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MASKargo future up in the air as 'new' Malaysia Airlines takes off
MALAYSIA Airlines System (MAS) has begun operations as Malaysia Airlines Berhad (MAB), after being granted an air operator's certificate (AOC) by the Malaysian Department of Civil Aviation.
However, the future of the former cargo arm, MASKargo, remains unclear after MAB culled a third of its personnel and withdrew from several long-haul routes, according to London's Loadstar.
The new entity came about as a result of the multiple crises that have hit Malaysia Airlines, most notably the loss of two aircraft last year. The disappearance of flight MH370 over the Indian Ocean en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing in March 2014 remains unexplained, and flight MH17 was shot down over Ukraine four months later on a scheduled flight from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur.
The tragic incidents followed several years of under-performance which led to Malaysian sovereign wealth fund Khazanah buying the assets of the former Malaysia Airline System (MAS) last year for US$1.6 billion in an effective re-nationalisation.
Malaysia's Minister of Transport, Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai, said granting the AOC, after several months of audits to establish airworthiness, MRO capability and regulatory conformity, was "an important milestone in the evolution of Malaysia's national airline".
Former Aer Lingus CEO Christoph Mueller was recruited in May to turn the carrier around, and pledged to reinvent MAB as a full-service regional airline. "It's not a continuation of the old company in a new disguise -everything is new," he said.
Khazanah drew up a 12-point plan to revitalise Malaysia Airlines, but the current political and economic uncertainty in the country, which saw 300,000 people rally to demand the resignation of the country's prime minister for alleged corruption, and will not help the government achieve its goals.
The Malaysian currency has fallen sharply in value, which in principle could help exporters. However, oil and industrial raw materials that make up the bulk of Malaysian exports are suffering from wider turmoil across the region and from lower global commodities prices.
MAB has made no official comment on the future of its six freighters, two Boeing 747-400s and four Airbus 330-200s, but according to a source, the airline was "looking to get rid of them all through sale or lease".
However, the future of the former cargo arm, MASKargo, remains unclear after MAB culled a third of its personnel and withdrew from several long-haul routes, according to London's Loadstar.
The new entity came about as a result of the multiple crises that have hit Malaysia Airlines, most notably the loss of two aircraft last year. The disappearance of flight MH370 over the Indian Ocean en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing in March 2014 remains unexplained, and flight MH17 was shot down over Ukraine four months later on a scheduled flight from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur.
The tragic incidents followed several years of under-performance which led to Malaysian sovereign wealth fund Khazanah buying the assets of the former Malaysia Airline System (MAS) last year for US$1.6 billion in an effective re-nationalisation.
Malaysia's Minister of Transport, Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai, said granting the AOC, after several months of audits to establish airworthiness, MRO capability and regulatory conformity, was "an important milestone in the evolution of Malaysia's national airline".
Former Aer Lingus CEO Christoph Mueller was recruited in May to turn the carrier around, and pledged to reinvent MAB as a full-service regional airline. "It's not a continuation of the old company in a new disguise -everything is new," he said.
Khazanah drew up a 12-point plan to revitalise Malaysia Airlines, but the current political and economic uncertainty in the country, which saw 300,000 people rally to demand the resignation of the country's prime minister for alleged corruption, and will not help the government achieve its goals.
The Malaysian currency has fallen sharply in value, which in principle could help exporters. However, oil and industrial raw materials that make up the bulk of Malaysian exports are suffering from wider turmoil across the region and from lower global commodities prices.
MAB has made no official comment on the future of its six freighters, two Boeing 747-400s and four Airbus 330-200s, but according to a source, the airline was "looking to get rid of them all through sale or lease".
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