tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6692863210583778012024-02-02T16:50:02.326-08:00Bringing TransportationWilliam Leehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08372422781755772890noreply@blogger.comBlogger131125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-669286321058377801.post-30685359141570747052013-09-04T14:15:00.002-07:002013-09-04T14:15:52.280-07:00Bid for Business Class: Airline upgrades now up for auction<div class="cnnByline">
<span style="font-size: x-small;">By <strong>Daisy Carrington</strong>, for CNN</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">September 4, 2013 -- Updated 0335 GMT (1135 HKT)</span></div>
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<strong>(CNN)</strong> -- Flying economy getting you down?<br />
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The good news is that getting
bumped up to Business Class just got more affordable. Last month, <a href="http://edition.cnn.com/2013/08/11/travel/airlines-print-your-own-lugge-tag/index.html">Iberia</a>
became the latest carrier to roll out an online auction scheme that allows
customers to bid for seating upgrades.</div>
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"Everyone knows that if no one is
sitting in seat 2a when the plane takes off from London to New York, it's a loss
for the airline. But everyone in economy wants that seat," explains Ken Harris,
the founder and CEO of <a href="http://www.plusgrade.com/" target="_blank">Plusgrade</a>, the software company that developed the system.
"The idea was to help correct that, and do it intelligently."</div>
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The setup works differently for
each airline, depending on their specifications. Some carriers offer upgrades to
First Class as well.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKKa5JGF6ZybHteEVsF4QSS7uHPxpmebRyrOI7ErB73Cu7Fgwu-lgUgOuiiyXllfoYK8JW1-Fk3zIOdYeY4b-LOPqI2_cPlUJHBXXP7MuztOOCF0zXpGNgxlf-eDOi2GEn6yqNpdOpr6Ra/s1600/130903222846-austrian-airlines-business-class-story-top.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKKa5JGF6ZybHteEVsF4QSS7uHPxpmebRyrOI7ErB73Cu7Fgwu-lgUgOuiiyXllfoYK8JW1-Fk3zIOdYeY4b-LOPqI2_cPlUJHBXXP7MuztOOCF0zXpGNgxlf-eDOi2GEn6yqNpdOpr6Ra/s320/130903222846-austrian-airlines-business-class-story-top.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Who is allowed to participate in
the bidding process also varies. Often, the selection process is determined by
the route and the number of leftover premium seats. On occasion, a customer's
frequent flyer status might also come into play.</div>
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Furthermore, bidding is blind;
customers enter how much they're willing to pay, and if that number exceeds
other bids (and the airlines keep that information top secret), they win. The
cost of an upgrade is extremely variable, depending on the airline, season and
route.</div>
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Carriers are shy to reveal how
much is necessary in securing a winning bid, though it's fair to say the price
is less than a full-fare, Business Class ticket.</div>
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The concept has gained traction
with the airline community. A dozen carriers have already introduced upgrade
auctions to their websites with the help of Plusgrade and he expects to double
that number before the year is out.</div>
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Still, one can't help but wonder
if the airlines risk eating into their premium revenues.</div>
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</div>
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Jamie Baker, an airline analyst
at JP Morgan, says it's a possibility.</div>
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"If airlines make it too easy to
pay for an upgrade, it might dilute what the traveler would initially be willing
to pay for that ticket," he notes. "As a result, airlines tend to control the
capacity of award seats. There's a certain amount of experimentation in the
process that is required."</div>
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</div>
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Harris, however, seems confident
the bidding system will not impact premium-seating sales.</div>
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</div>
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"There's no guarantee that
simply because you've requested an upgrade, you'll receive it," he says.</div>
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</div>
<div class="cnn_storypgraphtxt cnn_storypgraph15">
"If you want to sit in Business
Class and your budget allows you to do so, you should buy that seat. It's the
only guarantee you won't be sitting in the back of the plane on your next trip
across the ocean."</div>
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</div>
<div class="cnn_storypgraphtxt cnn_storypgraph16">
Austrian Airlines has one of the
more democratic approaches to the process. Everyone, regardless of frequent
flyer status, can bid on an upgrade, assuming any are available on the flight in
question.</div>
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</div>
<div class="cnn_storypgraphtxt cnn_storypgraph17">
The airline isn't worried about
hurting their profits, because they view the full-fare seats and auction
upgrades as two different products, even though passengers who win an upgrade
receive the exact same benefits as someone who paid up front, including access
to premium lounges and extra baggage allowances.</div>
<div class="cnn_storypgraphtxt cnn_storypgraph17">
</div>
<div class="cnn_storypgraphtxt cnn_storypgraph19">
"This product is for a
completely different type of group," explains Stephanie Kunath, Austrian's
director of revenue management and business development.</div>
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</div>
<div class="cnn_storypgraphtxt cnn_storypgraph20">
"It's not for the business
traveler who really wants to fly Business Class and needs a 100% guarantee that
he can. It's for the passenger that just wants to treat himself for a little
extra, and can live with the uncertainty."</div>
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</div>
<div class="cnn_storypgraphtxt cnn_storypgraph21">
While bidding for seats might
not hurt an airline's bottom line, the advent of these auctions will likely eat
away at the number of free upgrades awarded passengers.</div>
<div class="cnn_storypgraphtxt cnn_storypgraph17">
</div>
<div class="cnn_storypgraphtxt cnn_storypgraph22">
"It probably will erode the
complimentary upgrade process to a certain degree, and airlines do run the risk
of offending their elite traveler, who has become accustomed to complimentary
upgrades," says Baker.</div>
<div class="cnn_storypgraphtxt cnn_storypgraph17">
</div>
<div class="cnn_storypgraphtxt cnn_storypgraph23">
Harris, however, argues that
free bump-ups are the stuff of fantasy.</div>
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</div>
<div class="cnn_storypgraphtxt cnn_storypgraph24">
"Free upgrades are really only
given by necessity in operational situations or given to frequent flyers," he
says. "The idea that you can simply smile at a ticket agent and get gifted a
free upgrade is a romantic notion. It simply doesn't happen."</div>
William Leehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08372422781755772890noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-669286321058377801.post-30919625184362720702012-08-16T06:19:00.003-07:002012-08-16T06:19:34.797-07:00Solving Traffic Problems - Algorithms that mimic micro organismsHow bacteria could solve China's rush-hour blues<br />
20120814 BBC<br />
Contributor: Christopher Mims<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKlz6lns0gG3REZUC6BPgjqLxZbTqAMBJH5GuziAuMqZvqtdeWaN3aCbzMt0ScmTALvqkCESOjsQP-drDAOSfjUlT88VsMLyZO3dfcegZI4kNZtUMBBO5ejMIFooPmLyUXIGt8-1c2TAs1/s1600/untitled.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="179" mda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKlz6lns0gG3REZUC6BPgjqLxZbTqAMBJH5GuziAuMqZvqtdeWaN3aCbzMt0ScmTALvqkCESOjsQP-drDAOSfjUlT88VsMLyZO3dfcegZI4kNZtUMBBO5ejMIFooPmLyUXIGt8-1c2TAs1/s320/untitled.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-size: xx-small;">(Copyright: Thinkstock)</span><span style="font-size: small;">Software that imitates the collective behaviour of bacteria could help create intelligent traffic lights that manage teeming masses of city traffic. </span><br />
As the largest city in southern China, with a population of around 13 million, Guangzhou has traffic so bad it's legendary. One way to alleviate it would be to increase the intelligence of traffic lights – converting them from dumb beasts that beat out the same rhythm all day long into dynamic managers of vehicle flow.
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And now two Chinese researchers have proved, at least theoretically, that insights borrowed from the lowly bacterium E. coli could markedly increase the throughput of a real-world traffic light in Guangzhou. No one knows what effect this could have if it were applied to an entire city, but it's fitting that a solution from a class of algorithms that seek to mimic the collective behaviour of organisms should be applied to the teeming masses of Guangzhou's trucks and automobiles.<br />
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Traffic lights around the world, from Guangzhou to Geneva, are managed by computerised systems housed in a metal cabinet at the side of the road, which regulate the cycle of changes from red to green to red either through fixed time periods, or through sensors in the road that can detect when a car is stationary. Both options work well when traffic is low, less so during rush hour, as any driver will tell you.<br />
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The solution Qin Liu and Jianmin Xu have proposed for improving flow during high traffic periods is what's known as a Bacterial Foraging Optimisation (BFO) algorithm. The algorithm varies when and for how long a given light is red or green. So, for example, the algorithm has an almost traffic cop-like sense for which road at an intersection has a higher volume of traffic, and when to strategically deprioritise traffic that may be waiting on a less-used road. Simulations of a Guangzhou intersection showed that BFO-regulated lights reduce the average delay of vehicles by over 28% compared with those regulated by a fixed time cycle.<br />
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Behaviour code<br />
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It's part of a surprisingly rich history of applying algorithms inspired by nature to traffic light timing – researchers have applied everything from genetic algorithms to models of ant behaviour to the problem. And it's not just traffic lights – BFO can be used on just about any engineering problem, from tuning the behaviour of simple automated control systems, such as those used to regulate the level of water in water towers, to determining the lightest and strongest configuration of structural elements in a building.<br />
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BFO was invented in 2002 by Ohio State professor of electrical and computer engineering Kevin Passino. As is the case with many discoveries, Passino wasn't searching for a better mousetrap when he stumbled into one. Instead, he was merely trying to create a faithful simulation of the food-seeking behaviour of E. coli.<br />
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Like many bacteria, E. coli swims more or less randomly, but it will spend more time swimming in the direction of food and less time swimming away from it. This incredibly simple behaviour allows the bacterium to move up a chemical gradient, from areas of lower concentration to areas of higher concentration. Once Passino expressed this behaviour in code, he had his eureka moment.<br />
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"I realised that it could solve engineering problems, because what it was doing was performing an optimisation," says Passino. Many engineering problems like design, quality control and maintenance of buildings and devices can be expressed as "optimisation problems", in which a single number, known as a performance index, quantifies how good any particular solution is. A good algorithm will find the best possible combination of all the parameters in a system to make it perform as well as possible according to this one measurement of quality.<br />
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Follow the swarm<br />
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Individually, E. coli aren't very smart. Yet according to Passino, making them more intelligent about their environment doesn't improve the performance of his algorithm. In part, that's because BFO finds the optimal solution to any problem by letting multiple virtual E. coli loose, one after another. After a hundred or so have run the simulation, generally at least one has found a pretty good solution.<br />
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Running the algorithm over and over again turns it into a classic case of parallel processing, which is exactly the trick our (relatively slow, at the neuronal level) brains employ to outwit computers on most tasks. It's also the very definition of "swarm intelligence", in which groups of animals operating according to simple rules can solve very tough problems.<br />
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Other biomimetic algorithms exist, some of which simulate ants, bees or swarms of insects. Further afield, there are algorithms that simulate genes and natural selection, and even primitive nervous systems. They're all part of a much broader class of solutions that seek the best possible solution to any particular optimisation problem.<br />
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Knowing that these solutions can operate on real-world problems doesn't mean they've been incorporated, yet. At this stage, the research by Qin Liu and Jianmin Xu has yet to go beyond the modelling stage. But it's reasonable to expect that as the components of cities become ever more interconnected, centralised traffic systems will incorporate whichever combination of optimisation algorithms – out of the thousands available – will be best at reducing urban China's infamous traffic.<br />
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William Leehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08372422781755772890noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-669286321058377801.post-44504715750318848302012-06-09T15:57:00.000-07:002012-06-09T15:57:51.689-07:00Plan to increase capacity for RER Line A in Paris, France<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4UyIXm1AC01hVLP20ot8njmUnEjskJccex9DGqI49HKL70bAiPNwFGiHBp3QXxSXb0im5BBzsro3TAjaK9LDSfH6eMEt582XY2WQYSK1qbbXgthMrqo-OMs3Ro6FtowDx9pZNSdCzMWRC/s1600/imagesCAC1XD75.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="132" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4UyIXm1AC01hVLP20ot8njmUnEjskJccex9DGqI49HKL70bAiPNwFGiHBp3QXxSXb0im5BBzsro3TAjaK9LDSfH6eMEt582XY2WQYSK1qbbXgthMrqo-OMs3Ro6FtowDx9pZNSdCzMWRC/s200/imagesCAC1XD75.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Current design cannot handle surging ridership</td></tr>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2w1lnaYWJkQSVs8TXisikBeE2ENI-JY4glSM0Z7mMEyf6kAF2hS7JWdfRU8xscylJDGVOH82RyKRBD6r-XWWOOjXT3p9InmRs8XtL24fctRXaiQ1jJglXcCRy7-lI8H2CEOwT9emMMRWj/s1600/new+RER+A.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2w1lnaYWJkQSVs8TXisikBeE2ENI-JY4glSM0Z7mMEyf6kAF2hS7JWdfRU8xscylJDGVOH82RyKRBD6r-XWWOOjXT3p9InmRs8XtL24fctRXaiQ1jJglXcCRy7-lI8H2CEOwT9emMMRWj/s320/new+RER+A.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">M109 that will serve RER A in 2014</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4qHbZOwBjRaoNcaXys_RiFEC0gGMZsrQuwHA3eqXXxaoH4j3X_MAH8oLrrC7XA2gUpV5fCPqgsAON6keRgPNm10Zxev25gtyFevwsI_A6U-doGRBf0gHYpT3qVxR_tRmEfRFmXpzGylWP/s1600/rera_ext%5B1%5D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4qHbZOwBjRaoNcaXys_RiFEC0gGMZsrQuwHA3eqXXxaoH4j3X_MAH8oLrrC7XA2gUpV5fCPqgsAON6keRgPNm10Zxev25gtyFevwsI_A6U-doGRBf0gHYpT3qVxR_tRmEfRFmXpzGylWP/s1600/rera_ext%5B1%5D.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">New colors makes the train looks futuristic</td></tr>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEit6R6sopXexcb86MjD4onx-7IcyWeRtCVqKCPhoSXVhnQ8Uhz9ZK5xB8EXrEAh-QdaU0Q1piKJ-MFE1cd8UhQovmdpImr3aTgzsYL7t48hw8bdE6kO_3x5saFc1L_bTlybEJblRr_f8vgt/s1600/current+RER+A.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEit6R6sopXexcb86MjD4onx-7IcyWeRtCVqKCPhoSXVhnQ8Uhz9ZK5xB8EXrEAh-QdaU0Q1piKJ-MFE1cd8UhQovmdpImr3aTgzsYL7t48hw8bdE6kO_3x5saFc1L_bTlybEJblRr_f8vgt/s1600/current+RER+A.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Current M184 serving RER A in Auber station</td></tr>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: xx-small;">Source: RATP.FR</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Increasing transport capacity of the RER line A is a major issue and replacement of existing trains, which carry fewer passengers, the new material MI09 is an essential step in improving transport conditions. The MI09 offer many additional seats (2600 passengers with 948 passengers seats, against 1 684 passengers with 432 seats for MI84). Currently, three types of rolling stock co-exist on the line: the MS61 recently renovated, the MI84, and the two level MI2N. As of December 5, 2011 until 2014, a first tranche of 60 MI09 trainsets will gradually replace the equipment MI84. Four MI09 trainsets (that is to say two trains) run on the line by the end of this year, then two additional trains will be put into service each month.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia;">In case RER A doesn't ring a bell to you.... It is the line that connects to Paris Disneyland, the Val de Europe outlet Malls, Arc du Triumph, and La Defence</span>William Leehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08372422781755772890noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-669286321058377801.post-90540949825559209082012-06-09T15:21:00.000-07:002012-06-09T15:21:55.454-07:00PM launches Malaysia's first bus rapid transit project<span style="color: #444444; font-size: xx-small;">By RAZAK AHMAD - The Star .com .my</span>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">SUBANG JAYA: The Government's efforts to further improve public transportation received another boost with the launch of the country's first bus rapid transit (BRT) project by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak Saturday.
