Malaysia

The Prime Minister said the upgrading work at the Sultan Azlan Shah airport in Ipoh is expected to improve trade, industry, and tourism. He added they are targeting routes from Senai, Singapore, and possibly expanding to Kota Kinabalu and Kuching. The project with a cost of RM60 million will be carried out in 2 phases and is expected to increase the airport’s capacity to 700,000 passengers from the current 500,000

Bin Zayed International Group (BZI), UAE and FatHopes Energy (FHE), Malaysia, will work together to build Southeast Asia’s first sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) refineries in Port Klang. BZI’s Managing Director said the refinery will produce SAF via the GEFA pathway, which accounts for 80% of global SAF production. He added that FHE is in the process of getting the necessary approvals to break ground for the project. BZI will support the investment and break ground is expected to happen in 2026 and the operation to start in 2029. FHE said the project is at the feasibility stage and will be developed as a 300,000-tonne-per-annum facility. BZI’s Managing Director said they need hydrogen and nitrogen as a major component of the manufacturing process

AirAsia MOVE has introduced Easy Cancel, which allows passengers to cancel AirAsia flights up to 48 hours before departure and receive a refund in 10 days. The passengers can purchase Easy Cancel with a refund option between 80% and 100%, including for add-ons. This feature will be available for all routes except flights to South Korea and domestic flights for Indonesia. Easy Cancel feature for AirAsia X (D7) flights, like from Kuala Lumpur to Almaty and Sydney, will be available by the end of May

Malaysia Airlines will increase its flight frequencies from Kuala Lumpur to - Melbourne from 16 to 18 weekly flights starting from 29 Sep - Sydney from 17 to 18 weekly flights starting 4 Oct, and to 21 weekly flights from 31 Oct

Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd (MAHB) Chairman blamed political changes since 2018-2022 for the delay in the KLIA Aerotrain project and denied claims of MAHB’s privatisation as the cause of the delay. He said the decision to replace the Aerotrain system was made in 2016

Malaysia and China will cooperate to improve aviation ties on the development of a ‘twin hub’ cooperation between Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) and Zhengzhou Xinzheng International Airport. The Transport Minister said this cooperation will improve regional air logistics capacity and facilitate closer economic ties

Juneyao Airlines will launch the Shanghai-Kuala Lumpur route on 28 Jun with 4 flights per week

Malaysia Airlines Bhd (MAB), Brisbane Airport, and Tourism and Events Queensland (TEQ) signed an MoU to improve tourism and air connectivity between Malaysia and Queensland, Australia

Brunei Airlines has joined AirAsia MOVE as a direct airline partner. AirAsia MOVE now partners with over 70 airlines and offers access to 900,000 hotels, airport transfers, travel insurance, and other services

Perak Government will partner with AirAsia and Batik Air to establish a joint committee to study the feasibility of new flight routes from the Sultan Azlan Shah Airport in Ipoh. The airlines will share relevant data with the state government to make planning and analysis

AirAsia X marked the 1st anniversary of Kuala Lumpur-Almaty flight services and has increased its flight frequency to 5 times per week with 27,000 seats in Q2 2025. The airline recorded a 90% load factor since the flight was launched on 14 Mar 2024. AirAsia X signed an MoU with Almaty Tourism to improve tourism flows between Malaysia and Kazakhstan and to position Almaty as a top destination for tourism from Malaysia, Singapore, and Indonesia

The Malaysian Aviation Commission (MAVCOM) resolved 99% of 2,613 complaints (+34% YoY) it received in H2 2024. In 37% of the cases, the airlines reversed their decision in favour of consumers. MAVCOM said 995 of the complaints, or 2,581, were about airlines, and the remaining 1%, or 32, involved airport services. Malaysia Airlines accounted for 921 complaints, AirAsia 611 complaints, and Batik Air 437 complaints. Domestic airlines met the 90% resolution target to close complaints within 30 days, and foreign airlines reported a 54% resolution rate

