Malaysia

Capital A’s CEO announced that, as part of the restructuring plan, all seven airlines will be consolidated under AirAsia X and rebranded as AirAsia Group, with multiple hubs across Southeast Asia. Capital A will also consolidate its non-aeronautical businesses. The airlines will focus on operating a long-range fleet of A321XLRs and plan to establish new hubs in the Middle East and Europe. AirAsia will retire its Airbus A330s within five to six years and has cancelled its existing A330 commitments. AirAsia Group aims to expand its fleet to 600 aircraft over the next decade, up from the current 255, enabling it to serve 155 million passengers, an increase from 68.8 million, and 175 destinations, up from 143. Capital A has also signed a Letter of Intent (LOI) with Bahrain’s Ministry of Transportation and Telecommunications to establish a hub in the Middle East

The Transport Minister announced that the ministry will continue to offer subsidised airfare to Sabah and Sarawak, set at RM499 one way, during the Christmas period. The ministry has allocated RM19.5 million to subsidise 39,744 flights. In 2024, the government subsidised 26,993 flights for RM11 million, with a ceiling fare of RM599. He added that the ministry is unable to offer the FlySiswa initiative to private institution students due to cost constraints. But he said the ministry will look into extending this program to the students in need

Bloomberg reported that AirAsia is looking to set up Bahrain as a hub in the Middle East. Capital A CEO is likely to announce this during an investor forum in Bahrain. AirAsia declined to comment, and Bahrain did not respond to queries from Bloomberg

Flights at Kota Kinabalu International Airport were disrupted on 3 Nov, believed due to Typhoon Tino affecting the Philippines and regional weather patterns

The Civil Aviation Authority of Malaysia (CAAM) issued an air operators’ certificate and air service permit to Ascend Airways Malaysia (AYG). The airline will begin its operations in Nov 2025 with a Boeing 737 freighter, and a second aircraft will be added in early 2026. It will focus on charter and ACMI operations across Southeast Asia, initially offering cargo services before expanding to passenger operations in Q1 2026

Tourism Malaysia is working with airlines to offer cheaper flights to Sabah and Sarawak. The Deputy Chairman of Tourism Malaysia said competitive rates will encourage more people to travel to Sabah and Sarawak. He said this after launching the Star Karnival Cuti-Cuti Malaysia in Georgetown, Penang. The 3-day event from 31 Oct-2 Nov, featured 54 exhibitors

Sarawak Tourism Board (STB) and Royal Brunei Airlines (RBA) will engage with the China market by organising a business networking seminar in Beijing and Taiyuan from 28-30 Oct ahead of Visit Malaysia 2026

Malaysia Airports Holdings Berhad (MAHB) will operate a free shuttle-bus service from 11PM to 5AM daily while rectification works are being carried out for the Aerotrain at Terminal 1, Kuala Lumpur International Airport. This is part of the requirement of a comprehensive action plan led by Aerotrain’s project team, with the support of contractors (Alstom and IJMC-Pestech Joint Venture), project consultants, and an independent technical assessor. MAHB will work with the Land Public Transport Agency (APAD) and the Transport Ministry to address this issue. The initial assessments show a drop in system reliability, especially with the vehicle and power distribution system. A total of 21 disruptions were reported since the launch of the service

The Chief Commercial Officer of Airlines from Malaysia Aviation Group said they carried 250,000 passengers from China, with load factors above 80% in H1 2025. MAG will increase flight service to Xiamen to 4 times per week, and will resume flight service to Chengdu from Jan 2026, offering 2,436 seats weekly. With this, Malaysia Airlines will offer 60 flights per week to 7 destinations across Greater China. Malaysia Airlines organised a Trade Gala in Shanghai on 15 Oct, bringing government representatives, corporate partners, and travel agents together. During the Golden Week holiday from 1-8 Oct, the airline recorded over 95% load factor from China, carrying more than 6,000 passengers to Malaysia and other important destinations. Malaysia Airlines signed 4 MoUs with its Chinese partners for a long-term commitment

Penang Global Tourism (PGT) and HK Express signed an MoU on 27 Oct to strengthen tourism ties and enhance air connectivity between Penang and Hong Kong. The signing followed HK Express’ launch of its second daily flight to Penang on 26 Oct. The HK Express CEO said the route has recorded an average load factor of 80%, and the collaboration with PGT could help expand its market reach beyond Hong Kong to Mainland China, Japan, Taiwan, and other markets