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The BRT comprises of buses traveling either on a network of dedicated bus lanes or on purpose-built elevated lanes, complementing the My Rapid Transit (MRT)currently under construction in the Klang Valley.
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Speaking at the inauguration of the project, Najib said the government and related authorities would continue to find viable solutions to address the Klang Valley's traffic congestion.
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">“<span style="color: blue;">The usage of public transport is still low at 17 percent and our target is to push it up to 40 percent by 2020</span>. This will help us achieve the target and we hope that with this project, the urban transport landscape in this country will be something we can be proud of,” said Najib.
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The first BRT service, expected to start in the second quarter of 2013, will allow the 500,000 residents in Bandar Sunway and Subang to connect more easily to existing light-rail transit (LRT) systems which currently does not serve their neighbourhoods.
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The BRT-Sunway line, covering over 6km via 7stations, will connect Bandar Sunway and Subang commuters with the Kelana Jaya LRT Extension Line at USJ6 and with the KTMB Setia Jaya station near the Federal highway.
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The BRT initiative is part of the Government Transformation Programme (GTP) Urban Public Transport National Key Result Area (NKRA), which aims to encourage higher public transport ridership. The project is being built under a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) between the Government owned Syarikat Prasarana Negara Berhad and Sunway Berhad. Prasarana chairman Tan Sri Ismail said the total cost of the project was still being worked out and that the public would be invited to provide feedback on the proposed alignment of the BRT route once it was ready.
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Land Public Transport Commission Tan Sri Syed Hamid Albar said the Sunway line was the first of 12 BRT lines proposed for the Klang Valley.</span>William Leehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08372422781755772890noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-669286321058377801.post-88705022212438234872012-01-12T14:51:00.000-08:002012-01-12T15:20:49.616-08:00Air Asia X withdraws from India and Europe<span style="font-size:130%;"><strong>View:</strong></span> <span style="font-size:85%;">This is big news! Barely a year after launching flights into Paris, the darling of Asian low cost carriers - AirAsia has decided to suspend services in its long haul segment. Reasons of higher taxes (airport and regulatory) and fuel cost while deteriorating economic conditions in Europe were reasons given by the CEO.</span><br /><br />In the end, I suspect this is due to the <strong><em><span style="color:#339999;">MAS</span></em></strong>-<strong><span style="color:#ff0000;">AirAsia</span></strong> partnership, which AirAsia had to step back in order to allow MAS a surviving chance to return to profitability.<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#6600cc;">Here are my reasons:</span></strong> for the instance of Europe. Although the economic conditions in Europe are depressing consumer demand, but we <span style="color:#006600;"><span style="color:#000066;">should not forget the growing affluence of Asian travellers</span> </span>seeking holiday destinations in Europe. There is definitely a demand in this segment. If Air Asia has to back off due to reasons provided by Mr Osman-Rani, then wouldn't the situation be even worse for MAS??<br /><br />India, which like China is a potential huge market for air travel, Air Asia shouldn't let go their routes. Giving up will be surrendering lucrative business to other carriers.<br /><br />=====================================================<br />here's the news:<br /><br /><em><span style="color:#ff0000;"><span style="font-size:85%;">FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE </span><br /></span></em><br /><span style="color:#ff0000;"><strong>AIRASIA X</strong></span> <strong><span style="color:#333333;">RE-ALIGNS NETWORK TO FOCUS ON CORE MARKETS<br />Developments in Global Economy, Soaring Taxes and Higher Jet Fuel Prices leads long haul low-cost carrier to increase focus on core markets</span></strong><br /><span style="color:#333333;"><br /></span><span style="font-size:85%;"><strong>KUALA LUMPUR, 12 January 2012-</strong> AirAsia X, the long haul, low fare affiliate of AirAsia, today announced a realignment of its network with a focus on its core markets.<br />The move will see AirAsia X withdrawing services to India (Mumbai and Delhi) and Europe (Paris, London) from its Kuala Lumpur hub as follows:<br />· Mumbai- Four weekly services will be suspended with the last flight on 31 January, 2012<br />· New Delhi- Daily services will be suspended with the last flight on 22 March, 2012. Flights in March will be reduced to four weekly services.<br />· London- Six weekly services will be suspended with the last flight on 31 March, 2012<br />· Paris- Four weekly services will be suspended with the last flight on 30 March, 2012<br /></span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">AirAsia X will offer guests who hold bookings after these dates an alternative travel option at no additional cost to mitigate the inconvenience caused as a result of these route withdrawals.<br />All affected guests will receive an e-mail stating options that are available to them, including a full refund, a reroute to another AirAsia X destination (e.g, in Australia and North Asia), or a move to an alternative carrier where available.<br /></span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">These changes will improve operating cost efficiencies and consolidate its network to focus on markets where it can build a leadership position in 2012.<br /></span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><strong>Azran Osman-Rani</strong>, CEO of AirAsia X said “AirAsia X remains focused on maintaining its global leadership position in the low cost, long-haul segment. We intend to concentrate capacity in our core markets of Australasia, China, Taiwan, Japan, and Korea where we have built up stable, profitable routes within an infrastructure that supports low cost services. We intend to open up new routes within these markets, as well as add frequencies on existing routes. Announcements of our future expansion plans will be made soon.”<br />“The continued high jet fuel prices and the weakening demand for air travel from Europe, brought about by the current economic situation together with exorbitant government taxes, have placed cost pressures on operating long-haul low cost flights between Asia and Europe, compromising our ability to offer the low fares AirAsia X is known for.”</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">He adds, “The implementation of the Emissions Trading Scheme and the escalating Air Passenger Duty taxes in UK, which will rise yet again in April 2012 has forced our decision to withdraw our services to Europe.”<br />“As for Delhi and Mumbai, the continued visa restrictions for travel between India and Malaysia, and the increase in airport and handling charges have resulted in a structure not conducive to the low cost model.”<br />Azran concluded that, “The airline is hopeful in reinstating services to India once these structural issues can be resolved.”<br />Note:<br />Further details on AirAsia X’s withdrawal of Europe and India destinations:<br /></span><span style="font-size:85%;"><strong><span style="color:#000099;">Europe (London and Paris)<br /></span></strong>AirAsia X started flights to London in March 2009. At that time, oil prices were less than US$40/barrel, and have since tripled. With the Arab Spring unrest of 2011 spilling over to the unrests in Syria and Iranian oil embargo this year, oil prices are expected to remain high and crippling the economics of long-haul flights, where fuel represents over 50% of operating cost.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">Moreover, the European situation is also compounded by a very weak economy and depressed consumer demand, which has resulted in a reduction in the number of passengers from Europe on the flights over the past several months. Flights to Europe have also been burdened by exorbitant government taxes such as the UK Air Passenger Duty which will be increased to £92 per departing economy passenger and £184 per departing Premium passenger from 1 April 2012. From 1 January 2012, the European Governments have also imposed an additional carbon tax under their Emissions Trading Scheme, which further adds to an already high cost.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">The confluence of macro-factors, including high fuel prices, depressed European economy and exorbitant taxes have made it economically impossible to sustain these flights, despite AirAsia X recording load factors of over 80% for its London and Paris flights in 2011. Attempts to increase fares to reflect the higher operating cost recently have shown the price elasticity of travel, with demand falling down adversely.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><strong><span style="color:#000066;">India (Mumbai and New Delhi)<br /></span></strong>AirAsia X launched flights to Mumbai and Delhi in 2010. Structural issues in the Indian aviation market have made it difficult to operate economically viable flights. The airport and handling costs in New Delhi and Mumbai are already more expensive than even airports in Australia, and the authorities have just approved a massive 280% increase in airport fees effective April 2012.<br />The Indian routes have also been under-pressure when the Malaysian Government removed Visa-on-Arrival facilities in August 2010, soon after the routes were launched. This places Malaysia at a significant disadvantage versus Thailand and Singapore who offer Indian tourists convenient Visa-on-Arrival facilities.<br /></span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="color:#ff0000;">About AirAsia and AirAsia X<br /></span>AirAsia, the leading and largest low-cost carrier in Asia, services the most extensive network with over 165 routes covering destinations in Asia, Australia and Europe. Within 10 years of operations, AirAsia has carried over 130 million guests and grown its fleet from just two aircraft to 107. The airline today is proud to be a truly Asean (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) airline with established operations based in Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand, servicing a network stretching across all Asean countries, China, India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Australia. This is further complemented by AirAsia X, its low-fare long-haul affiliate carrier that currently flies to destinations in China, India, Europe, Australia, Taiwan, Iran, Korea, Japan, and New Zealand. AirAsia is the regional carrier with the largest destination network and highest flight frequencies. AirAsia was named the 2011 World’s Best Low Cost Airline in the annual World Airline Survey by Skytrax for three consecutive years.<br />For MEDIA enquiries, please contact:<br />MALAYSIA<br />Sherliza Zaharudin<br />My Mobile No : +6019 282 5887 My Email : </span><a style="COLOR: blue; TEXT-DECORATION: underline" href="mailto:sherlizazaharudin@airasia.com"><span style="font-size:85%;">sherlizazaharudin@airasia.com</span></a><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">My Office No : +603 8660 4614<br />Stacy<br />My Mobile No : +6017 673 7603 My Email : </span><a style="COLOR: blue; TEXT-DECORATION: underline" href="mailto:wongkaiwenstacy@airasia.com"><span style="font-size:85%;">wongkaiwenstacy@airasia.com</span></a><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">My Office No : +603 8660 4650<br /><br /></span><span style="font-size:85%;"></span>William Leehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08372422781755772890noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-669286321058377801.post-12843077460304785932012-01-06T16:53:00.001-08:002012-01-06T16:53:50.681-08:00Logistics seen growing 10%Source THESTAR Saturday January 7, 2012<br /><br />KUALA LUMPUR: The Malaysian logistics industry is expected to grow by 10.3% to RM129.93 billion in 2012 against an estimated RM117.8bil last year, on strong government support for logistics-related development and growth fuelled by foreign investments.<br /><br />Malaysia's strategic location and focus on improving supply chain efficiency were also key growth drivers, said Frost & Sullivan vice-president, transportation & logistics practice, Asia-Pacific and country head for Malaysia, Gopal R.<br /><br />“Growth of the country's external trade signifies growth of the transportation and logistics industry especially for import and export forwarding, air freight and ocean freight-related businesses,” said Gopal, adding that external trade for Malaysia was expected to increase 5.9% year-on-year to RM1.32 trillion in 2012.<br /><br />Foreign direct investments surged to RM21.3bil in the first half of 2011 compared with RM12.1bil in the corresponding period in 2010, reflecting the growing confidence in the wake of Government initiatives to stimulate economic growth.<br /><br />“The introduction of several initiatives such as the Government Transformation Programme and the Economic Transformation Programme provided a conducive business environment for the logistics market,” he said.<br /><br />Malaysia's major trading partners are Asian countries which are expected to experience stable economic growth.<br /><br />“However, the share of trade with Japan and Thailand is expected to shrink due to supply chain disruptions and production slowdown following disasters in the respective countries,” Gopal said.<br /><br />The country's key trading commodities are electrical and electronic products, chemicals, palm oil, machinery, appliances and parts.<br /><br />The Malaysian logistics industry is forecast to grow at a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 11.6% to reach RM203.71bil in 2016. In terms of volumes, Gopal forecast Malaysia's total cargo volumes to increase 10.1% to 545.13mil tonnes in 2012 compared with 495.29 million tonnes in 2011.<br /><br />“Sea-freight is the most favoured mode of transport for cargoes in Malaysia, (comprising) more than 90% of total freight traffic in 2011,” he said. Gopal said total cargo volume by sea was expected to grow 10.1% to 538 million tonnes in 2012.<br /><br />Cargo volume by rail is expected to increase to 6.2 million tonnes in 2012 compared with 5.9 million tonnes in 2011. Gopal predicted cargo volume by air to grow 3.9% to 925,000 tonnes this year buoyed by steady growth in the economy and external trade.William Leehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08372422781755772890noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-669286321058377801.post-88197709540454574752011-11-17T17:30:00.000-08:002011-11-17T17:38:59.026-08:00MAS taking longer than expected to unveil turnaround planView: Read the last paragraph... It is foolish and naive to think that having Air Asia X give up the routes to London and Paris that MAS will be able to reduce costs. Before asking the partnership to make sacrifices, please get your own fundamentals/matters in order.<br /><br /><br /><p><span style="font-size:78%;">By B.K. SIDHU </span><a href="mailto:bksidhu@thestar.com.my"><span style="font-size:78%;">bksidhu@thestar.com.my</span></a> </p><br /><p><span style="font-size:85%;">PETALING JAYA: Investors and analysts are basically growing tired, having waited for nearly three months now for the new team at </span><a href="http://archives.thestar.com.my/search/?q=Malaysia" rel="foaf:homepage" target="_blank"><span style="font-size:85%;">Malaysia Airlines (MAS)</span></a><span style="font-size:85%;"> to announce some definitive execution plans to turn the ailing airline around.</span><span style="font-size:85%;"><br />In a report, </span><a href="http://archives.thestar.com.my/search/?q=Maybank" rel="foaf:homepage" target="_blank"><span style="font-size:85%;">Maybank Investment Bank</span></a><span style="font-size:85%;"> said: “The first impression we get is that the new management is busy learning the ropes and dealing with internal matters first before unveiling their grand plan.''<br />The house expects MAS to report a net loss of RM242mil for the third quarter. It said the fourth quarter, which is traditionally a good period for airlines, would be equally challenging for the national carrier. “It has been more than three months since the announcement of the MAS-AirAsia tie-up. Unfortunately, not much progress has been made in terms of operational matters.''</span><span style="font-size:85%;"><br /><br />The research house said: “We have lowered our earnings forecast to adjust for higher fuel prices, lower yields and lower capacity deployment. We are optimistic on the tie-up as it brings forth exciting opportunities with synergy potential in the billions, but execution plans are iffy and very slow.''<br />“Against this backdrop, we have lowered our earnings forecast and downgraded MAS to a “hold” (from “buy”) with a target price of RM1.55 per share (from RM2.70) pegged to 5.6 times 2012-adjusted enterprise value/earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation on par with global peers,'' it said.