Jim Paull

Earlier today I had an interesting situation at Bangkok Airport as my Malaysia Airlines connection flight in Kuala Lumpur was delayed for 3.5 hours until 2:30am and I refused to take that flight.

I was subsequently moved to a direct Thai Airways flight but not properly rebooked via eticket, instead they issued a relic from the old days of flying: A handwritten FIM receipt.

Flight Interruption Manifests are basically a voucher issued by the operating carrier in case of irregular operations such as cancellations, delays and misconnections. The voucher serves as payment guarantee for the new carrier the passenger is moved to and pretty much a leftover from the pre-electronic ticketing days. I haven’t seen one of these FIM since probably 2004.

It all started with an email and SMS I received in the morning:

This delay which Malaysia Airlines calls a ‘retiming’ until 2:30am is completely unacceptable for many reasons. One being that the First Class lounge at KUL is currently closed (we wrote about it here & here) and only some pretty awful alternatives are available, all of which close around midnight.

The other reason being that Malaysia Airlines does this frequently with the Incheon flight, likely to cut costs for parking in Incheon (the flight arrives 6:30am and doesn’t depart until 11am). John had exactly the same thing happening to him some time ago and got rebooked on the Korean Air departure at 11:50pm. This wasn’t an alternative for me as I can’t do much with Korean Air mileage credit on either program. Maybe on Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan but that would require Malaysia to rebook me on the original KE code and not the MH codeshare.

I called the Malaysia Airlines reservation hotline as quoted in the email but with no results. The agents were generally unwilling and not authorized to do anything and all they said is ‘go to the airport’. Useless!

Since I was pretty much done at home I just went to the airport to keep my options open since there are several flights, either direct or with a connection to get me to Seoul in a timely manner. Initially the staff wanted to pressure me to fly to KL to get rebooked there but I refused since I knew it wouldn’t do me any good. I was then offered a flight on Korean Air or Thai Airways, I chose the latter. Thai Airways operated a Boeing 747 and I thought maybe I could upgrade to First Class somehow (wasn’t possible in the end due to the FIM).

Then came the surprise:

As I said I haven’t seen such a FIM Voucher for at least a decade and I certainly had my fair share of irregular operations and rebookings over the years. I’m not too surprised though given that Malaysia Airlines didn’t even have a manager available today there would have been nobody who’d be versed with ticketing. In any case it wasn’t much of an issue to check-in with Thai Airways after presenting the document. I got a nice seat in the upper deck of the 747, unfortunately it features the old Business Class seats.

An upgrade to First Class wasn’t possible since it hasn’t been e-ticketed. Otherwise I’d have used 20k United Miles. I even offered to pay cash for one of the Thai Standby Upgrades but they refused because it’s originally MH Ticket stock. No wonder Thai Airways is that deep in the red if they refuse the $500 Upgrade fee outright. Yet anything is better than to deal with Malaysia Airlines unreliable operations.

Conclusion

I did take a picture of the FIM document and also asked Thai to print my new itinerary as I’ll try and get an original routing credit with my frequent flyer program (I doubt it will work but you never know). In any case the flight on TG was certainly a good choice because I was able to use the Thai Airways Spa and the new Singapore Airlines Business Class Lounge. I also entered my United Premier Gold number and will get credit for full fare C (based on the TG printout) for this route. Better than dealing with some redundant credit from the Korean Air flight.

Most airlines have moved entirely to e-ticketing nowadays and such paper FIM’s are only used when there is a system meltdown such as on British Airways earlier this year. Pretty much everything can be done electronically now as long as the airlines have an interline and e-ticket agreement. And of course it requires an agent to know what to do which is highly difficult in the case of Malaysia Airlines. But always nice to see a bit of nostalgia along your travels!

If you are tight on time before your Friendsgiving celebration, but still want to show up with a dynamite side, then this recipe was made for you. A good sear gives this big batch of mushrooms rich, meaty flavor before they're tossed with a splash of wine, a sprinkle of earthy thyme, and a generous dusting of nutty Parmesan. Just 15 minutes and a handful of ingredients are all you need to bring this hearty side to the table.

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KUALA LUMPUR: Residents of the Loke Yew People’s Housing Scheme here are living in fear of a possible rat infestation.

Several dwellers of the 19-storey building claimed to have encountered the pests even on the higher floors and are worried the rats might contaminate the water storage tanks with their urine.

