Malaysia

Malaysia Airlines is planning to reach 70% of its pre-pandemic capacity by the year-end, and has reported higher demand from India, the UK and Australia for travel into Malaysia. It is operating Kuala Lumpur-London 11 times per week, which will increase to double daily flights from 1 Jul

Capital A’s Asia Digital Engineering, which maintains, repairs and overhauls aircraft, has seen an increase in demand in the region, and is raising RM400 million in debt-equity financing. It plans to open a facility near Kuala Lumpur International Airport

MAVCOM has reminded airlines that they must resolve customer complaints of rescheduling or delays within 30 days, and urged customers to lodge complaints with the airlines

Batik Air plans to add more Boeing 737-800/900s to its fleet, but will not expand its ATR fleet

AirAsia has said that it will refund customers who have been impacted by flight delays. It has also said that it will increase the number of planes in service in stages from Jul, to cope with the increasing demand

Mavcom has reported that the number of AirAsia pax complaints from Jan-Apr 2022 has seen a downward trend, with more than 90% resolved

Malaysia Airlines has apologised after 3 of its flights had warm air cabins due to technical issues with an Auxiliary Power Unit. During Hari Raya, Malaysia Airlines operated over 1,800 flights and used 40 aircraft

Malaysia Airlines plans to launch a flight to Doha from Kuala Lumpur from 25 May

The Ministry of Transport has warned airlines that they must fix the issues faced by passengers, including rescheduling and flight backlogs, after complaints were received over the Hari Raya period. It also cautioned airlines to improve communication with passengers, to keep them informed of schedule changes

The Malaysian Aviation Commission (Mavcom) has said that it will look into passenger complaints over airlines rescheduling without sufficient notice to their customers. Mavcom has asked airlines to submit all the relevant data to be able to get an “objective, accurate and comprehensive view of the situation”

AirAsia has apologised to customers who were impacted by flights being rescheduled over Hari Raya, saying that the increase in domestic demand for flights has meant that the airline is facing longer waiting queues for aircraft maintenance to be able to commission aircraft back in service again. It is currently operating 40 out of its previous fleet of 100 pre-pandemic. Some technical issues and incidents such as bird and lightning strikes resulted in 5 planes being taken out of service, causing rescheduling

Malaysia Airlines and Singapore Airlines have been given approval by the Competition and Consumer Commission of Singapore (CCCS) for their partnership to boost traffic between the 2 countries as well as other markets. It includes expanded code sharing, joint sales and marketing and revenue sharing. The airlines will be subjected to review when they start to see sustained recovery on overlapping routes between Malaysia and Singapore, to ensure that the arrangements are only in place during recovery phase

AirAsia is looking into operating a Sibu-Singapore route, the Sarawak Transport Ministry has said. The state has also met with Batik Air, Firefly and MASwings to boost the number of flights into the state

A plane with the MYAirline livery has been seen at Kuala Lumpur International Airport, although no further details have been released on its start date

AirAsia has reopened flights to the Maldives

Royal Brunei Airlines has reopened its flights to Kuching twice weekly

Scoot has reopened its flights to Kota Kinabalu from Singapore, the first international carrier to reopen flights

Capital A is monitoring the development of zero-commission aircraft, and will assess how it could fit with their operations from 2035 onwards

Capital A has reported an overall load factor of 76% based on seats flown in Q1 2022. It carried 3.7 million pax, +284% YoY, with a 9 percentage points improvement. It added 238% YoY capacity and available seat kilometres (ASK) grew by 223% YoY and revenue passenger kilometres (RPK) by 264% YoY. AirAsia Malaysia reported Q1 2022 pax carried +464% YoY and capacity +455% YoY, with a load factor of 74%, +1p.p.. ASK was at 475% and RPK 476%

Malaysia Airports greeted the decision to waive testing requirements for international vaccinated travellers, noting that this will mean that pax incur less expenses

Malaysia Airlines have said that they are delighted with the removal of entry restrictions for international travellers

Malindo Air will rebrand itself as Batik Air from 28 Apr, as part of the Lion Group’s target to establish a common brand across its airlines. It will also improve seamless transfers, using Kuala Lumpur International Airport as a transit hub for the group. It will also add a B737 to its fleet

AirAsia has announced that anyone with unused AirAsia X credit will receive a travel voucher with a validity of 5 years, via their AirAsia rewards account. The vouchers will be issued within 3 months. Those who also purchased the RM499 Unlimited Travel Pass and could not use it will also get a travel voucher. Customers impacted by the restructuring will also receive a payment of 0.5% of their unused travel credits in Mar 2023, plus any profit-sharing amount from 2023 to 2026 if EBITDAR exceeds RM300 million

Capital A expects its daily pax to triple to over 52,000 and an average of 570 AirAsia Malaysia flights per day over the Hari Raya period from 30 Apr-4 May, a peak travel period. The number of flights per day is 85% of pre-pandemic capacity

SKS Airways will start flights to Tioman Island from Subang from 1 May, flying 4 times per week, and 2 flights daily from 1 Jul-29 Oct

The Malaysian Ambassador to Russia hopes that Aeroflot will soon fly direct to Kuala Lumpur

Malaysia Aviation Group had a positive EBITDA of RM433 million USD for FY21, reducing its losses by 60% vs 2020. It saw a 62% lower pax traffic and 71% reduced capacity in 2021, but saw a 57% higher yield in passenger revenue. Its current fuel prices are around 35-40% higher than in 2021

