AIRASIA X will fly to Haneda airport, its 12th destination, on December 9 and is offering promotional fares of RM99 one way from KL to Tokyo. Booking period is from 23 to 26 September 2010 for travel from Dec 9, 2010 to July 31, 2011.
It will be flying three non-stop weekly services between Kuala Lumpur and Tokyo. Its other destinations are in Australia, India, Taiwan, China, Europe and Korea.
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
Thursday, September 9, 2010
Perak MB: No relocation for airport
IPOH: The state government has no plans to relocate the Sultan Azlan Shah Airport here.
Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Dr Zambry Abdul Kadir said with this, the proposed RM60mil upgrading of the airport would go on as planned.
He added the state government was also mulling the possibility of setting up another international airport elsewhere in the state.
Some quarters have stated that the current location of the airport is very strategic and can act as a catalyst for the city’s economy.
“Therefore, the state government is of the opinion that the upgrading of the airport should be continued to enable small-sized aircraft to land,” he told reporters after chairing the state exco meeting here on Wednesday.
Dr Zambry was responding to statements made by an MCA special committee set up to gather feedback on the proposed Ipoh Draft Local Plan 2020, which had recommended that the airport be relocated.
The committee’s chairman Datuk Yik Phooi Hong had said that the airport should be moved to Seri Iskandar, which had been earmarked as a possible site for a new airport.
Yik had said Seri Iskandar was an ideal location as it was situated between Lumut and here, two of Perak’s tourist attractions.
His deputy, San Chak Chun was reported as saying that the Government should not waste RM60mil to upgrade the airport here but should put the money to better use elsewhere since it had not contributed much to the growth of the city.
On the possibility of setting up an international airport, Dr Zambry said the state has been in discussions with a private company to develop such an infrastructure to serve as an aviation hub for the northern area.
“This is, however, still in the planning stage. I will make my announcement in due time,” he said without disclosing the location of the proposed development.
(Published in The Star on Sept 9, 2010)
Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Dr Zambry Abdul Kadir said with this, the proposed RM60mil upgrading of the airport would go on as planned.
He added the state government was also mulling the possibility of setting up another international airport elsewhere in the state.
Some quarters have stated that the current location of the airport is very strategic and can act as a catalyst for the city’s economy.
“Therefore, the state government is of the opinion that the upgrading of the airport should be continued to enable small-sized aircraft to land,” he told reporters after chairing the state exco meeting here on Wednesday.
Dr Zambry was responding to statements made by an MCA special committee set up to gather feedback on the proposed Ipoh Draft Local Plan 2020, which had recommended that the airport be relocated.
The committee’s chairman Datuk Yik Phooi Hong had said that the airport should be moved to Seri Iskandar, which had been earmarked as a possible site for a new airport.
Yik had said Seri Iskandar was an ideal location as it was situated between Lumut and here, two of Perak’s tourist attractions.
His deputy, San Chak Chun was reported as saying that the Government should not waste RM60mil to upgrade the airport here but should put the money to better use elsewhere since it had not contributed much to the growth of the city.
On the possibility of setting up an international airport, Dr Zambry said the state has been in discussions with a private company to develop such an infrastructure to serve as an aviation hub for the northern area.
“This is, however, still in the planning stage. I will make my announcement in due time,” he said without disclosing the location of the proposed development.
(Published in The Star on Sept 9, 2010)
Astro TV conducting IPTV trials with Time dotCom
PETALING JAYA: With Telekom Malaysia Bhd (TM) venturing into the broadcasting business with its IPTV (internet protocol TV) offering, Astro TV is not about to let any of its market share slip by without a fight.
It is learnt that Astro TV is conducting trials for its IPTV offering in Mont Kiara by riding on Time dotCom Bhd’s (TDC) fibre optic fast-speed network.
Astro TV needs an IPTV platform and if it were to wait till sister company Maxis Communications Bhd completes its network build-up, that may well give TM an edge in some places.
Hence, the trials with TDC which began at the end of July involving about 100 users.
Sources said this was a technical trial for the Astro b.yond to determine if the network was able to carry enough video content at fast speed. TDC is providing the GPON infrastructure for the trials.
A GPON access network not only enables telcos to build and support video services, but provides the ability to scale the network to deliver any bandwidth-hungry services such as HDTV (high definition TV) and VOD (video on demand), an IP-based broadband video service.
Astro needs a minimum of 15-20 megabits per second (Mbps) for content delivery and TDC’s network can provide up to 100Mbps. Sources said trial users were able to watch all of Astro’s programmes in HD and 3D quality.
