiny little seat breathing the same air as everyone else for hours and hours. At least i can get up and go to the lower level where the shops would be or the bar. But i’m not old enough.
By Dusk on Oct 7, 2007 | Reply
Hi there pbcmbeez2. Great ambition u have there. I hope u will be successful in the aviation world someday. Probably u will be the captain of a A380 someday. Good luck.
By flyboyy93 on Oct 15, 2007 | Reply
Hey! i am 14 and i am already a pilot. i have been for 2 years. I think that while thet efficiency is great, why would you want to be in that fullof a plane. There would be 10 instead of 1 crying babies around you. I greatly prefer Boeing. They are much better. I can’t wait for the 787 Dreamliner to start flying with airlines.
By Burnelli Support Group on Oct 15, 2007 | Reply
This is just a larger version of the flimsy, explosive design we’ve been forced to fly in for over 50 years. Accidents happen and the A380 has no exemptions from them. Denial that it will happen is just wishful thinking and when one of these does go down you can kiss a whole small town goodbye. Just a tragedy waiting to happen. Thank God it’s been delayed for so long and orders have dropped off significantly. If you have to fly one of these cracker box jumbos, fly the 747.
Titanic? Most assuredly, but only half the number of people will die in it’s crashing as did in the Titanic’s sinking. They hopefully won’t suffer as long though.
Wouldn’t it be great to fly in a plane that would take off and land at just over 100 mph, carry at least 2 times the load of a commercial airliner (like the 747) with the same fuel economy, walk away from a crash instead of explode into flames from a runway overrun?
The A380 ain’t it. I’ve already seen some pretty violent tail strikes and scary take-offs by this plane. They’re all on U-Tube. Take a look.
Visit www.aircrash.org and find out about Vincent Burnelli’s airfoil, lifting fuselage and give them your support for a safer, more economical, eco-friendly aircraft. Just Google “Burnelli” images and see what I’m talking about. The 1964 GB-888A jet airliner design is unbelievably modern and could have carried 600 safely back then.
It’s predecessor, the UB-14 crashed violently in 1935 with 7 aboard. All was caught on film. There was no fire and all 7 walked away, unhurt. Their survival was not by chance but by design. The comments about this plane are not my opinion, they are facts from past flight and wind tunnel testing and from the documented, proven history of safety and performance.
Some of us who have found this better, safer, more intelligent and most of all “proven” design are working for it’s revival and construction for commercial use. Join in. Every person can make a difference if they believe they can. Reduce the risk of flying, reduce the stress of flying and reduce the huge carbon footprint made by all existing airliners including the A380. Go to the aircrash site now and see what you can do to help in this effort.
By evren demirtaş on Nov 12, 2007 | Reply
captain pilot evren demirtaş.super one a plane.
By Angelina on Jan 20, 2008 | Reply
this is the coolest plane ever and i cant wait to fly in it.
By Bob Hyde on Mar 19, 2008 | Reply
I only have one objection to the A380, what happens when and if one of these crashes.
I mean we had a Boeing 777 crash at ( Heathrow ) London Airport only a few week’s ago. If one of these goes down, I only see body bags by the hundred. I just hope this never happens.
By Anon on Aug 5, 2008 | Reply
this plane is not as good as it is made out to be .
i flew from singapore to sydney xmas 07
seats are very uncomfynot enough leg room, more leg room on the smaller planes
not recomended
By Dusk on Aug 6, 2008 | Reply
Owh that is totally optional. SIA must have picked that configuration