Malaysia on the up

A profit in the final quarter of last year and average load factors of up to 74%, with a December figure of 91%, were reported last week by Malaysia Airlines CEO Peter Bellew in a wide-ranging media interview on the carrier’s performance in 2016.

He said the company, which went private in 2014, made a final-quarter profit and cut costs by some £24m in those three months alone. For the year, the airline finished 49% ahead of its budgeted loss.

Bellew said MAS had identified  a further £73m of cost reductions this year to offset the strength of the US dollar. "If there was no US dollar impact and if it did not move as much (against the Malaysia ringgit), we would have made much more money last year," he added.

On forward bookings, Bellew said  MAS has sold 50% more seats from February to July this year than the same period a year ago, with the sale of Business Class seats doubling.

On fares, he said MAS would not be cutting prices despite the competition, but the group remained cautious about the weaker ringgit against the US dollar, overcapacity in the industry and intense competition.

www.malaysiaairlines.com

Index/Home page
 

OUR READERS' FINEST WORDS (All times and dates are GMT)

All comments are filtered to exclude any excesses but the Editor does not have to agree with what is being said. 100 words maximum