A merger with Malaysian Airlines is a real opportunity for Qantas

As I mentioned in a previous article, there are strong rumors of a "merger" or "tie-up between Australian carrier Qantas and Malaysian Airlines (MAS). Given the stranglehold of national and regulatory policy in Asia, a full merger involved is almost impossible.

Not only do I feel that this tie-up will happen, I firmly believe that will translate into positive results for all players, not just airlines.

The future for Qantas is in Asia, but due to a differenceThe corporate culture or economic or national ego and / or market positions, Qantas did not really serious potential partners in Asia, except Malaysia. A merger with both Singapore Airlines and Cathay Pacific and Japan Airlines and can be written off for reasons of culture or ego. Garuda, Thai, Philippines, Eva, Air China, Air China, or any of the Taiwanese and Chinese airlines are too small or inadequate economic benefits for Qantas.

Qantas CEO Alan Joyce said:Qantas has been looking after the senior partner in a merger or similar report, which received the vector. The recent failure of talks to merge with British Airways increases Joyce's wishes.

Under the able guidance of Idris Jala, Malaysia has a phenomenal comeback. After years of losses, government intervention and the resulting inefficiencies, Jala, MAS has moved into profit for the last 3 years. Even until the third quarter of 2008, despite theCrisis, he has delivered the profits. Guided by his terrible for low cost (LCC) AirAsia competitors Jala, MAS has made relentless cost reduction and rationalization of the route. Despite this, recognizes Jala, MAS will never cost base of AirAsia, and moves, the airline has the value chain, the upper end of the market, rather than up.

Qantas is financially in good profits for many years, thanks to the "Kangaroo Run" and sat for a decent cashready, should be an agreement with MAS.

At the same time, the diffusion of liberalization across the region, can in spurts. On 1 December the duopoly of 70 years of Malaysian Airlines and Singapore Airlines on the lucrative Singapore-Kuala Lumpur sector was turned on, open for five years lobbying the LCC of the two countries, especially Malaysia. The capacity is now almost tripled.

Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) has much to offer. The airport wasbuilt and financed by former Malaysian Prime Minister Dr. Mahathir Mohammed, in competition with the famous Changi Airport in Singapore, a base for many international airlines, including Qantas.

Despite trying hard as they could be, could never KLIA with the scale and frequency of Changi, which led to an increasing number of passengers. KLIA has been for many years, almost to a huge white elephant. The bad situation was made worse by its KLIAGovernment. For years he opposed the liberalization of Malaysia KL-Singapore route. In addition to being one of the most profitable routes in the Malaysian Airlines', there was a constant fear of jeopardizing the KLIA as a hub, Changi Airport is as easy as prime hub for both airlines and passengers.

Thanks to rapid growth AirAsia, KLIA is now of a return, as a low-cost hub, but we must bear in mind also the airport of high-end systems as well. KLIA is also a major airportand his airline planned expansion will provide significant growth opportunities on a global scale.

This positioning at low cost is important. While Qantas withdrew from KLIA to build because of low yields and better economies of scale in Singapore, there are two low-cost airline Jetstar, Jetstar Asia and Singapore. Jetstar Asia and Jetstar already flies used KLIA to fly Sydney-KL flight is slow, but temporarily suspended during the economic crisis.

JetstarAsia has only a narrow body fleet is already reap the benefits offered by the recent opening KL-Singapore route. Qantas has a fleet of six Airbus A330 (service by the end of December 2008), two of which fly to Japan and Australia can easily use KLIA as the basis for the Qantas brand to expand into India, Southeast Asia, the Middle East, Europe and particularly in the United Kingdom, in response to the challenges of the ever busy, making KLIA AirAsia is a low-cost hubAustralians with his next service in the UK. Once he receives his Jetstar Boeing 787 Dreamliner, hopefully in 2010, based KLIA as an alternative "Kangaroo run" flower route.

A well-established base in the backyard of rival Singapore Airlines, while maintaining its presence at the Changi Airport, Qantas / Jetstar group fits just as well that you and your potential partner, Malaysian Airlines, more opportunities for the presence of Qantas maintenance Changi.

In contrast with the talkswith British Airways, in the case of Malaysian Airlines, the Malaysian Government will deal seriously and all have their blessing. So Qantas is fitting to continue. In the near future, Qantas and Malaysia to expand its membership ahead with Oneworld alliance code-sharing and a range of strategies. In the medium term to overcome the restrictive regulatory framework in Southeast Asia, I expect the Qantas and Malaysian Airlines must give time for the cross-holding andand for Qantas to buy a significant minority in Malaysia.

