Malaysia Airlines wants to return to Paris and Los Angeles. The question, though, is when…and why. Don’t expect service to resume to these cities anytime soon.
Malaysia Airlines’ Group Chief Executive Officer, Captain Izham Ismail, told reporters yesterday that the carrier is interested in resuming service to Paris (abandoned in 2016) and Los Angeles via Tokyo (abandoned in 2014). But when asked when, he stated:
Only if Malaysia Airlines successfully turns around.
And that’s really the key. While the restructure is ongoing, Malaysia Airlines is still not as “lean and mean” as it must be to viably compete absent state aid. Costs are still high, even as the carrier has been able to post modest profit in 2017.
Ismail is targeting growth of 4-5%, but his initial focus is certainly regional. The airline has or will soon add routes to:
- Nanjing, China
- Haikou, China
- Surabaya, Indonesia
- Brisbane, Australia
Ultimately a carrier cannot “grow” itself to profitability through cutbacks. Nevertheless, such growth targets should engage alarm bells: the previous two CEOs brought Malaysia Airlines back to profitability through discipline and abandoning loss-leading legacy routes. The new pilot-turned-CEO must be careful not to make the same growth mistakes his predecessors did.
CONCLUSION
I still think of Malaysia Airlines as the airline left without a seat when the music stops playing. It faces fierce long-haul and short-haul competition and that will only worsen. Even if it was able to offer nonstop A350 service to Los Angeles, it would be for reasons of national pride only…there would be no profit on the route. Perhaps Paris could work again, especially as Air France has now abandoned its CDG-KUL route. But considering the London route loses money, I question that as well.
image: Malaysia Airlines (A350 First Class)
No amount of A350s can fix the lingering horrors that are unfairly associated with the brand. The worst thing they did was paying consultants millions who ended up advocating “staying the course” with zero change in branding and livery.
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I agree with @henry LAX in this case. Anecdotally I still know many, many people in Hong Kong (where I used to be based) as well as Europe and the States for that matter, who will simply not choose MH willingly, unfair as that may be. I was quite surprised they chose to stay with their branding and livery after a series of events few airlines would survive.
In addition they are rudderless as you point out, unable to compete with CX and SQ for premium business and unable to compete with the LCCs either. The last thing they need right now is a return to routes based on nothing more than national pride… if they can’t turn a profit on the London route, I doubt just about any longhaul route works well for them.
Tough job. Malaysia is a small market, MH is not respected and GA and SQ provide a much better and reliable service.
Both Henry and Kerry are quit correct. I loved regularly flying this airline from Perth Australia to Paris. The crews are fantastic, the service standards consistent (not over the top) and the aircraft always spotless. I have NEVER had a delay or a bad experience and the kid free zone is brilliant. The two events a few years back are hopefully forgotten in the eye of the general public and it saddens me to see a great little airline ignored by the public, especially in deferance to SQ and GA, both of whom are very good. GA certainly turned itself around very well. MH has always lived in the shadow of the great SQ ever since they split MSA into the two airlines, yet it is one of the best kept secrets in the region. The brand may be a difficult one to rebirth but other companies have done it before. KL is a great hub (less chaotic than others) and the gentleness, efficiencies and graciousness of the MH staff is underestimated. It always struck me they were a bit like AVIS – they tried harder! Maybe thats the selling point, a less hectic, calmer and quieter experience at a value for money price. Unfortunately, super low fares, gimmicks and ostentatious cabin furnishings are what attract the masses rather than good quality service with a gentle approach. I wish them the best of luck in turning around their fortunes.