Firefly’s ATR 72-500 fleet to be the new catalyst of growth

Eddy (centre) flanked by pilots and crew as they bid adieu

to the last Fokker-50 retiring from Firefly service

Captain Roland posing in front of the ATR 72-500

FO Awangku Abdul Hariz Pengiran Abu Bakar (left), seconded from RBA,

receiving the certificate of appreciation

One last shot with the Fokker-50 which has served many in East Malaysia

Firefly’s ATR 72-500 fleet to be the new catalyst of growth
Text and photos by Anthony Tan

Community airline Firefly is now operating its flights solely with the new ATR 72-500 turbo-prop aircrafts having retired all three of its Fokker-50.

This has been made possible after the 100% owned subsidiary of Malaysia Airlines (MAS) received its fifth ATR 72-500 from Toulouse on 15 December, which saw this new aircraft commencing its first service on 20 December.

Following Firefly’s aggressive network expansion in 2008, the airline will be receiving another five ATR 72-500 from April to August in 2009 to serve its existing and new routes.

Firefly managing director Eddy Leong said, “Plans are afoot to work on a code-share agreement with MAS by the first quarter of next year.”

He added, “Compared to the Fokker-50, the 72-seater ATR 72-500 gave us 44% additional revenue capacity while reducing operating cost by as much as 20%, especially on fuel and maintenance.

“Consequently, on 16 December, we decided to remove the fuel surcharge for all our flights.”

Besides a pair of fuel efficient engines, he said the new aircraft is equipped with a state-of-the-art cabin interior, comfortable two-abreast leather seats with ample leg room and low cabin noise due to modern acoustic technology.

Eddy recalled when Firefly commenced operations on 2 April 2007, it started with two Fokker-50s (9M-MGI and 9M-MGK) leased from MAS.

Its third Fokker-50 (9M-MGD) was subleased from MASWings, another MAS subsidiary which operates in Sabah and Sarawak, in December 2007.

The airline had returned 9M-MGD to MASWing on 3 September while 9M-MGK, returned on 30 September to MAS, had been sold while 9M-MGI would be returned to MAS by 31 December.

Speaking to pilots, flight crew, technical and ground staff, and a selected group of media, at a special ceremony to bid farewell to its last Fokker-50, at Hanger 1 of the Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah Airport in Subang on Sunday morning (21 December), Eddy pointed out that this was the first Fokker-50 the airline had. He first laid his eyes on it when it was featured on the Internet.

“It is indeed a historical and emotional day for us at Firefly. The Fokker-50s have served us well during our initial start-up of Firefly.”

He deemed the Fokker-50 to be still “very reliable” although the manufacturer of this 19-year old aircraft has since stopped operations.

When MAS put the aircraft up for sale, Eddy said it was snapped up because the aircraft was still used in some parts of Europe and in good condition.

Eddy also took the opportunity to present certificates of appreciation to Firefly’s nine Fokker-50 pilots. Among them is Captain Roland Thomas, considered to be the most decorated captain who will be semi retiring.

The rest are two first officers (FOs) seconded from Royal Brunei Airlines (RBA), four captains seconded from MAS and two FOs from Firefly.

LG sponsors Penang Cultural Night at Fort Conwallis

Ko (centre) and Lim (second from right) received a painting each

from Penang artistes standing beside them

No difficulties in getting a seat as there was not much crowd

Emcee Douglas Lim asking a tourist from Australia a question

on Penang during the game show, She won herself

a LG stainless steel steamer for the right answer.

This lady won herself a LG mobile phone during the lucky draw

The winner (centre) for the lucky draw's grand prize

The Alleycats still going strong, appealing to both the young and old

after more than 30 years

LG sponsors Penang Cultural Night at Fort Cornwallis
Text and Photos by Anthony Tan

As part of LG Electronics (M) Sdn Bhd’s (LG) corporate social responsibility (CSR) programme, the company came forward to support one of the programmes lined up to celebrate George Town’s new found status as a Unesco World Heritage Site.

Those who attended the Penang Cultural Night (PCN) at Fort Cornwallis on 6 December stood a chance to win five lucky draw prizes comprising LG mobile phones and one liquid crystal display flat screen television.

LG also sponsored 20 others prizes for the games held in between the performances, which featured some of outstanding musicians who hail from Penang. They include James Rozells & Kathleen Rodrigues, James Boyle & Ragged TNBT and The Alleycats.

The Alleycats started in 1969 by two Arumugam brothers, David and Loganathan (fondly known as Loga), made a name for themselves in the international music circuit. Loga passed away last June.

