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Today's Paper | April 30, 2024

Updated 29 Jul, 2014 06:13pm

Malaysian Airlines may revamp image after air disasters

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian Airlines may seek a name change in an attempt to rebrand itself following two aviation disasters over a period of four months, which has left the airline in dire straits.

The Independent reported that, “Since the disappearance of flight MH370 in March and the missile attack on MH17 over Ukraine shares have been down 35 per cent so far this year as investors fear for the firm’s future.

Facing financial collapse due to the twin tragedies of MH370 and MH17, the airline, which is majority-owned by the Malaysian government, has decided to review its strategy by seeking investment from other airlines in an attempt to rebuild its image.

A possible future course of action may include a new name for the airline, a restructuring of its 20,000 staff and new flight routes.

“Our majority shareholder, the Malaysian government, has already started a process of assessing the future shape of our business and that process will now be speeded up as a result of MH17,” the airline’s commercial director Hugh Dunleavy told the Telegraph.

“Airlines such as ours should be left to focus on the quality of our product in the air, not on the air corridor we fly in, which should be guaranteed as safe passage,” said Dunleavy.

The two air disasters has left the airline with 537 fatalities for the year 2014, more than twice the total amount that other airlines faced the previous year.

Bloomberg estimated that the airline will lose more than 1 billion ringgit this year dues to costs and passengers flight cancellations. The airline carries an estimated 50,000 passengers a day.

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