Malaysia

All AirAsia-branded airlines have now been consolidated into one airline platform “AirAsia Group”, with Tony Fernandes saying that this “represents the culmination of one of the most complex and rigorous restructuring exercises undertaken by an aviation group, since Covid brought aviation to a standstill six years ago”

Capital A Bhd has reported that it has completed the disposal of its aviation business to AirAsia X Bhd. It also noted that the AirAsia X placement shares and consideration shares will be listed on the Malaysian stock exchange, on 19 Jan

AirBorneo has signed a long-term agreement with Sabre Corporation for its planning and pricing strategy. AirBorneo will adopt Sabre’s: Network Planning & Optimisation (NPO) suite, to manage flight schedules, codeshare agreements, and route profitability Mosaic Revenue Optimiser, for pricing strategies Market Intelligence & Global Demand Data, to get insights and competitive benchmarks to fuel network and revenue growth

Capital A disposed of its 17 million ordinary shares in AirAsia X Bhd (AAX) through a cash consideration of RM28.05 million. Following this, Capital A’s shareholding in AAX dropped from 12.77% to 8.96%

Malaysia Aviation Group (MAG) will offer up to 198 extra flights and subsidised fares during the Chinese New Year travel period with more than 2,400 flights from 11-23 Feb. Malaysia Airlines will offer an additional 130 services to its schedule, operating up to 1,498 flights in total, and Firefly will add up to 68 flights, offering 962 flights in total. The focus routes will be between Peninsular Malaysia and East Malaysia, such as Kota Kinabalu, Tawau, and Sandakan. Malaysia Airlines will offer fares of up to RM569 to Kota Kinabalu, Tawau, Sandakan, Labuan, Kuching, Miri, Sibu, and Bintulu. Firefly will offer fares of up to RM548 to Kota Kinabalu, Tawau, Kuching, and Sibu

AirAsia X clarified that no final decision has been made on the possible name change after the consolidation of AirAsia Group’s aviation business. The airline said any changes need internal reviews, approval from the board of directors, regulatory agencies, and shareholders. Earlier, Tony Fernandes, the CEO of Capital A, announced that AirAsia X would be renamed as AirAsia, as it consolidated AirAsia X and AirAsia under a single group. He added that, with AirAsia’s hub in Bahrain, they “plan to build low-cost operations in the UAE and Qatar, and expand to all continents”

Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd (MAHB) introduced Rimba, a new nature-inspired environment for transit and transfer passengers, at Kuala Lumpur International Airport Terminal 1, an upgraded version of the former Jungle Boardwalk. This upgrade is part of the ongoing KLIA upgrades. KLIA welcomed 50 to 60 million passengers each year

The Transport Ministry will allocate RM24 million for the student flight subsidy program in 2026, benefitting 60,000 students. Eligible students can apply for a RM400 voucher to subsidise their domestic flights between Peninsular Malaysia and East Malaysia. In 2025, 44,700 students out of 50,000 claimed their vouchers

AirBorneo will use the flight code MY instead of MH from 14 Jan after it transitions to its own departure control system (DCS). The DCS will be implemented across all 21 airports in Sabah, Sarawak, and Labuan served by AirBorneo

Batik Air cancelled its Kota Kinabalu-Seoul flight service after launching its service in Sep 2025, effective from 17 Apr. Batik Air said the cancellation is due to aircraft maintenance requirements. The airline will offer refunds or an alternative flight via Kuala Lumpur. Besides Batik Air, 4 airlines such as AirAsia, Jeju Air, Jin Air, and T’way Air offer flights between Kota Kinabalu and Seoul

AirAsia X announced that it has fixed the price of its Proposed Private Placement at RM1.65 per share, and the transaction is scheduled to be completed on 19 Jan 2026 and the new shares will be listed on the Main Market of Bursa Malaysia Securities Berhad on the same day

AirAsia X will resume flights between Kuala Lumpur and Busan from 17 Jun, with 4 flights per week

Flight and bus tickets between Malaysia and Singapore are seeing increased pricing over Chinese New Year, with the Straits Times identifying some cases of fares more than doubling

Malaysia Airlines resumed flights to Chengdu from Kuala Lumpur on 9 Jan, with 91% load factor, offering 7 flights per week. With this route, Malaysia Airlines operates to 7 Chinese destinations