<br /></p></span><br /><div><br /><br /><br /></div><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 220px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5676143946487710994" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhH8C29ybkPuVo3vQEadov4dp_Jn-nqzgQ9bnx8Picc9yicm0gL7orTJIX-09igHGQmNARfAfT7Z0zaaZMU2NToK3w32x7gmcRGWH-m1Io9K63Uvch6W-V1LBmBzjqBMggs9XLQh3yFM4gm/s320/p4-masplane.jpg" /><span style="font-size:78%;">Malaysian Airlines aircraft parked on a tarmac at Kuala Lumpur International Airport in Sepang outside Kuala Lumpur.(File picture) - EPA </span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-size:78%;"></span><br />It estimates that the third-quarter core net loss to be RM242mil after adjusting for FRS139 derivative mark-to-market, which is non-cash. The target is largely based on a 45% year-on-year rise in fuel price.<br />“We forecast the third quarter and the early part of 2012 to be loss-making after imputing for a higher jet fuel price of US$120 per barrel (from US$110 per barrel) and softer yield environment. MAS' cost structure is not nimble enough to deal with the current market environment. It should be in better shape in 2H12 when it removes most of its old aircraft from the fleet, ” according to the report.<br /><br />It added that both airlines can save huge sums (RM200mil-RM300mil per year each) by eliminating irrational competition and reducing wastages. There is also potential yield enhancement stemming from better market supply demand relationship.<br />MAS has many routes in its network that are thin and have no potential to make profits (irregular non-daily flights, using big aircraft for small routes). Most of these routes were legacy in nature and served a different purpose in the yesteryears. Since the core focus was to revert back to profitability, MAS must be decisive and cull these routes immediately, the report said.<br /><br />The report suggested that there were many areas where MAS and </span><a href="http://archives.thestar.com.my/search/?q=AirAsia" rel="foaf:homepage" target="_blank"><span style="font-size:85%;">AirAsia</span></a><span style="font-size:85%;"> could work to save cost.<br />“We believe both airlines should be smart and combine powers against the common enemy. For example, </span><a href="http://archives.thestar.com.my/search/?q=AirAsia" rel="foaf:homepage" target="_blank"><span style="font-size:85%;">AirAsia X</span></a><span style="font-size:85%;"> should stop its flights to Europe (London, Paris) and let MAS fight the battle alone against the Middle Eastern airlines (Emirates, Etihad, Qatar, Gulf) on these routes. Similarly, MAS should also get out from routes where there is no business travel or low yielding routes,'' it said.</span>William Leehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08372422781755772890noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-669286321058377801.post-56903758343898906092011-11-09T15:50:00.000-08:002011-11-09T15:52:56.907-08:00MAS to axe unprofitable routesView: How often does MAS rationalize the network? Seems that some routes have been causing the airline to bleed for a long time!<br /><br />By B.K. SIDHU <a href="mailto:bksidhu@thestar.com.my">bksidhu@thestar.com.my</a><br /><br />PETALING JAYA: <a href="http://archives.thestar.com.my/search/?q=Malaysia" rel="foaf:homepage" target="_blank">Malaysia Airlines (MAS)</a>, which will be relocating its headquarters (HQ) from Subang to KL International Airport (KLIA) in February next year, will cut several routes including those to Dubai, Johannesburg, Buenos Aires and Cape Town, in a bid to reduce costs, sources said.<br />The sources added that MAS would no longer rely on Kota Kinabalu as a hub and would cut flights out of the Sabah capital to destinations such as Haneda, Seoul and Osaka.<br />In February, MAS would stop flying to Johannesburg, Cape Town and Buenos Aires, they said. As for the pullout from the Dubai sector, this will be done gradually, first with the reduction of weekly flights and those via Karachi and Damman.<br />“These are seen as critical routes that do not bring in the yields or are highly competitive, and the best way to bring down costs is to axe the unprofitable routes first,'' said a source.<br />The sources claimed that the airline might add Abu Dhabi as a destination in place of Dubai, a route served by Emirates several times weekly, but whether it was a wise move would remain to be seen as Abu Dhabi is an equally competitive route.<br />The sources added that choosing Kota Kinabalu as a hub was not a strategic move in the first place and now the airline had to reverse the decision. This is the second time that MAS has abandoned the idea of using Kota Kinabalu as a hub. The first attempt was in 2003.<br />MAS is currently conducting a review of its entire route network and sources claimed that there would be more route cuts. However, new destinations and frequencies will be added to those that bring in the yields.<br />“They should focus on areas that gives them good yields instead of trying to fly to destinations just for the sake of having linkages. Gone are the days when connectivity was a must, now the focus should be on making money rather than community service,'' said a source.<br />On the move to KLIA, which will be its second HQ shift in a decade, it is intended to consolidate its administrative operations in one location rather than maintain several. Currently, MAS operates from five places three at Subang and two at KLIA. The move will reduce the number of locations to three two in Subang and one in KLIA.<br />The new administration and headquarters will be located at the South Support Zone at KLIA. However, the Firefly turboprop operations, engineering and maintenance (E&M) as well as the Malaysia Airlines Academy will remain at Subang. The E&M division needs to stay at Subang because it has three hangars in that location and it would cost too much to relocate them.<br />“The move may be good for the airline as it wants to consolidate its operations and bring down costs, but it will be a costly affair for employees, whose travelling cost will rise along with their travelling time.<br />“The last shift was from Jalan Sultan Ismail to Subang. The question is, with the advent of technology, is there really a need to consolidate the operations to KLIA/LCCT... unless there is a plan to sell the land in Subang or even develop it?'' asked a source.<br />According to its annual report, MAS has 32 office and workshop buildings at Subang which covers 4.6 million sq feet and the net book value of the assets is RM233mil.William Leehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08372422781755772890noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-669286321058377801.post-71044811694383360342011-10-24T06:33:00.000-07:002011-10-24T06:37:50.590-07:00Rapid Penang suffers RM1.1mil loses in fare discrepanciesView: I'm surprised to see this discrepancy. Either the estimate of total fare revenue is too high, or Rapid Penang really has serious issues on collecting fare from passengers.<br /><br /><br />Source: TheStar.com.my<br /><br />GEORGE TOWN: Discrepancies in fare collection, unsatisfactory depots and hubs and delayed infrastructure projects are among the weaknesses suffered by integrated bus service Rapid Penang.<br /><br />A total of RM1.14mil in fare discrepancies were recorded from Rapid Penang's establishment in February 2007 to 2010, the Auditor-General's Report 2010 revealed.<br /><br />The report listed several weaknesses the company suffered, which included unsatisfactory depots and bus hubs, not well-managed cleaning contracts for buses and Rapid Penang premises, delayed infrastructure projects and not fully utilised hostels.<br /><br />It also reported the bus company had incurred loses before tax for both 2008 (RM7.67mil) and 2009 (RM10.68mil). No figure was quoted for 2010.William Leehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08372422781755772890noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-669286321058377801.post-9877748419948078662011-09-19T03:43:00.000-07:002011-09-19T03:51:58.796-07:00RapidKL expects additional 150 buses to increase efficiency<div align="center">The Star: 18th September 2011<br /><br /><br /></div><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 217px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5654020321251108002" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrEXhITty6vKNIpRPtmnEVW6_hPrkg8iGKpbEIwppp79kPmZ1w9bLIb1LdpNkm3VuhrwOFS5t0S2qv8iJsaIN9NbFvSubL6GF5C57nWxsJ8TsLKF-HrDvdfTM1oPxVObUhF2-wWCmeW4C7/s320/latestrapid20110918.jpg" /> <br /><p align="center"><span style="font-size:78%;">Datuk Hazlan Mohamed Hussain at the launch Monday. - Bernama pic<br /></span><br /><br /></p>KUALA LUMPUR: Rangkaian Pengangkutan Integrasi Deras Sdn Bhd (RapidKL), a public transportation provider, expects the addition of 150 city buses to its service to increase service efficiency in the Klang Valley.<br /><br />RapidKL is a subsidiary of government-owned, Syarikat Prasarana Negara Berhad (Prasarana).<br /><br />Group director of bus division Datuk Hazlan Mohamed Hussain said the addition of the new buses, would increase the frequency on routes, thus reducing waiting time for passengers.<br /><br />"The new buses will be of much help, especially in areas where the waiting time can be reduced," he told reporters after a ceremony hand over the buses by MAN Truck & Buses (M) Sdn Bhd (MTBM), here today.<br /><br />Hazlan said with improved efficiency, the company hopes to attract more customers to use its services and this would raise revenue accordingly.<br /><br />Meanwhile, the new buses, manufactured by MTBM, incorporate features for the disabled, including wheelchair ramps and a yellow coloured interior, for those who has vision problems. - BERNAMAWilliam Leehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08372422781755772890noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-669286321058377801.post-41443094755398284612011-06-27T14:20:00.000-07:002011-06-27T14:31:20.469-07:00A private Malaysia Airlines?<span style="font-family:verdana;color:#000066;"><strong>VIEW: There are many legacy issues and over-protectionism causing the current state of affairs at MAS. What happened to the work done by Idris Jala?<br /></strong></span><br /><p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 11.25pt; BACKGROUND: white" class="NormalWeb3"><span style="color:#333333;"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span class="storyheader2"><b><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN" lang="EN"></span></b></span></span></span></p><br /><p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 11.25pt; BACKGROUND: white" class="NormalWeb3"><span style="color:#333333;"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span class="storyheader2"><b><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN" lang="EN">Maybank IB: The company can reshape for a re-listing later</span></b></span><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN" lang="EN"><?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p><br /><br /><br /><p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 11.25pt; BACKGROUND: white" class="NormalWeb3"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN" lang="EN"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span style="color:#333333;">PETALING JAYA: Privatise </span><span class="knx-annotation"><a href="http://archives.thestar.com.my/search/?q=Malaysia%20Airlines%20(MAS)" rel="foaf:homepage" target="_blank"><span content="Malaysia Airlines (MAS)" about="http://archives.thestar.com.my/search/?q=Malaysia Airlines (MAS)" property="foaf:name" typeof="foaf:Organization" foaf="http://xmlns.com/foaf/0.1/"><span style="color:#003399;">Malaysia Airlines (MAS)</span></a></span></span><span style="color:#333333;"> but list Firefly, MAS Engineering, MasKargo and even its terminal services, suggested </span><span class="knx-annotation"><a href="http://archives.thestar.com.my/search/?q=Maybank" rel="foaf:homepage" target="_blank"><span content="Maybank" about="http://archives.thestar.com.my/search/?q=Maybank" property="foaf:name" typeof="foaf:Organization" foaf="http://xmlns.com/foaf/0.1/"><span style="color:#003399;">Maybank</span></a></span></span><span style="color:#333333;"> IB in a recent research report.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p><br /><br /><br /><p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 11.25pt; BACKGROUND: white" class="NormalWeb3"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN" lang="EN"><span style="color:#333333;"><span style="font-family:Arial;">The research house in its report yesterday said the privatisation of MAS was not an outlandish idea and the shareholders may just warm up to the idea. More so since the analyst community had an overwhelming “sell” call on the carrier after the airline reported RM242mil in net loss for the first quarter ended March 31, 2011.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p><br /><br /><br /><p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 11.25pt; BACKGROUND: white" class="NormalWeb3"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN" lang="EN"><span style="color:#333333;"><span style="font-family:Arial;">“MAS' poor performance stemmed from its lowest yields and highest cost position against its peers. Most of the root causes were legacy in nature, having inherited the oldest fleet and the ill effect of substantially under-invested in the business in the past.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p><br /><br /><br /><p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 11.25pt; BACKGROUND: white" class="NormalWeb3"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN" lang="EN"><span style="color:#333333;"><span style="font-family:Arial;">“(However), there are merits to a privatisation, it provides a shelter away from further downside volatility in the share price, while the company reshapes itself up for a re-listing in the future years,'' the report said.</span></span></span></p><br /><br /><br /><p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 11.25pt; BACKGROUND: white" class="NormalWeb3"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN" lang="EN"><span style="color:#333333;"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p><br /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 263px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5623014629123418674" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1axfqNm78fnEORrHEni7r272fwNIdH7J0I4DcSSaSfPyIUmVfJl_22vo3MS7NnrRnItsALRSZx_f71N1AoChbwdSNkpr1mxudzlOmPSMumyZpJq06xn_Ie37hx49-WbGRJ4GbNCARKV6U/s320/p2-mas.jpg" /><br /><br /><p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; BACKGROUND: white" class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN;font-family:Arial;color:black;" lang="EN" ><?xml:namespace prefix = v ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:vml" /><v:shapetype id="_x0000_t75" stroked="f" filled="f" path="m@4@5l@4@11@9@11@9@5xe" coordsize="21600,21600" spt="75" preferrelative="t"><v:stroke joinstyle="miter"></v:stroke><v:formulas><v:f eqn="if lineDrawn pixelLineWidth 0"></v:f><v:f eqn="sum @0 1 0"></v:f><v:f eqn="sum 0 0 @1"></v:f><v:f eqn="prod @2 1 2"></v:f><v:f eqn="prod @3 21600 pixelWidth"></v:f><v:f eqn="prod @3 21600 pixelHeight"></v:f><v:f eqn="sum @0 0 1"></v:f><v:f eqn="prod @6 1 2"></v:f><v:f eqn="prod @7 21600 pixelWidth"></v:f><v:f eqn="sum @8 21600 0"></v:f><v:f eqn="prod @7 21600 pixelHeight"></v:f><v:f eqn="sum @10 21600 0"></v:f></v:formulas><v:path gradientshapeok="t" extrusionok="f" connecttype="rect"></v:path><o:lock aspectratio="t" ext="edit"></o:lock></v:shapetype><span style="font-size:85%;"><span class="caption"><b>Think about it:</b> Maybank IB says the privatisation of MAS is not an outlandish idea</span> </span></span></p><br /><br /><br /><p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; BACKGROUND: white" class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN;font-family:Arial;font-size:9;color:black;" lang="EN" ><o:p></o:p></span></p><br /><br /><br /><p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 11.25pt; BACKGROUND: white" class="NormalWeb3"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN" lang="EN"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span style="color:#333333;">In the past many companies have been taken private for some years and later re-appear on the local house and this is the suggestion of Maybank IB. Among those companies that have been taken private for various reasons include </span><span class="knx-annotation"><a href="http://archives.thestar.com.my/search/?q=PLUS%20Expressways%20Bhd" rel="foaf:homepage" target="_blank"><span content="PLUS Expressways Bhd" about="http://archives.thestar.com.my/search/?q=PLUS Expressways Bhd" property="foaf:name" typeof="foaf:Organization" foaf="http://xmlns.com/foaf/0.1/"><span style="color:#003399;">PLUS Expressways Bhd</span></a></span></span><span style="color:#333333;">, </span><span class="knx-annotation"><a href="http://archives.thestar.com.my/search/?q=United%20Engineers%20Bhd" rel="foaf:homepage" target="_blank"><span content="United Engineers Bhd" about="http://archives.thestar.com.my/search/?q=United Engineers Bhd" property="foaf:name" typeof="foaf:Organization" foaf="http://xmlns.com/foaf/0.1/"><span style="color:#003399;">United Engineers Bhd</span></a></span></span><span style="color:#333333;">, </span><span class="knx-annotation"><a href="http://archives.thestar.com.my/search/?q=Mox%20Bhd" rel="foaf:homepage" target="_blank"><span content="Mox Bhd" about="http://archives.thestar.com.my/search/?q=Mox Bhd" property="foaf:name" typeof="foaf:Organization" foaf="http://xmlns.com/foaf/0.1/"><span style="color:#003399;">Mox Bhd</span></a></span></span><span style="color:#333333;">, </span><span class="knx-annotation"><a href="http://archives.thestar.com.my/search/?q=Astro" rel="foaf:homepage" target="_blank"><span content="Astro" about="http://archives.thestar.com.my/search/?q=Astro" property="foaf:name" typeof="foaf:Organization" foaf="http://xmlns.com/foaf/0.1/"><span style="color:#003399;">Astro</span></a></span></span><span style="color:#333333;">, </span><span class="knx-annotation"><a href="http://archives.thestar.com.my/search/?q=Palmco%20Bhd" rel="foaf:homepage" target="_blank"><span content="Palmco Bhd" about="http://archives.thestar.com.my/search/?q=Palmco Bhd" property="foaf:name" typeof="foaf:Organization" foaf="http://xmlns.com/foaf/0.1/"><span style="color:#003399;">Palmco Bhd</span></a></span></span><span style="color:#333333;">, </span><span class="knx-annotation"><a href="http://archives.thestar.com.my/search/?q=Bumi%20Armada%20Bhd" rel="foaf:homepage" target="_blank"><span content="Bumi Armada Bhd" about="http://archives.thestar.com.my/search/?q=Bumi Armada Bhd" property="foaf:name" typeof="foaf:Organization" foaf="http://xmlns.com/foaf/0.1/"><span style="color:#003399;">Bumi Armada Bhd</span></a></span></span><span style="color:#333333;"> and </span><span class="knx-annotation"><a href="http://archives.thestar.com.my/search/?q=Maxis%20Bhd" rel="foaf:homepage" target="_blank"><span content="Maxis Bhd" about="http://archives.thestar.com.my/search/?q=Maxis Bhd" property="foaf:name" typeof="foaf:Organization" foaf="http://xmlns.com/foaf/0.1/"><span style="color:#003399;">Maxis Bhd</span></a></span></span><span style="color:#333333;">. Thus far, Maxis has been re-listed and Bumi Armada is making its way back on the local bourse. Even the shareholders of </span><span class="knx-annotation"><a href="http://archives.thestar.com.my/search/?q=AirAsia" rel="foaf:homepage" target="_blank"><span content="AirAsia" about="http://archives.thestar.com.my/search/?q=AirAsia" property="foaf:name" typeof="foaf:Organization" foaf="http://xmlns.com/foaf/0.1/"><span style="color:#003399;">AirAsia</span></a></span></span><span style="color:#333333;"> was once upon a time thinking of taking the carrier private.