To keep the legacy of the late Loga’s alive, his daughter Dasha Logan, an up-and-coming rhythm and blue singer rendered three beautiful numbers, including one written and made popular by her father.

James, the son of the late Jimmy Boyle, also played some of his father’s famous numbers.

Joen Youngse Trio, a jazz group from Korea, lent some international flavour to the PCN, which had started at about 7.45pm with an opening act featuring Silat Gendang followed by traditional Malay dances with the performers dressed in colourful costumes.

The VIPs who graced this event included the Penang chief minister Lim Guan Eng, state exco-members and LG’s managing director Ko Tae Yeon.

Less than 1,000 people attended the PCN due to lack of publicity although it was free admission. According to a group of old timer fans of James Rozells & Kathleen Rodrigues, the crowd turnout could have been better if the organiser had done some pre-event publicity.

Another reason for the poor turnout to the PCN is the clash with the three-day Penang Island Jazz Festival held at Batu Ferringhi, another part of this small island state.

The site of the PCN at Fort Cornwallis was originally a stockade made from the trunks of nibong palm. It was put up by Captain Francis Light from the East India Company when he first landed in Pulo Pinang (Penang) in 1786. Captain Light rebuilt and enlarged the stockade to a fort with brick and mortar, of which a large part of it has remained intact until today.

Malaysia Airports holds annual media treasure hunt

Two treasure hunters (in red T-shirt) climbing the steep steps to the top

of Batu Caves to collect a clue to solve one of the treasure hunt's puzzles

Mentakab town is one of the stopovers to look for treasure

A time to relax for members of the media after a hard day on the road

Malaysia Airports holds annual media treasure hunt
Text and photos by Anthony Tan

In appreciation of the close working relationship with the local print and electronic media, Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd (MAHB) organises an annual media treasure hunt. This year saw participation from about 200 media in 56 cars.

The distance covered in its recent Media Explore Hunt was slightly longer than previous years. It took at least nine hours for many of us to reach our destination, Awana Kijal Beach Resort & Spa in Kijal, Terengganu and some took much longer.

The destination for the MAHB’s media treasure hunts was different each year. Its first hunt in 2002, which finished at the KL International Airport was only half a day affair.

After skipping for one year, MAHB’s treasure hunt took the media to other parts of Peninsular Malaysia. The finishing point was at A’Famosa in Melaka in 2004, Swiss-Garden Resort & Spa Kuantan in Pahang (2005), Bayview Beach Hotel at Batu Ferringhi in Penang (2006) and Holiday Villa Beach Resort & Spa in Langawi (2007).

Last year’s format was different from the previous years where the media were taken on a six-hour long overnight bus journey which was not made known to us. When we stop at dawn, we discovered that we have arrived at Kuala Perlis jetty. We were transferred by ferry to Langkawi where the proper hunt event was held after we had breakfast and given a briefing on the treasure hunt. The format of this treasure hunt this time incorporated some elements of the popular TV series “The Amazing Race”.

The Media Explore Hunt at Langkawi was more interesting than the previous hunts, which had us spending most of the time on the road. In Langkawi, the treasure hunters were various tasks to accomplish. They included taking a cable car ride to the peak of Gunung Mat Chinchang, a ride on an elephant and canoe rowing at Pantai Tengah.

This year’s Media Explore Hunt, which had the physical aspects toned down, was flagged off by MAHB chairman Tan Sri Dr Aris Othman and its managing director Datuk Seri Bashir Ahmad Abdul Majid at the former Subang Terminal 2, which had been converted into MAHB administration offices after the Subang International Airport been closed.

The treasure hunters were given tulips (route directions) preset by the clerk-of-course for the participants to follow unlike Indiana Jones’ old treasure maps that lead to the unearthing of hidden gold treasures and artifacts of the lost world.

The tulips took us treasure hunters to places such as Damansara Jaya, Bandar Sri Damansara, Batu Caves, Karak, Mentakab, Temerloh, Maran, Gambang, the Sultan Ahmad Shah Airport in Kuantan before we headed for Cherating, Kemaman to reach our final destination, Awana Kijal Beach Resort & Spa.

Today’s “treasure hunt” might look like simple but it is more a mind twisting game with multiple riddle questions to solve. Part the hunt’s task is to collect or buy “treasure items” from shops along the way based on the riddles that you are supposed to figure out.

MAHB corporate communications general manager Norliza Kamaruddin was assisted by her department staff, including media relations senior executive Faisally Ahmad Rusdy, in organising this year’s treasure hunt.

The team with the highest cumulative marks is declared the champion and rewarded with cash and prizes in kind at a media party that is held later at night on the same day where the results will be announced.

