“NOW EVERYONE CAN FLY MAS WITH LOW COST FARE”

by weechookeong

The architects of the MAS-AirAsia share swap and CCF

The share swap deal between Malaysia Airlines (MAS) and AirAsia has been a rewarding experience to date with good progress achieved in respect of collaboration, says AirAsia Bhd Group Chief Executive Officer, Tan Sri Tony Fernandes.  “We have managed to set aside our differences and work together towards achieving the common goal of success and I am happy with the transaction,” he added. However, he declined to elaborate further on the matter, despite being pressed to do so here today. Read in HERE.

It would be a more complete statement had Tan Sri Tony Fernandes (TF) told the mass media that the “Beside CCF, the 18 Million Pound sponsorship by MAS to QPR, appointments of PlaneConsult as the consultant of MAS, En Rozman Omar as CFO of MAS and En Azhari Dahlan as CEO of MAS Engineering, his unlimited accessed to the trade secrets of MAS as a Member of the EXCO/ Board of Director and friendly and accommodating top management of MAS have been been a very rewarding experience to date with excellent progress achieved in respect of collaboration.”

Yours truly would have thought that the above will be the experiences that TF would not dare to even dream of before the secret MAS-AirAsia share swap and CCF were inked by Tan Sri Azman Mokhtar (Amok), who is a great believer that in Malaysia“Open Tender is no Push Fully”.  Of course, Amok has said that most transactions were done by  “Direct Negotiation”. Yours truly salute Amok for his honesty in this respect. Therefore, we all can assume that all contracts related to GLCs under the control of Khaznah were all by “Direct Negotiation”. Amok also told MPs that he took full responsibility for the said secret share swap and CCF, and it was a Judgment Call. Read in HERE.

Any director of ailing company would have spun the same way as TF. The spinning has not ceased. For back ground information please read in HERE, HERE & HERE.

Why TF said the secret share swap was a “REWARDING EXPERIENCE TO DATE WITH GOOD PROGRESS IN RESPECT OF THE COLLABORATION AND THAT HE WAS HAPPY WITH THE TRANSACTION”?

In monetary terms, the 18 million Pounds sponsorship of QPR Home Jersey, termination of Firefly’s jet services and the recent uplifting of AirAsia X Sdn Bhd (AAX)’s passengers for the cancelled routes to London, Paris and India would be more than rewarding!

Uplifting of AAX’s passengers

Under MAS policy, MAS will only uplift another airlines passengers based on its published prices and seats availability basis. It would also a standing condition that non-IATA airlines concerned would have to provide bank guarantee or some form of banking facilities to cover the total cost of the passengers to be lifted. If there is a Hard Block Booking MAS will insist upon full payment upfront regardless of whether passengers traveled or not. Soft Block Booking then it will be on seat availability basis. This has been the long trade practice for MAS. A prudent one too.

In the case of AAX, the top management of MAS and the Acting Commercial Director,Mr Shane Nollan of PlaneConsult, proceeded to uplift AAX‘s passengers without any banking facilities as security. AAX was also allowed to do Block Booking of seats for all the dates of its passengers with ZERO fares as shown in the online tickets. It was exposed in HERE, HERE & HERE.

As an exercise for damage control, at 12:06 am MAS HQ desperately sent out e-mail to MAS staff at 12:06 am on 28-3-2012 which state amongst other things as follows:

“Malaysia Airlines has entered into a Re-Accommodation Agreement (“RA”) with AirAsia X effective 27 March 2012 to re-accommodate the latter airline’s passengers on four routes cancelled using excess capacity on Malaysia Airlines flights. The four routes involve Mumbai, Delhi, London and Paris. … These arrangements were provided with regard to excess seats available and agreed costs involved.“  Please read in HERE.

The said e-mail was an afterthought and exercise for damage control and to fool MAS staffs, Malaysians and the Government. The uplifting of the AAX passengers were dutifully carried out by MAS well before the 28-3-2012 with ZERO FARES as can be seen from the evidence of the online tickets as published in the Blog of yours truly. The said 12:06 am e-mail of 28-3-2012 was most misleading as it was not the true reflection of the actual situation. In actual fact, the so-called “Re-accommodation Agreement” was only executed on 28-3-2012. It would be most incredible that the said Agreement was executed between the wee hour from 12 midnight to 12:06 am on 28-3-2012!  A clear evidence of their incompetence! Most probably the top management and Mr Shane Nollan of PlaneConsult didn’t have sufficient time to seek the “professional assistance” of PlaneConsult and the other consultants to think for them before they embarked on sending out the e-mail..

This is the agreed Economy Class settlement rate by MAS and AirAsia for the said AAX’s 35,000 passengers.

	SPECIAL RATE		NORMAL LOWEST    RATE
KUL-LHR	RM1,111		RM1,493
CDG-KUL	RM1,028		RM1,641
KUL-BOM	RM372		RM651
BOM-KUL	RM372		RM674
KUL-DEL	RM358		RM638

The above Special Rates represent more than 40% discount given to AAX!  The saidBIG DISCOUNTS and with the “Hard Block Booking” will not be an incremental revenue for MAS as stated in the said 12:06 am e-mail but a LOSS OF REVENUE for MAS. These Special Rates are depriving MAS of real revenue from MAS own loyal passengers because the seats have been taken up by AAX passengers. By right the top management of MAS and its Acting Commercial Director, Mr Shane Nollan, who is also of PlaneConsult, must specify how many seats are allowed for AAX passenger per flight for any given sector. There was no such restrictions at all. This was a serous clear derelictions of duties by the TRIO and Mr Shane Nollan.

Was this the “COLLABORATION” that TF was raving about in his statement to NST? If it is then TF should ask the TRIO to discard “Malaysian Hospitality” and replaces it with “NOW EVERYONE CAN FLY MAS WITH LOW COST FARE” as MAS new slogan!

The TRIO must come clean and make known to the Malaysians and the Government what are the Special Rates granted to AAX for other sectors like Australia, Asean, London and beyond and others. SILENCE IS NO LONGER AN OPTION TO THE INCOMPETENCE TRIO.

Yours truly calls upon the Ministry of Finance to institute an immediate investigation into these Special Rates of fare for AAX and what were the actual fares billed to AAX, if any, for these 35,000 AAX passengers.