500,000 Reasons To Travel!

Airasia Berhad, one of the Malaysia's leading low cost carrier had announced that they to remove the fuel surcharge from today onwards, a move that will cost the about USD63millions yearly. On top of that, they are going to put 500,000 free airlines seats to all AirAsia (excluding AirAsia X) destinations.
The offer will start from today's midnight and it is open to all people.
So folks, still looking for a reason not to travel?

AirAsia removes fuel surcharge, offers free seats

By VIJAY JOSHI, Associated Press Writer

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia – Malaysia's AirAsia on Tuesday abolished fuel surcharges on all its flights and said it will give away half a million free tickets next year in an attempt to lure travelers amid the global slowdown.

AirAsia Chief Executive Tony Fernandes said the region's biggest budget carrier will offer 500,000 free seats for travel between June 22 and Oct. 24, 2009, on all its domestic and international destinations.

"It will be completely free. Passengers will only have to pay airport tax," Fernandes told a news conference.

He said the recent steep drop in fuel prices has allowed AirAsia to adopt the bold strategy, adding that the loss of revenue should be offset by higher ticket sales, which will also be bolstered by new marketing strategies.

Fernandes said AirAsia is the first carrier in the world to abolish fuel surcharges, which became a standard industry practice a few years ago as oil prices rose on their way to peaking at nearly $150 a barrel in mid-July. But since then, crude prices have tumbled because expectations that slower global growth will mean less demand.

"We want to do is get rid of these surcharges," Fernandes said. "The best way to do it is aggressive marketing and low fares."
Eliminating the surcharges is expected to cost AirAsia about 940 million ringgit ($63 million) a year.

Fernandes said the move will boost Malaysia's economy as well as domestic and regional tourism by encouraging travel.

When AirAsia started in December 2001, it focused on flying within Malaysia. It has since expanded to Southeast Asia and China, and is scheduled to launch flights to India next month.
Malaysian Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Minister Shahrir Samad praised the decision.

"Anything that reduces costs to consumers and keeps money in their pocket gets my support," he told reporters after the announcement. "What we need now is optimism instead of grumbling and quarreling."

Fernandes added that he could not guarantee that the removal of fuel surcharges would not hit AirAsia's profits, but said the company does not anticipate that would happen. He refused to say what the possible losses might be.

He noted AirAsia does not hedge its fuel purchases like other airlines do. To protect against the possibility of prices going up, some carriers make advance orders at current prices.

Fernandes said AirAsia will not implement a corresponding increase in base ticket prices with the removal of fuel surcharges, but said he could not guarantee that the surcharge would not be re-imposed if oil prices surge again.

"It would be foolish of me to say that fuel surcharges will not be imposed again but we will resist it for as long as possible," Fernandes said.

Prawn aquaculture

My traveling diary brought me to the northern part of Malaysia where I happened to visit once the most controversial aqua project in Malaysia's history. The project, approved in May 1993 and involving acquisition of some 400 ha of paddy land and more than 700 landowners, may be the most controversial development project in Kedah. The project was a joint venture between the state government and an Arab company, the Ben Laden group.


The project was initially used to culture tiger prawns since it fetch a good market price. The project is considered as a mega project where the are 220 ponds available and each pond can cultured of more than 70,000 matured prawns. A matured prawn is about 10grams in weight and each kilos can fetch to about Rm40 to Rm50 ex-farm. With that, you can do the maths on the projected profits. Pakcik kayo!


However, tiger prawn is prone to catch a viral disease called "red tide disease", a disease that come in during monsoon season. And this lead to the mass failure of the project (apart from the political unrest shrouding the whole project since the beginning). When the project failed the Arabs pulled out and the project was bailed out by the federal government via MOF.


Currently, only a few of the ponds are used to breed the white prawns and they no longer sees prawn tiger can bring the big bucks to them.


I do hope the new state government can revive the project and bring back the hope to the investors and previous landowners who shed their tears when heavy machinery bulldozed their paddy fields and transformed it into ponds. There is a saying that the prawns were actually swimming in the pool of tears of Kerpan people. If the prawn breeding is a failure, then a new alternative must be sought. Perhaps, the place can be turn into a resort where people can came and spend their time to fish the prawns at the the largest prawn fishing village, who knows.

But, knowing that this property belonged to state government with federal government interest, that is still a long way to go.

Cameron Highlands, Malaysia

Tea plantation, Cameron Highlands, Malaysia

This is the first place I went after I bought the legendary Nikon D50 DSLR camera. Still giggle a bit and most of my photos didn't turn to what I expected. The first photos is using the Nikkor telelense 70-300mm at full expand and below just using my kit lense 18-55mm.

Cameron Highlands is a quiet farming village and is the famous temperate agricultural domain in West Malaysia.