“If the rats get into the water storage tanks, it will be very dangerous for us as their urine may contaminate the water,” said resident Aina Mohamad, 45.

She said the residents had carried out “gotong royong” clean-ups but could not get rid of the rats.

Aina said she hoped Kuala Lumpur City Hall would be able to help the over 4,000 residents there eradicate the pests for good.

Another resident, Zurnita Tahir, 40, who lives on the 17th floor, said the grandchild of a neighbour stepped on rat urine and suffered a swollen leg soon after.

“I am worried that my young children may be similarly affected because we have seen rats running around. In the beginning, they were only seen up to the seventh floor but now they are everywhere,” she said.

Meanwhile, Jeff Chu Jun Mun, chairman of the Cheras Parliamentary Constituency Sub Zone 1 Residents’ Representative Council, did not rule out the possibility that dirty surroundings provided a conducive environment for the rats to breed.

“As of now, I have yet to receive any complaint from the residents. Nevertheless, I will meet them and convey the problem to City Hall. The matter should be taken seriously as it can be life-threatening,” he said.

Working at a coffee shop or in an economy airplane seat doesn’t usually come with the expectation of privacy, but that’s exactly what the Moose laptop bag gives you, and then some.

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Treating yourself to a bidet toilet seat may be the best money you ever spend. Not only will it actually get you clean, but it will pay for itself in saved toilet paper almost instantly. We regularly see bidet toilet seats go for ~$20 on Kinja Deals, and Tushy comes in at fifty bucks if you grab a deal from our …

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Your search for an irresistible chicken dish is over. These chicken thighs have perfectly crispy skin, thanks to the hot cast iron skillet, and are completely juicy, thanks to the rich brown butter sauce they cook in. It's truly the best of both worlds.

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As a person who doesn't really love turkey and wishes we'd just trade the ol' bird for a beef tenderloin or a honey ham, bacon-wrapped turkey was a bit of a surprise to me. Bacon-wrapped turkey is the turkey for turkey haters. Wrapping a turkey in bacon is fun, taking some of the stress off of roasting a Norman Rockwell-worthy turkey and wowing your guests at the same time.

What's even better? Wrapping a turkey in bacon eliminates any brining, salting, or basting to make a flavorful turkey and creates a stunning, crispy "skin" — a welcome contrast to the tender turkey meat. And it's much easier than it looks.

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My girlfriend and I make a lot of rice when we cook. Trouble is, she likes brown rice for health reasons and I like white rice for yummy reasons. I know brown rice is supposed to be “healthier” than white rice, but is it so much healthier that I need to make the switch?

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KUALA LUMPUR: The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) will be reformed and made answerable to parliament instead of the prime minister under a Pakatan Harapan (PH) plan “to clean up Malaysia” if PH wins the next general election.

MACC will also be given prosecuting powers and additional funding with autonomy to handle their own finances, said PH chairman Dr Mahathir Mohamad today.

He said the anti-graft drive, themed “Bersihkan Malaysia dari Najis Rasuah” (Cleaning up Malaysia from the Scourge of Corruption), was aimed at making the country one of the 10 “cleanest” in the world by 2030.

Speaking to reporters at a press conference in the Opposition’s office in Parliament, the former prime minister listed five core steps to curb corruption, including the MACC initiative.

He said the steps would be implemented by PH if the coalition succeeded in forming the government after the next election.

“This is a guideline for us when we take over Putrajaya next year,” he said.

Mahathir listed “reforming political funding” as number two on the agenda.

“Funding will be given to the party and not to politicians. Each donor is limited to giving RM200,000 a year. Every additional RM10,000 will be recorded.

“The funding cannot be given by GLCs (government-linked companies) and any company that has a contract with the government.

“Each party must produce a yearly funding report and send it to the auditor-general who is tasked to report it to Parliament.”

Mahathir said another step was to enhance transparency in the country.

“We will amend laws to ensure transparency is advanced.

“We will formulate freedom of information laws to ensure transparency in the administration of GLCs.

“All MPs and government employees on Grade Jusa C (salary scale) and above will have to declare their assets to Parliament.”

Those on Jusa C include ministry deputy secretaries-general and state directors.

Mahathir said the fourth core step would be to have an open tender system and to use technology to curb corruption.

“We will use the E-Perolehan and E-Bidaan system for all government contracts for ministries and government departments.

“All the tenders will be open and online and can be accessed easily by the public.”