AirAsia X has resumed its flights to Seoul and New Delhi, after a 2-year hiatus. The airline noted that it would “continue to review our network and cater to the increasing demand in our core markets”

MASwings will add extra frequencies for its Limbang route for Hari Raya

The Malaysian Aviation Commission (MAVCOM) has reported that the number of air traffic rights applications increased by 650% from 1-15 Apr vs 1-15 Mar 2022. They called it an “encouraging development”. SKS Airways, a new airline in Malaysia, received the highest number of ATR approvals, at 4 for domestic routes

The Transport Ministry noted that to be able to address their lack of aircraft over the festive season for domestic routes, some airlines such as Malaysia Airlines have cancelled some flights to ASEAN destinations if the destination is being serviced by other airlines, to free up capacity

The Sabah West Coast Smart Consumer Association has welcomed the move to lower airfares between Peninsular and East Malaysia over Hari Raya, whilst the Sabah Association of Tour and Travel Agents (SATTA) called for a ceiling price to be set for flight tickets. Malaysia Airlines is planning to operate an additional 20 flights over Hari Raya on various Borneo routes, with 7,000 seats extra

The Transport Minister has reported that airfares to Sabah and Sarawak over Hari Raya have now reduced following measures taken by the airlines and MAVCOM. He encouraged those who want to travel to book their flights as soon as they can

Malaysia Airlines has reported that it has reached over 90% load factor over the festive period for economy class

Capital A has called for governments to review their travel restrictions to boost air travel and tourism

The Transport Minister has said that discussions with Malindo Air, Malaysia Airlines, AirAsia, MAVCOM and the Civil Aviation Authority of Malaysia had started on Thu, and are expected to be finished soon. He has told airlines that “whether you want to or not, you have to (reduce ticket prices) because it’s the government’s aspiration to lower prices in the future”, particularly as the only way to travel between West and East Malaysia is by flight. He said that airlines must look to increase frequencies, and coordinate with one another

The Transport Minister has said that it has asked airlines and MAVCOM to conduct an investigation into sudden increases of airfares over Hari Raya

Sabah has welcomed its first international flight since the 1 Apr reopening, with a Singapore-Kota Kinabalu flight with AirAsia. AirAsia are also planning to add direct flights to Kota Kinabalu from Thailand and the Philippines in H1 2022, and from Indonesia and other destinations in H2 2022

The Transport Minister has said that it is working to reduce airfares between Peninsular Malaysia and Sabah and Sarawak states, after complaints were received over high fares. Monitoring by the Malaysian Aviation Commission (Mavcom) noted that airfares on 30 Apr have increased vs 2019 fares, down to increased operational costs and limited capacity for airlines, as well as dynamic pricing. In Apr 2022, flight capacity to Sabah and Sarawak was at 68% vs pre-pandemic

airasia Super App has partnered with Trip.com, which will give the app access to over 1.2 million additional hotels

The Sabah State Minister for Tourism has noted that expensive airfares will hinder domestic and international tourism recovery, having received complaints that airfares from Kota Kinabalu to Tawau has increased from RM100-300 to RM1,300

Malaysia Airlines has said that it is “recording a very encouraging load” for flight bookings, especially over the Hari Raya period. They are calling for the public to book flight tickets as early as possible to secure low airfares

AirAsia has said that it is looking at demand when it comes to reopening flights, and that “when there’s demand, we will obviously pursue it”. It announced reopening 6 routes to India, with 71 weekly flights, and hopes to reach pre-COVID capacity of 140 weekly services by the year-end. AirAsia believes that India will contribute “significant double digit growth”, and that most of the growth will come from Asia. The airline is also planning to add back routes to Indonesia, the Philippines, Vietnam and Thailand

Sarawak Transport Ministry has urged airlines to lower their airfares to the state

Malaysia Aviation Group has reported that it expects it will become profitable by 2023, and reach pre-pandemic levels by 2024 and 2025. The group is also aiming to double its ancillary revenue by 2025, to go beyond selling airline tickets, change business models and get a bigger share of other travel experience. It has signed an MOU with Sunway Group to also look at new business opportunities and joint promotional campaigns in aviation, real estate, education, medical tourism and hospitality

Firefly has reopened its jet operations from its Penang hub, with flights to Johor Bahru, Kota Kinabalu and Kuching

AirAsia Aviation Group, Avolon and Vertical Aerospace will hold their first meeting in Kuala Lumpur in Apr to look at flying taxis, with an aim to deliver VX4 electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft by 2025. It is looking at test flights as early as Apr, and will start as a link between Kuala Lumpur city centre and Kuala Lumpur International Airport, cutting the journey from 1 hour to 17 mins, with a fare of less than $50 USD per person if 4 are sharing

Capital A has applied to seek leave to appeal to the Federal Court to set aside a High Court’s decision on the payment of outstanding passenger service charges payments to Malaysia Airports

Royal Brunei Airlines will restart its Brunei Darassalam-Kuching flights from 1 May

AirAsia passengers will be able to undertake a rapid antigen test at Kuala Lumpur International Airport 2 (KLIA2) for RM60 per person from 17 Apr onwards at its “test and go” centre, as well as RT-PCR departure tests at clinics across the country. The airline has signed a partnership with CMC Medijaya

Malaysia Airports has reminded travellers that they can do their testing within 24 hours of arrival, and not only at the airport itself. It also noted that its passenger processing speed had improved “significantly”