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p><br /><br /><br /><p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 11.25pt; BACKGROUND: white" class="NormalWeb3"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN" lang="EN"><span style="color:#333333;"><span style="font-family:Arial;">But some analysts do not share Maybank IB's sentiments.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p><br /><br /><br /><p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 11.25pt; BACKGROUND: white" class="NormalWeb3"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN" lang="EN"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span style="color:#333333;">“MAS had gone through a lot of transformation programmes and going private means it is admitting defeat. That is not the kind of signals it should be sending to the market. With all these GLC open day and all the work that </span><span class="knx-annotation"><a href="http://archives.thestar.com.my/search/?q=Tengku%20Datuk%20Azmil%20Zahruddin" rel="foaf:homepage" target="_blank"><span content="Tengku Datuk Azmil Zahruddin" about="http://archives.thestar.com.my/search/?q=Tengku Datuk Azmil Zahruddin" property="foaf:name" typeof="foaf:Person" foaf="http://xmlns.com/foaf/0.1/"><span style="color:#003399;">Tengku Datuk Azmil Zahruddin</span></a></span></span><span style="color:#333333;"> is doing to reshape MAS, we should allow it to remain listed.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p><br /><br /><br /><p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 11.25pt; BACKGROUND: white" class="NormalWeb3"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN" lang="EN"><span style="color:#333333;"><span style="font-family:Arial;">“Today may be tough times for the carrier, but given time and the right strategy and its recent entry into oneworld global air alliance and the fact that it is buying new aircraft, MAS should be doing better next year onwards,'' an analyst from a foreign-based research house said.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p><br /><br /><br /><p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 11.25pt; BACKGROUND: white" class="NormalWeb3"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN" lang="EN"><span style="color:#333333;"><span style="font-family:Arial;">However, she said, if “you look at it from the shareholder perspective and since the share price has tanked backed to the 1990s level, it is absolutely value destruction given all the equity calls. On paper the privatisation looks good but I still do not think it is the best way for MAS.''<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p><br /><br /><br /><p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 11.25pt; BACKGROUND: white" class="NormalWeb3"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN" lang="EN"><span style="color:#333333;"><span style="font-family:Arial;">An aviation analyst from Singapore who requested anonymity felt that “it (MAS) is not run like a government-controlled company and if the Government wants to sell the remaining stake, it is the Government's decision. Even if the Government feels it should sell, it may need to wait for market conditions to be right for such a sale.''<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p><br /><br /><br /><p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 11.25pt; BACKGROUND: white" class="NormalWeb3"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN" lang="EN"><span style="color:#333333;"><span style="font-family:Arial;">Maybank IB in its reports felt that the shareholders of MAS might warm up to the idea of a privatisation.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p><br /><br /><br /><p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 11.25pt; BACKGROUND: white" class="NormalWeb3"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN" lang="EN"><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span style="color:#333333;">It said the principle shareholders of MAS were </span><span class="knx-annotation"><a href="http://archives.thestar.com.my/search/?q=Khazanah%20Nasional%20Bhd" rel="foaf:homepage" target="_blank"><span content="Khazanah Nasional Bhd" about="http://archives.thestar.com.my/search/?q=Khazanah Nasional Bhd" property="foaf:name" typeof="foaf:Organization" foaf="http://xmlns.com/foaf/0.1/"><span style="color:#003399;">Khazanah Nasional Bhd</span></a></span></span><span style="color:#333333;"> (69%) and Employees Provident Fund (EPF) (11%) and both had acquired MAS at a substantially higher price.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p><br /><br /><br /><p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 11.25pt; BACKGROUND: white" class="NormalWeb3"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN" lang="EN"><span style="color:#333333;"><span style="font-family:Arial;">Since MAS' stock performance has been disappointing and considering potential headwinds ahead, its parent Khazanah may consider privatising MAS as the stock is trading at its lowest historical price and valued at only 1.4x book. At the current share price, Khazanah needs to pay less than RM1.5bil for the remaining shares it does not own. If it teams up with EPF, like their partnership for the privatisation of PLUS, it will cost just RM962mil.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p><br /><br /><br /><p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 11.25pt; BACKGROUND: white" class="NormalWeb3"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN" lang="EN"><span style="color:#333333;"><span style="font-family:Arial;">Maybank IB also agreed that MAS management was doing a lot of work to reshape the carrier. From the fleet perspective, it was making the “right approach to rejuvenate its fleet; it currently has the oldest fleet age in the region and more crucially it has many obsolete aircraft (B737-400, first generation A330). We expect the fleet age to fall rapidly in 2012-13 as MAS inducts 15-17 new aircraft. This will greatly enhance operational efficiency and reduce cost substantially.''<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p><br /><br /><br /><p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 11.25pt; BACKGROUND: white" class="NormalWeb3"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN" lang="EN"><span style="color:#333333;"><span style="font-family:Arial;">The report said a successful airline was all about having an efficient cost structure that could withstand the ups and downs of the aviation cycle.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p><br /><br /><br /><p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 11.25pt; BACKGROUND: white" class="NormalWeb3"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN" lang="EN"><span style="color:#333333;"><span style="font-family:Arial;">“We also believe when MAS has a young and trendy fleet, it is no longer handicapped against its peers and instances where MAS lags the peer group will be an issue of the past,'' the report said.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p><br /><br /><br /><p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 11.25pt; BACKGROUND: white" class="NormalWeb3"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN" lang="EN"><span style="color:#333333;"><span style="font-family:Arial;">Maybank IB said re-listing could extract more value and assuming that MAS was a privately-owned company seeking a re-listing, it could extract better valuation by fixing its operations to be sustainably profitable and “we think this can be achieved by 2012; wait for the next aviation up-cycle; and float pieces of the group as stand-alone companies.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p><br /><br /><br /><p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 11.25pt; BACKGROUND: white" class="NormalWeb3"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN" lang="EN"><span style="color:#333333;"><span style="font-family:Arial;">“For example, MAS can public list Firefly first as there is a strong appetite for low-cost carriers. This can be repeated for MAS Engineering, MasKargo and its terminal services,'' the report said.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p><br /><br /><br /><p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 11.25pt; BACKGROUND: white" class="NormalWeb3"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN" lang="EN"><span style="color:#333333;"><span style="font-family:Arial;">The benefits of breaking up MAS were there and that was also something Singapore Airlines had done years ago for SIA Engineering, Tiger Airways and SATS.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p><br /><br /><br /><p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 11.25pt; BACKGROUND: white" class="NormalWeb3"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN" lang="EN"><span style="color:#333333;"><span style="font-family:Arial;">MAS' share price rose eight sen to close at RM1.53 on Friday.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p><br /><br /><br /><p style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN" lang="EN"><o:p><span style="font-family:Times New Roman;"></span></o:p></span></p><br /><br /><br /><p></p>William Leehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08372422781755772890noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-669286321058377801.post-1565582990609687692010-04-17T20:24:00.000-07:002010-04-17T20:26:52.709-07:00Volcanic ash spreads more travel misery across Europe<!-- S BO --> <!-- S IIMA --> <div>View: <span style="font-weight: bold;">I'm supposed to be flying on the coming Wednesday...hope the weather situation will improve in the next 24 hours!</span><br /><br /><br /><img src="http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/47664000/gif/_47664269_03_17.04_1850_466.gif" alt="Map showing spread of volcanic ash from Iceland" vspace="0" width="466" border="0" height="356" hspace="0" /> </div> <br /> <!-- E IIMA --> <!-- S SF --><p class="first"><b>Millions of stranded travellers face further air chaos as the volcanic ash from Iceland that has closed most of Europe's airspace continues to spread.</b></p><p>An estimated three-quarters of flights were cancelled on Saturday. About 20 countries closed their airspace - some have extended flight bans into Monday. </p><p>Scientists say the Icelandic volcano activity shows no sign of abating. </p><p>Dutch airline KLM and German airline Lufthansa have carried out test flights to see if it is safe for planes to fly.<br /></p><p>Britain has extended a ban on most flights in its airspace until at least 1800 GMT Sunday, air authorities have said. </p><p>KLM said its plane, a Boeing 737, had reached its maximum operating altitude of about 13km in the skies over the Netherlands, and there had been no problems during the flight. </p><p>The aircraft and its engines were being inspected for possible damage. After the results of that technical inspection the airline hopes to get permission from the aviation authorities to start up operations again. </p><p>Germany's Lufthansa said it flew several planes to Frankfurt from Munich. </p><p>A spokesman said: "All airplanes have been inspected on arrival in Frankfurt but there was no damage to the cockpit windows or fuselage and no impact on the engines." </p><p>Earlier, a spokesman for the international airline industry said: "We don't see the light at the end of the tunnel yet." </p><p>Icelandic geologist Magnus Tumi Gudmundsson told the Associated Press news agency: "It's the magma mixing with the water that creates the explosivity. Unfortunately, there doesn't seem to be an end in sight." </p><p>Graeme Leitch, a meteorologist at Britain's National Weather Service, said light winds and high pressure over Europe meant the cloud was unlikely to be dispersed soon. </p><p>"We don't expect a great deal of change over the next few days," he told AP. </p><p>The International Air Transport Association (IATA) predicted little or no improvement on Sunday. </p><p>"Right now through most of Europe we do not see many flights moving at all," spokesman Steve Lott told AFP news agency. </p><p>Airlines are losing some £130m ($200m) a day in an unprecedented shutdown of commercial air travel, the IATA says. </p><p>Eurocontrol, which co-ordinates air traffic control in 38 nations, said it expected 17,000 flights to be cancelled across Europe on Saturday, from a total of 22,000 on a normal day. </p><p><b>Long way home</b></p><p>Since Thursday, countries across northern and central Europe have either closed airspace or shut key airports as the ash - a mixture of glass, sand and rock particles - can seriously damage aircraft engines. </p><p>In the UK commercial flights have now been banned until at least 0700 local time (0600 GMT) on Sunday. </p><p>In northern France and northern Italy, airports are to remain shut until at least Monday. </p><p>Unable to catch flights, commuters across northern Europe have sought other means of transport, packing out trains, buses and ferries. </p><p>The Eurostar cross-channel rail service said it had never seen so many passengers on one day and the trains were fully booked until Monday. </p> <!-- S IBOX --> <table width="231" align="right" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"> <tbody><tr> <td width="5"><img src="http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/shared/img/o.gif" alt="" vspace="0" width="5" border="0" height="1" hspace="0" /></td> <td class="sibtbg"> <div class="mva"><br /></div> <div> <div class="mva"> <img src="http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/nol/shared/img/v3/start_quote_rb.gif" alt="" width="24" border="0" height="13" /> <b>I've only got enough medication for my epilepsy to last me until tomorrow, so my seizures are likely to start again unless I get access to that</b> <img src="http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/nol/shared/img/v3/end_quote_rb.gif" alt="" vspace="0" width="23" align="right" border="0" height="13" /><br /> </div> </div> <div class="mva"> <div>George Craib, Amsterdam</div> </div> <div class="miiib"> <!-- S ILIN --> <div class="arr"> <a class="" href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/8626852.stm">Volcano ash: Your stories</a> </div> <!-- E ILIN --> </div> <div class="mva"><br /></div> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> <!-- E IBOX --> <p>The large no-fly zone also means that some world leaders will not be attending the funeral of the Polish president on Sunday. </p><p>US President Barack Obama has cancelled his visit to Poland. </p><p>German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who was due to return from a visit to the US on Friday, had to fly to Lisbon where she spent the night. </p><p>With all German airports still closed, she flew on to Italy on Saturday and is set to continue her journey home by bus. </p><p>The disruption also forced the cancellation of the inaugural Iraqi Airways flight from Baghdad to London. </p> <!-- S IBOX --> <table width="231" align="right" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"> <tbody><tr> <td width="5"><img src="http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/shared/img/o.gif" alt="" vspace="0" width="5" border="0" height="1" hspace="0" /></td> <td class="sibtbg"> <div class="o"> <img src="http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/47661000/jpg/_47661797_226-cloud.jpg" alt="Ash plume from the Eyjafjallajoekull volcano 17 April 2010" vspace="0" width="226" border="0" height="170" hspace="0" /> </div> <div class="o"> <img src="http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/nol/shared/img/v3/inline_dashed_line.gif" alt="" vspace="2" width="226" border="0" height="1" hspace="0" /><br /> </div> <div class="miiib"> <!