The highlight of this year’s gala dinner and prize presentation was the performance by the popular local band NRG.

MAHB’s annual hunt not only generates friendly quarrel along the way but the creation of team spirit among the media members is important. It also provided an opportunity for members from different media to mingle with one other and to catch up with ex-colleagues during the weekend.

This incentive event also helps to promote domestic tourism by introducing new destinations each year. Awareness of these destinations is created when the media who had participated in the event write in their respective media about their experiences and the outback places that they had passed through during the treasure hunt.

Looking forward to next year’s Media Explore Hunt, the treasure hunters are already speculating where the next destination would be.

AirAsia Enters Indian Market

A splendid dance performance from the Temple of Fine Arts

AirAsia flight AK 232 arrived at LCCT with the first batch of guests from Trichy were given a warm welcome

AirAsia team dressed in Indian theme. HE Ashoke is in Western attire as

he was not informed of the dress code like other guests

Tony grabed in Indian attire for the KL-Trichy-KL launch

HE Ashok said the launch timing is just right in view of rapidly growing

trade relations and tourist arrivals

AirAsia enters Indian market
Text and Photos by Anthony Tan

AirAsia’s foray into India, with the start of its direct daily return flights from Kuala Lumpur-Tiruchirappalli(Trichy) -Kuala Lumpur on 1 December, has inevitably led to questions on when the low cost carrier (LCC) will begin flights to the other parts of the country.

AirAsia Bhd group chief executive officer (CEO) Dato’ Seri Tony Fernandes’ response is, “We hope to put five to six more flights in India in the next 18 months.

He believes it is viable for AirAsia and AirAsia X to compliment each other to fly to 10 Indian destinations such as Bombay, New Delhi, Madras, Cochin and Tiruvananthapuram within the next 18 months.

Describing the maiden Trichy flight into KL as “the most spectacular launch AirAsia has ever had”, Tony said it answered the question of recession where most airlines are cutting back and not expanding.

Barely three weeks after opening the ticket sales for its new KL-Trichy route using the new 180-seater Airbus A320, he said AirAsia has recorded 100% load factor from 1-18 December. This worked out to be an average of over 80% load factor both ways for December.

“We have created new demands for the market and are very proud to service an underserved sector. The continuous strength of this network will allow AirAsia to rapidly drive growth, perhaps even ramping up more frequencies in the future so that our guests can continue to enjoy our revolutionary low fares.”

He told reporters later that there is definitely a demand for a second flight to Trichy, adding that “it is a matter of whether we put another flight to Trichy or look at another Indian destination".

Trichy, which represents AirAsia’s entry into the India, is the fourth largest city in South India’s Tamil Nadu state. Sited on the banks of the sacred Cauvery River, the best time to visit Trichy is between October and February as you can enjoy cool weather.

Its most famous landmark is the Rockfort Temple, a spectacular monument perched on a massive rocky outcrop. It is one of the world’s oldest rock formations that rise abruptly from the plain to tower over the old city. You need to climb 437 steps to reach the temple.

Trichy, a thriving commercial centre in Tamil Nadu, is also famous for artificial diamonds, cigars, handloom cloths, glass bangles, wooden and clay toys.

AirAsia departs from the LCC Terminal (LCCT) in Sepang, Selangor at 7.40am and arrives at Trichy at 8.55am (local time). The return flight leaves Trichy at 9.25am (local time) to arrive at the LCCT at 3.40pm.

The airline had performances from local Indian dance troupes to welcome its maiden flight from Trichy to KL.

Among those present were the High Commissioner for India to Malaysia, His Excellency (HE) Ashok K Kantha, AirAsia deputy group CEO Dato’ Kamarudin Meranun, AirAsia regional head of commercial Kathleen Tan and Malaysia Airport Bhd’s officials.

Before the start of the event, a minute of silence was observed as a mark of respect for the innocent lives lost at the recent terrorists’ crisis in Mumbai.

HE Ashok said the terrorists underestimated the resilience and strength of Mumbai and that India will remain a land of great opportunities.

“The fight against terrorism is a global campaign that we do not stand alone.”

He also thanked Tony for keeping his promise by starting the Trichy route. Tony had said he would start the flights in 2008 when HE Ashok popped the question to him a year ago.

Tony, who was dressed in Indian attire (for the first time in a public function) together with his team to celebrate this new route, admitted he had not heard of Trichy until at a funeral.

With no market study, he said he sent two staff to Trichy who returned saying it was a great route.

“One phone call to HE and two days later we got the permit to fly (to Trichy),” said Tony, who has been advised not to do a celebration launch for its Trichy flight in India yet due to the Mumbai unrest.