AirAsia will reopen its flights from India to Malaysia and Thailand, and plans to expand routes between the countries

AirAsia X has cancelled 63 of its A330-900 orders, keeping just 15, according to the latest Airbus Orders and Deliveries in Mar 2022

AirAsia X is reopening its services from Kuala Lumpur to Incheon and New Delhi from 20 Apr

Malaysia Airlines has expanded its partnership with Amadeus over a multi-year deal

Singapore Airlines and Malaysia Airlines have been given a week-ban from flying into Hong Kong after having more than 3 COVID cases detected on inbound flights

Capital A has filed a motion to appeal against the Federal Court for the dismissal of its try to strike out a suit by the Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd (MAHB) over outstanding passenger service charges

Malaysia Airlines has seen an additional 15% of forward bookings being driven by a demand for reconnection travel, with people travelling to meet with family and friends

The Civil Aviation Authority of Malaysia is to review Malaysia Airlines’ international Flight Data Monitoring System (FDMS), following an incident where a flight dropped 7,000ft from Kuala Lumpur to Tawau

Malaysia Airlines is planning to increase its capacity by 15% in Apr, on top of the 20% of the pre-COVID level already projected for Apr. It noted that forward bookings are “encouraging”, although the Russia-Ukraine war and high oil prices have an impact. It expects to finish the year at 70% of its pre-COVID capacity, and 80% capacity for the UK, India and Europe into Malaysia

1,000 passengers on 9 international flights arrived into Penang airport on 1 Apr, with flights from Singapore and HCMC. The state expects more flights from international destinations such as Thailand later in Apr, and more retail shops at the airport are expected to open in May

152 international passengers arrived into Ipoh from Singapore on 1 Apr by flight

Saudia was the first international flight to land at Kuala Lumpur International Airport following the reopening of the borders

AirAsia X’s CEO has resigned

AirAsia is aiming for a load factor of 95% by the year-end

Malaysia Airlines Academy will collaborate with the Flight Training Organisations (FTO) of the Civil Aviation Authority of Malaysia (CAAM), BATS Aviation Sdn Bhd, the University College of Aviation Malaysia (UniCAM) and Meritus College to boost aviation training under “Project Landscape”. It will also allow Malaysia Aviation Group to set a new standard for its pilots, and will help to attract talent

Malaysia Airports expects 20,900 international passengers on 1 Apr, 6X its average daily arrivals in 2021

Malaysia Aviation Group is targeting to return to 70% of its pre-pandemic capacity by end-2022

AirAsia will be reactivating 45% of its furloughed pilots and 11% of its furloughed cabin crew, and plans to reactivate more in the coming months. Malaysia Airlines is also rehiring cabin crew whose contracts expired in 2020-2021, as well as ground handlers

AirAsia Aviation Group has contacted over 5 million customers since the pandemic started, and provided cash refund or credit for 3 million bookings, with total refunds requested of $1.80 billion USD since 2020. Just 0.8% of these are still being processed. The airline stated that 88% of credit accounts have been used with domestic flights resuming and international borders reopening, indicating a strong demand for travel

Sarawak state has said that advanced discussions are being held with the PM on the setting up of Sarawak’s own boutique airline, which would have international connectivity. A decision could be made in 3 months

AirAsia has reported that it has settled 90% of its passenger refunds so far, and that refunds “will be coming as the flight resume. In Malaysia, probably within couple months and the Philippines within 6 months”. It also noted that AirAsia X’s customers would receive vouchers once the airline restarts its flights. AirAsia has launched a Super+ plan which offers a pass that combines unlimited flights and free food delivery for one year into a single package, with 400,000 subscriptions on sale across Malaysia, the Philippines, Indonesia and Thailand from 28 Mar-2 Apr, and travel is from 11 Apr 2022 to 10 Apr 2023

AirAsia Malaysia has reported that its international flight bookings have doubled since the reopening announcement, with popular destinations including Indonesia (Jakarta, Surabaya and Bali), Singapore, Philippines (Manila), Thailand (Bangkok and Phuket), Vietnam (Ho Chi Minh City) and Bangladesh (Dhaka). 95% of its guests have also been migrated to using contactless check in via its Super App

Malaysia Airlines have reported a 70% increase in daily average bookings vs February’s bookings, and is planning to increase flight frequencies, whilst Malindo Air has seen an “encouraging increase” in tickets of more than 30%. Popular destinations include Langkawi for domestic travel, and Perth and Singapore for international travel

AirAsia X’s chairman has said that Malaysia’s reopening will require more new graduates to support its growth

AirAsia has started to repay its RM300 million loan from the Sabah Development Bank

AirAsia Aviation Group has announced a new board of directors. It also reported that it expected its F&B division Santan, and shared services corporate division AirAsia SEA, to grow in line with an increased demand for travel

AirAsia Malaysia has announced that it expects more than 70 international flights in the first week of reopening in Apr, and by the end of Apr to be operating 250 weekly. It noted that its domestic flight capacity has grown by 156% since Oct 2021, and by 50% for international flights since 8 Mar (the government’s reopening announcement). It currently has 75 planes operating across the group. AirAsia Aviation Group noted that flying is expected to return to pre-COVID levels or more by the year-end

Malaysia Airlines will increase flight frequencies on international routes, including to London, Indian destinations, Bangkok and Phuket