Tourism Malaysia welcomed Xiamen Airlines’ first direct flight between Quanzhou and Kuala Lumpur on 29 Oct. The flight will operate 4 times a week. From Jan-Aug 2025, Malaysia recorded 3.3 million Chinese visitors, +27.5% YoY

AirAsia plans to raise $600 million USD to replace a private credit facility with a lower-interest-bearing bond, according to a Bloomberg report. The report stated that AirAsia is allegedly taking advantage of better travel numbers to get a cheaper refinancing. In 2024, they received a $443 million USD dual-tranche private financing to fund aircraft refurbishment during the pandemic, with borrowing as high as 11%. The Deputy CEO of AirAsia said they will hold non-deal investor meetings in Hong Kong on 18 Nov and in Singapore on 21 Nov. Deutsche Bank AG is reportedly the sole arranger for the proposed bond, but the bank declined to comment

The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) has said that it is ready to investigate the Aerotrain project at Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA), which reported several service disruptions, for potential corruption or abuse if investigation papers are opened on the project

MAB Academy signed an agreement with Canadian flight simulator company CAE Inc to deliver the latest Boeing 737-8 full-flight simulator (FFS). Two FFS will be deployed at MAB Academy’s new flight simulator building in Sepang. Malaysia Airlines also operates an ATR 72-500 FFS and an A330 NEO FFS

The Transport Minister said that airlines have the right to decide whether to serve alcoholic beverages on board based on commercial considerations. Malaysia Airlines Berhad (MAB) has stopped serving alcoholic drinks on all domestic flights since 1 Jan. For international routes, alcoholic beverages are only served on flights lasting more than three hours. He cited other major international airlines from Muslim-majority countries—such as Emirates, Etihad Airways, Qatar Airways, Gulf Air, Turkish Airlines, and Garuda Indonesia—as having similar policies. No alcohol is served on flights to Jeddah. He was responding to a request from an opposition MP to reassess current practices to reflect the sensitivities of Muslim passengers

Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd (MAHB) blamed a power-supply system malfunction for the Aerotrain service disruption on the early morning of 28 Oct at Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA). MAHB said that Alstom, the project lead for the Aerotrain project, will provide a report on the recent incident as well as a similar one reported on 15 Oct. MAHB assured that operations at KLIA are fully functioning during this critical period, with 530,000 passenger movements and 3,400 flights recorded for the 47th ASEAN and related summits

The Transport Minister asked the Land Public Transport Agency (APAD) to investigate Malaysia Airports Holdings Berhad (MAHB) following the recent Aerotrain disruptions at Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA). He said that the ministry cannot tolerate the service interruptions anymore

TransNusa Aviation will launch a direct flight between Jakarta and Penang from 24 Nov, 3 times per week. Penang Tourism EXCO said the state contributes to 45% of Malaysia’s total healthcare-travel revenue based on the data of the Malaysia Healthcare Travel Council (MHTC). He highlighted that Indonesia is the largest source of medical tourists, with 65.8% and over 90% of healthcare travel receipts in northern Malaysia are from Indonesian visitors. From Jan-Sep 2025, Penang welcomed 284,364 Indonesian visitors via air, +2.5% YoY

Batik Air will launch direct flights from Subang Airport to Langkawi, Johor Bahru, Singapore, and Jakarta, Indonesia, starting 8 December. The airline will also introduce a weekly direct flight between Langkawi and Tashkent, Uzbekistan, beginning 14 Dec. LOT Polish Airlines will operate new weekly charter flights from Warsaw to Langkawi from Nov 2025 to Mar 2026. Firefly has scheduled limited flights between Langkawi-Chengdu for the peak Jan-Feb 2026 season and will increase Penang-Langkawi route flights from Jan 2026

Cathay-Airbus signed an investment agreement worth $70 million USD in the development of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), with the General Manager of Sustainability for Cathay Pacific noting that they see Malaysia as one of the potential project sites for SAF development in Asia

AirAsia will offer promotional fixed tickets to Sabah from 26-28 Nov at RM299 for the state election, which is scheduled on 29 Nov. A total of 4,300 seats will be offered across 24 flights, covering 8 routes; Kuala Lumpur to Kota Kinabalu, Sandakan, Tawau or Labuan; Johor Baru to Kota Kinabalu and Tawau; and Kota Baru and Penang to Kota Kinabalu

Red Wings Airlines plans to launch direct flights from Moscow to Malaysia by the end of 2025