The trials make TDC a potential contender for access to Astro besides Maxis. However, since TDC only focuses on multi-dwellings such as condominiums and apartments blocks, its reach may be limited. TDC finds it too costly to focus on fibre to the home as done by TM.
TM is bundling IPTV with its high-speed broadband service known as Unifi. But content will remain the differentiating factor in the IPTV business. For now, Astro has rights to loads of content but don’t underestimate TM as it is tying to link up with a lot of content providers to make its IPTV proposition appealing.
Maxis, on the other hand, is working overtime to get a fast-speed Internet network up. It has appointed Huawei as the exclusive supplier for the next generation network. Maxis said the job would also include the building and managing of a full-service Fibre To The X network using GPON technologies.
Maxis has also conducted trails for IPTV involving 50-odd users during the recent World Cup.
Whether Astro will need more than one player to deliver its IPTV content is unclear but Maxis certainly is building a fibre optic network in its quest to become a quad player and it will have to rely on content from Astro.
(by B.K. Sidhu)
(Published in The Star on Sept 9, 2010)
It is learnt that Astro TV is conducting trials for its IPTV offering in Mont Kiara by riding on Time dotCom Bhd’s (TDC) fibre optic fast-speed network.
Astro TV needs an IPTV platform and if it were to wait till sister company Maxis Communications Bhd completes its network build-up, that may well give TM an edge in some places.
Hence, the trials with TDC which began at the end of July involving about 100 users.
Sources said this was a technical trial for the Astro b.yond to determine if the network was able to carry enough video content at fast speed. TDC is providing the GPON infrastructure for the trials.
A GPON access network not only enables telcos to build and support video services, but provides the ability to scale the network to deliver any bandwidth-hungry services such as HDTV (high definition TV) and VOD (video on demand), an IP-based broadband video service.
Astro needs a minimum of 15-20 megabits per second (Mbps) for content delivery and TDC’s network can provide up to 100Mbps. Sources said trial users were able to watch all of Astro’s programmes in HD and 3D quality.
The trials make TDC a potential contender for access to Astro besides Maxis. However, since TDC only focuses on multi-dwellings such as condominiums and apartments blocks, its reach may be limited. TDC finds it too costly to focus on fibre to the home as done by TM.
TM is bundling IPTV with its high-speed broadband service known as Unifi. But content will remain the differentiating factor in the IPTV business. For now, Astro has rights to loads of content but don’t underestimate TM as it is tying to link up with a lot of content providers to make its IPTV proposition appealing.
Maxis, on the other hand, is working overtime to get a fast-speed Internet network up. It has appointed Huawei as the exclusive supplier for the next generation network. Maxis said the job would also include the building and managing of a full-service Fibre To The X network using GPON technologies.
Maxis has also conducted trails for IPTV involving 50-odd users during the recent World Cup.
Whether Astro will need more than one player to deliver its IPTV content is unclear but Maxis certainly is building a fibre optic network in its quest to become a quad player and it will have to rely on content from Astro.
(by B.K. Sidhu)
(Published in The Star on Sept 9, 2010)
Initial analysis of Qantas' failed Rolls-Royce engine completed
Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) has completed preliminary analysis of a Qantas Airways Rolls-Royce RB211 engine that experienced an uncontained failure in mid-flight.
It is shipping the engine to a facility in Hong Kong for a "detailed disassembly and examination, under the supervision of ATSB investigators", says the bureau.
On 30 August, engine number four of the Rolls-Royce RB211 powered Boeing 747-400 failed shortly after the aircraft took off from San Francisco airport for Sydney.
The failure was mechanical in nature and uncontained, and ejected material punctured a hole in the outboard engine and damaged the aircraft's leading edge flaps. The aircraft returned to San Francisco after the flight crew dumped fuel. No one was injured in the incident.
An investigation into the incident is ongoing, says the ATSB. This includes detailed analysis of recorded flight data, aircraft maintenance documentation and interviews with crew members and passengers, says the bureau.
The aircraft, registration VH-OJP, was built in 1992, according to Flightglobal's ACAS database.
(Published in Flight Global on Sept 9, 2010)
It is shipping the engine to a facility in Hong Kong for a "detailed disassembly and examination, under the supervision of ATSB investigators", says the bureau.
On 30 August, engine number four of the Rolls-Royce RB211 powered Boeing 747-400 failed shortly after the aircraft took off from San Francisco airport for Sydney.
The failure was mechanical in nature and uncontained, and ejected material punctured a hole in the outboard engine and damaged the aircraft's leading edge flaps. The aircraft returned to San Francisco after the flight crew dumped fuel. No one was injured in the incident.