Malaysia Aviation Group will partner with hoolah to offer Buy Now Pay Later payment options, allowing a 3-month interest-free payment, implementation date to be announced

AirAsia X has completed its debt restructuring process, and will write RM33 billion to profit next quarter. It will pay just 0.5% of debt owed. In the next 2 months, it will reopen routes to more international destinations

The Sarawak state Ministry of Transport will engage with the aviation industry to ensure that more international, regional and domestic air connectivity can be established. Malaysia Airlines is looking at a potential flight between Penang-Miri

Malaysia Airports Holding Bhd (MAHB) is expecting airport retail sales to grow in 2022, and a 100% recovery in 2023

Malaysia Airlines launched a new mobile app, Journify, which theu aim to be a central place for travellers in Malaysia. It is a lifestyle platform with travel-related merchants and homegrown companies, as well as a “Journify2U” feature, which allows customers to buy products on the site and have them delivered to them at the boarding hall of Kuala Lumpur International Airport. It will also work with state tourism boards to promote their tourism products

Malaysia Airlines to increase non-stop London Heathrow-Kuala Lumpur flights by over 70,000 seats from 27 Mar, operating 11 weekly flights until 29 Jun and fully returning to a double daily service from 30 Jun onwards

Tony Fernandes has said that Capital A rejected the Danajamin Prihatin Guarantee Scheme RM500 million club facility as the conditions were “unreasonable”. One of the conditions was that Tony Fernandes and his co-founder, Datuk Kamarudin Meranun were to be guarantors for the loan. Fernandes clarified that he and his partner had personally injected RM257.3 million into the turnaround plan. He noted that the airline will continue to look for other financing, but that its current strategy will allow it to continue operations in 2022

Malaysia Aviation Group (MAG) CEO said that the group aims to rebound to 70% of pre-pandemic capacity by year-end with the border reopening. MAG will continue to relaunch suspended flights and increase flight frequencies to key markets in order to support connectivity. The group expect that there will be a pent-up travel demand from both inbound and outbound travellers

Capital A announced that it will not proceed with the RM500 million acquisition of club facility under Danajamin Nasional Bhd’s Prihatin Guarantee Scheme, previously approved on 5 Oct 2021, due to the group’s inability to fulfil certain conditions including a joint and several guarantee from its founders

Malaysia Airlines to impose fuel surcharge on passengers and cargo in selected markets from 23 Mar following rise in global fuel prices attributed to the Russia-Ukraine crisis

AirAsia Malaysia welcomes the border reopening, stating that it will provide support to the additional capacity in many of its international markets, “in line with the strong pent-up demand”. The group added that it will announce new services “in due course”

Airlines are being urged to make Sabah an operational base for them ahead of border reopening. The Airline Operators Committee reported that most domestic flights from Kuala Lumpur-Kota Kinabalu have flight loads of 70-80%

AirAsia Malaysia will reintroduce fuel surcharges from 8 Mar for its domestic and international flights, to counter the increase in oil prices. The airline is rescinding its 2015 policy as it is “no longer sustainable” to absorb the increase

Firefly will open its jet operations from Penang on 11 Apr, with flights to Johor Bahru, Kuching and Kota Kinabalu, with frequencies ramping up from 25 Apr

The Court of Appeal has dismissed AirAsia and AirAsia X’s appeals to set aside the summary judgement that ordered the airlines to pay RM40.73 million in outstanding passenger service charges and RM792,381 in unpaid late payment charges

Malaysia Airlines has reopened its routes to Australia, with twice weekly flights to Perth and 5 times per week to Sydney

Khazanah Nasional, Malaysia’s sovereign wealth fund, has called for the international borders to be reopened to boost Malaysia Airlines, one of its investments

Malaysia Airports Holding Berhad (MAHB) has seen its net loss lessen to RM766.44 million for FY2021, vs RM1.12 billion, thanks to a reduction in operational expenses. Its revenue dropped to RM1.67 billion thanks to a 16% decrease in pax movements since Mar 2020. It noted that Malaysia passenger movements decreased by 58.5% YoY (international -86.3%, domestic -42.3%) to 10.7 million pax overall. It reported that it is “cautiously optimistic on the continued recovery”, and that the Singapore-Malaysia VTL, Umrah travel and new domestic routes would drive traffic in the short term

Capital A has reported a FY 2021 net loss of RM3.12 billion, down from RM5.11 billion in 2020. Revenue dropped to RM1.73 billion from RM3.27 billion. Its load factor was 74%, and it carried 4.81 million pax, -64% YoY. The airline noted that whilst international borders are closed, the group is focusing on domestic operations, and growing their digital businesses. AirAsia Malaysia saw its pax in Q4 2021 increase +164%, and capacity +139%, with load factor increasing to 80%, thanks to the year-end holidays, and high demand routes such as Kuala Lumpur-Langkawi and Kuala Lumpur-Kota Kinabalu in Nov/ Dec 2021. Its year-end finished with a load factor of 76%

Malindo Air has reopened ticket sales for its Kuala Lumpur-Perth flight from 3 Mar, its first Australian destination since the pandemic

MYAirline is looking to hire pilots and cabin crew

AirAsia has reported that 95% of its guests use contactless self-check in technology via its Super App, and they are continuing to push for 100% usage via guest education campaigns. The airline noted that from 1 Apr, only eligible guests will qualify for counter check-in services

