Malaysia Airlines Sees ‘Steady Progress’

Malaysia Airlines reported continuing progress as it tries to turn the loss-making flag carrier around.

As the airline is owned by Malaysia’s sovereign wealth fund, Khazanah Nasional, it does not publish financial statements.

The airline did say, however, that it expects to make a loss for its 2016 financial year, but smaller than originally expected. For the third quarter it saw a reduced operating loss of 7 percent compared to Q2.

It carried 3.6 million passengers in Q3, up 9 percent from the second quarter. Load factor rose 10.7 percentage point to 79.3 percent, again measured against the previous quarter.

“The focus in the first half was on reducing costs and improving the customer experience. From July 2016 we began to push hard on revenue generation with more aggressive sales and marketing initiatives,” Malaysia Aviation Group chief executive Peter Bellew said.

“The quarter saw expansion plans with an order of up to 50 new Boeing 737 MAX aircraft. Malaysia Airlines has also expanded its network as it launched nine new routes to China for 2017.”

The group said it remains cautious for financial year 2017, with a weak Malaysian Ringgit, uncertainty over the UK’s departure from the European Union, and overcapacity in Malaysia dominant features. It expects to carry over 15 million passengers next year.