By Sharen Kaur
MALAYSIA Airlines (MAS) group chief executive officer Ahmad Jauhari Yahya said the airline will utilise its existing aircraft and workforce to grow its business.
He said the national airline, which has about 20,000 workers, will improve productivity and load factor.
The carrier has 122 planes, of which 90 fly for MAS and the rest, for MASwings and Firefly. MASwings and Firefly are profitable subsidiaries.
"The aviation industry in Asia is the fastest growing in the world. Traffic volume is projected to increase by five per cent next year. We aim to grow in tandem with the industry," he told Business Times in an interview recently.
He said the challenge for MAS is to grow profitably and the key is to address sticky costs.
For next year, MAS will look at cost reduction and drive efficiency through strategic procurement and processes, among others, he said.
"The airline business is still a tough environment and it is not easy to recover lost market share. MAS used to hold 58 per cent of market share in 2005 but by end-2011, it fell to 28 per cent. We lost close to 50 per cent of the market share. This meant MAS did not grow while the market grew."
However, Ahmad Jauhari said the carrier has started to build its market share, which is now at 32 per cent.
"We are increasing the number of seats flying out of the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA). We would like to be the biggest carrier out of KLIA," he said.
MAS has also been able to grow its passenger traffic this year by 28 per cent.
The airline's third-quarter load factor stood at almost 85 per cent, a historic peak for the 41-year-old carrier, as it focused on stimulating demand with lower average fares.
However, the load factor improvements have come at the expense of yield, pushing MAS back into the red in the third quarter ended September 30 2013.
Ahmad Jauhari said capacity is piling in Asia, with Lion Air and AirAsia, for example, buying more planes and this has put pressure on yields.
"MAS has not raised its capacity for many years. We are getting new planes to replace the older ones. Passengers like the new planes as they are more reliable and comfortable," he said, adding that for MAS, the younger fleet of aircraft translates into fuel efficiency gains.
He said by end-2014, MAS' average fleet age will be six, making it the airline with the youngest fleet in Asia.
MALAYSIA Airlines (MAS) group chief executive officer Ahmad Jauhari Yahya said the airline will utilise its existing aircraft and workforce to grow its business.
He said the national airline, which has about 20,000 workers, will improve productivity and load factor.
The carrier has 122 planes, of which 90 fly for MAS and the rest, for MASwings and Firefly. MASwings and Firefly are profitable subsidiaries.
"The aviation industry in Asia is the fastest growing in the world. Traffic volume is projected to increase by five per cent next year. We aim to grow in tandem with the industry," he told Business Times in an interview recently.
He said the challenge for MAS is to grow profitably and the key is to address sticky costs.
For next year, MAS will look at cost reduction and drive efficiency through strategic procurement and processes, among others, he said.
"The airline business is still a tough environment and it is not easy to recover lost market share. MAS used to hold 58 per cent of market share in 2005 but by end-2011, it fell to 28 per cent. We lost close to 50 per cent of the market share. This meant MAS did not grow while the market grew."
However, Ahmad Jauhari said the carrier has started to build its market share, which is now at 32 per cent.
"We are increasing the number of seats flying out of the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA). We would like to be the biggest carrier out of KLIA," he said.
MAS has also been able to grow its passenger traffic this year by 28 per cent.
The airline's third-quarter load factor stood at almost 85 per cent, a historic peak for the 41-year-old carrier, as it focused on stimulating demand with lower average fares.
However, the load factor improvements have come at the expense of yield, pushing MAS back into the red in the third quarter ended September 30 2013.
Ahmad Jauhari said capacity is piling in Asia, with Lion Air and AirAsia, for example, buying more planes and this has put pressure on yields.
"MAS has not raised its capacity for many years. We are getting new planes to replace the older ones. Passengers like the new planes as they are more reliable and comfortable," he said, adding that for MAS, the younger fleet of aircraft translates into fuel efficiency gains.
He said by end-2014, MAS' average fleet age will be six, making it the airline with the youngest fleet in Asia.
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