Bid for Business Class: Airline upgrades now up for auction

By Daisy Carrington, for CNN

September 4, 2013 -- Updated 0335 GMT (1135 HKT)

(CNN) -- Flying economy getting you down?

The good news is that getting bumped up to Business Class just got more affordable. Last month, Iberia became the latest carrier to roll out an online auction scheme that allows customers to bid for seating upgrades.

"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 Plusgrade, the software company that developed the system. "The idea was to help correct that, and do it intelligently."

The setup works differently for each airline, depending on their specifications. Some carriers offer upgrades to First Class as well.

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.

 

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.

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.

 

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.

Still, one can't help but wonder if the airlines risk eating into their premium revenues.

Jamie Baker, an airline analyst at JP Morgan, says it's a possibility.

 

"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."

Harris, however, seems confident the bidding system will not impact premium-seating sales.

"There's no guarantee that simply because you've requested an upgrade, you'll receive it," he says.

"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."

 

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.

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.

 

"This product is for a completely different type of group," explains Stephanie Kunath, Austrian's director of revenue management and business development.

"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."

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.

"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.

Harris, however, argues that free bump-ups are the stuff of fantasy.

"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."

Solving Traffic Problems - Algorithms that mimic micro organisms

How bacteria could solve China's rush-hour blues
20120814 BBC
Contributor: Christopher Mims

(Copyright: Thinkstock)Software that imitates the collective behaviour of bacteria could help create intelligent traffic lights that manage teeming masses of city traffic.
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.



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.



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.



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.



Behaviour code



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.



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.



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.



"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.



Follow the swarm



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.



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.



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.



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.

Plan to increase capacity for RER Line A in Paris, France

Current design cannot handle surging ridership

M109 that will serve RER A in 2014

New colors makes the train looks futuristic

Current M184 serving RER A in Auber station

Source: RATP.FR
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.

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

PM launches Malaysia's first bus rapid transit project

By RAZAK AHMAD - The Star .com .my

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.

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.

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.

“The usage of public transport is still low at 17 percent and our target is to push it up to 40 percent by 2020. 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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Air Asia X withdraws from India and Europe

View: 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.

In the end, I suspect this is due to the MAS-AirAsia partnership, which AirAsia had to step back in order to allow MAS a surviving chance to return to profitability.

Here are my reasons: for the instance of Europe. Although the economic conditions in Europe are depressing consumer demand, but we should not forget the growing affluence of Asian travellers 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??

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.

=====================================================
here's the news:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

AIRASIA X RE-ALIGNS NETWORK TO FOCUS ON CORE MARKETS
Developments in Global Economy, Soaring Taxes and Higher Jet Fuel Prices leads long haul low-cost carrier to increase focus on core markets

KUALA LUMPUR, 12 January 2012- AirAsia X, the long haul, low fare affiliate of AirAsia, today announced a realignment of its network with a focus on its core markets.
The move will see AirAsia X withdrawing services to India (Mumbai and Delhi) and Europe (Paris, London) from its Kuala Lumpur hub as follows:
· Mumbai- Four weekly services will be suspended with the last flight on 31 January, 2012
· 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.
· London- Six weekly services will be suspended with the last flight on 31 March, 2012
· Paris- Four weekly services will be suspended with the last flight on 30 March, 2012

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.
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.

These changes will improve operating cost efficiencies and consolidate its network to focus on markets where it can build a leadership position in 2012.

Azran Osman-Rani, 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.”
“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.”

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.”
“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.”
Azran concluded that, “The airline is hopeful in reinstating services to India once these structural issues can be resolved.”
Note:
Further details on AirAsia X’s withdrawal of Europe and India destinations:
Europe (London and Paris)
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.

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.

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.

India (Mumbai and New Delhi)
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.
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.


About AirAsia and AirAsia X
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.
For MEDIA enquiries, please contact:
MALAYSIA
Sherliza Zaharudin
My Mobile No : +6019 282 5887 My Email : sherlizazaharudin@airasia.com
My Office No : +603 8660 4614
Stacy
My Mobile No : +6017 673 7603 My Email : wongkaiwenstacy@airasia.com
My Office No : +603 8660 4650

Logistics seen growing 10%

Source THESTAR Saturday January 7, 2012

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.

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.

“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.

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.

“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.

Malaysia's major trading partners are Asian countries which are expected to experience stable economic growth.

“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.

The country's key trading commodities are electrical and electronic products, chemicals, palm oil, machinery, appliances and parts.

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.

“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.

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.

MAS taking longer than expected to unveil turnaround plan

View: 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.

By B.K. SIDHU bksidhu@thestar.com.my

PETALING JAYA: Investors and analysts are basically growing tired, having waited for nearly three months now for the new team at Malaysia Airlines (MAS) to announce some definitive execution plans to turn the ailing airline around.
In a report, Maybank Investment Bank 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.''
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.''

