Malaysia Airlines financial woes continue post tragedies

Malaysia Airlines financial woes continue post tragedies
By admin


The twin tragedies for Malaysia Airlines have impacted their bottom line, reporting a 2nd Quarter net loss of RM307 million ($104 million) for the three months ended 30 June 2014.

This loss adds to the 1st Quarter loss of RM443 million ($150 million) and mark the sixth straight quarterly loss for Malaysia Airlines.

The airline has struggled to stay competitive following the loss of MH370 and the 18 July shooting down over Ukraine of flight MH17, which killed all 298 aboard that plane, and is now in dire straits financially.

Even before the recent tragedies, Malaysia Airlines was acutely aware of the need to restructure the Company’s operations following the weak financial performance.

“We operate in a harsh business environment of stiff competition from regional and global carriers and high operational costs, and this coupled with the impact of the two tragedies which have damaged our brand, the need to restructure the Company was accelerated,” Malaysian Airlines spokesperson Ahmad Jauhari said.

The full financial impact of the double tragedies of MH370 and MH17 is expected to hit Malaysia Airlines in the second half of the year.

Majority shareholder, Khazanah Nasional Berhad, announced on 8 August 2014 its intention to take full ownership of Malaysia Airlines and delist it from Bursa Malaysia. This has yet to be approved, however it is expected when it does, there will be an action a plan to restructure the airline group towards returning it to profitability.

Meanwhile, Malaysia Airlines has turned to heavily discounting the price of their flights and giveaways to lure customers back as passengers and crew desert the troubled airline.

Aimed at attracting Australian and New Zealand passengers, the airline is offering “astounding new online offers” starting from $495 for a return economy class airfare ticket to Kuala Lumpur.

Additionally Malaysia Airlines is offering last-minute weekend deals to Kota Kinabalu from $557 and is giving away 12 return flights to Kuala Lumpur as part of its “My Ultimate Bucket List” competition.

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