Batik Air Malaysia CEO said that they are looking at 2 expansion strategies with the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) as its primary and Subang Airport as its secondary hub. The airline has received an additional six slots at Subang, bringing the total to 12, following the withdrawal of AirAsia and Firefly. Subang Airport currently has a limit of 15 slots for jet operations. Batik Air has stationed two aircraft at Subang and plans to double this number by the end of 2025. Batik Air Malaysia operates 5 Airbus A330 and 47 narrowbody Boeing 737, with flights to 63 destinations across 20 countries. The airline aims to increase its fleet to between 82-85, including 70 narrowbody and 12 widebody aircraft. They plan to launch new flights to 20 destinations and add flights to existing routes in the next 3-5 years. The future planned routes include Osaka, Japan; and Makassar, Pontianak, Semarang, Banjarmasin and Padang in Indonesia. He added that if Batik Air markets the right products with strong connectivity, the airline can succeed in the Chinese and Indian markets. Batik Air Malaysia is targeting fleet expansion to address the lack of direct flights from India and to enhance connectivity to Indonesia, beyond Bali and Jakarta, as well as to Australia. The airline is focusing on sustainable earnings growth and aims to return to profitability by 2027

AirAsia X will receive the Airbus A321neo and A321LR aircraft in H2 2026, which will allow them to operate routes between 5-7 hours long. Its CEO said they are exploring potential destinations such as Busan in South Korea, Adelaide and Darwin in Australia, and smaller cities in China. He added that AirAsia X is focusing on increasing flight frequencies to their existing destinations. AirAsia X is offering consistent scheduled flights to Australia and mentioned China has rebounded strongly

Capital A and AirAsia X (AAX) have received a regulatory exemption from the securities regulation of Thailand, paving the way for AirAsia’s airline business consolidation under AAX. With this, the companies are entering the final phase of completion for the sale. This will also allow Capital A to apply for leave from Practice Note 17 status by the end of 2025. AAX and its local Thai partner will jointly take on the tender offer for Asia Aviation PCL (AAV), the listed company which owns Thai AirAsia. With this, AAX will have a 40.71% stake in AAV, and the tender offer will be funded by AAX’s Thai partner

Batik Air will launch daily flights from Penang to Medan and Singapore from 8 Dec. Batik Air also plans to expand its domestic routes in 2026 with new services to Kota Kinabalu and Kuching from Penang. Batik Air will launch a new charter service between Kunming, China, and Penang by the end of Oct 2025. From Jan-Aug 2025, Penang recorded 255,413 arrivals from Indonesia, 146,657 from China, and 103,913 from Singapore via direct flights

The aerotrain service resumed its operation after a temporary disruption on 16 Oct. As part of contingency measures, shuttle buses were deployed to transfer passengers. Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd (MAHB) said one train was safely restored after nearly an hour of disruption. MAHB convened an urgent technical meeting with project contractors Alstom and the IJM–Pestech Joint Venture (IPJV). MAHB has introduced additional systems, such as thermographic scanning and diagnostic tests, to ensure the safety and integrity of the system. MAHB will hire an independent assessor to conduct a review of the power supply design and installation quality

The Transport Minister said actions can be taken against the contractors and Malaysia Airport Holding Berhad (MAHB) for the aerotrain disruptions at Kuala Lumpur International Airport. He added that MAHB can fine the contractors under the 2-year defect liability period for the disruptions. He also said the ministry can issue a fine through the Land Public Transport Agency for failing to offer an acceptable level of service

Malaysia Airlines has said that it is "seriously evaluating” purchasing COMAC planes, as a way to expand into China’s emerging cities. The airline is also said to be looking at launching a route to Shenzhen in 2026

The upcoming Sarawak-owned airline, AirBorneo, is looking to launch flights to Singapore to strengthen tourism and trade ties between Sarawak and Singapore. Sarawak Premier added that this will improve air connectivity between Sarawak and Singapore. AirAsia and Scoot will increase their flights and expand routes. Sarawak also plans to transport fresh produce to Singapore, using modified ATR-180 refrigerated cargo aircraft, which will be coordinated by the Sarawak Trade and Tourism Office Singapore (STATOS)

AirAsia launched direct flights between Kuala Lumpur and Tashkent, Uzbekistan, on 15 Oct with 3 flights per week

The Deputy Transport Minister said that the Aerotrain system at Kuala Lumpur International Airport is stable after experiencing 19 technical incidents between 2 Jul and 30 Sep. The overall operational availability until 8 Oct since its launch is at 99.19%. Aerotrain has carried 5.44 million passengers and clocked 39,900km since its launch. He added the train manufacturer could face penalties up to RM190,000 per month if it fails to meet performance standards. The manufacturer is required to maintain 100% availability during single-train operations, and 99.6% when two trains are in service