-- S ILIN --> <div class="arr"> <a class="" href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/8625813.stm">Iceland volcano in maps</a> </div> <!-- E ILIN --> <!-- S ILIN --> <div class="arr"> <a class="" href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/8624929.stm">Volcanic ash: Your travel stories</a> </div> <!-- E ILIN --> <!-- S ILIN --> <div class="arr"> <a class="" href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/8624954.stm">How long will ash last?</a> </div> <!-- E ILIN --> </div> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> <!-- E IBOX --> <p>US pop star Whitney Houston was forced to take a car ferry from Britain to Ireland for a concert after her flight was cancelled. </p><p>The travel chaos has been felt as far away as North America and Asia, with dozens of Europe-bound flights being cancelled. </p><p>British health officials said any effects of the ash on people with existing respiratory conditions were "likely to be short term". </p><p>Southern Iceland's Eyjafjallajokull volcano began erupting for the second time in a month on Wednesday, sending a plume of ash 8.5km (5.3 miles) high into the air. </p><p>Iceland lies on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, the highly volatile boundary between the Eurasian and North American continental plates. </p>William Leehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08372422781755772890noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-669286321058377801.post-32460470364878546122010-01-19T13:21:00.000-08:002010-01-19T13:23:34.256-08:00American raises checked-bag fees<h1><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);font-size:100%;" >View: This is ridiculous! $60 for bags one way? FYI for $20 or more, you can get a one-way ticket on Southwest Airlines. I really hope the this attempt will backfire and drive all passengers to other airlines.</span><br /></h1> <div class="cnn_stryathrtmp"> <div class="cnnByline">By <b>Marnie Hunter</b>, CNN<br /><script type="text/javascript">cnnAuthor = "By Marnie Hunter, CNN ";</script> </div> <div class="cnn_strytmstmp"> <script type="text/javascript">if(location.hostname.indexOf( 'edition.' ) > -1) {document.write('January 19, 2010 -- Updated 1840 GMT (0240 HKT)');} else {document.write('January 19, 2010 1:40 p.m. EST');}</script> January 19, 2010 1:40 p.m. EST</div></div><!--endclickprintinclude--><!-- google_ad_section_end --><!--startclickprintexclude--><!--endclickprintexclude--> <div class="cnn_strycntntlft"><!-- google_ad_section_start --><!-- CONTENT --><!-- REAP --><!-- KEEP --><!--startclickprintinclude--> <script language="JavaScript" type="text/javascript">var clickExpire = "-1";</script> <!-- REAP --><!--startclickprintexclude--> <div class="cnn_strylftcntnt"> <div class="cnn_strylctcntr cnn_strylccimg300"> <div class="cnn_strylccimg300cntr"><!--===========IMAGE============--><img alt="American Airlines matched competitors' baggage fee hikes." src="http://i.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2010/TRAVEL/01/19/american.airlines.bag.fees/story.american.airlines.gi.jpg" width="300" border="0" height="169" /><!--===========/IMAGE===========--> </div><!--===========CAPTION==========--> <div>American Airlines matched competitors' baggage fee hikes.</div><!--===========/CAPTION=========--></div></div><!--endclickprintexclude--><!-- /REAP --> <div class="cnn_strylftcntnt"> <div class="cnn_strylctcntr"> <div><b>STORY HIGHLIGHTS</b></div> <ul class="cnn_bulletbin cnnStryHghLght"><!-- google_ad_section_start --><li>American Airlines last of five legacy carriers to raise baggage fees<br /></li><li>Passengers to pay $25 for first checked bag and $35 for second<br /></li><li>Changes effective for tickets purchased on or after February 1<br /><!-- google_ad_section_end --></li></ul></div></div> <div class="cnn_strylftcntnt"> <div class="cnn_strylctcntr cnn_strylctcqrelt"> <script type="text/javascript"> var cnnRelatedTopicKeys = []; </script> <div><b>RELATED TOPICS</b> </div> <ul class="cnn_bulletbin"><li> <script type="text/javascript"> cnnRelatedTopicKeys.push('Air_Travel'); </script> <a href="http://topics.cnn.com/topics/Air_Travel">Air Travel</a> </li><li> <script type="text/javascript"> cnnRelatedTopicKeys.push('American_Airlines_Inc'); </script> <a href="http://topics.cnn.com/topics/American_Airlines_Inc">American Airlines Inc.</a> </li></ul></div></div> <p><b>(CNN)</b> -- American Airlines has joined its competitors in raising checked luggage fees. </p> <p>The airline announced Monday it would charge $25 for the first checked bag and $35 for the second. American is the last major legacy carrier to join in a wave of baggage fee increases that Delta Air Lines initiated earlier this month. </p> <p>The changes are effective for tickets purchased on or after February 1 for travel within the United States, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.</p> <p>Delta, United and Continental airlines, and US Airways all are charging $25 for the first bag and $35 for the second bag checked in at the airport. Passengers who check in online on those four airlines will pay $23 for the first bag and $32 for the second. <a class="cnnInlineTopic" href="http://topics.cnn.com/topics/American_Airlines_Inc">American</a> does not offer online check-in.</p> <p>About 25 percent of American's domestic passengers pay checked bag fees, according to the airline's announcement.</p> <p>Some passengers -- such as first-class fliers, some frequent fliers and military personnel on deployment -- are exempt from most checked-luggage fees.</p> <p>Most major <a class="cnnInlineTopic" href="http://topics.cnn.com/topics/Air_Travel">air carriers</a> started adding checked-bag fees in 2008. The airlines reported collecting nearly $740 million in baggage fees in the third quarter of 2009, according to U.S. Bureau of Transportation Statistics. </p> <p class="cnnInline">On discount carrier Southwest Airlines, the first and second checked bags are free. JetBlue offers a free first checked bag and charges $30 for the second.</p></div>William Leehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08372422781755772890noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-669286321058377801.post-17793154343972341392010-01-14T09:22:00.000-08:002010-01-14T09:25:12.874-08:00Airlines organizing Haiti earthquake aid<div class="cnn_stryathrtmp"> <div class="cnnByline">By <b>Marnie Hunter</b>, CNN <script type="text/javascript">cnnAuthor = "By Marnie Hunter, CNN";</script> </div> <div class="cnn_strytmstmp"> <script type="text/javascript">if(location.hostname.indexOf( 'edition.' ) > -1) {document.write('January 14, 2010 -- Updated 1549 GMT (2349 HKT)');} else {document.write('January 14, 2010 10:49 a.m. EST');}</script> January 14, 2010 10:49 a.m. EST</div></div><!--endclickprintinclude--><!-- google_ad_section_end --><!--startclickprintexclude--><!--endclickprintexclude--> <div class="cnn_strycntntlft"><!-- google_ad_section_start --><!-- CONTENT --><!-- REAP --><!-- KEEP --><!--startclickprintinclude--> <script language="JavaScript" type="text/javascript">var clickExpire = "-1";</script> <!-- REAP --><!--startclickprintexclude--> <div class="cnn_strylftcntnt"> <div class="cnn_strylctcntr cnn_strylccimg300"> <div class="cnn_strylccimg300cntr"><!--===========IMAGE============--><img alt="Three American Eagle aircraft flew supplies to Haiti on Wednesday after the devastating earthquake." src="http://i.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2010/TRAVEL/01/14/haiti.airlines.aid/story.american.courtesy.jpg" width="300" border="0" height="169" /><!--===========/IMAGE===========--> </div><!--===========CAPTION==========--> <div><span style="font-size:78%;">Three American Eagle aircraft flew supplies to Haiti on Wednesday after the devastating earthquake.</span></div></div></div></div><p><b>(CNN)</b> -- Airlines, uncertain about when commercial service to disaster-ravaged Haiti will resume, are organizing relief flights and offering incentives to customers who donate to aid organizations. </p> <p>AMR Corp., the parent company of American Airlines and American Eagle, sent three American Eagle aircraft into Haiti on Wednesday carrying 30,000 pounds of relief supplies, including food, water and other nonperishable goods, for airline employees and local hospitals and aid efforts, said American spokesman Tim Smith. </p> <p>The airline plans to send three more relief flights each day on Thursday and Friday.</p> <p>Twitter reports that the airline is flying aid workers to <a class="cnnInlineTopic" href="http://topics.cnn.com/topics/Haiti">Haiti</a> are false, Smith said Thursday.</p> <p>"Last night's hoax on Twitter about American and JetBlue flying doctors and nurses to Haiti for free was just that -- a hoax. We do not know who is responsible. We cannot fly any passengers to Haiti at this time," he said.</p> <p>The airline is offering its frequent-flier program members mileage incentives for contributing to the Red Cross. Starting Thursday, members can earn a one-time bonus of 250 miles for a minimum donation of $50 or 500 miles for a donation of $100 or more through February 28, according to American's Web site.</p> <p>"We invite our customers to join us in supporting the American Red Cross, and it is with our deepest appreciation that we acknowledge their generosity with this opportunity to earn AAdvantage miles," said Peter J. Dolara, an American senior vice president, in a statement.</p> <p>American has suspended service to Haiti. Passengers with plans to travel there this month may change them without fee or penalty through February 14.</p> <p>U.S. Embassy staff at the Port-au-Prince airport said the tower and the lights were working, U.S. State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley said Wednesday. </p> <p>Spirit Airlines, which operates one flight a day between Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and <a class="cnnInlineTopic" href="http://topics.cnn.com/topics/Port_au_Prince">Port-au-Prince</a> also canceled Wednesday and Thursday flights.</p> <p>Customers with reservations for travel to, from or through Haiti between Wednesday and Sunday may rebook their travel without penalty, provided the new departure is on or before February 7, according to Spirit's Web site. The airline will waive the change fee for travelers who move their travel beyond February 7, but it will charge for any difference in fare.</p> <p>The airline plans to resume <a class="cnnInlineTopic" href="http://topics.cnn.com/topics/Air_Travel">flights</a> as soon as commercial service reopens at the Port-au-Prince airport.<b> </b></p> <p>The airline will give 5,000 free Spirit miles to the first 200,000 members of its frequent-flier program who donate at least $5 to UNICEF, the Red Cross or Yéle Haiti. Members must register online to participate.</p> <p>Delta Air Lines has canceled its one daily flight between New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport and Port-au-Prince through Saturday, said spokesman Anthony Black in an e-mail. </p> <p>"We also have no current plans to operate charter service as we have not received an 'official' request from the government or our partner relief organizations," he said.</p> <p>JetBlue Airways does not fly into Haiti, but the airline is waiving change fees and fare differences for passengers who were scheduled to fly into neighboring Dominican Republic between Wednesday and Sunday. Passengers may rebook flights between the same cities to depart anytime through next Wednesday, according to the airline's Web site.</p> <p class="cnnInline">JetBlue's operations in the Dominican Republic have not been disrupted, but the airline advises passengers traveling from cities in the Dominican Republic to allow extra time getting to the airport due to possible road closures as a result of the <a class="cnnInlineTopic" href="http://topics.cnn.com/topics/Earthquakes">earthquake</a>, its Web site said.</p>William Leehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08372422781755772890noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-669286321058377801.post-10211737637666261642009-12-21T19:45:00.000-08:002009-12-21T19:49:15.860-08:00'Three-Hour Rule' To Address Tarmac Delays<div class="bucketwrap byline" id="res121729006"><p class="byline">By <a href="http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=2100645"><span>Adam Hochberg</span></a></p><div class="photowrap"><a onclick="'var" x=".tl(" s_objectid="http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=121710206_1" href="http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=121710206" id="featuredStackLargeImage121710206" class="photowrap storylocation"><img src="http://media.npr.org/assets/news/2009/12/21/jetblue.jpg?t=1261424601&s=2" title="Feb. 14, 2007, stranded passengers aboard JetBlue flight" alt="Feb. 14, 2007, stranded passengers aboard JetBlue flight" class="img300" /></a><span class="creditwrap"><span class="credit">Lou Martins</span>/<span class="rightsnotice">AP</span></span></div><!-- END CLASS="PHOTOWRAP" --><div style="width: 650px;" id="zoom_content"><img style="width: 650px;" src="http://media.npr.org/assets/news/2009/12/21/newark.jpg?t=1261418044&s=51" title="Airplanes line up" alt="Airplanes line up" /> <span style="color: rgb(102, 102, 102);" class="creditwrap"><span class="credit">Mario Tama</span>/<span class="rightsnotice">Getty Images</span></span><p style="color: rgb(102, 102, 102);" class="caption">Airplanes line up as they await their turn to take off at Newark International Airport in New Jersey, February, 2008.</p></div><p>The U.S. Transportation Department announced new limits Monday on how long airline passengers will be forced to sit in planes stuck on airport tarmacs. Starting in the spring, planes must return to the terminal if the delay exceeds three hours.</p><p>The move follows years of complaints from passenger advocates about situations where people are held on grounded planes for hours on end — sometimes without food or a functioning lavatory. </p><p>For instance, when a Continental Express flight was stranded in Rochester, Minn., this summer, passengers complained that they went eight hours with no food except pretzels. On other jets that have been forced to sit on the tarmac, the toilets have stopped working, the air has gotten hot and stale, and parents of babies have run out of clean diapers.</p><p>Long tarmac delays happen 100 times a month or so. When they do, the conditions onboard planes can become pretty unbearable.</p><p>Passengers deserve better treatment, U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said Monday.</p><p>"You talk to anybody that's flown frequently, they will tell you that they've sat on a tarmac with no explanation about why they're sitting there, no explanation as to why there's not at least something to drink or eat, and people are sick of it," LaHood said, announcing the so-called "three-hour rule."</p><p>On domestic flights, airlines will be required to allow passengers off the plane if they've been sitting for more than three hours. Flight crews also will be required to keep the lavatories working, provide medical attention to anyone who needs it, and — once the delay hits the two-hour mark — supply adequate food and water.</p><p>Airlines that don't comply will face fines of more than $27,000 for each inconvenienced passenger, LaHood said.</p><p>"These kinds of issues and these kinds of problems should have been addressed by the airlines," he said. "The fact that they haven't been means that we at DOT have to step up and look after the passengers."</p><p>The regulation has been a long time in the making. Congress has been discussing the issue of tarmac delays for a decade; the Bush administration set up a panel to study it almost two years ago. But Monday's announcement was a surprise even to those who have been calling for action.</p><p>Fliers rights advocate Kate Hanni has been promoting the three-hour rule since 2006, since she was stuck on a tarmac for nine hours in Texas. She says she has heard from thousands of people who have been in similar situations. </p><p>"There were people with insulin reactions, people who had claustrophobia, people who could not handle being confined in that tight space without temperature control," Hanni recalled. "This is a victory for airline passengers." </p><p>The airline industry is questioning whether the rule will have unintended effects that could make things worse for passengers. At the Air Transport Association, the industry's trade group, president Jim May predicted that the rule will force airlines to cancel more flights entirely, to avoid the risk that the plane will exceed the three-hour rule. </p><p>Citing the difficulty of rebooking passengers in what he called "today's incredibly congested environment," May said the three-hour rule could end up delaying customers even more. </p><p>"The flights that got canceled out of Washington, D.C., this weekend after the terrible snows are a good example of that," May said. "A lot of those people won't reach their destinations for two, three, four days."</p><p>May said industry surveys suggest that most passengers actually would prefer to withstand a long tarmac delay, if the other option is having their flight canceled. Still, he says airlines intend to comply with the new rule.</p><p>That means even no-frills airlines very likely will have to carry some snacks onboard in case they need them during a delay. And he says airlines will work with airports to find safe ways to deplane passengers, even if all of the gates are occupied. </p></div><input id="gwProxy" type="hidden"><!