“AirAsia will go ahead with Trichy’s launch in India in mid-December and would not be deterred by outside influences.”

Amid a looming global recession and the recent unrests in Mumbai and Bangkok, Tony said he was not worried about it.

His solution is, “Be positive and market aggressively. We have to be innovative and find new ways to stimulate travel. People still have to fly. Our job is to give them values.”

To find out more on the low fare hot deal for your flight check: http://www.airasia.com/

Where retail people get recognised for excellent service

Representatives of the 242 retail outlets receiving the accredited certficates for 2008/09

Recipients of the certificate of excellence gather for a shot with others

Parkson Pavilion bagged the overall Best Retail Outlet trophy and certificate for excellence. From left: Minister of domestic trade and consumers affairs Dato' Shahrir Abdul Samad and MRA president Eddy Chan

Ricky Soon (right) receiving the award for the phamacy category from Dato' Shahrir

CK Tan (right), the recipient for the speciality store category

Where retail people get recognised
Text by Laura Lee, Photos by Anthony Tan

Malaysia Retailers Association (MRA) president Eddy Chan reminded the retail fraternity that they would need each other even more in the future development of their industry at its recent16th annual dinner 2008, which was attended by close to 2,000 retailers and their business partners.

His speech echoed what had been highlighted at the recent Council of Asian Shopping Centres (CASC) conference 2008 about this year being an “extremely challenging year”.

Global economic conditions have also dramatically changed the whole world’s business environment, including our retail industry.

Chan, who is also Sogo (KL) Department Store Sdn Bhd chief executive officer, said in recent months, words like credit crunch, global financial crisis and turmoil have been splashed across the front page of the local media. Although the price of crude oil has declined recently, the worse may not be over yet.

(As at press time, the price of crude oil has dipped below US$55 per barrel, the lowest in three years.)

He added that countries like Singapore and Germany had declared that they are in recession. Many may follow suit soon. Many countries also lamented on the high rate of inflation and rising unemployment as the main cause of their predicaments.

“Malaysia, being a relatively small country, and as resilient as we seem to be, may not be spared from the negative impact of the unfavourable external forces. Let us hope that we can sustain our business as long as we can.

While MRA has forecast that retail industry growth rate for 2008 be revised downwards to about 4% to 5%, Chan said the association “will continue to play its role in collaborating, converging and diverting the focus of feasible solutions in a unified voice to the relevant authorities”.

It will work closely with them to bring about improved retail sentiments and amicable solutions.

“We appeal to the government to provide more incentives such as tax relief for store refurbishments, preferential or off-peak electricity tariffs, etc to the retail industry in supporting and encouraging our quest in lowering operating costs, which in turn, will help retailers to overcome and survive in these very tough and difficult market conditions.”

While applauding the ministry of domestic trade and consumer affairs on its price reduction campaign, Chan said the retailers would only be able to reduce prices at their respective stores if they get price reductions from their manufacturers and suppliers.

Calling this a collective corporate social responsibility, he said, “All of us have a role to play to support the government and make this price reduction campaign a really successful one.”

The 242 retail outlets, which participated in the sixth MRA “Retail Service & Courtesy” Standards of Excellence Accreditation Programme 2008/09, received their accreditation last night from the minister of domestic trade and consumers affairs Dato’ Shahrir Abdul Samad.

Among them, 12 received certificates of merit. They are:

* Royal Selangor The Gardens and Light Street outlets,
* Parkson Subang Parade and KLCC outlets,
* Mydin Wholesale Hypermarket USJ Subang Jaya and Kuala Terengganu outlets,
* Guardian Jalan Dato’ Sheikh (Seremban) and Taman Nusa Bistari outlets,
* Habib Semua House and Queensbay Mall outlets, and
* Jusco Bukit Tinggi and Permas Jaya outlets.

Six certificates of excellence were also given out for different categories.

* Parkson Pavilion, which won the department store category, also bagged the

Overall Best Retail Outlet. Its store general manager (GM) Kam Siew Kheong

received the certification.
* The fashion and fashion accessory category was clinched by Smart Connexion

One Utama.
* The pharmacy category, which went to Guardian Giant Taiping, was received by

GCH Retail (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd operations GM, Ricky Soon.
* Marks & Spencer The Gardens emerged the winner for the speciality store

category. Its store manager CK Tan received the award.
* The hypermarket category won by Tesco Ampang was received by its store

general manager Gunasegaran Narayansamy.
* The supermarket category was won by Jusco Seremban 2. Its store manager

Heng Ai Ling braved through the after office hours' traffic to receive the Best

Supermarket award.