An investigation into the incident is ongoing, says the ATSB. This includes detailed analysis of recorded flight data, aircraft maintenance documentation and interviews with crew members and passengers, says the bureau.
The aircraft, registration VH-OJP, was built in 1992, according to Flightglobal's ACAS database.
(Published in Flight Global on Sept 9, 2010)
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
YTL Comms’ WiMAX launch may not be on time
KUALA LUMPUR: YTL Communications Bhd’s (YTL Comms) November commercial launch date for its WiMAX service may not be met if it does not get the necessary network interconnection with the other four cellular players on time.
The interconnection agreements with the four cellular companies have been signed. A two-month period is needed for the execution.
“The only thing that could stop us from doing the November launch is the interconnection,’’ said YTL Comms executive director Datuk Yeoh Seok Hong.
Interconnection is vital since YTL Comms will offer data and voice connectivity, and the cellular prefix allotted to YTL Comms is 018. If all goes as planned, about 65% of the population in the country will be covered by YTL Comms’ WiMAX network at the point of the commercial launch.
YTL Comms was supposed to launch the service in July but now the dateline has been pushed to November. But YTL Comms CEO Wing K. Lee (pic) claims that the July dateline was only for a soft launch and not a commercial launch and the latter will be in November.
“We have been testing our network for a while now and we are very much on track on our network built-up,’’ Lee told StarBiz recently.
Sadly, the service will not be available in east Malaysia for the licence that YTL Comms has is for Peninsular Malaysia and that does not allow it to roll out services in Sabah and Sarawak as well.
But YTL Comms is hoping it would land itself with the extension into east Malaysia. It is still holding talks with the regulator on the matter.
“It is part of the country and it needs to have good connectivity (as well),’’ Lee added.
He would not talk on pricing plans and on the speed of transmission, he would merely say “it will be five times better than 3G and it will come in multiple of megabits.’’
Converged services is what YTL Comms is working towards launching. That means you can have voice, video, data – all in one offering. The devices are being tested and by the time the service is available, the devices will be offered in the market place.
Whether or not the interconnection comes on time, YTL Comms would go ahead with its plans with an educational programme of what WiMAX can do and what to expect at the launch date.
YTL Comms is investing RM2.5bil to bring converged services to the market place. It is working with several partners such as Cisco, Samsung, Clearwire, CGT Semiconductors to bring the service. It also has a tie-up with Telekom Malaysia Bhd and Fiberail for backhaul operations.
(By B.K. Sidhu)
(Published in The Star on August 24, 2010)
The interconnection agreements with the four cellular companies have been signed. A two-month period is needed for the execution.
“The only thing that could stop us from doing the November launch is the interconnection,’’ said YTL Comms executive director Datuk Yeoh Seok Hong.
Interconnection is vital since YTL Comms will offer data and voice connectivity, and the cellular prefix allotted to YTL Comms is 018. If all goes as planned, about 65% of the population in the country will be covered by YTL Comms’ WiMAX network at the point of the commercial launch.
YTL Comms was supposed to launch the service in July but now the dateline has been pushed to November. But YTL Comms CEO Wing K. Lee (pic) claims that the July dateline was only for a soft launch and not a commercial launch and the latter will be in November.
“We have been testing our network for a while now and we are very much on track on our network built-up,’’ Lee told StarBiz recently.
Sadly, the service will not be available in east Malaysia for the licence that YTL Comms has is for Peninsular Malaysia and that does not allow it to roll out services in Sabah and Sarawak as well.
But YTL Comms is hoping it would land itself with the extension into east Malaysia. It is still holding talks with the regulator on the matter.
“It is part of the country and it needs to have good connectivity (as well),’’ Lee added.
He would not talk on pricing plans and on the speed of transmission, he would merely say “it will be five times better than 3G and it will come in multiple of megabits.’’
Converged services is what YTL Comms is working towards launching. That means you can have voice, video, data – all in one offering. The devices are being tested and by the time the service is available, the devices will be offered in the market place.
Whether or not the interconnection comes on time, YTL Comms would go ahead with its plans with an educational programme of what WiMAX can do and what to expect at the launch date.
YTL Comms is investing RM2.5bil to bring converged services to the market place. It is working with several partners such as Cisco, Samsung, Clearwire, CGT Semiconductors to bring the service. It also has a tie-up with Telekom Malaysia Bhd and Fiberail for backhaul operations.
(By B.K. Sidhu)
(Published in The Star on August 24, 2010)
Minor reshuffling at UEM Group
Changes in senior management to meet group’s ambitious targets
PETALING JAYA: A minor reshuffle of senior management at UEM Group Bhd is taking place but this could signal the beginning of more changes to come since group managing director Datuk Izzaddin Idris has ambitious targets for the group to achieve RM3bil net profit in five years time.