The Federation of Malaysian Consumer Associations (Fomca) has reported that AirAsia’s proposed new increase in check in fees, which were set at RM100 from 1 Mar, has been cancelled after the Malaysian Aviation Commission (Mavcom) asked AirAsia to review its “sudden decision”, and to provide an explanation for its decision

Malaysia Airlines and Qatar Airways have signed an agreement to expand their codesharing and expand their network coverage

AirAsia will increase the fees for physical counter check-ins from 1 Mar to RM100, from a previous RM20 or RM30

AirAsia X has announced a one-for-one rights issue and special issue to raise RM166 million. The airline expects to see 7 planes “fully operational” by the end of Q1 2022, and 11 A330s flying by end Oct 22. They are also in discussions to lease at least 4 more planes when borders reopen

Philippine Airlines has noted that it is still keen to open a flight from Zamboanga City- Kota Kinabalu in Malaysia

Malaysia Airlines will partner with the Arab Air Carriers’ Organisation

Capital A CEO Tony Fernandes has urged governments to “be brave” and reopen borders, to “protect people’s livelihoods and economies”. He also called for quarantines, form filling and “constant testing” to end

Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) has placed first in the Airport Service Quality (ASQ) survey for the fourth quarter (Q4) 2021, receiving a score of 5.0/5.0

Malaysia Airports Holdings Berhad (MAHB) has noted that its passenger traffic in Malaysia is being driven by domestic travel, with 2.5 million pax movements in Jan 2021. Jan’s daily average pax movements were 8,700, double that of Nov 2021, but lower than Dec 2021’s by 2,000 pax, as Dec is a peak travel period

Firefly will reopen its jet operations from its Penang hub from 11 Apr, launching ticket sales for Johor Bahru, Kuching and Kota Kinabalu

Malaysia Airlines will ban self-heating meals on board or in their checked luggage due to safety concerns

AirAsia Aviation is planning to launch a low-cost air ridesharing service, and has signed a non-binding agreement with Avolon for 100 Vertical Aerospace VX4 electric planes. The company expects that Malaysia and Singapore are more likely to approve operations quickly, and flights could start by 2025. It would be a product for “everyone”, and the aircraft are expected to have a range of 160km, fitting 4 passengers and 1 pilot

AirAsia X reported a net loss of RM11.94 million for its second quarter ending 31 Dec 2021, and revenue of RM119.31 million. The airline noted that the increase in revenue was due to a focus on growing the airline’s cargo business

Malaysia Airlines will lease 25 Boeing 737 MAX from Air Lease Corp, to be delivered from 2023-2026 as part of its restructuring

Capital A is planning to raise RM400 million in capital for its engineering arm, Asia Digital Engineering. The arm plans to build a maintenance, repair and overhaul facility at Kuala Lumpur International Airport, and is open to creating similar facilities in Thailand, the Philippines and Indonesia

A decision from the High Court on Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd’s bid to strike out the RM479.78 million suit from Capital A is set for 6 Apr. Capital A sued for loss and damages due to alleged negligence at KLIA2

Capital A has named a new independent non-executive chairman, Tan Sri Jamaludin Ibrahim. It has also renamed its airline group from AirAsia Aviation Ltd to AirAsia Aviation Group Ltd (AAAGL)

ForwardKeys has revealed that domestic flight bookings in Malaysia have returned to nearly 95% of 2019 levels during the Lunar New Year period. Flight bookings for Southeast Asia into Malaysia is at 20% of 2019 levels amid rising Omicron wave, though the numbers peaked at 90% pre-Omicron outbreak in late Dec 2021

AirAsia Aviation will announce key organisational changes, including a new non-executive chairman

The Federal Court rejected an appeal by the Malaysia Competitions Commission (MyCC) to fine AirAsia and Malaysia Airlines RM10 million each, which had previously been imposed in 2014

AirAsia Aviation’s airlines have received a 7/7 grade from airlineratings.com for the highest safety levels and operational integrity. It was also named one of the top 20 safest low-cost airlines in 2022

AirAsia X are planning to reopen commercial flights between Kuala Lumpur-Sydney from 14 Feb. The airline said that it can “now see light at the end of this long tunnel and we are working hard to operate again in all of our key markets”

Capital A aims to carry more than 1 billion pax in Southeast Asia by 2026, with an aircraft utilisation rate of more than 13 hours a day. It expects international flight capacity to return to normal by Q2 or Q3 2022, noting that “things are moving in the right direction”. It is also looking at joint ventures with either one or two carriers in Southeast Asia. It hopes to terminate its furlough policy by next week. AirAsia X is planning routes to London and New York for both passenger and cargo flights, and intends to announce new long-haul destinations in the next 6 months

The AirAsia Group have officially been renamed Capital A, to reflect their more diverse portfolio as a “one-stop digital travel and lifestyle services group". The airline will continue to be called AirAsia. Capital A expect non-airline business to contribute 50% of the group’s revenue by 2026

AirAsia Group’s combined Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines recorded their highest quarterly load factor of 80% in Q4 2021 since the start of the pandemic. The total 2021 load factor for the 3 operations was 74%, and saw a V-shaped recovery in 2021. It also expects to see a “surge in demand” following the resumption of Thailand’s Test & Go and the Vaccinated Travel Lane between Singapore and Malaysia. In Q4 2021, its capacity increased 70% YoY to 3.4 million seats, and it carried 2.7 million pax (+103% YoY). AirAsia Malaysia saw the number of pax in Q4 2021 increase by 164% YoY and airline capacity by 139% YoY after the reopening of interstate travel. Load factor increased to 80% due to the year-end holidays and increased flight frequencies between Kuala Lumpur-Langkawi and Kuala Lumpur-Kota Kinabalu. The Group expects that the “uptrend in demand for interstate travel will continue”