As one of the judges and a media personnel, I am privileged to bring you this piece of news first hand as no media was invited to the dinner and awards function on 21 November, 2008.

Incidentally, both the CASC and MRA annual dinner chose One World Hotel’s Imperial Ballroom as the preferred venue for their functions.

According to Dato’ Shahrir’s speech delivered earlier at MRA dinner, the Malaysian retail industry recorded a relatively strong growth of 12.1% in sales for the first quarter of 2008 compared to the same period last year.

“Despite the energy and food crisis that have been affecting the average Malaysian consumers, the performance for the first six months of 2008 was much higher than the earlier estimate of 8.4% made by retailers a few months ago. It is the ministry fervent hope that the retail industry will continue to register higher growth rate for the balance of the year,” he added.

I found MRA’s website, www.mra.com.my, to contain outdated information. Reason given by its staff is that the website is under construction.

Get a taste of Korea Sparkling

Enthralling traditional Korean dance performance.

Z G Nan Fang Holidays executive director Annie Ng beaming with delight with the recognition from KTO.

Recognition also went to Klang Valley Travel & Tours (M) MD K P Loo for outstanding effort and cooperation in promoting Korea.

KTO president and CEO Oh (left) presenting the award to Golden TourWorld Travel (M) MD Jason Lim who has been selling Korea for more than nine years.


Azizan (in batik) at the opening of Korea Plaza.

Ko (left) and Kim are the two signatories for the MoU.

Get a taste of Korea Sparkling
Text and photos by Anthony Tan

Korea Tourism Organisation (KTO) is certainly reinforcing its efforts to attract more Malaysians to visit Korea with its aggressive campaigns.

It is working with Korea’s industrial giant LG Electronics, a global leader and technology innovator in consumer electronics, home appliances and mobile communications, to bring from the land whose popular drama series such as Winter Sonata and Jewel in the Palace have won the hearts of many Asians.

The collaboration between the two resulted in the setting up of Korea’s one-stop tourism and culture centre, Korea Plaza, which will also be used as a strategic base for public relations and marketing activities of Korea’s travel industries and related organisations.

At the recent signing ceremony of the memorandum of understanding (MoU) between them in Kuala Lumpur, LG Electronics (M) Sdn Bhd managing director (MD) and chief executive officer (CEO) TY Ko said, “This is indeed a great platform for us to showcase and further expose LG’s stylish-designed and smart technology products such as our award winning liquid crystal display televisions, finely tuned home theatre systems, DVD players and mobile phones, which we will be providing to KTO as part of the promotion.”

You will get a chance to win attractive LG products when purchasing tour packages to Korea.

KTO MD Kim Kee Hun said, “It is very appropriate that LG has come in to help us with our promotions as they are one of the largest corporations in South Korea and are globally renowned for their outstanding products.”

Korea Plaza was officially opened on 6 November at Menara Hup Seng. Strategically sited within the golden triangle of Kuala Lumpur, the centre will be a convenient place to drop in for insight into Korea’s many attractions and its way of life.

You will not only find publications on Korea here but will also get to see on display things like Korean traditional attire and shoes, tea set and much more.
KTO president and CEO Oh Jee-Chul said Korea Plaza would be instrumental in promoting South Korea as a holiday destination for Malaysians. Last year, 83,000 Malaysians visited South Korea.

There has been a gradual increase in Korean arrivals to Malaysia. Tourism Malaysia website, www.tourism.gov.my under Facts & Figures showed that 233,697 North and South Koreans visited Malaysia last year, up from 194,404 in 2006.

Its latest statistics for South Korean arrivals to Malaysia in October rose 42% to 19,257 compared to October 2007. In fact, from February to October this year, the monthly figures for South Korea have been higher compared to the previous corresponding months of 2007.

KTO certainly invited the right Tourism Malaysia official to grace this auspicious event, which was later followed by Korea Tourism Night celebration with the travel trade and media.

He is none other than Tourism Malaysia acting deputy director general (1) Azizan Noordin, who had served as Korea regional director in Seoul.

KTO also had Korea Muslim Federation secretary-general-cum-imam A Rahman Lee Ju Hwa to brief the travel trade on the 135,000 Muslims residing in South Korea.

“There were quite a number of Malaysians, Arabs, Indonesians and Pakistani Muslims living in South Korea. The history of Islam in South Korea dates back some 50 years.

“The Koreans have acquired a better understanding of halal food and Muslim customs. South Korea has 10 mosques and 60 mussolahs or prayer rooms. Previously, you would not be able to find a musollah in South Korea,” he said.

