Airasia skidded off the runaway

This poster picture of the recent airport accident involving Airasia can be considered heartless and insensitive, but do not say we never tell you so?

This blog have been talking about the danger of Airasia flight operation for so long. Airasia is profit and cost driven without care for the danger they pose to passengers.

Bigdog had written a history of Airasia accidents here.

Airasia skidded off the runway while landing under heavy rain at Kuching Airport on Monday night. Four passengers were slightly injured and had to be sent for treatment to Kuching Hospital.

The Kuching airport had to be closed for 24 hours and caused great inconvenience to other passengers. One e-mailed a complain to FMT, reproduced below:

I’m disappointed in you Tony Fernandes

January 12, 2011

FMT LETTER: From Francis Siah, via e-mail

The Kuching Airport closure yesterday caused me to miss my meetings in Miri with our MoCS group and the press. I was scheduled to meet our MoCS group in Miri for lunch and thereafter called a press conference at 3.30pm.

The SMS received from AirAsia for the flight cancellation at 9.30am (my flight was at 11.10am) was that of an emergency runway closure of Kuching Airport.

I thought it was the bad weather. It has been raining heavily for two consecutive days in Kuching. I even went to the airport at 10am and no one at the AirAsia counter informed me of the accident.

When I called the MAS counter at the Kuching airport at 1pm to enquire whether the airport has opened, the guy over the phone was kind enough to tell me the reason for the closure.

“You don’t know about last night’s accident ka? That Tony Fernandes is so powerful…he can black out news about accidents involving Air Asia planes.”

Of course, the guy was from MAS and he further lamented MAS’ losses of flight cancellations and having to put up stranded passengers in hotels and paying for their meals.

So now I know. You can only get bad news on Air Asia from MAS and I suppose vice-versa. Air Asia staff will stay mum about accidents involving their aircraft. This is most unprofessional.

The accident took place at 10pm on Monday and none of the local newspapers carried the news. I was surprised or should I be?

Working as an editor for years, I will be very sore with my reporters if they do not get such a ‘major’ story back to the office.

For such a big story, I would even delay the printing deadline to ensure that the story is out next morning.

Apparently, things work differently these days. I rang one editor friend and asked him if he was aware of the accident. He laughed, saying “we knew about it on Monday night already”.

Then came the familiar tale which we have all heard before: “Aiya…AirAsia is spending millions in advertisements with us every year la”.

Of course, I know…I heard this so many times before.

My editor friend then told me that the news will have to be carried in following day’s papers because it has become a national disaster with passengers stranded throughout the country with the closure of the Kuching Airport.

Bernama only carried this story online at 12.11pm, some 14 hours after the accident. So much for speed in the news world these days!

And to AirAsia and the ‘almighty’ Tony Fernandes, let me tell you this – You have done a great disservice to your passengers.

You told the whole world, “Now, Everyone Can Fly”. You lie and you were not decent enough to tell me why I cannot fly.

I have to hear it from a third party. I think you have been most unprofessional and I’m very disappointed with you and AirAsia today.

Don't stop there, Francis.

It will be a matter of time before Airasia change their slogan from "Now everyone can fly" to "Now everyone can die."

This blog have been making much exposure, reminding and warning the public on the bad boy of the local airline industry to no avail. Simply because Malaysian come to the defence of cheap fare Airasia.

Malaysian public just refuse to hear of the behind the scene cheating, power abuse and manipulations of Airasia.

The cheap fare of Airasia come with the danger to passengers safety.

One MAS Aircraft Engineer used to describe the bare minimal safety standard of Airasia aircraft before the ordered fleet of Airbus A320s came in. In the case of MAS, they go multiple of the safety requirement.

Below is a 2009 video of mechanical faults of Airasia found in midair by a passenger:

Many more safety issues are highlighted in this recently found anti-Airasia blog here and here.

This blogger was once told by an aviation analyst that in order to save fuel during landing, Airasia pilots were instructed to began descend from afar and glide at low speed into the runaway.