Brand Finance Airlines 50 2025 report ranked Malaysia Airlines at 45th place, taking a spot in the top 50 after 10 years. The airline also recorded the fastest-growing brand with a 209% increase in brand value to $607 million USD. The airline recorded a 78.2/100 score in the Brand Strength Index (BSI) and AA+ brand strength rating. AirAsia took the 24th spot with a 66% increase in brand value to $1.8 billion USD. AirAsia ranked as the world’s 11th strongest airline brand with an 84.2/100 BSI score and a AAA-brand strength rating. Malaysia Airports ranked 7th in the Airports 25 2025 with an 83% increase to $184 million USD in brand value, 80.3/100 BSI score, and an AAA-rating

Santan, Capital A’s F&B business, will replace single-use plastics with biodegradable materials. Santan will use polylactic acid (PLA) made from corn and cassava for all inflight disposable items. Rightway New Material developed the materials, and the study shows PLA breaks down by over 90% in industrial composting. Santan CEO claimed that with this initiative, AirAsia will reduce carbon emissions by 500 tonnes annually in Malaysia and Thailand, where the initiative will begin before expanding to 7 airlines under AirAsia’s brand

Malaysia Aviation Group’s (MAG) Managing Director warned that operating costs could increase by 25% due to supply chain issues and US tariffs. He said these issues could impact MAG’s profitability in 2025. MAG are not expecting any delays in the scheduled delivery of 18 Boeing 737-8 and 12 Boeing 737-10 aircraft, which are slated to arrive from 2029

Capital A will ask shareholders to approve a RM6 billion capital reduction to allow the company to offset its accumulated losses and shore up its balance sheet during an extraordinary general meeting on 7 May, as part of its regularisation plan. Capital A will submit the plan to the High Court for confirmation and hopes to complete the plan by Jun. After Capital A completes capital reduction, its shareholder equity will drop to RM742.1 million

Batik Air will resume Tashkent-Langkawi flights from 1 Jun, flying every Sunday. The Langkawi Development Authority (LADA) CEO said this initiative will support their effort to attract 3.5 million visitors to Langkawi. She confirmed a charter flight service between Warsaw-Langkawi will begin from Nov 2025 after the 22 charter flight services ended in Mar 2025

Malaysia Aviation Group (MAG) is in talks with Boeing to see if it can accelerate its fleet delivery given the potential delivery slots for Chinese airlines which have now been vacated due to the ongoing US tariffs situation. The Group MD noted that it was not a straightforward situation, and that any additional aircraft would not be part of its initial order for 25 under Air Lease Corporation, which would require raising additional funds. The airline noted that it is seeking to transition its fleet to more of a widebody focus by 2025, to allow it to carry more seat capacity to ASEAN routes, rather than increase flight frequencies

Malaysia Airlines and Manchester United will partner to feature Manchester United’s livery on A330-300 airplanes. Manchester United will play at the Bukit Jalil Stadium against an ASEAN All-Star team as part of their pre-season tour on 28 May

Malaysia Airlines will resume direct flights to Brisbane, Queensland, from 29 Nov. The airline will offer return fares from RM1,999 for economy class and RM8,999 for business class

Malaysia Aviation Group (MAG) recorded a RM54 million net profit for 2024, its second consecutive annual profit, despite being -93% YoY, where it recorded RM766.19 million. MAG cut its capacity by 18% in Q4 2024, which affected 6,388 flights and 1 million customers. This move erased its gains made from Q1-Q3 2024. MAG’s Managing Director said that without the capacity cut, MAG would have recorded RM585 million in net profit. MAG’s cargo and other non-airline segments helped to make up the losses. MAG’s passengers increased to 16.6 million, +14.5% YoY and average load factor reached 80%. The passenger yield dropped to 30.1 sen from 33.3 sen. Malaysia Airlines recorded RM139 million operating profit in 2024, -87% YoY from the RM1.09 billion it recorded in 2023. Amal recorded +36% YoY in financial performance. Firefly recorded an increase in its losses YoY after the airline started operation from Subang Airport. Firefly’s load factor improved by 10% but its yield dropped 19%. MAG plans to operate 55 Boeing aircraft by 2030. Forward bookings increased by 9% YoY with network expansion to ASEAN, New Zealand, South Asia, and Paris. MAG Managing Director said they remain cautious and “Rising tariffs, inflationary pressures, and global supply chain volatility will continue to shape our cost landscape”

Malaysia Aviation Group’s (MAG) Managing Director said the company is committed to operate independently of any Khazanah Nasional Bhd’s bailout despite threats of increasing operating costs due to the new US tariffs. He added the group ended 2024 with a RM3 billion cash balance. MAG is also open to source new aircraft, including from COMAC

