Safety In The Skies

MAS AIRBUS A380 ON KL-PARIS SERVICE

TheStar : Wednesday January 23, 2013

PETALING JAYA: Malaysia Airlines System Bhd (MAS) will utilise the Airbus A380 on its Kuala Lumpur-Paris route beginning March 1.

In a statement, the national flag carrier said Paris was the second European destination after London in its network to be operated by the superjumbo.

Capable of seating 494 individuals, the A380 daily services to the French capital will be rolled out to replace the current 282-seater B777-200 operations, effectively increasing its daily seat capacity by 75%.

“We first started flying this route in April 1982 using the DC-10 aircraft with a transit in the Middle East,” it said.

Today almost 31 years later, we are using our latest flagship aircraft, the A380 which showcases our newest premium offering in products and services, for this non-stop service,” said MAS sales and distribution senior vice president Duncan Bureau.

In conjunction with the A380 operations commencement, MAS said it was offering attractive promotional fares from now till Feb 11, valid for travel from March 1 till Sept 30.

Besides that, MAS is also introducing First Class travel on this route with the introduction of the A380.

Till then, see ya ~

AirPhil Express PLANS DIRECT FLIGHT FROM ZAMBOANGA TO SANDAKAN

By Paolo G. Montecillo
Philippine Daily Inquirer 3:56 am | Monday, January 28th, 2013

Low-cost carrier AirPhil Express has bared plans to start long-haul operations to the Middle East, going head-to-head with industry leader Cebu Pacific.

Documents from the Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB) showed Air Philippines Corp., operator of AirPhil Express, had asked for flight entitlements for the Manila-Kuwait route.

There are an estimated three million Filipinos living in the Middle East.

AirPhil Express plans to mount three flights a week using wide-body Airbus A330 planes. AirPhil Express currently operates only narrow-body Airbus A320 jets.

The company has yet to say whether it will acquire planes capable of long-haul flights.

AirPhil Express is seeking entitlements in accordance with the confidential memorandum of agreement signed between the governments of the Philippines and Kuwait in February 2009.

Current international points of AirPhil Express include Hong Kong, Kuala Lumpur and Singapore.

AirPhil Express is the sister company of Philippine Airlines (PAL), which also plans to relaunch flights to the Middle East as the firm buys more planes. Other routes in PAL’s network include points in Brazil, Russia, Italy and France.

Kuwait will be the airline’s only long-haul flight destination. The company’s application follows the recent announcement by Gokongwei-led Cebu Pacific to start flights to Dubai starting October this year.

Cebu Pacific said it was also working to secure approvals to start flights to Saudi Arabia, among other points in the Middle East, where millions of Filipinos live and work.

There is currently no Filipino airline with flights to the Middle East.

Last week, CAB documents also showed AirPhil Express was planning direct flights from Zamboanga to Sandakan, a popular eco-tourism destination and one of the largest cities in Sabah.

The Zamboanga-Sandakan flights will be the only international service out of the Zamboanga International Airport, Mindanao’s third-busiest airport after Davao and Cagayan de Oro.

Latest government data showed that the company’s international passenger business slumped slightly to 104,820 passengers in the first three quarters of 2012 from 107,235 in the same period the year before.

This came despite the growth in total international air traffic to the country to 12.56 million in the nine-month period, up from 11.69 million the previous year.

PAL remained the market leader with 3.07 million international passengers in January to September 2012, up from 2.99 million 12 months prior.

Cebu Pacific, for its part, ended September of 2012 with 2.03 million passengers, up from 1.82 million in January to September of 2011.

Till then, see ya~

HAPPY CHINESE NEW YEAR 2013 : YEAR OF SNAKE

DCA Sandakan send our warmest wishes to all those who will be celebrating the Lunar New Year this Sunday.

In Chinese tradition, the snake represents wisdom and a thoughtful approach to tackling the challenges before them, principles that will continue to guide them as perfect union and create a more just and equal future for every Chinese. To everyone celebrating the Lunar New Year, DC Sandakan wish you peace, prosperity and good health and fortune.

RM70 MILLION ALLOCATION TO UPGRADE SANDAKAN AIRPORT

This is from TheStar : Sunday January 13, 2013

SANDAKAN: The Federal Government has allocated RM70mil to upgrade Sandakan airport for the comfort of air travellers, said Transport Minister Datuk Seri Kong Cho Ha.

He said the project would, among others, involve the expansion of the terminal building by 3,000 sq m, the improvement of facilities at departure areas and waiting lounge, immigration counters, bag scanning area and increasing the number of parking bays and the installation of air-conditioning system for the entire building.

“It will start as soon as possible this year after the draft plan is ready. Malaysia Airports has given us the necessary input. The project will be ready in 18 months,” he said after making a working visit to the airport here yesterday.

Kong said the project was needed as the airport handled 820,000 passengers last year, or an increase of 5.8% from 2011, and was set to further grow in future.

“If the trend continues to rise at 6% every year, it is estimated that by 2020, this airport will run out of capacity. With this upgrade, it will be able to fulfil future needs,” he said.