AirAsia introduced its annual fixed-fare initiative for passengers travelling to and from Sabah and Sarawak, to West Malaysia for the Chinese New Year and Hari Raya Aidilfitri festivals. One-way tickets from Kuala Lumpur to Sarawak will be at RM328, and to Sabah will be at RM398. Passengers can book for the Chinese New Year holiday until 24 Feb, for travel between 13-24 Feb, and for Hari Raya holiday, the booking will open until 26 Mar, for travel between 18-26 Mar. The CEO of AirAsia Malaysia said the airline will operate an average of 1,578 flights during the holiday, with up to 31,000 seats at fixed fares. The Transport Minister announced the FLYsiswa flight subsidy initiative will begin next week, offering RM400 flight vouchers for students from public educational institutions

Malaysia Airlines launched a new campaign for travel up to 30 Nov. The booking will open until 20 Jan, and the passengers can get exclusive fares starting from RM159 all-in return

Capital A’s share price dropped on 7 Jan after Bursa Malaysia Securities Bhd rejected the group’s application for more time to complete AirAsia X’s shares distribution. But Bursa Securities granted AirAsia X an extension until 19 Jan to complete its proposed private placement, to acquire AirAsia Aviation Group

The Transport Minister launched the MAB Academy’s Simulator Building and said the new facility highlights important investments for Malaysia’s aviation future. The stimulator features 6 full-flight simulator bays for A330neo, Boeing 737-800NG, and ATR 72-500

Tune Group Sdn Bhd has disposed of its 66,829,975 ordinary shares in AirAsia X Berhad, and ceased to be a substantial shareholder in the airline as part of the final business consolidation exercise of AirAsia

The scanning machines at Kuala Lumpur International Airport Terminal 1 have been relocated to the departure gates from 1 Jan. Customs Department Director-General said this has eased passenger flow and improved the detection of smuggled goods. Previously, the passengers had to pass two checkpoints, at the link bridge and gate screening security operated by the Malaysia Airports (Sepang) Sdn Bhd Aviation Security (AVSEC). KLIA Terminal 1 Operations General Manager said they have installed 60 high-technology scanning machines at the departure gates

Penang International Airport (PIA) is expected to welcome another 9 million visitors. PIA recorded 7.5 million passengers from Jan-Nov 2025, 52% international and 48% domestic, with the total passengers expected to reach 8.2 million

AirBorneo has launched its first flights to Mukah and Tanjung Manis from Kuching on 2 Jan. Sarawak Transport Minister said, "For Sarawak, air connectivity is not a luxury, it is a necessity. As a geographically dispersed state, aviation plays a vital role in connecting our rural and remote communities, supporting trade and tourism, enabling access to education and healthcare and facilitating business and investment”. He added establishment of AirBorneo reflects a strategic approach to support the development through the aviation sector

Subang Airport is ready to welcome more passengers with upgraded facilities ahead of the Visit Malaysia 2026 (VM2026). Batik Air added more aircraft, adding daily passenger movements from 4,000 to 7,000. The airport manager said the airport currently has 15 jets and 25 turboprop flights daily. Subang flies to international destinations like Bangkok, Singapore, Hong Kong, and Jakarta, besides domestic destinations

Embraer Commercial Aviation Senior Vice President and Head of Asia Pacific said they have engaged with Malaysian-based airlines to promote Embraer’s E190-E2 and E195-E2 aircraft. He added that Malaysia’s secondary city connectivity, higher frequencies, and hub can play a bigger role and have potential for the aircraft. Airbus is also pushing the sales of its A220 aircraft in Malaysia. Embraer has been in talks with AirAsia and AirBorneo. He added that the E2 aircraft has been certified in Malaysia, and is flying to Malaysia to destinations like Miri, Sibu, and Malacca, operated by Scoot. He hopes that by the end of 2029 or 2030, Embraer will have a Malaysian operator. He added that there is potential for a comprehensive operation in Sarawak. He also said that with more jet slots, there is a potential for E2S flying from Subang Airport. The airport currently has a limitation of jet slots of once daily per route and a curfew from 10PM to 6AM

Capital A requested Bursa Malaysia Securities’ approval to extend its proposed share distribution until 19 Jan 2026. RHB Investment Bank Bhd has applied for the extension on behalf of Capital A. Separately, AirAsia X Bhd also applied for an extension to complete implementing its proposed private placement and acquisition of AirAsia Aviation Group