AirAsia introduced the Auto Visa Check (AVC) feature on the AirAsia MOVE app and airasia.com to help passengers check international routes that require a visa and Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA)

AirAsia will launch a direct charter flight between Macau-Tawau from 2 May 2025-30 Apr 2026, with 2 flights per week. Shenzhen Century Holiday Travel Group will operate these flights and will bring 15,000 tourists

The Malaysian Aviation Commission (MAVCOM) reported that all 4 Malaysia-based airlines’ on-time performance (OTP) recorded below the 85% target. AirAsia, AirAsia X, and Batik Air recorded improvement on MoM basis: AirAsia recorded 64% OTP in Jan 2025 vs 70.3% in Nov 2024 and 54% in Dec 2024 AirAsia X recorded 74.6% OTP in Jan 2025 vs 82.3% in Nov 2024 and 72.1% in Dec 2024 Batik Air recorded 60.9% in Jan 2025 vs 59% in Nov 2024 and 57.3% in Dec 2024 Malaysia Airlines recorded 69.8% OTP in Jan 2025 vs 78.2% in Nov 2024 and 72.5% in Dec 2024 For domestic OTP: AirAsia X recorded 85.5% OTP in Jan vs 79.6% in Dec. The airline operated 63 domestic flights in Jan 2025 vs 49 in Dec 2024 AirAsia recorded 69.9% OTP in Jan 2025 vs 63.1% in Dec 2024 Batik Air recorded 73.1% in Jan 2025 vs 71% in Dec 2024 Malaysia Airlines recorded 79.9% OTP in Jan 2025 vs 85.2% in Nov 2024 and 86.1% in Dec 2024 MAVCOM is projecting 105.8-112.9 million air passenger traffic for 2025. Malaysian airports recorded 17.9 million passengers YTD

Abc., (AirAsia brand co.) will launch the AirAsia Buds Adventures program on its YouTube channel from 11 Apr for 12 weeks in collaboration with Moonbug Entertainment. The program will focus on children and families

Tourism industry players in Sandakan are calling on the government to develop Sandakan Airport as the second international airport in Sabah. The Sandakan Tourism Association President said the town is in a strategic position to serve as an international airport. He said 70,000 seats were lost since AirAsia suspended 7 routes from Kota Kinabalu. He added that Sandakan will offer seamless travel to Singapore, Hong Kong, or Guangzhou with direct flights

The Tourism Minister highlighted the potential for better flight connectivity between Malaysia and Vietnam, especially from Hanoi and HCMC. He recently led a delegation from the Ministry of Tourism (MOTAC) and Tourism Malaysia to Vietnam to promote Malaysia. MOTAC recently engaged with VietJet Air and Bamboo Airways to increase flight frequencies between both countries

Chief Commercial Officer of Malaysia Aviation Group (MAG) hinted at announcements regarding the launch of new routes or increased frequencies for the current routes during the MATTA Fair, which will be held from 18-20 Apr at the Malaysia International Trade and Exhibition Centre (MITEC). MAG will offer promotional fares for 15% of its seat capacity under various routes during the MATTA Fair and 15% off on other ancillary products

FitsAir launched a new direct flight between Colombo-Kuala Lumpur with 4 flights per week. In 2024, Malaysia welcomed 61,766 Sri Lankan tourists, +4.2%. Malaysia Airlines, AirAsia, SriLankan Airlines, and FitsAir will collectively offer 30 direct flights with 4,990 seats weekly between Colombo-Malaysia

The Transport Minister said Malaysia is targeting to attract more European airlines to improve trade and tourism. He mentioned the possibility of establishing direct flights with the US

PIA recorded 1.37 million passengers in Jan-Feb 2025, +17.35% YoY vs 1.17 million passengers in Jan-Feb 2024. PIA recorded 320 flights per week, 1.54X of 2016, with 208 flights per week. PIA will add 12 new aircraft bays, 6 contact stands and 6 remote bays, bringing the total to 28 aircraft bays

The Transport Minister said the resumption of British Airways’s direct flight between Heathrow, London and Kuala Lumpur International Airport will strengthen connectivity between both countries. British Airways suspended its service in 2021 due to the pandemic