Captain Lim Khoy Hing - Sky Tales: More insights From a Life in the Skies

2017 Lim Khoy Hing

Photographs Lim Khoy Hing, unless otherwise specified

Illustrations Straight to Point Advertising

Published by Marshall Cavendish Editions

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National Library Board, Singapore Cataloguing-in-Publication Data

e-ISBN: 978 981 477 964 7

Names: Lim, Khoy Hing. | AirAsia, publisher.

Title: Sky tales : more insights from a life in the skies / Captain Lim Khoy Hing.

Description: Singapore : Marshall Cavendish Editions ; [Malaysia] : Air Asia, [2017]

Identifiers: OCN 990164846 | 978-981-47-7923-4 (paperback)

Subjects: LCSH: Flight. | Aeronautics. | Flight crews.

Classification: DDC 629.1325--dc23

Printed in Malaysia by Vivar Printing Sdn Bhd

Lot 25, Rawang Integrated Industrial Park

Mukim Rawang, off Jalan Batu Arang

48000 Rawang, Selangor

This book is dedicated to my wife, Koh Hui Ching;
my daughter and son-in-law, Lim Pei Mun and Jeff Shotton;
my son and daughter-in-law, Lim Kok Chian and Vivian Chok;
and my grandchildren,

Alex, Marcus, Annabelle, Yi Yin and Hao Vern

I remember when Captain Lim first approached me in February 2012 to do a book. He had been writing a monthly column on flying for AirAsias inflight magazine, Travel 3Sixty, for four years then, and he felt he had enough material to compile into a single volume.

He first volunteered to pen the column, Pilots Perspective, after noticing there were no articles about flying in the magazine, and because he felt it was important to demystify the flying experience for our guests. You could say the column was an extension of his personal blog, in which he aimed to shed light on various aspects of air travel, especially for the benefit of first-time flyers.

Captain Lims commitment to making flying more enjoyable for everyone is laudable, so when he asked if I would sponsor his first book, I immediately said yes. He has a wealth of experience from decades of being a commercial pilot, and I believed a wider audience would benefit from his expertise and knack for explaining even the most complicated things in a way everyone can understand.

That first book, Life in the Skies, was a modest success, with 18,000 copies sold since October 2013, and more than 3,000 copies of the Chinese edition sold since July 2015. It was placed third in the POPULARThe Star Readers Choice Awards at Bookfest @ Malaysia 2015 (English, Non-Fiction category).

More importantly, the book has brought comfort to countless readers who, armed with a greater understanding of what happens before, during and after every flight, have been able to overcome their fear of flying.

Since then, Captain Lim has continued to inform and entertain with new columns enough to compile into a second book, which is what you hold in your hands. His tireless dedication is the reason I could not be more thrilled or honoured to write a foreword for this book, in which Captain Lim continues to do what he does best share his passion and knowledge about flying with the world.

So I achieved my lifetime dream of writing a book that got published in 2013. With that, I should be enjoying my retirement by taking things easy, spending time with family and grandchildren, and travelling for leisure.

However, flying is my passion. It is my life, and I cannot stay away. I continue to work full-time as a ground school and flight simulator instructor with AirAsia X, as well as contribute to the airlines inflight magazine, Travel 3Sixty, and answer questions from curious and fearful flyers on my website, Just About Flying.

This second book is a natural extension of all of the above, and it would not have been possible without the assistance of so many individuals.

I would like to express my deepest gratitude to Tan Sri Tony Fernandes for sponsoring this second book. Even though he is a busy man, he has never failed to show his humour, kindness and humility every time we meet. Once again, he has agreed to pen the Foreword.

Many thanks also to the managing editor of Travel 3Sixty, Beverley Rodrigues, for her very professional editing, and internal editor Yow Hong Chieh for fine-tuning this book and Alex Tsen for the wonderful illustrations. I would also like to name the following for making this book possible. Thank you Datuk Kamarudin Meranun, Executive Chairman AirAsia Bhd, Bo Lingam, COO AirAsia Group, Aireen Omar, CEO AirAsia Bhd, Benyamin Ismail, CEO AirAsia X Bhd, Siegtraund Teh, Spencer Lee, Jesslyne Heng, Rudy Khaw, Sumeet Dhingra, Nurdiyana, Jonathan Lee, Glenn Wray, Christine Chong, and the Travel 3Sixty team comprising R. Rajendra, Chitra Santhi Nathan, Kan Seak Hong, Shamini Sugananthan and Fazlina Bee Abdul Rashid for helping to make this book a success. I am also very grateful to many others who have, in one way or another, been involved in this endeavour.

With more than 45 years of flying experience and many million air miles under my belt, I have had the pleasure of flying in various aircraft as a pilot, and as a passenger. I am hopeful that this second book will give you a better glimpse of my flying history, with pictures from the days of black-and-white and sepia-tone photography, to the more colourful, recent shots.