Also present at Korea Tourism Night were two local celebrities: Popular Malay singer Mawi, KTO’s honorary ambassador for 2007-08 and My FM deejay Pheobe Yap, KTO’s new honorary ambassador for 2009-10.

The duo sang to entertain the guests with popular numbers. Yap also shared with the audience the experience of her recent visit to South Korea. The specially flown in Kim Joong Ja Folk Dancing Group, Korea’s famous traditional dance troupe, was the highlight of the entertainment that night.

Seven top travel agencies selling Korea’s destinations were also honoured that night. They are:

Malaysian Harmony Tour & Travel Sdn Bhd
Apple Vacations & Conventions Sdn Bhd
Golden TourWorld Travel (M) Sdn Bhd
Klang ValleyTravel & Tours (M) Sdn Bhd
Z G Nan Fang Holidays (M) Sdn Bhd
Premium Tours & Travel Sdn Bhd
Reliance Shipping & Travel Agencies Sdn Bhd

For more of the Korean experience, check out An Enchanting Evening with the Korean Goguryo Orchestra performance on 4 December at 8pm at Dewan Sri Pinang, Lebuh Light in Penang. The show will feature cultural dances and folk songs by a 20-member cast. KTO is one of the presenters for this charity event.

Air Nuigini’s inaugural flight will enhance connectivity at KLIA

Air Nuigini’s inaugural flight will enhance connectivity at KLIA
Text and photos by Anthony Tan

Malaysia is now connected by air with Papua New Guinea (PNG) effective 29 October with the introduction of Air Nuigini’s weekly non-stop flight every Wednesday.

PNG’s national airline, established since 1973, is using the Boeing 757 aircraft with 189-seat configuration for its flight to the KL International Airport (KLIA).
The flight will depart Port Moresby at 3 pm and lands at KLIA at 7.10 pm (Malaysian time). The total flight duration is six hours and 10 minutes.

The same aircraft will have one hour turnaround time before it departs for Port Moresby at 8.10 pm and arrives at 4.20am (PNG time).

In Malaysia Airports Bhd (MAB) managing director Dato’ Seri Bashir Ahmad’s speech, which was read out by KLIA general manager Datuk Murad Azmi, PNG is viewed as a new market with Air Nuigini being the first airline offering connections from the Pacific Islands in the Oceania region to Malaysia.

Air Nuigini will be entitled to MAB’s incentive programme to ensure that its operation is smooth and fruitful. It is hoped that more airlines from the region will fly to Malaysia.

Welcoming the inaugural flight at the KLIA were the PNG High Commissioner His Excellency Veali Vagi, PNG’s minister for state assisting the prime minister on constitutional affair Honourable Philemon Embei and Malaysia’s deputy transport minister Datuk Seri Panglima Lajim Ukim.

Also present were Air Nuigini’s general sales agent, Abadi Aviation Services Sdn Bhd’s chairman NY Lai and general manager Henry Goh, officials from MAB, Malaysia Airlines and Tourism Malaysia.

Air Niugini chief executive officer Wasantha Kumarasiri said the national flag carrier’s service to Kuala Lumpur would help ease capacity shortage experienced in its Port Moresby to Singapore flights. He anticipates the airline to achieve 50% load initially and reach 60% to 70% load factor within two to three months. He expects 20% to 30% of the passengers to use KLIA as a transit point for onwards flight to other Asian destinations (such as India and Sri Lanka) and European cities like Frankfurt and London.

Kumarasiri said the flight from Port Moresby to KLIA had been designed to provide greater connectivity with less than three hours transit time to connect to their onwards destinations to Europe.

The other new Air Nuigini flights that were launched that day were the direct service to Hong Kong every Monday and the additional flight to Honiara in the Solomon Islands on Wednesday. These extra flights will allow passengers to fly from Manila and Hong Kong to Honiara and those from Honiara to Kuala Lumpur.
Presently, the airline operates once a week to Hong Kong via Manila while it flies to Honiara on Friday and Sunday and continue its onward flight to Nadi in Fiji.

With Air Nuigini flying to Malaysia, Tourism Malaysia director of communication division Wan Zawawi Mohamed expects the tourist traffic to open up new destinations between the Pacific Islands and ASEAN. This will be mutually beneficial to both PNG and Malaysia as the gateways of these respective regions.

A cocktail party was held with Malaysia’s travel trade industry the next evening at one of the leading hotels in Kuala Lumpur to celebrate Air Nuigini’s inaugural flight. The guests had the opportunity to sample some of the PNG’s cuisine.