Batik Air Malaysia will launch a Kuala Lumpur-Banda Aceh route, with 4 weekly flights from 16-28 Mar 2026, and a regular permanent service from 27 Jun 2026

The runway at Sultan Abdul Halim Airport, Alor Setar, was reopened at 7.30PM on 30 Dec, after the Civil Aviation Authority of Malaysia (CAAM) gave its safety clearance. The operations at the airport were temporarily suspended following a runway-related safety issue

Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) will implement a 60-minute Minimum Connecting Time (MCT60) initiative at Terminal 2. KLIA handles over 60 million passengers annually, and with MCT and AirAsia’s extensive ASEAN network, there can be an additional 432 flight connections daily by allowing airlines to increase transfer traffic. In Jun 2025, before the MCT60 implementation, KLIA recorded an average of 370 connecting passengers under the MCT60 profile, and it increased by 13X in Jul to 5,376, 9,745 in Aug, 9,425 in Sep, 12,308 in Oct, and 14,973 in Nov. MCT60 will help with faster connections and bigger networks

Malaysia will introduce 21 new international flight routes from Dec 2025 until mid-Jan 2026, as part of Visit Malaysia 2026 preparation. The new routes comprise 16 scheduled flights and 5 charter flights operated by 10 airlines, including Batik Air, AirAsia, and T’way Air, connecting Malaysia with 8 countries and 17 destinations. 13 scheduled routes started their operation in Dec, and the rest of the flights will start in Jan 2026. These flights will connect 9 Malaysian airports: Kuala Lumpur, Subang, Penang, Johor Bahru, Kota Kinabalu, Tawau, Kuching, Ipoh, and Langkawi. 7 scheduled flights and 3 charter flights by Loong Air, Shandong Airlines, Xiamen Airlines, Hainan Airlines, Sichuan Airlines, and Juneyao Air will connect Malaysia with 8 Chinese cities New scheduled flights will be launched to Osaka, Japan and Busan, South Korea A charter flight will connect Taichung, Taiwan 6 scheduled flights will be launched to Singapore, Jakarta, Medan, and Cebu Tashkent, Uzbekistan and Colombo, Sri Lanka will each receive one scheduled flight

AirAsia MOVE (MOVE) has signed a partnership with Ethiopian Airlines, Vietjet Air, and Garuda Indonesia to offer booking access for them through its platform

The Industrial Court has ordered Malindo Airways to pay RM1.44 million to 3 former pilots for unfair dismissals during the pandemic

Air Algerie will launch direct flights between Algiers and Kuala Lumpur from 29 Mar, with 3 flights per week. The Ambassador of Algeria for Malaysia said this direct flight could support tourists, the diaspora community, the business sector, and students from Algeria

Malaysia Airport Holdings Bhd (MAHB) announced that the passenger processing system at airports was fully restored by the system provider on 23 Dec. Earlier, a temporary disruption of a global passenger processing system affected check-in and boarding processes used by airlines worldwide. The airlines activated contingency procedures

Saudia plans to add more flights between Saudi Arabia and Malaysia in 2026. Saudia Airlines East Asia and Australia General Manager said demand for religious travel, leisure, and business between both countries remains strong. He added that Malaysia and Southeast Asia will drive passenger and revenue growth for the airline in 2026. In 2024, Malaysia welcomed 68,382 Saudi visitors, +23.7% YoY. Both Saudia and Malaysia Airlines collaborate on code sharing, on Saudia’s flights to Jeddah, Riyadh, Madinah, and Cairo, and on Malaysia Airlines’ flights to Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide, and Penang. Saudia carried 17.5 million passengers in H1 2025, +7.2% YoY, with Malaysia, Singapore, and Indonesia emerging as strong contributors

Malaysian Aviation Group (MAG) announced that AirBorneo will assume full legal and operational responsibility for MASwings from 1 Jan. MAG added that MASwings branding might continue until AirBorneo progressively introduces its new identity. MASwings was launched in Oct 2007 to operate flights in East Malaysia, and operated 430,000 flights and carried 19 million passengers throughout its operational history

Chartered flights have been launched between Johor and Bhutan. Malaysian Chinese Tourism Association (MCTA) Johor Chapter Chairman expressed hope to see more inbound flights from other countries, including China, Taiwan, and Japan, to Johor. More chartered flights are expected to operate from Senai International Airport in May 2026