Kuala Lumpur: The new CEO of Malaysia Airlines, Christoph Mueller, said the ailing carrier could break even by 2018 after cutting staff, selling surplus aircraft and refurbishing its international fleet.
The airline is being kept alive by an injection of funds from a Malaysian government sovereign wealth fund after double disasters in 2014 dealt a fatal blow to its already struggling business. The Malaysian parliament passed a law allowing the airline to be restructured under Chapter 11-style bankruptcy protection.
Mueller would not be drawn on whether the airline would adopt a new name or logo as part of a revamp of its brand. But he said a problem for Malaysia Airlines is that the travelling public is regularly reminded of its association with tragedy because the search for Flight 370 is still under way.
Mueller said two of the airline’s six A380 jets are surplus to requirements and will be sold, reflecting significant changes in the airline industry since the big jets were introduced, including the rapid expansion of Emirates, which have resulted in overcapacity.
Its Boeing 777 and Airbus A330 jets will be refurbished and reconfigured as two-class planes with the business cabin to offer larger lie-flat seats than other airlines.
A few international routes may be cut, Mueller said, but the airline’s approach would mainly turn on flying smaller aircraft on routes that are currently unprofitable.
