Malaysia Airlines Retires Boeing 737-400 from its fleet.

The move by Malaysia Airlines to retire all its Boeing 737-400 passenger aircraft will see the average age of its fleet dip from 4.7 years to 4.35 years.The Boeing 737-400 entered MAS' fleet in May 1992, and at one point 54 aircraft were in service, making the company the largest operator of the model outside the United States .The last Malaysia Airlines  Boeing 737-400 was retired on Saturday.

 Above: photos from my album Malaysia Airlines Boeing 737-400 in Kuching Airport airspace.22 years is a long time. It really shows how reliable the 734s are.
News coverage are everywhere on the final day of Malaysia Airlines Boeing 737-400..for example HERE and HERE.
Boeing 737-400 It's an awesome flying machine and very very reliable.I'll definitely miss her .

Kuala Lumpur International Airport 2 (KLIA2) Officially Open.

This is a historic moment with the arrival of the first airplane in the new airport The Kuala Lumpur International Airport 2 or KLIA2.

The IATA Terminal Code for klia2 will be KUL Terminal 2 or KUL 2. For KLIA, the IATA Terminal Code will be KUL Main Terminal or KUL M.

Photo from Malaysia Airport Berhad or #KLIA2
Malindo Air flight OD1027 from Kota Kinabalu, carrying 110 passengers, made a historic touch down at the spanking new RM4bil KLIA2 . Also published HERE

Malindo Air flight OD1027 from Kota Kinabalu was the first flight landed on klia2 last night at 12.10am . Pix by NSTP/ Fariz Iswadi Ismail.
 Following seven years of conctruction,KLIA2   HERE.

Following seven years of construction, KLIA2 — the terminal for low-cost carriers with a capacity to serve up to 45 million passengers annually — - See more at: http://www.themalaymailonline.com/malaysia/article/first-flight-touches-down-as-klia2-opens-its-doors#sthash.QPddLoG7.dpuf

SEPANG, May 2 — Following seven years of construction, KLIA2 — the terminal for low-cost carriers with a capacity to serve up to 45 million passengers annually — commenced operations as the first flight, Malindo Air Flight OD1027, touched down at 12.05am this morning. - See more at: http://www.themalaymailonline.com/malaysia/article/first-flight-touches-down-as-klia2-opens-its-doors#sthash.QPddLoG7.dpuf

SEPANG, May 2 — Following seven years of construction, KLIA2 — the terminal for low-cost carriers with a capacity to serve up to 45 million passengers annually — commenced operations as the first flight, Malindo Air Flight OD1027, touched down at 12.05am this morning. - See more at: http://www.themalaymailonline.com/malaysia/article/first-flight-touches-down-as-klia2-opens-its-doors#sthash.QPddLoG7.dpuf

SEPANG, May 2 — Following seven years of construction, KLIA2 — the terminal for low-cost carriers with a capacity to serve up to 45 million passengers annually — commenced operations as the first flight, Malindo Air Flight OD1027, touched down at 12.05am this morning. - See more at: http://www.themalaymailonline.com/malaysia/article/first-flight-touches-down-as-klia2-opens-its-doors#sthash.QPddLoG7.dpuf

 

 

The Plane ! The Plane !

The messages of hope and support are still being written and officials are still taking care with their words. But almost three weeks after flight MH370 disappeared, leaving just the faintest digital trace, Malaysia is being increasingly forced to confront the dark prospect that it is likely there will be no happy ending. The plane may never be found; there may be no bodies to bury.
However, some relatives of those on board the plane ~ missing now for more than three weeks ~ continue to hope against hope.
Pray for MH370....
Well..let me talk about my hobby"The AirPlane Spotter" of course its nothing to do with disappear of Boeing777-200 belong to MAS. My friends often ask me what pleasure do I get from airplane spotting, the answer is this photograph.

 Did you guys notice something from the airplane wings of the two photos above.
Its Wing tip vortices (yes it is spelled vortices, not vortexes).These vortices can be seen in cool wet weather on aircraft taking off or landing, and are referenced as “wing tornadoes” by many people. What is often not said, is just how these “wing tornadoes” are formed, how they have shaped safety policy and aircraft categorization, as well as some of the hazards they can create. 
 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wingtip_vortices

 Most of the airplane photos in my blog are shoot with semi pro level DSLR ( Olympus E-620) and for plane spotting I normally use Zuiko Lens 70-300mm f 4.5 . Don't worry all the gear I mention here is not a PRO level camera as I'm not a PRO myself...Aviation Photography is my weekend hobby.