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.''
“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.

Malaysian Airlines aircraft parked on a tarmac at Kuala Lumpur International Airport in Sepang outside Kuala Lumpur.(File picture) - EPA

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.
“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.

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.
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.

The report suggested that there were many areas where MAS and AirAsia could work to save cost.
“We believe both airlines should be smart and combine powers against the common enemy. For example, AirAsia X 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.

MAS to axe unprofitable routes

View: How often does MAS rationalize the network? Seems that some routes have been causing the airline to bleed for a long time!

By B.K. SIDHU bksidhu@thestar.com.my

PETALING JAYA: Malaysia Airlines (MAS), 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.
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.
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.
“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.
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.
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.
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.
“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.
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.
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.
“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.
“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.
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.

Rapid Penang suffers RM1.1mil loses in fare discrepancies

View: 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.


Source: TheStar.com.my

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.

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.

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.

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.

RapidKL expects additional 150 buses to increase efficiency

The Star: 18th September 2011

Datuk Hazlan Mohamed Hussain at the launch Monday. - Bernama pic

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.

RapidKL is a subsidiary of government-owned, Syarikat Prasarana Negara Berhad (Prasarana).

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.

"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.

Hazlan said with improved efficiency, the company hopes to attract more customers to use its services and this would raise revenue accordingly.

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. - BERNAMA

A private Malaysia Airlines?

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?

Maybank IB: The company can reshape for a re-listing later

PETALING JAYA: Privatise Malaysia Airlines (MAS) but list Firefly, MAS Engineering, MasKargo and even its terminal services, suggested Maybank IB in a recent research report.

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.

“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.

“(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.

Think about it: Maybank IB says the privatisation of MAS is not an outlandish idea

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 PLUS Expressways Bhd, United Engineers Bhd, Mox Bhd, Astro, Palmco Bhd, Bumi Armada Bhd and Maxis Bhd. Thus far, Maxis has been re-listed and Bumi Armada is making its way back on the local bourse. Even the shareholders of AirAsia was once upon a time thinking of taking the carrier private.

But some analysts do not share Maybank IB's sentiments.

“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 Tengku Datuk Azmil Zahruddin is doing to reshape MAS, we should allow it to remain listed.

“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.

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.''

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.''

Maybank IB in its reports felt that the shareholders of MAS might warm up to the idea of a privatisation.

It said the principle shareholders of MAS were Khazanah Nasional Bhd (69%) and Employees Provident Fund (EPF) (11%) and both had acquired MAS at a substantially higher price.

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.

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.''

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.

“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.

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.”

“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.

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.

MAS' share price rose eight sen to close at RM1.53 on Friday.

Volcanic ash spreads more travel misery across Europe

View: I'm supposed to be flying on the coming Wednesday...hope the weather situation will improve in the next 24 hours!

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.

An estimated three-quarters of flights were cancelled on Saturday. About 20 countries closed their airspace - some have extended flight bans into Monday.

Scientists say the Icelandic volcano activity shows no sign of abating.

Dutch airline KLM and German airline Lufthansa have carried out test flights to see if it is safe for planes to fly.

Britain has extended a ban on most flights in its airspace until at least 1800 GMT Sunday, air authorities have said.

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.

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.

Germany's Lufthansa said it flew several planes to Frankfurt from Munich.

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."

Earlier, a spokesman for the international airline industry said: "We don't see the light at the end of the tunnel yet."

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."

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.

"We don't expect a great deal of change over the next few days," he told AP.

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) predicted little or no improvement on Sunday.

"Right now through most of Europe we do not see many flights moving at all," spokesman Steve Lott told AFP news agency.

Airlines are losing some £130m ($200m) a day in an unprecedented shutdown of commercial air travel, the IATA says.

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.

Long way home

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.

In the UK commercial flights have now been banned until at least 0700 local time (0600 GMT) on Sunday.

In northern France and northern Italy, airports are to remain shut until at least Monday.

Unable to catch flights, commuters across northern Europe have sought other means of transport, packing out trains, buses and ferries.

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.

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 George Craib, Amsterdam Volcano ash: Your stories

The large no-fly zone also means that some world leaders will not be attending the funeral of the Polish president on Sunday.

US President Barack Obama has cancelled his visit to Poland.

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.

With all German airports still closed, she flew on to Italy on Saturday and is set to continue her journey home by bus.

The disruption also forced the cancellation of the inaugural Iraqi Airways flight from Baghdad to London.

Iceland volcano in maps Volcanic ash: Your travel stories How long will ash last?

US pop star Whitney Houston was forced to take a car ferry from Britain to Ireland for a concert after her flight was cancelled.

The travel chaos has been felt as far away as North America and Asia, with dozens of Europe-bound flights being cancelled.