The last step is to promote an anti-corruption culture in society.

“We will use ISO 37001 (Anti-Corruption Management System) to manage government bodies and review rewards given to government employees for helping to curb corruption.

“We will also enhance the punishment for corruption for both those who give and take,” he said.

Spinach-artichoke dip is a classic for a reason. You can't beat the combination of warm cheese, spinach, and artichokes — unless, of course, you add sun-dried tomatoes to the mix and stuff it inside crispy chicken thighs.

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Mistakes happen to everyone, right? At least that's what you're supposed to say when someone really messes up and there's nothing else that can be done except to crawl into a hole and die. In what is likely the most embarrassing news this morning, Great British Bake Off host Prue Leith accidentally Tweeted out the winner for this season's show a whole 12 hours before the final episode was to air.

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Most people are interested in getting something done. But maybe you aren’t. Maybe you just want to feel productive, or efficient, or hard-working, without having to actually accomplish something. You can’t just start doing that. First you need to plan, and first you need to plan to plan.

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The Bible and its stories about the first man and the creation of the world are not true because there is no physical evidence to back it up, according to a new lengthy investigation from one …...

Today’s Airfare of the Day goes to Saudia Airlines basic season business class promotional fares between Istanbul and Kuala Lumpur.

I first learned of this fare on FlyerTalk (access here)

Fare Details:

• Fare: Saudia (SV) IPR3MTK IST to KUL
• Booking class: I (Business Class)
• Price: $865 ($777 Base Fare + Taxes & Surcharges)
• Day/Time restrictions: Do not apply
• Seasonal restrictions: Permitted 01 JAN through 31 DEC on the first international sector
• Flight restrictions: All sectors must be on any SV flight
• Advanced reservation/Ticketing restrictions: Do not apply
• Minimum stay requirements: Do not apply
• Maximum stay requirements: 3 months after departure
• Stopovers: 5 stopovers permitted, limited to 2 free (in RUH) and 3 at $150 each (in JED/MED)
• Transfers: 1 transfer permitted in each direction
• Blackout dates: Travel is not permitted 10 JAN through 18 JAN 2018
• Travel restrictions: Do not apply
• Sales restrictions: Tickets must be issued on/before 10 NOV 2017
• Changes: Per ticket charge $65 for reissue/revalidation – Per coupon charge 25% for no-show
• Cancellations: Per ticket charge $70 for refund

Examples of possible routings:

Price comparison:

Availability:

I was able to find availability from November 2017 to September 2018 using Matrix ItaSoftware:

Booking examples:

This fare can be booked on Priceline:

Fare construction (can be useful to travel agents):

Accruals:

The following accruals were estimated for IST-JED-KUL round trip travel on SV marketed and operated flights without considering any elite status bonuses or ongoing promotions:

Conclusion

We have covered some of these Saudia Business Class fares before, and right now it seems they are also offering some good fares IST-CGK (access here) or GVA-KUL/CGK/MNL (access here).

This fare is pretty much flexible, allowing changes and cancellations for a relatively low fee.

Saudia is a dry airline: no adult beverages served on-board!

Did you find a good airfare and you would like me to post about it? Do you have any questions about a fare? Email me at freddo@loyaltylobby.com

Fare rules

Download (DOCX, 23KB)

Cookie cutters are cute, but annoying to store. They don't stack, they're never the same shape, they're rigid, and they're all sorts of different sizes. A pain! How to deal with cookie cutter clutter? First, try saying that five times fast! Then, check out some of the brilliant ways people have come up with to store them.

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Good health is a truly priceless thing, but maintaining a decent level of fitness—especially in big cities—can cost a pretty penny. In New York, gym memberships can cost as much as several hundred dollars a month (ahem, Equinox), while a single 45-minute class can cost you $42 or more. And personal training sessions?…

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The condition affects around 125 million people worldwide and is more often relieved by reducing visible signs and symptoms rather than being cured. Research continues in the hope of developing an effective treatment. Here’s a look at some of the latest advances ahead of World Psoriasis Day, October 29.

Researchers at the Universities of Dundee and Oxford in the UK are optimistic about a vaccine they have developed in the aim of treating chronic skin conditions such as psoriasis and cat hair allergies.

This vaccine, developed by combining elements of cucumber mosaic virus — a virus that can attack cucurbits — and a tetanus-vaccine-derived protein structure, is capable of stimulating the immune system by increasing the production of antibodies targeting the protein responsible for psoriasis.

