Safety In The Skies: July 2013

BANGLADESH'S REGENT AIRWAYS STARTS FLIGHT FROM KLIA

TheSunDaily : Posted on 15 July 2013 - 09:59pm

Regent Airways of Bangladesh kicked off its four weekly flights from the KL International Airport (KLIA) in Sepang to Dhaka today.

The airline will operate on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays, using a Boeing 737-700 with seating capacity of 12 business class and 114 economy class.

However, from Aug 1, Regent Airways will be operating daily flights between Kuala Lumpur and Dhaka. Carnival Travel Sdn Bhd has been appointed as the general sales agent for Regent Airways in Malaysia.

So far this year, KLIA has welcomed six new airlines namely Thai Smile, Malindo Air, Air France, Turkish Airlines, Philippine Airlines and Regent Airways. KLIA now houses 64 international airlines flying to over 100 destinations worldwide.

AIRASIAX LAUNCHES BUSAN FLIGHT

TheStar : Published: Monday July 15, 2013 MYT 12:20:00 PM

BUSAN: AirAsia X's inaugural flight to Korea's second largest city touched down at the Gimhae International airport here 20 minutes ahead of schedule, at 8.10am Monday.

The city of Busan is the airline's second destination after Seoul.

AirAsia X will operate four weekly flights from Kuala Lumpur on the Airbus A330-300, with 365 economy seats and 12 Premium Flatbeds.

To mark occasion, the celebration of the inaugural event later took place at the Paradise Hotel and was attended by media members, tourism and government representatives as well as business partners.

AirAsia X was represented by co-founder and director Tan Sri Tony Fernandes, chairman Tan Sri Rafidah Aziz and CEO Azran Osman-Rani, with special guest Ji Sung Park, an international football icon, in attendance.

Fernandes paid tribute to Park by dedicating a plane to the footballer and naming it after him, for "making 3.5 billion people in Asia happy" and carving a place in football legacy.

AIRASIA TERMINATES JAPAN JOINT VENTURE

TheStar : Published: Wednesday June 26, 2013 MYT 12:00:00 AM

PETALING JAYA: AirAsia Bhd has terminated its AirAsia Japan joint venture with ANA Holdings Inc, calling off the partnership with the Japanese airline due to differences in management.

The joint venture had faced numerous challenges from its inception, stemming mainly from a fundamental difference of opinion on cost management and the base of the domestic operations.

Earlier this month, the Malaysian low cost carrier (LCC) had hinted on the possibility of dissolving the joint venture.

AirAsia group chief executive officer Tan Sri Tony Fernandes (pic) had said: “I have great respect for ANA as the leading legacy airline in Japan but it is time for us to part ways and focus our attention on what we do best, which is running a true LCC.”

He had added that despite the cost issues, the AirAsia brand had resonated with Japanese customers and that he remained positive on the Japanese market, believing there was tremendous opportunity for a LCC to succeed tracking AirAsia X’s success.

“We have not given up on the dream of changing air travel in Japan and look forward to returning to the market.”

The termination agreement comprises the acquisition of AirAsia’s entire stake in AirAsia Japan by ANA for 2.45 billion yen (RM80.48mil).

AirAsia had subscribed to 25,120 voting shares and 23,880 non-voting shares at 50,000 yen per share, representing 49% of the paid-up share capital of AirAsia Japan.

AirAsia Japan will return all AirAsia aircraft leased to it and pay all monies accrued from the leasing of the aircraft to AirAsia by November this year.

It will also settle any outstanding invoices due to AirAsia accrued from the commencement of operations. The former will “unwind the use of the AirAsia brand in its operations, including the name of AirAsia Japan itself by November”.

Flights up to Oct 31 will continue as planned. Following the transfer of shares and payment of the purchase price, the shareholders agreement, the brand licence agreement and other commercial contracts between the parties will be terminated immediately.

DCA SANDAKAN IFTAAR @ FOUR POINTS BY SHERATON HOTEL

Hello again,

In conjunction of the holy month of Ramadhan, we would like to wish everyone Happy Fasting.

In Malaysia, while nearly every hotel in town offers an iftar, the dishes tend to veer towards the traditional. Dates usually kick off the feast, since the sugar- and vitamin-rich fruit helps your stomach readjust to eating.

Attached are photos taken during the iftaar that was held recently by the club members.