Suhaimi Halim, who is the current MD of Opus Group Bhd, will now head a new company that will undertake the asset management business.
He will be MD of the new company. Opus is currently into asset development and asset management.
It is learnt that Opus International (M) Bhd chief operating officer Muhinder Singh has been re-designated to UEM Group country head for India.
Datuk Izzaddin Idris wants the group to strengthen its position abroad especially in the Middle East, Brunei, Indonesia and India.
This would mark the group’s return into the Indian market since it left a few years ago. According to Izzaddin, things have changed for UEM Group in India as “the non-performance contractor status has been removed now and we are in a good position to bid for projects under the National Highway Authority of India.”
It has been reported earlier that UEM Group was now free to pursue projects in India after being blacklisted earlier as a non-performing contractor in the country.
Izzaddin wants the group to strengthen its position abroad especially in the Middle East, Brunei, Indonesia and India.
Chief operating officer of PLUS Expressways Bhd Nik Airina Nik Jaffar will succeed Suhaimi as MD of Opus. Propel Bhd MD Tajul Azwa Bani Hashim will in turn succeed Nik Airina at PLUS.
“The change is necessary to revitalise the group. The contracts of some senior team members are also up for renewal, so some shuffling will do the group good,” said a source.
Those in the know claim that this is just the first phase of management reshuffling within the UEM Group and that more is expected as the right people will be needed to achieve the group’s ambitious targets.
UEM Group now has a leaner business focus in four core areas – expressways, township and property development, engineering and construction, and assets and facility management.
(By B.K. Sidhu)
(Published in The Star on Aug 24, 2010)
PETALING JAYA: A minor reshuffle of senior management at UEM Group Bhd is taking place but this could signal the beginning of more changes to come since group managing director Datuk Izzaddin Idris has ambitious targets for the group to achieve RM3bil net profit in five years time.
Suhaimi Halim, who is the current MD of Opus Group Bhd, will now head a new company that will undertake the asset management business.
He will be MD of the new company. Opus is currently into asset development and asset management.
It is learnt that Opus International (M) Bhd chief operating officer Muhinder Singh has been re-designated to UEM Group country head for India.
Datuk Izzaddin Idris wants the group to strengthen its position abroad especially in the Middle East, Brunei, Indonesia and India.
This would mark the group’s return into the Indian market since it left a few years ago. According to Izzaddin, things have changed for UEM Group in India as “the non-performance contractor status has been removed now and we are in a good position to bid for projects under the National Highway Authority of India.”
It has been reported earlier that UEM Group was now free to pursue projects in India after being blacklisted earlier as a non-performing contractor in the country.
Izzaddin wants the group to strengthen its position abroad especially in the Middle East, Brunei, Indonesia and India.
Chief operating officer of PLUS Expressways Bhd Nik Airina Nik Jaffar will succeed Suhaimi as MD of Opus. Propel Bhd MD Tajul Azwa Bani Hashim will in turn succeed Nik Airina at PLUS.
“The change is necessary to revitalise the group. The contracts of some senior team members are also up for renewal, so some shuffling will do the group good,” said a source.
Those in the know claim that this is just the first phase of management reshuffling within the UEM Group and that more is expected as the right people will be needed to achieve the group’s ambitious targets.
UEM Group now has a leaner business focus in four core areas – expressways, township and property development, engineering and construction, and assets and facility management.
(By B.K. Sidhu)
(Published in The Star on Aug 24, 2010)
Monday, August 23, 2010
The change you never thot...
The head of Communications at Telekom Malaysia Bhd (TM), Mariam Bevi Batcha has quit. She will join TM's rival, Maxis Communications Bhd soon. She will head Maxis Coms dept. To succeed her, Izlyn Ramli from Axiata Bhd will take over as head of coms at TM sometime in September.
Izlyn is not new to TM. She was there before the demerger of TM and TM International Bhd (now Axiata) and is seen as going back home.
Faridah Hashim, who how handles the media at Axiata moves up the ladder. She will take over as head of Coms at Axiata, a post Izlyn had held before she quit.
Congrats to all the power ladies of the telecoms industry.
Izlyn is not new to TM. She was there before the demerger of TM and TM International Bhd (now Axiata) and is seen as going back home.
Faridah Hashim, who how handles the media at Axiata moves up the ladder. She will take over as head of Coms at Axiata, a post Izlyn had held before she quit.
Congrats to all the power ladies of the telecoms industry.
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