An agreement, if completed, with the help redefine Southeast Asian skies, and not only benefit the airlines, but also KLIA.

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The Travel Industry Supply Chain - fat, doomed to failure, full of opportunity?

Recent years have seen many changes in the travel industry, saw almost all driven by the increasing dominance of the Internet. Perhaps more than any other industry is so perfectly aligned to travel technology that their future is inevitably determined by the continuous evolution of the online behavior of the masses. Reviews, websites, programs, countless travel blog, the amount of content and the ability of money services for your trip, you seem endless.

So what to do these changes mean for travel within the relationship, and supply chains that take a product from a local office in Bangkok for a potential client in New York or London

Currently, the office in Bangkok, can run up to 3 series of day trips from the city's relationship with a local agency in-bound in Bangkok. By partnering with this agency, are likely, the supplier chosen by the agency contract with a Western tour operators. The tour operator, promoting its> Program of Thailand as a brochure that end, the customer then sold on the main road to the travel agency. This is in a nutshell is a simplified version of the chain.

Typically, the provider must offer special rates for in-bound agency. The Agency will again be set by the tour operator Western pressure to provide their services at the best price and is often (but not often enough) to ask for guarantees of safety checks that the emergency measures and accreditation. The Travel Companythen have your boxed product to sell traditionally made with the travel agent, giving them a commission (all from 5% to 15%, but now the position at the lower end).

As the consumer has been lured to travel on the tour operator for travel in Thailand? The tour operator has spent part of his income for a PR (or individual) that has attached a story or two in the national and regional press on the beauty of Thailand, with a visibleReference to the operator. A strong chain, with many people who live with them so, all in the final by the end user and the difference between what is charged and funded the cost of local suppliers to provide the service.

But we have already seen major changes. Customers who make more online - from exploration to find out where they want to go to the contact with the small office in Bangkok also bargain a better price for the trip. L 'The suppliers now active also on a web page and is now on the market in the Western public, to guide and encourage a margin than previously managed. And what is to promote public relations staff that have been used to write content to travel agents as part of the value chain? How to change its value if it is the content provider who is driving the purchase decision, the growing number of travelers?

We already have the ruin of many "brick saw andMortar "travel agencies, and this trend will continue. Tour operators are finding profit margins to unsustainable levels, and their survival now depends on the ability to cash flow throughout the year, nearly as they can manage to sell their product well. Producers of content for Media trip turns into a commodity with a rapidly dwindling value. media publications that are struggling to survive, in some cases are less inclined to pay travel writer with so Going RateMany happy professionals ready to increase its profile as a compensation for the expected exposure.

I see the future as one with a sharply reduced supply. Many more entries are made directly with local suppliers, because of new possibilities for this technology to use. Tour operators and travel agents can not survive by demonstrating their expertise in a particular product or market, either Children and young people today is very unlikelyThe use of the old way of buying products and services, and technology advances make purchases at a distance easier and easier. We need to talk about a very good reason for people to another person before buying, and nowhere more than in the travel industry, which is so much around this new behavior patterns.

This may be good news for manufacturers who can take more control of their operations and revenues. There are some risks to travelers, and high profile casesNo doubt highlight these risks. Travel agents usually the problem of financial security, but for me this is a risk that most people would take on board and absorb. From my point of view, the issue of safety of passengers is much more serious. safety procedures at the end of the supply chain are usually driven by a large tour operator, with security call while driving. The cost of a tour operator brand in the UK with a disaster caused by negligenceone of their trips may be devastating. For local operators, it is less likely with their names on the British media to be taken. The responsibility will fall on the hard work for customers - and more will go on, without thinking, or simply hope that it never happened.

As for travel writers, with a market already the way for direct sales, real opportunities may come from the delivery of content to the suppliers. Not the one-man band, strange trip or rental cars for sale, butRather, regional and national corporations that are now in progress, written with professional content for the English-speaking market (and written by a native English speaker without the humorous elements, but harmful Chinglish / Spinglish / Kringlish etc.) have the opportunity to promote their services so that they can control and in a way that brings them closer to their customers without an army of brokers their profits erode.

I'm sure we all have visions ofFuture, and everything will be different in their own way. The only thing that the past teaches us that the future often, no one expects from us. There will be challenges for us all, but it is also undeniable is full of possibilities. Take it away!