The World Of Aviation

KLIA names winners of the first installation of the three-part KLIA Shopping Campaign and launches phase 3 of the campaign

· Dato’ Koh Cheng Keong named lucky winner of the RM50,000.00 cash Grand Prize

· 36 weekly winners with RM5,000.00 cash each

· Third phase expected to be even more exciting with cash prizes worth RM330,000 up for grabs

SEPANG, MARCH 2008 – When Malaysia Airports Commercial Services Division called Dato’ Koh Cheng Keong to let him know that he was the winner of RM50,000.00 cash Grand Prize of the first phase of the KLIA Shopping Contest, Dato’ Koh Cheng Keong was not surprised at all because being a frequent traveller, he shops regularly at KLIA and remembered participating in the shopping campaign.

Dato’ Koh Cheng Keong was at KLIA on March 19, 2009, along with the other lucky shoppers to receive their rewards for shopping at the Gateway to the Nation. The other shoppers were the weekly winners of the 3-month contest and they took home RM5,000.00 each. The first phase of the KLIA Shopping Campaign took place on August 26 to November 16, 2008.

Having just concluded the second phase on March 3, 2009, the Shopping Campaign is now in its third and final phase which kicked off today and will end on June 11, 2009.

In this third phase, shoppers stand to win great prizes worth almost RM750,000 (USD 205,000) which include a Bumper Prize of RM30,000 (USD8,200) in cold, hard cash, three Easy Prize of RM5,000 (USD 1,400) cash each, 12 lots of RM10,000 (USD 2,800) cash for Weekly Prize and a brand new, luxury car worth RM420,000.

“We want to ensure that it is rewarding for passengers who shop at KLIA, from the variety available to the value they get when they purchase something at our airports. On the same theme, the prizes offered for the KLIA Shopping contests are made very attractive; they comprise cash prizes, holiday packages and an award winning Lexus GS300,” said Tan Sri Datuk Dr. Aris Othman, Chairman of Malaysia Airports.

“As KLIA evolves to become more than just an airport, the excitement is palpable with the activities that we have organised. The past 3 months, we have had Santa Claus making an appearance to deliver gifts of joy during Christmas, Lion and Dragon dances for Chinese New Year with ang pow giveways and Cupids shooting arrows of gifts vouchers during Valentine’s. The atmosphere is not unlike a vibrant shopping centre!” he added.

“Continuing our efforts initiated last year, we hope that through the KLIA Shopping Campaign we will be able to create more awareness of the retail and dining offerings available at KLIA and LCCT-KLIA, strengthen the “KLIA Shopping Real Value, Real Style” brand presence among our visitors. We also want to increase the involvement of our surrounding community of Sepang, hence we are ‘opening’ and repositioning KLIA as more than just another airport, but as a lifestyle destination where the community can come and enjoy performances or spend quality family time without the hustle and bustle of busy KL,” he said.

With 27 million passengers passing through its gates in 2008, KLIA Shopping targets to capture the shopping money of just a slice of these passengers. The first phase of the shopping campaign received 26,257 entries.

To qualify for the initial tier of the contest, shoppers only need to spend a mere value of RM150.00 (USD47) at any retail or F&B outlets at KLIA and LCCT-KLIA. The second tier, the Weekly Prize requires shoppers to spend between RM250.00 (USD78) to RM499.99 (USD155). The final tier, which is the Bumper Prize, is open to all shoppers who spends RM500.00 and above.

Making the contest more exciting this time round, participants who qualify for any tier of the contest with a single receipt stand to DOUBLE the prize money. However shoppers, as with the previous two contests, are still allowed to accumulate a maximum of 3 receipts within 24 hours of the first purchase, for each entry. Shoppers who swiped their MasterCard when making the purchases and enter the contest using those MasterCard receipts will be awarded an extra entry for every qualified, correct entry.

The KLIA Shopping Campaign is open to shoppers of any retail and F&B outlets at KLIA and LCCT-KLIA who spend RM150.00 and above in a single receipt or up to a maximum of 3 accumulated receipts within the same day. Shoppers who spend a minimum of RM 250.00 are rewarded with an instant gift.

All participants from the first, second and this third phase of the KLIA Shopping Campaign are eligible to vie for the Ultimate Grand Prize of a RM420,000.00 Lexus GS300.

The award winning, luxury car is sponsored by UMW Toyota and together with them as official sponsors, MasterCard Worldwide too is offering additional rewards for MasterCard holders who spend in KLIA and LCCT-KLIA.

In total, the entire KLIA Shopping Campaign offers up RM 2.7 million worth of prizes and rewards to shoppers of KLIA and LCCT-KLIA. Among the Grand Prizes are RM 560,000.00 cash, RM 260,000.00 worth travel packages, and a host of other lucrative prizes.

For more information on the latest happenings at KLIA and more importantly how to win the lucrative prizes of the KLIA Shopping Campaign, log on to shopping.klia.com.my or visit the campaign redemption booths at KLIA and LCCT-KLIA.

About Malaysia Airports

Malaysia Airports operates and manages 39 airports in Malaysia: 5 international, 16 domestic and 18 Short Take-Off and Landing Ports (STOL Ports). It also has operations in Kazakhstan, India and Turkey. On November 30 1999, Malaysia Airports became the first airport company to be listed in Asia. KL International Airport (KLIA), its flagship airport was thrice voted as the World's Best Airport (15-25 million passengers per annum) in the 2005 AETRA awards, 2006 ACI-ASQ awards and 2007 ACI-ASQ awards while the Low Cost Carrier Terminal (LCCT-KLIA) was named CAPA Low Cost Airport of the Year at the CAPA Aviation Awards for Excellence 2006. KLIA was also voted 2^nd Best Airport Worldwide and in the Asia Pacific categories for 2007 ACI-ASQ awards. Malaysia Airports has also been entrusted to host the 2008 World Route Development Forum (ROUTES), the first airport operator in Asia to be given the honour of hosting the world-class airport-airlines event.