AirAsia Indonesia saw its load factor increase to 87% in Dec, and 81% for Q4 2021, a 22pp growth YoY. The airline put this down to “an increased frequency of flights in line with growing demand, particularly in December 2021”. Pax carried in Dec were 7X that of Nov 2021

The Transport Ministry is optimistic that airport pax volume will grow to 49 million in 2022, vs 11 million in 2021. It believes that new airlines to the market will “complement other airlines available in Malaysia”

SKS Airways flew its inaugural flight between Subang and Pulau Pangkor. The airline notes that its routes to island destinations are “unserved and underserved” in the market. It will operate with a 19-seater Twin Otter aircraft, and its target market is IT-savvy Gen Y and Z travellers, as well as young families

AirAsia X has signed a 6-month deal with French logistics firm Geodis, to boost its cargo capacity

The Civil Aviation Authority of Malaysia (CAAM) has noted that it expects to hear in Q2 2022 if it has secured a return to aviation safety rating to Category 1. It is “cautiously confident” about the aviation industry, although it does not expect capacity to reach pre-pandemic levels in 2022

Pangkor Island’s airport will be upgraded, with a runway extension to be able to receive larger aircraft which carry up to 70 pax, according to Malaysian Airports Holdings Berhad (MAHB)

Subang Airport will remain under the management of Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd (MAHB), the Transportation Ministry has said

Malaysia Aviation Group has announced its new safety certificate, MHFlySafe, after an audit by the Bureau Veritas Certification Malaysia

Raya Airways have denied rumours of being in talks with AirAsia Group to be acquired for their air cargo operations

The Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI) has noted that the two new airlines approved in Malaysia can “help the aviation sector revitalise their activities”

The AirAsia Group is believed to be in early talks with Raya Airways to acquire the cargo carrier to strengthen its logistics arm

Malaysia Airlines’ business class seats, belts, buckles, life vests and cabin crew uniforms are being upcycled into sustainable handbags

Malaysia Airlines is concerned about the approval of new airlines in Malaysia, which will lead to overcapacity The Group CEO noted that these additional airlines “may derail the sustainability of existing airlines with unnecessarily more capacity which will benefit the consumers, but is it sustainable to the country?”

The Malaysian Aviation Commission (Mavcom) saw an increase of 33.3% QoQ in applications for Air Traffic Rights in Q4 2021, approving 27 of 28 applications. The increase was driven by the reopening of interstate borders in Oct, and a demand for domestic leisure travel, with additional flights to Langkawi, Johor Bahru, Penang and Kota Bharu

Malaysia Airlines is expecting the “best-case scenario” with the airline returning to pre-pandemic financials by 2023, as it is now cash flow positive. It will continue to position itself as a premium airline, and called the airline “very lean and agile”

MYAirline has been granted conditional approval for an air service licence, the second airline to be granted one at the end of 2021. It is set to be an ultra low-cost carrier

Malaysia Airports Group in Dec 2021 recorded 3.11 million pax movements, 41.6% of pre-COVID levels, mainly driven by 2.8 million domestic pax, +30% MoM. International pax also saw a growth MoM of 114% to 320,371. It noted demand for international flights was fuelled by the VTLs, as well as the resumption of Umrah travel since Oct

AirAsia Group has been classified as a PN17 company, signalling that it is financially distressed. The airline has said that it is working to “regularize its financial condition”

AirAsia has launched 4 new domestic routes: Kuching-Langkawi, Johor Baru-Bintulu, Kota Kinabalu-Kuala Terengganu and Penang-Sibu

AirAsia’s Tony Fernandes has said that he believes that “we’re at the beginning of the end […] The demand has been very, very robust”

AirAsia Group has secured a Certificate of Approval (COA) from the Civil Aviation Authority of Malaysia (CAAM) for remote drone pilot training

Sobie Aviation has noted that Malaysia’s domestic aviation sector could fully recovery in 2022 from demand, but overcapacity could be a problem, as airlines focus on the domestic market to boost revenue

The Sarawak Transport Minister has called for airlines to submit their applications for extra flights to the state over the Chinese New Year period. He also reminded airlines not to hike their fares. Scoot and Tigerair were set to start inbound flights from Singapore from 19 Jan, but are working on details with the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS)

SKS Airways have received regulatory approval for their operations, and are set to start their flights on 26 Jan from Subang Airport to Pangkor, using Canada Twin Otters aircraft. It will launch a route to Redang from 30 Jan

Malindo Air has launched a new route, Kota Bharu-Langkawi, from 27 Jan four times per week in response to “high demand”

AirAsia Group has proposed changing its name to Capital A, subject to shareholders’ approval

Malaysia Airports reported that domestic pax in Q3 2021 increased 77.8% QoQ to 3.2 million pax

AirAsia Group is expected to complete its rights issues to existing shareholders on 31 Dec, raising RM974.5 million. The airline has said that it is a key component to its fundraising strategy to support a “strong rebound in air travel across ASEAN in 2022”. The airline has also secured approval for an 80% guaranteed loan of up to RM500 million. They have now raised over RM2.5 billion