--Session data--><input onclick="jsCall();" id="jsProxy" type="hidden"><div id="refHTML"></div>William Leehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08372422781755772890noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-669286321058377801.post-7331306128034413472009-11-22T06:35:00.000-08:002009-11-22T06:38:43.826-08:00World is small for mileage millionaires<p><span style="font-size:85%;">"The only way I can earn miles is whenever I fly back home to Malaysia... what can I do with those miles? A roundtrip ticket from Penang to Singapore...."<br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size:85%;">By <b>A. Pawlowski</b>, CNN</span></p><p><span style="font-size:85%;">November 20, 2009 2:25 p.m. EST</span><!--endclickprintinclude--><!-- google_ad_section_end --><!--startclickprintexclude--> <!--endclickprintexclude--><!-- google_ad_section_start --><!-- CONTENT --><!-- REAP --><!-- KEEP --><!--startclickprintinclude--> <script language="JavaScript" type="text/javascript">var clickExpire = "-1";</script> <!-- REAP --><!--startclickprintexclude--> </p><div class="cnn_stryimg640captioned"><!--===========IMAGE============--><img src="http://i.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2009/TRAVEL/11/20/mileage.millionaires/t1larg.borabora.courtesy.jpg" alt="Gary Leff and his wife, Shanna Follansbee, spent 670,000 airline and hotel points when they got married." width="640" border="0" height="360" /><!--===========/IMAGE===========--></div><!--===========CAPTION==========-->Gary Leff and his wife, Shanna Follansbee, spent 670,000 airline and hotel points when they got married<p><b><br /></b></p><p><b>(CNN)</b> -- It can take years to snag a reservation at El Bulli, a restaurant in Spain that's been called the best in the world, so when Gary Leff got the word that he'd finally gotten in, he whisked his wife across the Atlantic -- just for dinner.</p> <p>Leff is a millionaire. A frequent-flier mile millionaire, that is.</p> <p>He estimates that he's accumulated 7 million frequent-flier miles across different programs over his lifetime, thanks to his love of travel, lots of airline-affiliated credit card purchases and careful monitoring of mile promotions.</p> <p>"It's nice to be able to know that I can get on virtually any airplane in the world without worrying about the money," said Leff, 35, the chief financial officer for a university research center, who lives in Arlington, Virginia.</p> <p>"The world is so much smaller, and that's incredibly liberating."</p> <p>Hollywood is taking interest in multimillion-milers like Leff with the upcoming movie "Up in the Air," which stars George Clooney as an extreme frequent flier on the cusp of reaching 10 million miles.</p> <p> For those lucky or busy enough to receive airline statements with lots of zeros, it's a world of first-class upgrades, airport lounge attendants who know their names and access to luxury unimaginable for most <a href="http://topics.cnn.com/topics/Air_Travel" class="cnnInlineTopic">air travelers</a>.</p> <p><b>Plane with private suites</b></p> <p>Gene Gibbs still remembers the champagne, caviar and multicourse meals he feasted on when he and his partner spent 360,000 miles for two first-class tickets from New York to Dubai on Emirates, the airline of the United Arab Emirates.</p> <p>"It was amazing, incredible," Gibbs, 40, said. "They had private suites with doors that slide closed, unparalleled privacy."</p> <p>Gibbs, a pension consulting actuary in San Francisco, California, estimates that he and his partner have earned 10 million frequent-flier miles in the past five years, mostly through extensive leisure travel that has them jetting off every weekend. They burn more than a million miles a year, Gibbs said.</p> <p>"The ultimate goal is to spend them all in business or first class on the best carriers you can find in the world," he added.</p> <p>Gibbs is planning a trip to Athens, Greece, in November and a flight to Singapore in December, all on frequent-flier miles.</p> <p><b>Cherished customers</b></p> <p>Such award tickets may be hard to imagine for people who feel like it takes an eternity just to accumulate enough miles for a free coach seat, but mileage millionaires aren't as rare as you might think.</p> <!--startclickprintexclude--> <div class="cnn_strylftcntnt"><div class="cnn_strylctcntr cnn_strylctcquote"><div class="cnn_strylctcqcntr"><div>It pains me when I see the big dip in my balance after cashing in several hundred thousand miles. </div></div></div></div><!--endclickprintexclude--><p> Airlines are tight-lipped about the exact number, but it's estimated that more than 300,000 people have earned at least 1 million miles in a single frequent-flier program, said Randy Petersen, editor and publisher of <a href="http://www.insideflyer.com/" target="new">Inside Flyer</a> magazine.</p> <p>Airlines woo mileage millionaires carefully and are protective of their identities and demographics so as not to lose their best customers to their competitors.</p> <p>"It's kind of like Las Vegas: Casinos don't identify their largest gamblers," Petersen said.</p> <p>For Charles Witt, the biggest perk of having accumulated millions of miles is being taken care of while globetrotting, he said. He also likes being able to splurge on travel for himself and his friends.</p> <p>Witt, 41, who is a U.S. government employee in Washington and travels all over the world on business, gave himself a trip on the Concorde as a birthday present in 1994. He spent 240,000 miles for a special promotion that let him fly first class on a regular plane from Washington to London and return on the supersonic jet.</p> <p>This Christmas, he's planning a first-class trip with his girlfriend to Taipei, Taiwan, purchased with his miles. They'll spend New Year's in Tokyo, Japan.</p> <p>"It's one of those nice things that you can do for special trips with the people you really like spending time with and you can do it in a special way," Witt said.</p> <p><b>Big splurges</b></p> <p>It's a feeling shared by some of the other million milers.</p> <p> Leff, the frequent flier who hopped across the pond to Spain with his wife in business class at a cost of 100,000 miles per ticket just to have dinner at <a href="http://www.elbulli.com/" target="new">El Bulli</a>, took advantage of his account in a really big way when he got married four years ago in Seattle, Washington.</p> <p>He spent a grand total of 670,000 points, which helped pay for hotel rooms for out-of-town guests and for his honeymoon in Bora Bora and Australia.</p> <p>Like most frequent fliers, Leff knows that unused miles can easily lose value, so he likes to spend them despite feeling a bit disappointed when his next statement arrives.</p> <p>"It pains me when I see the big dip in my balance after cashing in several hundred thousand miles," Leff said. "At the same time, that does not ever convince me not to spend the points, because they'll never be worth more tomorrow than they're worth today."</p> <p class="cnnInline">Next on his itinerary: Thanksgiving in Paris, France, and New Year's in the Caribbean. It's good to be a mileage millionaire.</p><input id="gwProxy" type="hidden"><!--Session data--><input onclick="jsCall();" id="jsProxy" type="hidden"><div id="refHTML"></div>William Leehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08372422781755772890noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-669286321058377801.post-11043472209177346522009-10-26T13:53:00.000-07:002009-10-26T14:05:05.960-07:00In One Man's Garage, Pan Am Still Makes the Going Great<h3 class="byline">Must be a great feeling to step back in time to relieve the days when US carriers were the epitome of airline service.<br /></h3><h3 class="byline"><span style="font-size:78%;">By <strong></strong>Candace Jackson <a class="" href="mailto:candace.jackson@wsj.com">candace.jackson@wsj.com</a></span> </h3> <p>Fliers nostalgic for the golden era of air travel might want to book a trip to Anthony Toth's garage.</p> <p>Mr. Toth has built a precise replica of a first-class cabin from a Pan Am World Airways 747 in the garage of his two-bedroom condo in Redondo Beach, Calif. The setup includes almost everything fliers in the late 1970s and 1980s would have found onboard: pairs of red-and-blue reclining seats, original overhead luggage bins and a curved, red-carpeted staircase.</p> <div class="insetCol3wide"> <div class="insetContent"> <div class="insetContent embedType-interactive"> <div class="insetTree"> <div class="insettipUnit insetTarget"> <div class="insetZoomTargetBox"> <div class="insettipBox"> <div class="insettip"> <p><a onclick="dj.module.slideshowPlayer.tabplay('SLIDESHOW08','SB10001424052748704335904574495622113040760');return false;" href="#">View Slideshow</a></p></div></div><a onclick="dj.module.slideshowPlayer.tabplay('SLIDESHOW08','SB10001424052748704335904574495622113040760');return false;" href="#"><img alt="[SB10001424052748704335904574495622113040760]" src="http://s.wsj.net/public/resources/images/OB-ES794_panamp_D_20091023193338.jpg" width="262" border="0" height="174" hspace="0" /></a></div><cite>Brian L. Frank for The Wall Street Journal</cite> <p class="targetCaption">A coffee maker with a Pan Am logo sits in the replica cabin Anthony Toth built in his Redondo Beach, Calif., home</p></div></div></div></div></div> <p>Once comfortably ensconced, Mr. Toth's visitors can sip beverages from the long-defunct airline's glasses, served with Pan Am logo swizzle sticks and napkins, plus salted almonds sealed in Pan Am wrappers. They can even peel open a set of plastic-wrapped, vintage Pan Am headphones and listen to original in-flight audio recordings from the era, piped in through the armrests.</p> <p>Mr. Toth, a 42-year-old global sales director at United Airlines, has spent more than 20 years on his elaborate recreation of a Pan Am cabin, which includes a few economy-class seats, too. All told, Mr. Toth estimates he has spent as much as $50,000 on the project, which he hopes someday to turn into a museum.</p> <p>"The brand was so powerful, he says. "They had this uncompromising standard of service."</p> <div class="insetContent embedType-image imageFormat-BV"> <div class="insetTree"> <div class="insettipUnit"><img alt="[PanAm Bag]" src="http://s.wsj.net/public/resources/images/HC-GO217_PanAmB_BV_20091025175257.gif" width="124" border="0" height="84" hspace="0" /> </div></div></div> <p>To find artifacts from the airline, which ceased operation in 1991, Mr. Toth spends his vacations trekking out to an area in the Mojave Desert known as the airplane boneyard, where retired aircraft are stripped for parts. When he can't buy an original Pan Am item in good condition, like seat covers, he recruits professionals to create suitable stand-ins.</p> <p>Julie Fisher, a friend of Mr. Toth's, says one time she got a call from Mr. Toth saying he'd heard about a source for headsets in Bangkok. A few days later, the two of them hopped a plane to Thailand for the weekend to track them down. (As an airline employee, Mr. Toth can usually fly himself and a friend for free if space is available.)</p> <p>In the 1930s, Pan Am became the first U.S. airline to fly internationally, and in the 1970s, the first to fly Boeing 747 jumbo jets. Pan Am was once synonymous with international jet-setting, with upper-deck dining rooms and flight attendants decked out in crisp blue uniforms, high heels and white gloves. First-class travelers were served out of silver-plated martini pitchers. A parade of linen-covered food carts made its way down the aisle at dinnertime.</p> <p>The airline began struggling financially in the 1970s as fuel prices soared and competition on international routes escalated. Still, Pan Am made few cutbacks to its first-class service.</p> <p>In 1988, a Pan Am flight was bombed by terrorists above Lockerbie, Scotland, killing 270 people. The airline declared bankruptcy in 1991. A commuter airline called Pan Am Clipper Connection operated out of New Hampshire using the company's blue globe logo until last year. United Airlines, Mr. Toth's current employer, purchased the Pacific division of Pan Am in 1985.</p> <div class="insetCol3wide"> <div class="insetContent embedType-videoThumb imageFormat-arbitrary"> <div class="insetTree"> <div class="insetType-video" id="articlevideo_2"> <div id="videodiv_568147"> <div class="videoTree"> <div class="videoFrame"><a href="#"><img alt="video" src="http://m.wsj.net/video/20091025/102309panam/102309panam_115x65.jpg" width="115" height="65" /><span class="videoBug"> </span></a></div></div> <h3 class="first"><a href="#">Hopping On Board Pan Am</a></h3><small>2:41</small> <p class="targetCaption">Anthony Toth has been working on his replica of a first-class Pan Am cabin for 20 years. Candace Jackson tours Toth's homage to the golden era of air travel.</p></div></div></div></div></div> <p>M. Kelly Cusack, a fellow Pan Am enthusiast and memorabilia collector who worked for the airline from 1980 to 1991, runs a Web site that chronicles the airline's history. He met Mr. Toth several years ago while working at United and says he doesn't know of many other collectors who've gone as far in reconstructing an actual airplane cabin in their home.</p> <p>Mr. Toth's obsession with Pan Am began in the 1970s when he was growing up in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, about 45 minutes from Cleveland Hopkins International Airport. Every summer, he and his family traveled to see relatives in Rome and Budapest, where his parents were from, usually flying in Pan Am's coach class. "There was no other aircraft I could walk on board that intrigued me more than the Pan Am cabin," he says. "Everything symbolized something. That meant something to me as a youngster."</p> <div class="insetCol3wide"> <div class="quoteBox quoteType-Comment quoteType-Featured"> <blockquote><p><span class="quo oQ">“</span> <a class="" href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB125650482699406669.html#articleTabs%3Dcomments">Pan Am occupies a dear corner of my heart. My family immigrated to the U.S. on Pan Am ... The idea any American carrier today dares to call any part of its service "first class" is an abomination. There are those of us who remember Pan Am first class.</a> <span class="quo cQ">”</span></p></blockquote><cite class="cMetadata metadataType-comment">— Jim Parsons</cite> </div></div> <p>As a child, Mr. Toth would save items that most passengers considered to be trash, such as cardboard coasters and paper tray linings from coach meal services. On every flight, he would carry a camera and shoot three or four rolls of film documenting the aircraft's interior. He lugged a boxy tape recorder to capture in-flight audio by cranking the dial on his armrest up to level 12 and placing the microphone to the earphones so he could listen to the airline's music selection back home.</p> <p>For his 10th birthday, Mr. Toth says he persuaded his parents to sign him up for an annual subscription to the Official Airline Guide, which lists flight timetables and is typically used by travel agents. When he was 12, he created a 20-foot mock-up of the interior of a Pan Am first-class cabin in his family's basement, making seats out of wood. "This consumed my world," he says.</p> <p>Since his 20s, Mr. Toth has worked for United in a variety of positions and places, including Chicago, Raleigh, N.C., and San Francisco. He created early versions of his airline cabin in the living rooms of various apartments and houses he rented when he was in his 20s and 30s.</p> <div class="insetContent insetCol3wide embedType-image imageFormat-D"> <div class="insetTree"> <div class="insettipUnit insetZoomTarget" id="articleThumbnail_3"> <div class="insetZoomTargetBox"> <div class="insettipBox"> <div class="insettip"> <p><a>View Full Image</a></p></div></div><a><img alt="Pan Am" src="http://s.wsj.net/public/resources/images/P1-AS205_PanAm_D_20091025163502.jpg" width="262" border="0" height="174" hspace="0" /></a></div><cite>Brian L. Frank for The Wall Street Journal</cite> <p class="targetCaption">Anthony Toth built a replica Pan Am first-class cabin in his garage.</p></div></div></div><p>Two years ago, Mr. Toth, who is single, purchased his first home. He says he looked at nearly 50 apartments before finding one with a slightly oversize garage that would have enough space for his cabin configuration.</p> <p>There's one modern update: Mr. Toth installed a flat-panel TV instead of the old projection version that would have been used in the 1980s so he could watch movies and TV using his Pan Am headphones. Airline buffs will notice that the walls actually are from a DC-10 aircraft, not a 747, though he hopes to change that soon.</p> <p>While the cabin isn't open to the public, friends and fellow airline enthusiasts frequently hang out there, he says. Beverage service is included in a visit, as is a custom souvenir boarding pass and first-class luggage tags that look identical to Pan Am's from the early 1980s. Occasionally, he'll prepare a meal in the galley, though usually he orders takeout and serves it on his vintage Pan Am china and serving trays. Mr. Toth has even hosted his United colleagues for corporate meetings.</p> <p>"His passion for the industry goes well beyond what [he has] at home," says Mr. Toth's boss, Jeff Foland, senior vice president of world-wide sales and distribution for United.</p> <p>Today's first-class cabins, with reclining, lie-flat seats, on-demand gourmet meals and individual televisions have advanced far beyond the lower-tech cabins of the 1970s and 1980s. But today's airline service and branding just aren't the same, says Mr. Toth.</p> <p>In the good old days, "I didn't want to sleep when I flew," he says. "I wanted to spend every minute enjoying everything that was happening."