This treatment, currently tested on mice, has been given the green light for clinical trials on humans. According to the researchers, the vaccine could replace the monthly antibody injections currently available for the most severely affected psoriasis patients, and offer a more affordable therapeutic option.

Currently available psoriasis treatments are tailored to the severity of the condition and can include orally administered drugs, as well as injections or decoctions.

When psoriasis is highly localized, covering less than 10% of the body, creams are applied locally to lesions. These contain various anti-inflammatory substances: corticosteroids (“cortisone”), keratolyitics, vitamin D derivatives, tazarotene and emollients to to soften the skin.

If this fails, patients are often prescribed immunomodulators — drugs in the form of pills or injections — and ultraviolet light therapy (PUVA therapy).

Finally, biotherapies, which have progressed greatly in recent years, include drugs based on “monoclonal antibodies,” which target a substance involved in the inflammation mechanism.

One such drug, called secukinumab, was authorized by the European Medicines Agency in January 2015, for patients with moderate to severe psoriasis and is administered by subcutaneous injection.

Two other biotherapies are ixekizumab and brodalumab. These two antibodies are likely to be available in 2017.

Authorized for the American market by the FDA, ixekizumab is a monoclonal antibody administered by monthly cutaneous injection. It is the most recent therapy developed for moderate to severe psoriasis and could soon be available elsewhere.

Note that alcohol, smoking, stress, obesity and certain drugs (nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs, beta blockers, etc.) can aggravate psoriasis in people with a genetic predisposition.

Psoriasis affects 125 million people worldwide.

Here are seven of the best photos that readers added to the Consumerist Flickr Pool in the last week, picked for usability in a Consumerist post or for just plain neatness.

Want to see your pictures on our site? Our Flickr pool is the place where Consumerist readers upload photos for possible use in future Consumerist posts. Just be a registered Flickr user, go here, and click “Join Group?” up on the top right. Choose your best photos, then click “send to group” on the individual images you want to add to the pool.

Everyone needs a great tote bag. We’ve rounded up the best we’ve toted around so far, and once you’re done reading, we want to hear about your favorite in the comments.

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By Frank T. McAndrew, Cornelia H. Dudley Professor of Psychology, Knox College. Gallowglass, CC BY-SA If you’ve ever seen a ghost, you have something in common with 18 percent of Americans. But while there’s evidence that our brains are hardwired to see ghosts, the apparitions we see tend to...

KUALA LUMPUR: The Emblems and Names Act (Amended) 2016 and the Awards Act 2016 which curbs the selling of awards and titles take into effect today.

Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Azalina Othman Said said both acts could curb the abuse of awards and titles conferred by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, the rulers and the Yang di-Pertua Negeri.

“The amendments to the acts show the government’s commitment to preserve the institution of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, rulers and Yang di-Pertua Negeri from being marred by irresponsible parties,” she said in a statement distributed in Parliament today.

Azalina said the government had increased the penalties and included a prison sentence which reflected the seriousness of the offence and as a preventive measure for the people’s protection.

Among others, the Awards Act states that it is an offence for a person to seek, accept, or bribe for an unrecognised award which carries a prison sentence of up to 20 years.

Meanwhile, the penalty for an offence under the Emblems and Names Act (Amended) 2016 could be a penalty of up to RM20,000 or prison sentence up to three years, or both. Previously, the punishment was a RM1,000 fine.

“Hopefully, with the enforcement of this act, cheating cases which affect the public will be curtailed,” she said.

Azalina added that in order to avoid being cheated, members of the public could visit the www.istiadat.gov.my to check the full list of awards accorded at the federal and state levels.

Both acts were passed by the Dewan Rakyat on Nov 23, 2016 and by the senate on Dec 20 last year.

To an American, carrot cake means a rich spiced cake frosted with super-sweet cream cheese icing. But to a Tuscan, this moist cake has no spices at all. In fact, cinnamon is rarely used in desserts and only occasionally used in some savory cooking. This recipe comes straight from my family recipe box. Served with the mascarpone cream, it is a lovely dinner party dessert, but it also works well with your morning espresso or afternoon coffee. Try to let the cake stand overnight before serving so the flavors settle.

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When I ran my first obstacle course race, I envisioned crossing the finish line triumphantly, a big smile on my face, glowing with the joy of achievement. In reality, it was a sweaty and humid unseasonably warm day, but in my race photos I look great. My secret? I ran in a full face of makeup.