He claimed that was the reason for several mishaps at the Kota Kinabalu Airport.

However, one senior pilot spoken this morning refuse to believe such happening as it is not in accordance to the aircraft landing manual. He is too good hearted or perhaps naive to assume Airasia is as responsible a corporate citizen as his MAS.

Be that as it may.

Because of Airasia's cheap fare, Malaysian consumers are willing to be subjected to abuse by Airasia's indiscriminate cancellation, perpetual delay, and system designed long wait.

Their ticket sales practise have been openly questioned by airline practitioners. No terms and condition attached to tickets for flyers to read and agreed to.

As one of the country's leading aviationist highlighted in a meeting with bloggers few months back, Airasia practise a no refund policy. This is in contravention of the aviation act.

Malaysian do not care and emphatise to the fact that Airasia grew at the expense of MAS.

Unlike MAS, Airasia is privately owned and have majority 53% foreign shareholdings. Yet they have the cheek to seek status of national carrier.

Where MAS take into account and sacrifice in many aspects of national interest, local and abroad, Airasia will have none of that.

They managed the Rural Air Service (RAS) only for a short while but returned it back to MAS when they realised there was not much money. The aircrafts was cannibalised and in bad shape when returned.

Malaysians have been too pissed with the endless story of losses by MAS that they do not care about the manner the Airline Rationalisation Policy was instituted.

Despite cabinet approved an already deliberated Airline Rationalisation Policy, Tony Fernandez, Zaki Zaid dan Khairy hijacked the paper on it's way to Pak Lah's office to redo over the weekend and got Pak Lah to annouce a different policy without prior cabinet approval.

Naturally, it is structured to benefit foreign majority shareholding, Airasia immensely but at the expense of the country and MAS.

Malaysians do not a damn that this foreign majority shareholders airline do not pay the airport taxes charged on consumer to the Malaysia Airport Berhad.

Foreign majority shareholding Airasia is involved in unsavory practices.

They manipulated their account to not consolidate their 48.9% owned Thai and Indonesian Airasia.

By equity accounting losing subsidiaries, the could bring the size of their balance sheet to con rating agencies.

As usual, SC Chairman, Tan Sri Zarinah Anwar kept her eyes closed on anything to do with friends of her husband, Dato Azizan Abd Rahman.

Nor Yakcop, Kalimullah and Khairy have keen interest in Airasia. They are salesmen of the nation as in selling away assets of the country.

Finally, if this does not get Malaysians blood boiling, Malaysians must be the most corruptible and self interest indifferent citizen of the world. For cheap Airasia fares, they allow this company to get away with taxes.

Not only this foreign majority shareholding company do not pay airport tax, they do not pay taxes.

It is unthinkable that the Minister of Finance can allow Nor Yakcop to talk him into giving Airasia a further 5-year extension of investment allowance.

This entitled Airasia to claim an income tax exemption of 60 per cent on qualifying capital expenditure to set off against 70 per cent of statutory income for each year of assessment from 2010-2014.

This is in the midst of Pemandu telling the country subsidy will bankrupt the nation and prices of basic good like sugar will shoot the sky.

Isn't this tax break indirectly subsidising corporate tax? And, it is for foreign majority shareholding company.

This blogger has vowed to never fly Airasia and will be loyal to national carrier MAS. Same as my loyalty to Malaysian brands like Malayan Banking, Petronas, Proton, etc.

Malaysian can go ahead to be kiasu and abused by Airasia's cheap fare. But not me.

With MAS, one feel safe and sound with the record that the last time MAS got into any operational problem was back in 1995. Still, it is not as frequent as Air Asia.

But one never know.

Accidents can happen and it can happen to MAS too. The comfort will be that with MAS, they have records of my seats and could identify and retrieve my body.

Not in the case with free seating Airasia.

And, I am not to sure, like in the case of your airport tax, whether they pay the insurance company for the flight insurance they charged you.

Have a nice flight on Airasia.

courtesy of Another Brick in the Wall