</p> <p><strong><br /></strong></p>William Leehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08372422781755772890noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-669286321058377801.post-64808044239556996422009-09-27T20:46:00.000-07:002009-09-27T20:50:26.331-07:00British Airways sets seat charges<table class="storycontent" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tbody><tr> <td colspan="2"> Opinion: BA can afford to do this when they have control of a route. I doubt they will be able to retain customer loyalty on the more competitive routes as this move is not ideal for travel groups<br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(102, 102, 102);font-size:85%;" ><span style="font-weight: bold;">BBC: Friday, 25 September 2009 </span></span><br /></td></tr> <tr> <td class="storybody"><!-- S BO --><!-- S IIMA --> <table width="226" align="right" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"> <tbody> <tr> <td> <div><img alt="A BA plane" src="http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/46073000/jpg/_46073199_007507922-1.jpg" width="226" border="0" height="170" hspace="0" /> <div class="cap"><span style="font-size:85%;">British Airways said seat charges will give customers "more control"</span></div></div></td></tr></tbody></table><!-- E IIMA --><!-- S SF --> <p class="first"><b>British Airways passengers will have to pay to choose their seats before they travel from October, the airline says.</b> </p><p>The charges will affect those seeking to ensure they sit together on a flight and people with a preference for window, aisle or emergency exit seats. </p> <p>Prices range from £10 per person for European economy flights, to £60 for long haul trips in business class. </p> <p>Consumer group Which? said it was "disappointing to see British Airways jumping on the bandwagon". </p><!-- E SF --> <p>BA said it would "give customers more control over their seating options". The new charges will come into force on 7 October. </p> <p><b>'Extra charges'</b></p> <p>The airline currently allows passengers to reserve seats in the 24 hours prior to departure. </p> <!-- S IBOX --> <table width="231" align="right" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"> <tbody> <tr> <td width="5"><img alt="" src="http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/shared/img/o.gif" width="5" border="0" height="1" hspace="0" /></td> <td class="sibtbg"> <div> <div class="mva"><img alt="" src="http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/nol/shared/img/v3/start_quote_rb.gif" width="24" border="0" height="13" /> <b>We know from our members that people really don't like these extra charges - they'd much rather see a headline price that includes everything</b> <img alt="" src="http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/nol/shared/img/v3/end_quote_rb.gif" width="23" align="right" border="0" height="13" /><br /></div></div> <div class="mva"> <div>Which? Holiday</div></div></td></tr></tbody></table><!-- E IBOX --> <p>The new charge - aimed at passengers wanting to reserve seats earlier than this - will be £20 on long-haul economy or short flights in business class, while a seat in an emergency exit row will cost £50. </p> <p>This can be booked between 10 and four days before take-off. </p> <p>A BA spokeswoman said: "Customers frequently request specific seats, but in the past we've only been able to confirm them 24 hours in advance or on the day. </p> <p>"We know people want to secure them in advance and have real control over their flying experience. This will allow them to do that." </p> <p>Rochelle Turner, head of research at Which? Holiday, said travellers had become used to budget airlines charging them for a service that used to be included in the "headline price". </p> <p>"We know from our members that people really don't like these extra charges - they'd much rather see a headline price that includes everything," she said. </p> <p>"BA is still giving some people the chance to reserve their seat for free in the 24 hours before departure, but if you aren't quick enough off the mark, you could find yourself sitting on the other side of the plane from your family or partner. </p> <p>"It's no way to start a holiday." </p> <p>The move comes as the airline attempts to bolster its balance sheet after a £401m loss in the last financial year. </p> <p>And it follows BA's decision to cut luggage allowances and abolish free meals on short flights. </p></td></tr></tbody></table>William Leehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08372422781755772890noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-669286321058377801.post-69045347876858550532009-09-14T21:20:00.000-07:002009-09-14T21:24:22.416-07:00Iconic Greyhound bus on track for UK launch<p _extended="true"><b style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);" _extended="true">View: </b><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">I've been on the Greyhound 3 or 4 times (before Greyhound was sold to a UK company in 2007), all I can say is that you can meet all sorts of people, some are not pleasant. So this is indeed a fresh perspective for the British traveler, how long will it be before this luxury service hits the US? I think it will be very limited due to the geography that favors air travel</span><b _extended="true"><br /></b></p><p _extended="true"><b _extended="true"><br /></b></p><p _extended="true"><b _extended="true">LONDON, England (CNN)</b> -- For almost a century, the old dog has traversed landscapes across the United States, with weary, budget-conscious travelers peeking out of its windows.</p><!--startclickprintexclude--><!-- PURGE: /2009/BUSINESS/09/14/uk.greyhound.bus.service/art.greyhound.afp.gi.jpg --><!-- KEEP --> <div class="cnnStoryPhotoBox" _extended="true"> <div class="cnnImgChngr" id="cnnImgChngr" _extended="true"><!----><!--===========IMAGE============--><img alt="Greyhound bus services will run from London to cities such as Portsmouth and Southampton." src="http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2009/BUSINESS/09/14/uk.greyhound.bus.service/art.greyhound.afp.gi.jpg" _extended="true" border="0" width="292" height="219" /><!--===========/IMAGE===========--> <div class="cnnStoryPhotoCaptionBox" _extended="true"> <div class="cnn3pxTB9pxLRPad" _extended="true"> <p _extended="true"><!--===========CAPTION==========-->Greyhound bus services will run from London to cities such as Portsmouth and Southampton.<!--===========/CAPTION=========--></p></div></div> <div class="cnnWireBoxFooter" _extended="true"><img alt="" src="http://i.cdn.turner.com/cnn/.element/img/2.0/mosaic/base_skins/baseplate/corner_wire_BL.gif" _extended="true" width="4" height="4" /> </div></div></div><!-- /PURGE: /2009/BUSINESS/09/14/uk.greyhound.bus.service/art.greyhound.afp.gi.jpg --><!--endclickprintexclude--> <p _extended="true">Now, the iconic Greyhound is taking to the road in Britain. The company will run hourly bus services from London to select cities, starting Monday.</p> <p _extended="true">In contrast to its U.S. services, however, the buses are glitzier and more luxurious.</p> <p _extended="true">"The UK service will have wireless Internet, spacious leather seats, more leg room and free newspapers," said Alex Warner, managing director of Greyhound UK. "Obviously, we wanted our services to reflect the nature of UK passengers."</p> <p _extended="true">For inaugural Greyhound service in Britain, the company aimed to start with the best the United States has to offer, Warner added.</p> <p _extended="true">In North America, the same services are available from New York and Washington to select cities such as Boston and Toronto, Canada.</p> <p _extended="true">"There are plans to expand that. Americans should watch closely. We will introduce more of these services based on how well they are received in the UK," Warner said.</p> <p _extended="true">Despite the added benefits, fares will still target the budget-conscious traveler in Britain, according to Warner.</p> <p _extended="true">The service starts with a few cities -- from London to Portsmouth and Southampton, he said. The approximately 120-kilometer (80-mile) trip will cost £1 ($1.60) if a ticket is bought in advance, Warner said. Prices will go up to £4 or £5, depending on time of purchase.</p> <p _extended="true">"We are planning to keep the prices within that range," Warner said.</p> <p _extended="true">Greyhound Lines is owned by British transport company FirstGroup, which bought it from its U.S. parent in 2007. It was founded in 1914, and has services in Mexico and Canada, according to its Web site.</p> <p _extended="true">In a nod to its cameos in American movies and songs, such as the 1969 film "Midnight Cowboy" and Simon and Garfunkel's 1972 hit "America," Greyhound plans to keep at least one tie to its U.S. origins. Buses in Britain will be named after classic American songs.</p> <p class="cnnInline" _extended="true">The names include "Sweet Caroline" and "Good Golly Miss Molly," Warner said. </p>William Leehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08372422781755772890noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-669286321058377801.post-67799893736864106922009-09-14T21:01:00.000-07:002009-09-14T21:11:37.235-07:00Now, everyone in US will know Malaysia betterView: Wow! Air Asia X is pushing new frontiers! That is an interesting route, I checked AirAsia.com but it still doesn't have pricing yet<br /><br /><span style="font-size:78%;">By LIM AI LEE - The Star </span><br /><div id="story_content"><br /><img class="top" src="http://www.jaunted.com/files/14943/914raidersplane.jpg" /><br /><p>OAKLAND (California): AirAsia X has arrived in the United States with “Xcellence” - its Airbus A340 - touching down here on Monday morning.</p> <p>The no-frills airline is the first from Asia to associate itself with a performance driven National Football League team, the Oakland Raiders.</p> <p>Newly-appointed Malaysian Ambassador Datuk Seri Dr Jamaludin Jarjis, who was at the Oakland International Airport to witness the touchdown, congratulated AirAsia for promoting a Malaysian brand in the US.</p> <p>“This is a great step in building bilateral ties and contribute to the development of the tourism industry in this part of the world and in Malaysia,” Dr Jamaludin said at his first official function since presenting his credentials to Deputy State Secretary Dr James B. Steinberg in Washington on Friday.</p> <p>Also present were the city’s Mayor Ron Dellums, Oakland Raiders owner Mark Davis and CEO Amy Trask, AirAsia X CEO Azran Osman-Rani and director Datuk Lim Kian Onn.</p> <p>“With AirAsia, we will see new business opportunities in the services sector,”he said.</p> <p>Dr Jamaludin said he hoped relations between Malaysia and the US would be further enhanced under his tenure.</p> <p>There are 5,428 Malaysians studying in over 250 universities in the US and AirAsia would provide them with an affordable means of transport.</p><!-- google_ad_section_end --></div>William Leehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08372422781755772890noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-669286321058377801.post-34748220814382678442009-09-01T09:20:00.000-07:002009-09-01T09:30:48.442-07:00Airline industry lost over $6 billion in 1st half<strong>Airlines group says global industry lost over $6 billion in first half, some signs of recovery<br /></strong><span style="font-size:78%;">On Tuesday September 1, 2009, 9:22 am EDT </span><br /><br />GENEVA (AP) -- Airline companies lost more than $6 billion during the first half of the year due to the economic crisis, even as fresh figures showed some signs of recovery in the passenger and freight business, an industry group said Tuesday.<br /><br />A sample of more than 50 airlines found their losses declined to $2 billion in the second quarter from $4 billion in the first quarter, the International Air Transport Association said, noting that the April-June period is usually a strong one for the industry.<br /><br />"Since the sample of airlines is incomplete, total industry losses in the first half of 2009 are likely to have been in excess of the reported $6 billion," IATA said.<br /><br />The Geneva-based group, which represents 230 airlines worldwide, said seat occupancy in international markets stabilized in July -- the first time in over a year -- but added that airlines need to further cut capacity to meet demand.<br /><br />Freight capacity also still exceeds demand despite an 8.1 percent capacity cut in July, IATA said.<br />"With excess capacity continuing through Q2 it was not surprising that freight rates were down more than 20 percent over the year," it said.<br /><br />Overall, the industry outlook remains volatile, IATA said.<br />Airlines are still adding to their fleet because of long-term orders committed to before the downturn.<br /><br />Figures show companies increased their aircraft numbers by a net of 487, or about 2 percent of their overall fleet."Replacement and expansion of the fleet has delivered significant fuel efficiency savings," IATA said.<br />The group noted that rising fuel prices are once again eating into airlines' cash reserves.<br />Airline shares have risen 7.4 percent since the start of the year, lagging behind overall market improvements of 23 percent.<br />"Nonetheless, stronger equity markets gave airlines an opportunity to raise more -- much needed -- cash," IATA said.<br />Airlines have raised $3 billion of equity and $12 billion from new debt issues since the start of the year, it said.William Leehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08372422781755772890noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-669286321058377801.post-31073337230637496742009-08-29T11:55:00.000-07:002009-08-29T11:56:28.737-07:00Driven to driving a taxi despite having a PhD<h3 id="story_date"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);font-size:78%;" >Saturday August 29, 2009 - THESTAR.COM.MY</span><br /></h3><h2 id="story_byline"><span style="font-size:78%;">INSIGHT DOWN SOUTH<br />By SEAH CHIANG NEE</span></h2> <p><b>Bio-chemist Dr Cai Minnjie who failed to land another research position after losing his job last year now happily prowls the streets as a cabbie.</b></p> <p>SINGAPORE’S fraternity of taxi drivers, with its fair share of retrenched executives, has now an exalted new member – a PhD bio-chemist from Stanford University.</p> <p>Prowling the streets of Singapore today is 57-year-old unemployed scientist Dr Cai Mingjie who lost his job at Singapore’s premier A-Star biomedical research institute last year.</p> <p>The China-born naturalised citizen with 16 years of research accomplishments said he began driving a taxi last October after failed efforts to land another job.</p> <p>The news shocked this nation, which holds an unshakable faith in the power of an advanced university education.</p> <p>One surprised white-collar worker said he had believed that such a doctorate and experience was as good as life-long employment and success.</p> <p>“If he has to drive a taxi, what chances do ordinary people like us have?” he asked.</p> <p>I have met a number of highly qualified taxi drivers in recent years, including former managers and a retrenched engineer.</p> <p>One cheerful driver – a former stock-broker – surprised me one day in giving me detailed reasons on what stocks to buy or avoid.</p> <p>“At a time like this, the taxi business is probably the only business in Singapore that still actively recruits people,” said Dr Cai.</p> <p>To me, his plight is taking Singapore into a new chapter.</p> <p>“(I am) probably the only taxi driver in the world with a PhD from Stanford and a proven track record of scientific accomplishments ...,” blogged Dr Cai.</p> <p>“I have been forced out of my research job at the height of my scientific career” and was unable to find another job “for reasons I can only describe as something uniquely Singapore”.</p> <p>The story quickly spread far and wide over the Internet. Most Singaporeans expressed admiration for his ability to adapt so quickly to his new life. Two young Singaporeans asked for his taxi number, saying they would love to travel in his cab and talk to him.</p> <p>“There’s so much he can pass on to me,” one said.</p> <p>Others questioned why, despite his tremendous scientific experience, he is unable to find a teaching job.</p> <p>His unhappy exit is generally attributed to a personal cause (he has alleged chaotic management by research heads) rather than any decline in Singapore’s bio-tech project, which appears to be surviving the downturn.</p> <p>The case highlights a general weakening of the R and D (research and development) market in smallish Singapore.</p> <p>“The bad economy means not many firms are hiring professional scientists,” one surfer said. “Academia isn’t much of a help – there’s a long history of too many PhDs chasing too few jobs.”</p> <p>While the image of taxi drivers has received a tremendous boost, the same cannot be said of Singapore’s biomedical project – particularly its efforts to nourish home-grown research talent.</p> <p>“It may turn more Singaporeans away from Life Sciences as a career,” said one blogger.</p> <p>One writer said: “In my opinion, PhDs are useless, especially in Singapore. It’s just another certificate and doesn’t mean much.”</p> <p>Another added: “The US is in a worse situation. Many are coming here to look for jobs.”</p> <p>“I won’t want my child to study for years to end up driving a taxi,” said a housewife with a teenage daughter.</p> <p>The naturalised Singaporean citizen underwent his PhD training at Stanford University, the majority of his work revolving around the study of yeast proteins.</p> <p>His case is not unique. US research-scientist Douglas Prasher, who isolated the gene that creates the green fluorescent protein (and just missed the 2008 Chemistry Nobel Prize) faced similar straits.