Also present were Deputy Transport Minister Datuk Rahim Bakri, Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Liew Vui Keong and Malaysia Airports managing director Tan Sri Bashir Ahmad.

The upgrade, said Kong, also reflected the Federal Government’s willingness to spur development in Sabah under the Government Transformation Plan. — Bernama

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2013!

Let's welcome this new year with smiles on our faces and hopes in our heart for the best. DCA Sandakan wish you a very Happy New Year 2013!

GOTONG ROYONG

Hello again,

"Gotong Royong"...

What is the best word that we could translate it in English. As for Malaysians, the word itself has been generally accepted as an English words like "durian' and 'rambutan'. So there is no exact words that can substitute it. It means doing a cooperative job with more than one person in anything.

It may be a bit similar to the 'Bayanihan' in Philippines, 'Meitheal' in Irish culture or 'Talkoot' in Finland.

Heard that it is known as 'barn raising' in English too but it is somehow restricted to farming community. It is a collective action of a community, in which a barn for one of the members is built or rebuilt collectively by members of the community.

It’s been a while since we were part of a 'gotong royong'. Even then, gotong royong to us means picking up litter at school compound.

Awesome isn't it?

Recently, on the 12th of October, Sandakan aviation communities teamed up together to have our very own 'gotong royong'.

The event was hugely successful as everyone worked together to clean up the place and provide for a better environment for all.

A great deal of education was also imparted as all the participants observed how effective team work can get.

This is so not Leaning Tower of Pisa.

A little discussion on handling the clean-up.

Part of the gears||Both Mr Nazlee Khan and Mr Yazid Hilmi with their trash bags.

Strong men from MAB AVSEC ~ You guys rock that day.

FOD FOD FOD || That is our main task. Pick it up ~

Mr Nazlee Khan is amazed with Kak Pah from Information Counter.

We recognize that aircraft.. ~

We started by cleaning the outdoors by removing withered trees and dead leaves.

Little stones. Dead leaves. Little stones. Dead leaves.

Line up guys. Don your apron now ~

From left : Mr Thomas (Sabah Air), Mr Johan (Sabah Air) and Mr Rahman (AVSEC)

Pose by Mr Johan (Sabah Air). Taken at apron.

We never thought we could be so freely moving around at the apron. Pretty amazing experience.

We found cell phone. This is so not happening || Well, this is a prank photo really.

After all possible cleanings have been done, all the rubbish are packed and were took to proper disposal.

From left : Mr Suratman (DO MAB), Mr Yazid (DCA), Mr Nazlee Khan (DCA) and Mr Mahaddie (DCA).

We kinda like this angle. Shall approach airliners.net

Wow, that's the closest caption we could get from the tail section. Brilliant.

Mr Mahaddie : Welcome to the family.

Engine section of Malaysia Airlines B737-400.

The one and only Haji Yassin (DCA).

It looks nice though ~

The 'akak akak' from MAB.

Shot of Sandakan Air Asia ground staff.

This is so not Gangnam style. Euww.

Met this guys before. Gazillion times. Mr Rahim from AVSEC.

Photo with the epic aircraft of DC-3 at Sandakan. Still flying though. It gets tough by days.

Air Asia ladies. Always in chilli red.

Briefing by the one and only, Mr Awang Mali (Sandakan Airport Manager).

A very delightful 'delite' drinks.

This is really post event feast.

Members taking their breakfast.

It's 'makan' time...

Mr Shafri (DCA) with Electrician from MAB.

Sound system. Check out the speakers.

Why are you guys at the apron?

Whatt.. Poco poco dance at apron. This is so not happening.

Apparently, Ziela from DCA led the dance. Apron turned into dance floor.

No gangnam? Hellooo~

We had a group photo of all agencies involved. This is so memorable and gonna stick in our hearts forever.

Group photo ~

Together We Strive For Humanity And For All.

Till then, see ya ~

VALIDATION CHECK FOR FRESH MAvA GRADS AT SANDAKAN AIR TRAFFIC CONTROL (WBKS)

Hello again,

Air Traffic Controller or ATCO ensure the safe and orderly movement of air traffic in our skies. Thousands over aircraft pass through Malaysian airspace on a daily basis, and it's the job of ATCOs to maintain their safety and correct position, and manage the flow of aircraft along the air routes.

With escalating volumes of air traffic , maximum efficient use of controlled airspace has in recent years become an increasingly important aspect of air traffic control. So do the controllers.

On October 11 and 12 respectively, 2 newly trained Air Traffic Controllers who have just graduated from Malaysian Aviation Academy

[http://mava.dca.gov.my/mavaportal/index.cfm], Mr. Hasnor Rizwan Bin Hassan and Mr. Fadzlee Syah Bin Abdul Latif successfully completed their validation check at Sandakan Air Traffic Control.

The checks were conducted by DR. Noorlinah G. Mohd, Deputy Director, Air Traffic Inspectorate Division and Mr. Yazid Hilmi Bin Yahya as Sandakan Check Officer.

Yippie, bright future awaiting you guys.

Attached are photos taken during the validation check.