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Corporate Communication Division, Malaysia Airports

For further information, kindly contact:-

Faisally Ahmad Rusdy at 03–78407184 / 012–6846575 / email: faisally@malaysiaairports.com.my or Noor Hafiza Ruslan at 03-78407174 / 012-2114773 / email: hafiza@malaysiaairports.com.my

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With all the fuss about the environmental impact of fuel-guzzling cars and trucks, it's easy to forget that modern light aircraft often still use leaded gasoline, and to top it off, they pump out CO2 as they buzz through the skies.

Electric propulsion seems ideally suited to aircraft, that can fly above clouds in the search for solar power, and where the lighter engineering offered by a compact motor and lack of fuel tank promises for a more efficient aircraft than is possible with a conventional gasoline engine. Even Boeing is taking the topic very seriously, and last year demonstrated the first flight in a hydrogen fuel cell-powered light aircraft. As well, Pipistrel has an electric self-launching motor-glider in production, the Taurus Electro, that is reportedly the first of its kind to market.

But why aren't there more hybrid or all-electric aircraft buzzing through the skies? You'd think the advantage of quieter flying and the climbing cost of aviation fuel would be tempting enough, (never mind the eco-benefits) in our increasingly noise-polluted and expensive world, to get both aircraft makers and carriers on board.

That's the sort of topic that will be raised at the upcoming Electric Aircraft Symposium due to kick off at the Hiller Aviation Museum in San Carlos starting April 24. It's an annual meeting run by the same group--The Comparative Aircraft Flight Efficiency Foundation--responsible for running NASA's Personal Air Vehicle/General Aviation Centennial Challenges, which are both schemes designed to promote development of aircraft.

And this year the CAFE Electric Aircraft meeting is going to concentrate on a million-dollar competition, in the same vein as the X-Prizes, that's intended to spur fuel-efficient aircraft engine design. In the competition, hybrid crafts will have to manage over 100 miles per gallon at over 100 mph. There will also be sessions on climate change, renewable energy in aircraft design, nanotube battery technology, and advanced electric motor design.

Electric air vehicles are clearly a hot topic this year, as the IEEE at its 35th Industrial Electronics Society meeting in Porto is also running a special session on "More Electrical Aircraft" in November.

For the time being electric-powered aircraft aren't likely to displace our fast, efficient but fuel-guzzling jets...but through the work of CAFE and the IEEE it looks like "personal transport" aircraft may make the switch to eco-friendly power sometime soon.

Malaysia Airlines Engineering and Maintenance (MAS EM) is hoping Qantas Airways will send some of its aircraft to Malaysia for heavy maintenance checks.

MAS EM senior general manager Roslan Ismail said in an interview that he is hoping Qantas may have heavy maintenance checks on Airbus A380s as well as Airbus A330s and some of its Boeing 747s done in Malaysia rather than Australia.

He also says MAS EM and Qantas are proceeding with plans to establish a joint venture that will utilise MAS EM's heavy maintenance facilities in Kuala Lumpur.

He says the two sides were originally planning to start the venture in this year's third quarter but now it will start in next year's first or second quarter.

"They [Qantas' maintenance and engineering bosses] said give them a few months to sort things out," he says.

"They have a new CEO at Qantas and they have this union problem."

Qantas executive general manager government and corporate affairs David Epstein says, however, that there are no immediate plans to send aircraft to Malaysia for maintenance work.

He says it is too early to make decisions on A380 work and there are no plans to send 747s to Malaysia as this work is carried out in Australia.

He also says Qantas has been in talks with its engineering workforce about having A330 work carried out at Qantas' maintenance base in Brisbane.

In addition, Epstein says no discussions are currently taking place on the proposed MRO joint venture with MAS, adding that it will not be possible to have it operating early next year as Roslan hopes.

Qantas appointed Alan Joyce as new CEO late last year and the unions in Australia are opposed to efforts to outsource work overseas.

But MAS EM has made inroads with Australia's Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA), the regulatory body that needs to be won over if Qantas is to be permitted to outsource work to Malaysia.

CASA has already granted MAS EM regulatory approval to work on Australian-registered A330s, Boeing 737s and 747s.

MAS EM is well placed to get A380 work because Roslan says Qantas has no A380 hangar, although Epstein says Qantas has a 747 hangar at Sydney Airport that has been altered to accommodate A380s.

Roslan says MAS EM has a purpose-built aircraft hangar at Kuala Lumpur International Airport that can fit two A380s and one other widebody simultaneously.

Malaysia Airlines has ordered six A380s with the first to be delivered in January 2011. But MAS EM needs to have 20-25 A380s to work on to justify the investment in equipment to carry out A380 maintenance, says Roslan, adding that it is hoping Qantas can provide the necessary aircraft.

The Australian carrier has already come to loggerheads in the past with unions over efforts to get work done in Malaysia.

A few years ago Qantas was looking to get MAS EM to convert some of its 737-300s to freighters. But following union pressure, Qantas ended up doing the work in Australia at its facility in Avalon near Melbourne.