Aviation photography is one of the more challenging genres you can shoot as a photographer: fast-moving subjects, bright backgrounds.Aviation photography can be great fun, but if you want to capture exciting pictures of airplanes against interesting backgrounds rather than plain skies you need to shoot them during take-off or landing.Read More here .
And more AirPlane photo from me  AWANG AVIATION PHOTOGRAPHY.
Thank You.

Photography :Plane Spotter.

Aircraft spotting, also known as plane spotting, is a popular pastime worldwide. As a hobby, it brings a number of enjoyable elements for the participant, including getting outdoors, making meticulous observations, "collecting" without creating clutter, having a good excuse to use your really fancy digital camera equipment, and finding a great way to get together with like-minded enthusiasts. The activity itself is generally free, although if you join a club, and buy all the related goodies, there may be some costs involved.So, you have decided to start plane spotting. That’s great, welcome to our hobby! You have already picked out a great camera and lens, but what else do you need to become a master plane spotter? Sure, you could just sit near your favorite airport and hope something good flies by, but you can do more….much more.

I spotted Malaysia Airline and Tiger Air Aircraft in Kuching International Airport.

 I spotted Royal Malaysian Airforce Nuri Halicopter & Malaysia Airline B737 in Kuching International Airport.

Malaysia Airline Cargo Plane.

Spotted Malaysia Airline B737-800 in Kuching International Airport.

I spotted The Malaysia Airlines A380 in Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA).

Spotted China Airline Cargo B747 in KLIA.

Malindo Air First Flight in Kuching.

Malindo Air Boeing 737-900ER in Kuching International Airport.

Malindo Air, a new low-cost carrier owned partly by Lion Air, launched its first two flights on Friday in Malaysia.The airline’s first flight was from Kuala Lumpur to Kota Kinabalu at 1:30 p.m. using a Boeing 737-800 belonging to Lion Air, who own 49 percent of the carrier. The other flight was from Kuala Lumpur to Kuching in Sarawak on Saturday 23/03/2013 (Pic above).
There was no welcoming ceremony for this maiden flight from Kuala Lumpur to Kuching.

Malindo Air Boeing 737-900ER in Kuching International Airport.

With the new services, Sarawak will have an improvement in air connectivity in the region. Let's hope the traveling public can continue to enjoy low fares from Malindo Air. 

Will Malindo Air be a threat to Air Asia? In my opinion, Air Asia will definitely lose some traffic if Malindo Air continues to offer low fares with added-on inflight service. 

Photographing Air Shows.

Going to an air show? Learn how to get great air show photos! We all love air shows and nobody can resist shooting. With so many air show photographers, how do you get photos that are unique and interesting?

This picture is not from the airshow..AirAsia 

Start off by photographing close-up shots of the airplanes. Although the above photo are so common and boring, it’s important to have a few in your collection. Photographing these types of photos is easy, just zoom in and shoot. Leave some room around the airplane so that you can crop the photo afterwards.Photo snap from my Lumix LX3.

Fireflys Airline in Kuching.

If you are using a DSLR, make sure that your focus is set to one of the AI or automatic modes so that it tracks the airplanes and keep it in focus. You also want to ensure that your aperture is small enough to capture all the details.For point and shoot, compact, or other types of digital cameras with a small sensor, you can get away with using a larger aperture. The smaller your sensor, the more depth of field you will get. This means that you won’t have to worry about the airplane not being in focus.

KLIA.

Finally, don’t forget to enjoy the show. In events such as an air show, many photographers are so focused at photographing the airshow that they forget to enjoy the show for themselves. Once you’ve got your photo, look away from your camera and watch the show.
Malaysia Celebrates 100 YEARS of Aviation:

http://www.mavfest.com/

Since GP Fuller's first introduction of flight with the landing in Kuala Lumpur in 1911, Malaysia has come a long way in the aviation industry. This year, MALAYSIA CELEBRATES 100 YEARS OF AVIATION. To pave the way for this celebration, the Department of Civil Aviation along with the industry's finest would like to announce MALAYSIA AIR FESTIVAL 2011.
Expected at this first ever show of its kind are a variety of aircraft from local and regional players. Experienced aerobatics pilots including some of the world's best residing in Malaysia are expected to make the event interesting and superbly exciting. To add flavour to the event, 100 classic cars related closely to the aviation industry will be involved together with the aviators in this event.
The event is scheduled to be held from the 26th to 27th of November 2011 which will be launched by the Honorable Prime Minister of Malaysia on the 17th of October 2011.
This event will also see new life brought into Subang International Airport as it will be an annual affair starting this year. It will be a great time for the whole family to take part during this event and be amongst the passionate aviators and enthusiasts of exciting sports.
To Malaysians ……………… WELCOME TO THE OSHKOSH OF SOUTH EAST ASIA
and to Aviators ………………... Let's show the world, MALAYSIA HAS WINGS !
WE LOOK FORWARD TO SEEING YOU!
For more Info just log on to this website : MALAYSIA AIR FESTIVAL

Now Every One Can Fly Even More..........

Where will AirAsia fly with all its future Airbus deliveries.

Even before AirAsia placed its mega-order for 200 Airbus A320neo aircraft at the Paris Air Show, the carrier already had outstanding orders for a further 86 ‘basic’ A320s as well as currently operating 89 A320s (53 by its Malaysian airline, 20 by Thai AirAsia and 16 by Indonesia AirAsia). So what is the airline group going to do with all these next-generation A320s when they start being delivered at the rate of around 12-15 per year from 2016?
Besides simply using the new aircraft to phase out older aircraft, there are many current indicators to confirm that much new capacity will be needed to absorb growth. During the last 12 months the AirAsia group fleet has grown from 85 to the current 93 units (which still includes four 737-300s in Indonesia). At the same time passenger numbers grew 13% from 22.7 million in 2009 to 25.7 million in 2010. In the first five months of 2011 the airline has seen passenger growth accelerate to 20.2%, to just over 12 million, suggesting that the airline is well on course to carry over 30 million passengers in 2011.
The size of AirAsia’s order and no doubt some flexibility on timing, combined with how quickly it decides to refresh its fleet, combined with underlying market conditions (such as fuel prices), the pace of further liberalisation, and additional joint venture decisions, will determine how quickly AirAsia actually grows. But having secured such a large order (and volume normally equates to discounts even when buying ultra-expensive things like aircraft), and a track record of solid profitability, the indications are that AirAsia will continue to be the region’s biggest low-cost carrier and will be able to deliver its promise that “Now everyone can fly” to well, pretty much everyone.
MORE INFORMATION log in to this website   :

“Now everyone can fly” message to be spread further

AirAsia Aviation Academy In Malaysia .

Tony Fernandes on his street fame: “People recognize me on the street because of this cap(AirAsia Cap) I’m wearing. If I took off the cap, I’m seen as just another Indian guy.” Being humble does not kill you. It doesn’t take the charisma away. In fact, it makes people respect you more. 

The signing ceremony was held in Kuala Lumpur on Monday 20th June 2011, witnessed by the Deputy Minister of Higher Education of Malaysia, Yang Berhormat Dato' Saifuddin bin Abdullah

.

AirAsia and the Canadian Aviation Electronics (CAE) launches the Asian Aviation Academy with a joint venture of RM200 million. The academy will train pilots,cabin crew,maintenance workers and ground personnel for airlines in the Asean region.
Estimated that some 12,000 pilots are expected to be trained every year, with a gradual increase for each passing year.

Pilot training programmes will commence on the 1st July 2011, while non-pilot training  programmes will be available on the 1st October 2011.

Six CAE-built full-flight simulators will be available at the academy including four for the Airbus A320 and one each for the A330/340 and Boeing 737 Classic .

MASwings To Fly To Brunei, Pontianak Indonesia.