Malaysia Airlines has said that it was cashflow positive in Oct and Nov, the first time since the pandemic, although its seat capacity is just 25% of 2019 levels. It believes it will breakeven in 2023. The airline notes that it is “bullish on MAG’s future but [I] am cautious about the environment”. It also believes that Malaysia should focus on “high-value markets” such as London, Europe, North Asia, South Asia and Australia. However, it noted that it would not “put [my] money on the Asean market yet”. Its Malaysia-Singapore VTL flights saw pax load factor of 90%, driven by pent-up demand. 2021 has seen around 8,000 flights. Firefly will resume its jet operations in Apr 2022 with Boeing 737-800s. Malaysia Airlines is looking to acquire new planes to replace its ageing A330s by H2 2023. It will also roll out a new performance-based pay model for its employees to encourage productivity and stop a culture of “feeling entitled ”from 1 Jan 2022

AirAsia Group saw its rights issue undersubscribed by 14.87%

Malaysia Airlines is waiting for approval from Singapore and Malaysia to open a Vaccinated Travel Lane (VTL) between Penang and Singapore, after submitting a proposal a few months ago

Malaysia Airports has implemented new technology at Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA), with SITA biometric-enabled self-service touchpoints. These are part of its transition from Airport 3.0 to Airport 4.0, with a digital ecosystem to create and enhance a seamless passenger experience

AirAsia has won the World’s Leading Low Cost Airline for the 9th consecutive year at the World Travel Awards 2021

The Malaysian Aviation Group, the parent company of Malaysia Airlines, has said that it is positive on the future of aviation in Malaysia, but is still cautious. It hopes to break even by 2023

Malaysia Airlines is the first airline in the country to use sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), flying its first flight from Amsterdam-Kuala Lumpur on 17 Dec. The airline hopes to be using SAF on all of its flights by 2050

Malaysia Airports Berhad has reported Nov passenger movements in Malaysia of 2.3 million, a 630.2% YoY increase. Its international pax movement grew 91% YoY to 149,000. Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) saw Nov aircraft movements increase by 178.2% YoY, with an average load factor of 59%$ in Nov, 4.7pp higher than Oct

AirAsia X’s restructuring scheme, where it will pay 0.5% of its debt owed to existing creditors, has been approved by the High Court of Malaya

Malaysia Airports Holdings has called for an open tender for 226 commercial lots, as part of a reset for its airports

Pangkor Airport is expected to reopen on 22 Jan, with a direct flight from Subang Airport

The Malaysian Aviation Commission (Mavcom) has forecast that Malaysia’s air traffic will grow between 316-525% YoY in 2022, with 32.6 million-49 million pax, reaching 30-45% of pre-pandemic air pax levels. They foresee airlines expanding seat capacity as “pent-up travel demand and accrued savings drive passenger traffic growth in 2022”. It has signalled early recovery signs in Sep and Oct, with air pax growth of 56.6% and 190.2% MoM. 2021 pax numbers are likely to hit close to their “best-case” scenario of 6.9-7.8 million. However, it noted “significant challenges” ahead for the aviation sector due to rising crude oil and jet fuel prices, as well as possible variants, but remain “hopeful” of progress

Malaysia Airlines is upgrading its in-flight entertainment system on its 737-800 fleet, using Moment’s Flymingo Connect platform. Features include being able to continue watching a program seamlessly across connecting flights, as well as interact with their Enrich account

Malaysia Airlines has resumed its direct flight from Penang-Kota Kinabalu

AirAsia’s Tony Fernandes has called on governments to stop “overreacting” to the Omicron variant, and instead look at bringing down the costs of PCR tests. He noted that he was “feeling much more bullish”, and said governments must “use common sense and see what is needed […] No matter how much we close the borders, the viruses will travel.”

Kuala Lumpur has a new Air Traffic Control Centre, which the PM has said will improve the county’s air traffic efficiency, bringing it to the level of developed countries. It will be able to increase aircraft movements at KLIA and KLIA2 from 78 per hour to 108, and will also optimise flight landing paths for aircraft

AirAsia X’s deputy chairman has said that consumers owed money by the airline will get 1:1 travel credits for tickets bought without a time limit, plus a share of profits for three years and a small payment. He believes that “the worst is definitely behind”

The Transport Minister has said that the average flight ticket price from Kuala Lumpur-Kuching was RM360, lower than the average price in Dec 2019

Malaysia Airlines’ Amal, a provider for Haj and Umrah flights, has launched operations once more on 30 Nov, with its first Umrah group of 228 pilgrims. It will operate 8 direct flights per week until Apr 2022. The airline stated that “the demand to perform umrah is there. As we can see from today’s flight operating at almost 100% load factor, and we foresee that the demand will continue to rise”. It is planning to welcome up to 75,000 pax by May 2022

AirAsia will launch more flights to Sarawak, with 42 more flights weekly from 4 Dec-5 Jan

Malaysia Airlines has been approved to operate more flights to Sarawak from 11 Dec-5 Jan. It noted that in the w/c 22 Nov, its flights to Kuching had seen load factors of 98-100%

AirAsia X has reported a net loss of RM149.14 million in the first quarter ending 30 Sep 2021

AirAsia has launched a new parcel delivery service, AirAsia Express

Malaysia Airlines have reported that the number of flight bookings to Kota Kinabalu has increased since Sabah removed the testing requirement for travellers

