Malaysian Airlines (MAS) is to stop flying to Los Angeles, its only US destination, from April 30 under a route rationalisation exercise to stem losses, the loss-making national carrier said today.
MAS group chief executive officer Ahmad Jauhari Yahya said the route was no longer viable due to over capacity and competition resulting in lower yields, high cost of operating the B777 aircraft, and pressure from continued increases in fuel costs.
"These are adding further pressure to the expenses of Malaysia Airlines group, which we are continuously evaluating," he said in a statement.
MAS said it will focus on Asia where the demand outlook was strong, fuelled by a growing middle class and increased global and intra-regional trade.
The national carrier will thus increase frequencies to key regional cities to benefit from the strong growth in regional demand, the statement said.
The airline said the route rationalisation was expected to have minimal impact on Malaysia's position as a top tourist destination in Asia as the national carrier will work aggressively with its code-share and oneworld partners.
It also said the rationalisation on MAS cargo operations will be minimal as the national carrier continues to maintain its key cargo destinations in the United States.
It said MAS would continue to promote connectivity between Malaysia, the United States and other key international destinations as well as contribute towards efforts to increase tourist arrivals to Malaysia, which is promoting the Visit Malaysia Year for 2014.
MAS is now offering seamless one-stop air connectivity between Kuala Lumpur and several major cities in the US through a code-share arrangement with American Airlines and Japan Airlines, its partner airlines in the oneworld alliance.
The Business Times had reported last week that MAS had planned to resume flights to several destinations this year, including New York, to boost its earnings.
It is understood that MAS is studying several profitable routes, including flying to new destinations and increasing frequency of existing routes with high potential.
MAS flies direct to more than 60 destinations and a further 800 destinations in more than 150 countries via its oneworld partners.
For the flight to New York, MAS is expected to fly there via London using the A380 aircraft. MAS had stopped all its New York flights in 2009. – January 27, 2014.