MASwings, which currently operates within Sabah and Sarawak, is expected to commence flights to Brunei and Pontianak, Indonesia, soon.
Its managing director, Datuk Capt Mohd Nawawi Awang, said MASwings had already submitted the proposal to the Transport Ministry for approval.
"Based on the positive response from the ministry, I'm quite confident that the flights from Kota Kinabalu to Brunei and from Kuching to Pontianak (West Kalimantan) will take off on July 1 or in July," he said during a luncheon with the media here today.
He said if these flights were successful, MASwings planned to introduce flights from Kota Kinabalu to Tawau and Tarakan (East Kalimanan) and also from Kuching to Mulu and Brunei in October.
"Plans are also in the pipeline for other destinations within BIMP-EAGA region and we hope to provide flight services from Sabah and Sarawak to major cities such as Palawan and Mindanao in Southern Philippines as well as Manado in Sulawesi, Indonesia, in the future," he said.
BIMP-EAGA stands for Brunei-Indonesia-Malaysia-Philippines East ASEAN Growth Area (BIMP-EAGA), a subregional economic cooperation initiative in Southeast Asia.
Mohd Nawawi said MASwings was aware of the need to improve air connectivity within this region as it was constantly discussed among leaders of the BIMP-EAGA member countries at meetings of the grouping.
Apart from that, he said MASwings would also explore the possibility of embarking on international flights from Sabah and Sarawak with immediate focus being on the Kota Kinabalu-Kuala Lumpur and Kuching-Kuala Lumpur sectors.
"These are some of our future plans and we hope we will be able to make it a reality," he said.On its domestic service, Mohd Nawawi said MASwings would continue its service to rural destinations for the benefit of the people in Sabah and Sarawak.
"We want MASwings to be the icon for Sabah and Sarawak.

Source from BERNAMA

International Airport that use Analog Scale..

All guests (except infants) are allowed only one piece of hand carry baggage onboard provided that it does not exceed the dimensions of 56cm x 36cm x 23cm and does not weigh more than 7kg. Such baggage must fit under the seat in front of you or in an enclosed storage compartment in the cabin. Items determined by us to be of excessive weight or size or of an offensive nature will not be permitted onboard.

Why waste the digital technology ...why still use the analog scale..
While digital scales are very popular, still analog choose a steady stream of customers who year after year. Why is that? Well, more of a basic analog scale to be cheap and it does not require the use of batteries to run.
Since you got a cheap ticket to fly then use cheap scale to weight your limited cabin bag .

Sarawak tourism stakeholders want MAS to initiate air accessibility.

 Sarawak’s tourism stakeholders want to work closely with Malaysia Airlines (MAS), on air accessibility to certain selected destinations in Europe and Australia, following the Kuching International Airport’s new runway extension.The extension is to accommodate the Boeing 737 and Airbus A380 aircrafts.

State Housing and Urban Development Minister Datuk Amar Abang Johari Tun Openg said the local tourism industry, including the state government, is expected to engage MAS on such a possibility based on a 50-50 business joint venture.“MAS wants to make money and we want to attract tourists as part of our marketing strategies,” said Abang Johari who has been tasked with looking after the state Tourism and Heritage Ministry.
He was speaking after meeting with local stakeholders to discuss the industry’s roadmap here.
In terms of aviation and linkages, MAS and its wholly-owned subsidiary, MASWings which serves the Sarawak-Sabah sector, operates 206 weekly flights for the international routes in the state at present.
In January this year, MAS launched its Kuching-Seoul direct flight via Kota Kinabalu as well as its Kuching-Tokyo and Kuching-Osaka direct flights to attract more tourist arrivals from Korea and Japan.

According to the ministry’s data, both airlines also operate 132 domestic flights in Sarawak
Other international routes to Sarawak include those operated by AirAsia which has 224 flights per week, Firefly (28), Tiger Airlines (seven) Silk Air (five), Batavia Air (three) and Royal Brunei Airline (two).
AirAsia has another 42 flights weekly on the domestic route. 

## All above photo taken with my Lumix LX3 camera.

Aviation in Malaysia-fireflyz.com

FlyFirefly Sdn Bhd (Firefly) has confirmed that it will introduce it’s maiden flight to the Indonesian cities of Surabaya and Bandung on August 12 and August 16 respectively.It will also fly to Bangkok at the end of the year.The Johore Tourism Department Director, Dr Shaari Mohd Nooh said that Firefly, a subsidiary of Malaysia Airlines, is serious in wanting to make the Senai Airport its southern hub.“Firefly will have two planes for the international flights and a set of crew permanently stationed here,” he added. He was speaking after launching the Johore Travel Fair 2011 at the Sutera Mall here.
Shaari also said that China Airlines is interested in flying to Senai from the southern city of Guangzhou and is now in talks with the Malaysian Department of Civil Aviation for landing rights.  Many Chinese citizens apply for visas at the Malaysian Consulate in Guangzhou.“So, it’s natural, that they want to fly out from Guangzhou airport.
“Having more international flights into Senai Airport will only increase tourist arrivals into Johore,” he added

 I was invited to the launch of fireflyz inaugural flight in Kuching International Airport in their newly announced Boeing 737-800 aircraft on 15th January,2011.