News
MAB returns B777s as it starts Emirates partnership
December 4th 2015
Malaysia Airlines Berhad (MAB) has signed a strategic partnership deal with the UAE’s Emirates Airline, which will see it terminate its routes to Amsterdam and Paris as part of the turnaround strategy of new chief executive, Christoph Mueller. Read More »
Mueller said the partnership “paved the path to an integrated customer proposition offering for both airlines”. The airlines plan to offer passengers reciprocal frequent flyer benefits. “The improved connectivity will allow Malaysia Airlines customers to reach up to 38 destinations in Europe on a daily and even a double daily basis to key European cities, including Zurich, Rome, Munich, Frankfurt, Madrid and Barcelona,” Mueller said. “This partnership gives our customers access to a dramatically expanded range of travel options.”
Emirates president Sir Tim Clark said: “Our new codeshare agreement with Malaysia Airlines will enable our passengers to experience new destinations and improved connectivity in the ever-popular Southeast Asia region. Malaysia Airlines’ extensive network in the emerging Southeast Asia region perfectly complements Emirates’ global network and enhances the choice of travel destinations for customers in both the business and leisure segment.”
Ironically, MAB, the former MAS, had previously blamed Emirates and its “friends from the Gulf” for its dire financial situation and declining market share on the Kangaroo Route. Now, hardly a year later, Mueller told Reuters the deal would allow MAB to avoid making losses on routes to Europe because it would stop flying to Amsterdam and Paris with its own aircraft from the end of January and instead book customers onto Emirates flights. The situation on flights via Amsterdam, a hub for many oil industry destinations, has been compounded as oil firms have cut budgets due to the lower fuel price, he said.
The Emirates deal means MAB has also cancelled some of its other codeshare agreements, though Mueller declined to specify which ones. MAB has recently returned eight surplus B777s to leasing companies. "We will only take those assets that are commercially viable for us. Aircraft we don't need we will leave behind for the administrator to dispose of," Mueller said. This follows a CAPA report in November which said MAB planned to reduce its B737 short-haul fleet from 56 to 35 aircraft.