</p> <p>Prasher moved from one research institution to another when his funding dried up, and he eventually quit science – to drive a courtesy shuttle in Alabama.</p> <p>“Still, he remains humble and happy and seems content with his minivan driver job,” said a surfer.</p> <p>With an evolving job market as more employers resort to multi-tasking and short-term contracts, more Singaporeans are chasing after split degrees, like accountancy and law or computer and business.</p> <p>Others avoid post-graduate studies or specialised courses of a fixed discipline in favour of general or multi-discipline studies. “Experience is king” is the watchword; there has been a rush for no-pay internships.</p> <p>“The future favours graduates with multiple skills and career flexibility, people who are able to adapt to different types of work,” one business executive said.</p> <p>During the past few years, as globalisation deepened, there has been a growing disconnect between what Singaporeans studied in university and their subsequent careers.</p> <p>It follows the trend in the developed world where old businesses disappear – almost overnight – and new ones spring up, which poses problems for graduates with an inflexible job expectation.</p> <p>I know of a young man who graduated from one of America’s top civil engineering universities abandoning the construction hard hat for a teaching gown.</p> <p>Another engineer I met is running his father’s lucrative coffee shop. Lawyers have become musicians or journalists, and so on.</p> <p>Cases of people working in jobs unrelated to their university training have become so common that interviewers have stopped asking candidates questions like “Why should a trained scientist like you want to work as a junior executive with us?”</p> <p>In the past, parents would crack their heads pondering what their children should study – accountancy or law or engineering, the so-called secure careers – and see them move single-mindedly into these professions.</p> <p>A doctor was then a doctor, a biologist generally worked in the lab and a lawyer argued cases in courts – square pegs in square holes, so to speak.</p> <p>Today the world is slowly moving away from this neat pattern. </p>William Leehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08372422781755772890noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-669286321058377801.post-25570913830645950152009-08-17T10:27:00.000-07:002009-08-17T10:32:12.962-07:00Ryanair closing Manchester routes<table class="storycontent" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tbody><tr> <td colspan="2"> <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153); font-weight: bold;">View: Ryanair being a large airline seems to be using its muscle to squeeze for lower operating costs. Airports tend to loose out if major airlines pack and leave, but an airport's ability to draw the passengers will determine who wins this battle on costs</span><br /><br /></td></tr><tr><td class="storybody"><!-- end of the embedded player component --><!-- END of Inline Embedded Media --><!-- S SF --> <p class="first"><span style="font-size:85%;"><b>BBC </b>Monday, 17 August 2009 17:15 UK </span><br /></p><p class="first"><b>Ryanair is to switch or close nine of the 10 routes it currently operates from Manchester Airport, blaming the airport's refusal to lower its charges.</b> </p><p>The firm said most affected flights would be switched to East Midlands, Leeds Bradford, and Liverpool airports. </p> <p>Ryanair said the change would result in the loss of up to 600 local jobs, a claim disputed by the airport. </p> <p>The airport told BBC News job losses would be limited, but said the budget airline's decision was "regrettable". </p><!-- E SF --> <p>"We also have all but one service that Ryanair offers, served by other airlines that operate at Manchester," said chief executive of Manchester Airport Group, Geoff Muirhead. </p> <p>"So the damage will be limited." </p> <p><b>Full refund</b></p> <p>Ryanair's announcement comes a month after it said it would cut flights from London Stansted by 30% over the winter period, also as a result of a dispute over airport charges. </p> <!-- S IBOX --> <table width="231" align="right" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"> <tbody> <tr> <td width="5"><img alt="" src="http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/shared/img/o.gif" width="5" border="0" height="1" hspace="0" /></td> <td class="sibtbg"> <div> <div class="mva"><img alt="" src="http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/nol/shared/img/v3/start_quote_rb.gif" width="24" border="0" height="13" /> <b>We've consistently cut our charges for the last 15 years even when faced with increased costs such as security</b> <img alt="" src="http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/nol/shared/img/v3/end_quote_rb.gif" width="23" align="right" border="0" height="13" /><br /></div></div> <div class="mva"> <div>Manchester Airport spokesman</div></div> <div class="o"><img alt="" src="http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/nol/shared/img/v3/inline_dashed_line.gif" vspace="2" width="226" border="0" height="1" hspace="0" /><br /></div> <div class="miiib"><!-- S ILIN --> <div class="arr"><a class="" href="/2/hi/uk_news/england/west_yorkshire/8194785.stm" __eventidglow238668642="94">Ryanair jobs created at new Leeds-Bradford base</a> </div><!-- E ILIN --></div></td></tr></tbody></table><!-- E IBOX --> <p>The nine routes from Manchester that will close are those to Barcelona (Girona), Bremen, Brussels (Charleroi), Cagliari, Dusseldorf (Weeze), Frankfurt (Hahn), Marseille, Milan (Bergamo) and Shannon. </p> <p>The changes, affecting 44 flights a week, will take effect from 1 October. </p> <p>The airline said passengers affected by the changes would be e-mailed and, "provided with a full refund, or the alternative of flying to some destinations" from East Midlands, Leeds Bradford and Liverpool. </p> <p>Ryanair said it had offered Manchester an additional 28 weekly flights if the airport agreed to reduce its charges, but that it had rejected the offer. </p> <p>However, a spokesman for Manchester Airport said it did not "believe that charges as low as £3 per passenger are unreasonable". </p> <p>"We've consistently cut our charges for the last 15 years even when faced with increased costs such as security," he added. </p></td></tr></tbody></table>William Leehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08372422781755772890noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-669286321058377801.post-49236871184820253252009-08-12T20:25:00.000-07:002009-08-12T20:26:41.447-07:00JetBlue offers all-you-can-fly plan for $599<h2 class="storysubhead">Unlimited flight pass valid for trips between Sept. 8 and Oct. 8.</h2><!--startclickprintexclude--> <script type="text/javascript" src="http://i.cdn.turner.com/money/.element/ssi/javascript/2.0/cnnShare.js"></script> <div id="clickIncludeBox"> <script language="JavaScript1.2" src="http://i.cdn.turner.com/money/javascript/clickability/button2200_1newlayout.js"></script><script language="JavaScript"> window.onerror=function(){clickURL=cleanClickURL(document.location.href);return true;} if(!self.clickURL) clickURL=cleanClickURL(parent.location.href);</script><br /></div><div class="storybyline">By <a href="mailto:julianne.pepitone@turner.com">Julianne Pepitone</a>, CNNMoney.com contributing writer</div><div class="storytimestamp">Last Updated: August 12, 2009: 5:14 PM ET</div><!--startclickprintexclude--> <!--endclickprintexclude--><!-- /REAP --><p>NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- JetBlue Airways will offer an "all-you-can-jet" pass for $599 in which passengers can book an unlimited amount of flights within a one-month span, the airline said Wednesday.</p><p>Pass holders can fly to any of JetBlue's (<a href="http://money.cnn.com/quote/quote.html?symb=JBLU&source=story_quote_link">JBLU</a>) 56 destinations between Sept. 8 and Oct. 8, with no seat limitations or blackout dates, the company said in a release.</p><p>Airline equities analyst Bob McAdoo, of Avondale Partners, said he "has never seen a promotion like this before."</p><p>In fact, Air Canada had a similar promotion in 2007, where it offered an unlimited flight pass starting at $1,657 per month.</p><p>Still, with JetBlue flights already slashed as low as $100, customers might have to fly 6 or 7 times in a month before they break even.</p><p>"This is a way to get people to pay attention, with publicity that doesn't cost the company much," McAdoo said. "They're doing this at a time when there are probably a lot of seats available anyway."</p><p>Customers must buy the $599 pass by Aug. 21, and they can book flights within three days of the departure date. All travel using the pass must be booked between Aug. 12 and Oct. 5.</p><p>Taxes and fees are included for domestic flights, and changes or cancellations made less than three days before departure cost $100. <a href="http://money.cnn.com/2009/08/12/news/companies/jetblue_unlimited_flight_pass/index.htm#TOP"><img src="http://i.cdn.turner.com/money/images/bug.gif" alt="To top of page" width="7" border="0" height="7" /></a></p>William Leehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08372422781755772890noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-669286321058377801.post-19483428244752899462009-07-10T10:22:00.000-07:002009-07-10T10:23:42.061-07:00More airlines embracing furry travelers<p style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51);" _extended="true"><span style="font-size:78%;">By Stephanie Chen<br />CNN</span></p><p _extended="true"><b _extended="true">(CNN)</b> -- A few weeks ago, Tony Hoard, a 57-year-old manufacturing worker in Indiana, boarded a flight on Midwest Airlines to Las Vegas, Nevada, with his Australian Shepherd. The flight attendant smiled at the two and said, "Welcome aboard."</p><!--startclickprintexclude--> <div id="imageChanger1" _extended="true"> <div class="cnnStoryPhotoBox" _extended="true"> <div class="cnnImgChngr" id="cnnImgChngr" _extended="true"> <div id="cnnImgChngrNested" _extended="true"><img alt="Midwest Airlines allows some of its canine customers to be seated in the cabin." src="http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2009/TRAVEL/07/10/pets.fly.airlines/art.midwestdog.courtey.jpg.jpg" _extended="true" width="292" height="219" hspace="0" /> <div style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51);" class="cnnStoryPhotoCaptionBox" _extended="true"> <div class="cnn3pxTB9pxLRPad" _extended="true"> <p _extended="true"><span style="font-size:85%;">Midwest Airlines allows some of its canine customers to be seated in the cabin. </span></p></div></div></div> <div class="cnnStoryPhotoBoxNavigation" _extended="true"> <div id="cnnImgChngrPrvsLbl" _extended="true"><div id="cnnImgChngrNested" style="opacity: 1;" _extended="true"><img alt="Pet Airlines, a pet-only airline flying to five cities across the U.S., is scheduled to launch this month." src="http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2009/TRAVEL/07/10/pets.fly.airlines/art.petairlines.courtesy.jpg.jpg" onload="CNN_loadImg(this.parentNode);" width="292" height="219" hspace="0" /> <div style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51);" class="cnnStoryPhotoCaptionBox"> <div class="cnn3pxTB9pxLRPad"> <p><span style="font-size:85%;">Pet Airlines, a pet-only airline flying to five cities across the U.S., is scheduled to launch this month. </span></p></div></div></div> </div></div><div class="cnnWireBoxFooter" _extended="true"><img alt="" src="http://i.cdn.turner.com/cnn/.element/img/2.0/mosaic/base_skins/baseplate/corner_wire_BL.gif" _extended="true" width="4" height="4" /> </div></div></div></div> <script type="text/javascript" _extended="true"> var CNN_ArticleChanger = new CNN_imageChanger('cnnImgChngr','/2009/TRAVEL/07/10/pets.fly.airlines/imgChng/p1-0.init.exclude.html',2,1); //CNN.imageChanger.load('cnnImgChngr','imgChng/p1-0.exclude.html'); </script> <!--endclickprintexclude--> <p _extended="true">Hoard has flown with Rory, his furry 40-pound companion, in coach more than 15 times on Midwest, the Wisconsin-based airline that boasts "The Best Care in the Air." Each time they fly, Rory wears a harness and sits strapped into a seat. </p> <p _extended="true">"Rory gets the window seat," said Hoard, whose dog has won a series of Frisbee competitions. "He likes to look out the window when the plane takes off and naps the rest of the way."</p> <p _extended="true">Blame America's pet obsession, but in recent years, more members of the <a class="cnnInlineTopic" href="http://topics.cnn.com/topics/air_travel" _extended="true">airline industry</a> are embracing dogs and cats on board. Midwest Airlines may be an extreme example, letting select dogs sit in the same seats as humans, but other airlines are relaxing their pet policies by letting smaller cats and dogs come into the cabin area. </p> <p _extended="true">About a year ago, Midwest began allowing certain "celebrity" dogs that appear in canine competitions, shows or advertisements to sit in seats. </p> <p _extended="true">"They are just passengers with four legs instead of two," said Susan Kerwin, who oversees the pet program at Midwest Airlines. </p> <p _extended="true">The pet travel frenzy has spurred the creation of an airline catering exclusively to pets. This month, Pet Airways, the nation's first pet-only airline, will begin flying in five major cities, including New York and Los Angeles, California. It's an alternative to shipping larger pets in the cargo area of a plane, where there have been pet injuries and even deaths. <a href="/2009/TRAVEL/06/24/airline.fees/index.html" _extended="true">Chart: Compare some of the common airline fees</a></p> <p _extended="true">"The owners can check a bag with them," explained Alyse Tognotti, a spokeswoman for Pet Airways. "Or if they have a special blanket or toy, basically anything that will take stress out of traveling."</p> <p _extended="true">On each Pet Airways flight, services include potty breaks and experienced animal handlers checking up on the animals every 15 minutes. Nervous parents can track their pets online. </p> <p _extended="true"><a class="cnnInlineTopic" href="http://topics.cnn.com/topics/southwest_airlines_inc" _extended="true">Southwest</a> Airlines was the latest airline to join the pet-loving bandwagon in May, when it permitted small dogs and cats to travel in the cabin area. The pets must sit in an approved kennel that fits under the seat.</p> <p _extended="true">"I wasn't going to fly Southwest Airlines," said Katie Chapman, 37, of Louisville, Kentucky, who is mom to a friendly 18-pound Cairn Terrier that resembles Toto from "The Wizard of Oz." Since the airline has changed its policy, she plans to take her puppy on a Southwest flight to California this fall. "I'm so glad now that she will be able to go with me."</p> <p _extended="true">Each year, airlines transport hundreds of thousands of pets in the cargo and cabin areas. Continental reported moving 270,000 pets last year in cabin and cargo, more than triple the number moved before the airline's pet program officially kicked off eight years ago. </p><!--startclickprintexclude--><p _extended="true">The Federal Aviation Administration doesn't have restrictions on whether animals can be in the cabin area, but airlines must allow service dogs for the disabled on board. Only cats and dogs are allowed in the cabin areas on most airlines. In the cargo area, other pets like rabbits, birds and lizards can be stowed. </p> <p _extended="true">The cost of flying your furry friend ranges from $75 to nearly $300 each leg. It's a hefty price tag, but profit-bleeding airlines are happy to offer the option.</p> <p _extended="true">Pets can even rack up frequent flier miles. After three flights with <a class="cnnInlineTopic" href="http://topics.cnn.com/topics/midwest_air_group_inc" _extended="true">Midwest</a>, the pet can earn a fourth flight free. Continental and JetBlue Airways' programs credit the pet's trip on the owner's frequent flier account.</p> <p _extended="true">But one airline is catering to allergy-ridden customers who don't want pets in the cabin. Last year, Frontier Airlines banned pets from the cabin area because officials said pet allergies are common among their customers.</p> <p _extended="true">Ann Kerns, a 63-year-old teacher in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, experienced continuous wheezing on a four-hour US Airways flight to Phoenix, Arizona. At the end of the flight, she was shocked to find that there had been a cat sitting under her seat. </p> <p _extended="true">"What would have happened if I went into an attack at 35,000 feet in the air?" she asked.</p> <p _extended="true">In 2008, the American College of Asthma, Allergy and Immunology wrote letters to Congress expressing concern about pets riding in the cabin area after some patients became ill from their flights. The letters didn't go very far, officials said.</p> <p _extended="true">Airlines say they have had few allergy injuries on board. The airlines limit the number of pets in the cargo area to about five. The aircraft is disinfected and cleaned routinely, so dander and hairs aren't a problem, airline officials say.</p> <p _extended="true">But not every traveler has had smooth experiences with pets on board.</p> <p _extended="true">Terry Trippler, a travel expert, recalls an unpleasant incident years ago when a dog had diarrhea three rows in front of him.<b _extended="true"> </b></p> <p class="cnnInline" _extended="true">"You could certainly smell it," he wrote in an e-mail. "The only real way to solve the problem is no pets in the cabin." </p>William Leehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08372422781755772890noreply@blogger.com0