CK and Joyce receive PPK Malaysia Awards of Distinction Text by Laura Lee and Photo by Anthony Tan

Dato' Teo Chiang Kok (or CK) and wife Shirley dressed according to the colourful theme at CASC 2008 welcome dinner

As the only media present last night at the Council of Asian Shopping Centres (CASC) conference 2008 welcome dinner, we had the privilege to witness two individuals honoured for their contributions to the industry.

They are Dato’ Teo Chiang Kok, who received PPK Malaysia Award for distinguished lifetime contribution to the shopping centre industry, and Joyce Yap for distinguished lifetime dedication to management of shopping centres.

The former was momentarily lost for words upon receiving the award. Dato’ Teo, who also happened to be CASC 2008 organising chairman, attributed this recognition to teamwork and having been fortunate to pick a good location for the One Utama (1U) shopping centre, which bagged a number of awards.

PPK Malaysia advisor Kumar Tharmalingam, who read the citation for the recipient of the first award, rendered it with a personal touch having worked with Dato’ Teo for more than 15 years in Fiabci and been his friend during those years.

Dato’ Teo or CK as he would like to be called is the second son of the 84-year-old Tan Sri Teo Soo Cheng, who founded the See Hoy Chan group, which translated means “a warehouse full of wealth across the four seas”.

In the video presentation, we were shown how CK looked when he was young. He was certainly very dashing even his glasses then. One can imagine how CK caught the attention of his wife Shirley, who later bore him three children, Ping, Kheam and Juhn.

In line with his family tradition, CK had his education at one of Kuala Lumpur’s oldest and premier school, Victoria Institution before he left for his overseas education. Fishing was his hobby then.

After graduating from Kings College, University of London in electrical engineering with a Masters from Warwick University, CK started his career as a computer system analyst for Univac in 1971.

Two years later he joined his father’s family business in the property sector and there has been no turning back for the last 35 years which saw CK being part of the construction of over 30,000 homes and 20 million sq ft of commercial real estate.

Kumar shared, “To me, CK is a wonderful gift to his family in that he is very close to his parents and has worked with his father all his life. This is a rare thing in today’s world. According to his wife, he used to even be inspecting properties on Sunday with his father.”

CK and his family lived together with his parents for many years. Recently, he became a grandfather himself at age 58.

Kumar went on to tell us how CK pioneered the American Universities Transfer Programme, the first international college twinning system at Kolej Damansara Utama back in the 1980s.

What I enjoyed about Kumar’s citation of CK were the personal insights about the man himself like CK’s long sleeved white shirt and dark pant uniform.

“Rumour has it that the main supplier for his clothes was Globe Silk Store and it was with great regret that he has to change his supplier when Globe Silk Store closed,” said Kumar.

The “extremely humble” CK is very demanding when it comes to quality and work performance and has a very good memory, Kumar added.

“CK is also a greenie at heart and like to enjoy a stroll in the woods”.

Despite his family’s wealth, Kumar revealed that CK is no spendthrift, telling us that CK tried to wear the same tuxedo he made when he got married 25 years ago for a Fiabci Property Award Ceremony.

“Having more than 170 restaurants in 1U, it became quite obvious that he could not fit into it and was forced to buy a new one.

“Another time both of us purchased the first Sony Ericsson personal digital assistant that came out seven years ago and the first Sony Digital 3 megapixel camera.

“While I have gone on with my seventh phone and eighth camera, CK is very loyal and is still using them. Personal frugality is his hallmark. His motto is, ‘If it is not broken, don’t fix it."

Kumar was surprised, however, to find CK changing his old Casio watch with an attached calculator, which had allowed our man to do some fast calculations when a good deal came along.

CK’s reply was his children had given him a new watch with the initials CK on it (Psst, CK here stands for the Calvin Kline label) and also he could not read the numbers on his Casio watch anymore.

Kumar joked, “Perhaps his shirts now also have the initials CK on them!” At the outset of his citation on CK, Kumar had quoted Winston Churchill as saying that “only those born into wealth know how to be charitable” and said “nowhere is this more clearly embodied than in CK’s character demeanour and beliefs.”

We were shown a long list of charities and positions CK held in schools, hospitals, temples, guild associations, Rehda, the chambers of commerce, PPK Malaysia, Fiabci and the social work he has undertaken.

“CK’s close and personal involvement meant positive interaction among several of these associations, thus resulting in close cooperation and collaboration on several common issues among like-minded organisations.”

Kumar said CK has been a solid pillar of support for PPK’s numerous conferences and seminars over the year, including sitting on the Board of Examiners, where he enjoys grilling young aspirants in shopping centre management.