AirAsia Group’s net loss for Q3 2021 increased 4.1% YoY to RM887 million. It carried 351,971 pax, -82% YoY, and operated 2,876 flights, -82% YoY. Its Jan-Sep 2021 net loss was RM2.23 billion

Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd (MAHB) has recorded an increase in domestic pax across its Malaysian network of airports from Sep 2021’s 362,000 to Oct’s 1.18 million pax, a +226% increase MoM put down to the lifting of domestic travel restrictions. MAHB noted that it is “very optimistic that there is an inherent demand for travel”

Airlines are increasing their flights from Kuala Lumpur-Singapore to support the VTL scheme

Malaysia Airlines and Singapore Airlines have expanded their code share agreement to 15 domestic destinations in Malaysia, 7 in Europe and 2 in South Africa

AirAsia has launched FACES, a facial recognition technology, to be able to order and pay for its travel and lifestyle services. It will also work together with Malaysia Airports to be able to validate baggage drop off at the airport’s baggage areas. It will also be rolled out in hubs such as Thailand, Indonesia and the Philippines, and hopes by 2023 that 150 airports across its network could use the technology

New regulations from the Ministry of Health on airline crew, both for local and international flights, has changed from 22 Nov to now require all crew to undertake a rapid antigen test on arrival, and if they test positive, they must undergo a 7-day hotel/ home quarantine or until the next flight is scheduled. The testing may take up to 3 hours, which will eat into the crew’s required 10-hour rest time in each 24-hour cycle, something which is called “unworkable”, saying that Kuala Lumpur could lose out

MASwings will increase the number of flights ahead of the Sarawak state election, with ticket prices expected to drop

AirAsia X has assured customers impacted by the restructuring that it will give them travelling privileges in the form of travel credits for future travel. It stated that customers would only be able to receive this travel credit if the restructuring, paying 0.5% of what is owed is accepted, as if “the scheme fails, AAX will go into liquidation and the passengers will not receive anything in return”

AirAsia X creditors have reportedly voted in favour of the restructuring scheme which will pay out just 0.5% of debt owed. AirAsia X have said that negotiations are still ongoing

The Malaysian Aviation Commission (Mavcom) has urged AirAsia X to reconsider its proposal to treat air consumers as creditors and pay only 0.5% of the value of their tickets purchased. It has called for the airline to repay customers, and has said that it “will not hesitate to exercise its powers”

AirAsia Group has obtained shareholder approval for a rights issue to raise RM1 billion

The Malaysian Association of Tour and Travel Agents (MATTA) are calling for AirAsia X to implement a fairer compensation program, rather than the 0.5% of debts proposed. They stated that under this proposal, travel agents, charter agents and pax would receive just RM3 million from the RM599.8 million owed. Instead, they are seeking full debt settlement or converting it into future credit

AirAsia Group expects its earnings to bounce back to pre-pandemic levels in as little as 6-9 months. If the borders are fully reopened with no tests or quarantine, it may take just 3 months. They noted that the “demand is there”, and that it is hoping to have furloughed staff return from Jan 2022, and return salaries to normal levels within Nov

The government will launch Malaysia’s first 5G network on 10 Nov. The initial rollout will be in Kuala Lumpur, Putrajaya and Cyberjaya, and then subsequently in Penang, Selangor, Johor, Sabah and Sarawak

Malaysian Aviation Commission (Mavcom) has launched a new digital system, AeroLicence, which will allow the registration and renewal of licences, shortening process time to 3 days from 45

The Transport Minister has stated that the increase in domestic flights to Sarawak will help to regulate the pricing, after receiving concerns about high prices

AirAsia X’s shared dropped by as much as 21.1% on 1 Nov after it was classed as a financially distressed company

Scoot will reopen its flights between Singapore and Miri from mid-Jan 2022

AirAsia will restart flights from Kuala Lumpur – Bangkok from 5 Nov, and will also operate a Kuala Lumpur – Phuket route. It noted an “overwhelming response for guests travelling with the Phuket Sandbox programme... signalling a strong rebound in leisure travel.”

AirAsia X has been officially categorised as a financially distressed company, which will give it one year to stabilise its condition, otherwise it risks delisting

Malaysia Airlines has relaunched direct flights to Cambodia from 19 Nov

AirAsia Group reported a load factor of 67% in Q3 2021, down 1pp YoY. Its seat capacity was -82% YoY, and number of pax carried was 351,971 from 1.92 million in 2020. AirAsia Malaysia operated at 10% capacity vs Q3 2020, but doubled its pax in Sep vs Aug, driven by the Langkawi domestic travel bubble. They expect an “upward trend” in Q4 2021 and into 2022

AirAsia has announced that more than 20 airlines have partnered with it through its Super App online travel agency. The CEO said that they saw a “strong V-shape recovery in the coming months”, and that it aims to capture 30% market share to become the top OTA in SE Asia in 5 years

Sarawak plans to increase the flight frequency to the state from 1 Nov, from 89 flights to 223

AirAsia X is proposing to pay 0.5% of the debt owed to its creditors, and terminate all existing contracts to be able to undergo restructuring. It is also negotiating with the lessors of 29 planes on commercial terms

AirAsia is aiming to reach pre-pandemic capacity in Malaysia with 39 local routes and 169 daily flights by late Nov. It is also looking at restarting international commercial flights to Thailand, Sri Lanka and the Maldives

AirAsia will require all of its adult passengers to be fully vaccinated, effective immediately