British health officials said any effects of the ash on people with existing respiratory conditions were "likely to be short term".

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.

Iceland lies on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, the highly volatile boundary between the Eurasian and North American continental plates.

American raises checked-bag fees

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.

By Marnie Hunter, CNN

January 19, 2010 1:40 p.m. EST

American Airlines matched competitors' baggage fee hikes.

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• American Airlines last of five legacy carriers to raise baggage fees
  
• Passengers to pay $25 for first checked bag and $35 for second
  
• Changes effective for tickets purchased on or after February 1
  

RELATED TOPICS

• Air Travel
• American Airlines Inc.

(CNN) -- American Airlines has joined its competitors in raising checked luggage fees.

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.

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.

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. American does not offer online check-in.

About 25 percent of American's domestic passengers pay checked bag fees, according to the airline's announcement.

Some passengers -- such as first-class fliers, some frequent fliers and military personnel on deployment -- are exempt from most checked-luggage fees.

Most major air carriers 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.

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.

Airlines organizing Haiti earthquake aid

By Marnie Hunter, CNN

January 14, 2010 10:49 a.m. EST

Three American Eagle aircraft flew supplies to Haiti on Wednesday after the devastating earthquake.

(CNN) -- 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.

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.

The airline plans to send three more relief flights each day on Thursday and Friday.

Twitter reports that the airline is flying aid workers to Haiti are false, Smith said Thursday.

"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.

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.

"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.

American has suspended service to Haiti. Passengers with plans to travel there this month may change them without fee or penalty through February 14.

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.

Spirit Airlines, which operates one flight a day between Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and Port-au-Prince also canceled Wednesday and Thursday flights.

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.

The airline plans to resume flights as soon as commercial service reopens at the Port-au-Prince airport.

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.

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.

"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.

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.

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 earthquake, its Web site said.

'Three-Hour Rule' To Address Tarmac Delays

By Adam Hochberg

Lou Martins/AP

Mario Tama/Getty Images

Airplanes line up as they await their turn to take off at Newark International Airport in New Jersey, February, 2008.

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.

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.

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.

Long tarmac delays happen 100 times a month or so. When they do, the conditions onboard planes can become pretty unbearable.

Passengers deserve better treatment, U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said Monday.

"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."

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.

Airlines that don't comply will face fines of more than $27,000 for each inconvenienced passenger, LaHood said.

"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."

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.

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.

"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."

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.

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.

"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."

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.

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.

World is small for mileage millionaires

"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...."

By A. Pawlowski, CNN

November 20, 2009 2:25 p.m. EST

Gary Leff and his wife, Shanna Follansbee, spent 670,000 airline and hotel points when they got married

(CNN) -- 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.

Leff is a millionaire. A frequent-flier mile millionaire, that is.

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.

"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.

"The world is so much smaller, and that's incredibly liberating."

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.

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 air travelers.

Plane with private suites

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.

"It was amazing, incredible," Gibbs, 40, said. "They had private suites with doors that slide closed, unparalleled privacy."

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.

"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.

Gibbs is planning a trip to Athens, Greece, in November and a flight to Singapore in December, all on frequent-flier miles.

Cherished customers

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.

It pains me when I see the big dip in my balance after cashing in several hundred thousand miles.

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 Inside Flyer magazine.

Airlines woo mileage millionaires carefully and are protective of their identities and demographics so as not to lose their best customers to their competitors.

"It's kind of like Las Vegas: Casinos don't identify their largest gamblers," Petersen said.

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.

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.

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.

"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.

Big splurges

It's a feeling shared by some of the other million milers.

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 El Bulli, took advantage of his account in a really big way when he got married four years ago in Seattle, Washington.

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.

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.

"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."

Next on his itinerary: Thanksgiving in Paris, France, and New Year's in the Caribbean. It's good to be a mileage millionaire.

In One Man's Garage, Pan Am Still Makes the Going Great

Must be a great feeling to step back in time to relieve the days when US carriers were the epitome of airline service.

By Candace Jackson candace.jackson@wsj.com

Fliers nostalgic for the golden era of air travel might want to book a trip to Anthony Toth's garage.

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.

View Slideshow

Brian L. Frank for The Wall Street Journal

A coffee maker with a Pan Am logo sits in the replica cabin Anthony Toth built in his Redondo Beach, Calif., home

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.

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.

"The brand was so powerful, he says. "They had this uncompromising standard of service."

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.

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.)

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.

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.

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.

Hopping On Board Pan Am

2:41

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.

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.

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."

“ 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. ”

— Jim Parsons

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.

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.

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.

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Brian L. Frank for The Wall Street Journal

Anthony Toth built a replica Pan Am first-class cabin in his garage.

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.

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.

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.

"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.

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.

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."