Here’s another insight into what it is like working with CK. According to Kumar, “If CK chairs a meeting, please be assured that he will always be to time every time.

“The defining moment for which he will be long remembered is the Bandar Utama township and the commercial centre of 1U, where he is the man at the helm.”

Comprising nearly five million sq ft of offices, hotels and retail centres, it has become a landmark in Kuala Lumpur drawing over 500,000 people in the immediate neighbourhood.

Fondly known as 1U, this multi-award winning building has become a great sense of satisfaction to CK as it is also an ecologically sensitive building that has been engineered to save rain water and energy.

Its latest accolade is the International Council of Shopping Centres’ Asian Shopping Centre Awards 2008 where it is the silver award winner for marketing: sales promotion and events.

FireFly expands its destinations

FireFly expands its destinations
Text and Pictures By Anthony Tan

Firefly, Malaysia’s community airline, celebrated its first anniversary on 23 April 2008 at Terminal 3 Sultan Aziz Airport, Subang.

Operated by FlyFirefly Sdn Bhd, a wholly owned subsidiary of Malaysia Airlines, Firefly’s first flight took off on 2 April 2007 from its first operational hub in Penang with two Fokker 50 aircrafts for its initial operations.

It flew from Penang to Phuket, Koh Samui, Langkawi, Kota Bharu, Kuala Trengganu and Kuantan.

A third Fokker 50 was added to its fleet to serve new routes from its second hub from Subang. On 18 December 2007, the first flight took off from Subang to Langkawi, Penang, Kota Bharu and Kuala Terengganu.

For FireFly to be competitive, it needs to improve its service and expand its routes with new aircrafts to replace the Fokker 50s. FireFly purchased five new aircrafts model ATR72-500 for 2008 with its first delivery in October. Another five more on orders are expected to be delivered in 2009.

On 26 October 2008, Firefly launched its inaugural flights to Sumatra from Penang and Subang for its new routes. From Subang, it will fly to Koh Samui in southern Thailand, Pekanbaru in Sumatra and Johor Bahru, Malaysia. From Penang, it will fly to Bandar Acheh and Medan.

Firefly will also introduce all-in-pricing for the customers’ convenience. This is to move towards transparency to offer their customers the full breakdown of charges in order for them to plan and budget.

All-in-pricing is inclusive of taxes, surcharges and airfares. Customers can see the breakdown of what they pay for when they book online that shows the separation of fare, taxes and surcharges will be maintained as part of the booking process.

Best of all it includes complimentary light refreshments on board, convenient hubs with direct flights, on time departures, 20 kg baggage allowance, one piece of hand carry baggage (maximum 5kg) and allocated numbered seat.

Firefly managing director Eddy Leong announced during the airline’s first anniversary that there will not be any additional charge for passengers’ checked-in baggage but instead the airline would increase its baggage allowance from 15 kg to 20 kg.

Leong said in a statement, “In conjunction with the launch of our inaugural flights to Sumatera and new routes from Subang to Koh Samui and Johor Bahru, we now offer to all our customers in Malaysia, Sumatra and Thailand Firefly’s All-in-pricing. Customers will truly experience Firefly’s incredible value at low fares.”

Tried and Tested
I took the flight from Subang to Penang and returned two days later. The ATR72-500 aircraft still smell new, especially the smell of the leather seats. With two seats on each side, it has slightly better leg room than the Airbus A-320 low cost carrier.

As the seats are numbered, there is no need to rush for them. The sole boarding door is from the back. Those who are in the hurry and want to leave the aircraft upon arrival first, should ask for the back seats. Otherwise, the boarding and disembarkation will be first in, last out sequence.

Surprisingly, the ATR72-500 is much quieter than the Fokker 50 or Boeing 737 series. As they do not fly very high, it is a little bit bumpy during bad weather.

The service on board was good. Passengers were served with a complimentary piece of muffin (a bit too sweet, if you need an extra, just asked the stewardess) and an orange juice but for a hot coffee, you need to request.

Tips

Book your flight early in order to get low fares. I booked my flight on 7 October and my flight was on 21 October and returned on 23. The return all in airfare was RM143.90. The check-in counter closes 30 minutes before the scheduled flight departure.

Verdict

My usual return executive bus trip to Penang will cost me RM128 and it would take four to five hours. The noise level even at mid-section is louder than ATR72-500. At most times, it is also bumpy and you have to hold your bladder for two hours before it stop at the rest stops. Some drivers are a bit grumpy if you asked them to stop out of their schedule. My next trip will not be the bus trip.

Check its website for your best deal: www.fireflyz.com.my