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From Apartment Therapy → Science Has Figured Out Just How Long Our Vacations Should Be

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The University of Cambridge released Stephen Hawking’s doctoral thesis to the public Monday —and physicists say it’s not his best work. With Hawking’s approval, the university granted access to his …...

We’ve all had at least one coworker who was difficult, whether it was a personality clash or a case of chronic missed deadlines. The next time you find yourself frustrated by that person in the office, may we suggest some good old fashioned passive aggression?

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PETALING JAYA: An aerobics session organised by the Kota Bharu Wanita MCA was halted abruptly last Friday.

The reason? The Kota Bharu municipal council wanted the male and female participants to be kept separated at “a proper distance” from each other.

“The longstanding policy of the Kelantan government requires males and females taking part in the same public activity to be segregated,” said state exco Abdul Fattah Mahmood, who is in charge of local government, housing, youth and sports.

“We don’t prohibit such activities completely,” he told FMT.

The municipal council’s officers stopped the “Aerobathon” session at Chung Cheng Secondary School in Kota Bharu on the grounds that the men and women participants were not segregated and the organisers had no permit.

Chinese language newspaper Guang Ming Daily reported that the event was held together with a blood donation and a children’s colouring competition.

After negotiations between the officers and the organisers, the aerobics exercise resumed, but without the men.

Kota Bharu MCA chairman Tan Ken Ten said the organisers decided to mix the participants because only a few men took part.

Fattah said the segregation rule would not be enforced if a public event had no Muslim participants.

“If all participants of a programme are non-Muslims, we would respect the right of the non-Muslim community to hold a mixed event,” he said.

He accused the MCA of blowing up the issue for political capital.

“MCA has run out of ideas to attack the state government, so they made an issue of even a minor matter.”

PETALING JAYA: Former minister Zaid Ibrahim wants Islamic teachers in the country to start teaching children ethical values from a young age.

He called for the need for the young to learn the basics of what is right and wrong, and not just what some religious teacher may impart.

“It’s not enough to say that Islam is under attack, to name-call others we do not like or to cite passages from the Quran or a hadith about honesty.

“They need to learn the basics of right and wrong. Not their (teachers) own version of it, but the values common to humanity.

“Our young need to appreciate integrity and honesty because these intrinsic values will hold them in good stead for the rest of their lives,” Zaid said.

He added that this was one way to make Muslims honest.

“Armed with such right guidance, Muslims will not cheat other Muslims, will not be greedy and probably work harder because there will be no more opportunities to live on blood money.”

Zaid said this in reference to his experience in Cambodia recently, when he paid a visit to the province of Kampong Cham.

He related how he met with original Champa Malays, especially spending time with two women who ran a halal restaurant in the province which is home to more than 5,000 Muslims.

After having eaten there with a friend, Zaid said he got to talking with the owners Wan Siti Aishah and Azizah.

“First, they complained about middlemen who organised charities on people’s behalf, only to pocket some of the proceeds for themselves, enough for them to be able to own a few cars.

“These middlemen are usually religious officials who have contacts with other Muslim organisations,” Zaid said.

He added how even donations from Malaysians who wanted to ensure Cambodian Muslims could fulfill their religious obligations were squandered by these middlemen.

“During Hari Raya Haji, many Malaysians donated generously and gave korban (sacrifice) to Muslims in Kampong Cham so they could eat meat.

“Unfortunately, the middlemen took some before giving the rest to the villagers.

“‘Why do Muslims cheat other Muslims. Why can’t they be honest with their own kind?’, Wan Siti Aishah asked me,” Zaid said, adding that his first response was that such a scenario was true all throughout the Muslim world.

Zaid said he could only comfort her by saying that there are just as many good people who have done a lot to help their fellow Muslims.

“There will always be dishonest people in this world, and being outwardly ‘religious’ says nothing about their integrity.

“However, I told them that there are also good people willing to do more charity for their fellow Muslims,” he said, adding that he had shared how his wife helped the disabled for more than 20 years in Kelantan.

Interestingly, Zaid said he also made one more observation while in Cambodia about the difference between men and women.

“The women there work harder than the men, which is what they say about the Kelantanese too.

“The men spend a lot of time talking among themselves, which is somewhat similar to how the men in my state behave.

“Could it be that we Kelantanese came from Cambodia centuries ago?” he said.