Malaysia Airlines said it finished last year ahead of its budgeted loss, with a “strong result” during the final quarter of 2016. The company said it is making steady progress on its turnaround plan and continues to seek out cost savings for the year ahead. Malaysia Aviation Group Berhad does not release full financial statements, as it is not publicly traded, but said it finished 49% ahead of its budged loss under the business plan for fiscal year 2016. The airline said it made a profit in Dec 2016 and that passenger load factor for Q4 improved to 81%, up from 70% in Q4 2015. The Group said it achieved a 90% load factor for the final month of 2016. Looking forward, the Group remains cautious for the outlook in 2017, where the weaker ringgit to the US dollar, overcapacity and intense competition are expected to dominate. <br/>
oneworld
As the American Airlines uniform crisis enters its fifth month, a definitive answer to what has caused symptomatic reactions to new uniforms among thousands of AA flight attendants remains as elusive as ever. The APFA said Tuesday that the union has to date received reports from 2,887 flight attendants and noted that the union continues "to receive new reports each day." APFA also cautioned union members that the testing done on the uniforms so far by the union and American Airlines management "has been limited, both in terms of the number of items tested and the methods that we have used." APFA said its "investigation about the safety of the new uniforms is continuing" and said the union remains "in talks with the company about undertaking a comprehensive and meaningful joint testing plan of additional uniforms." <br/>
SriLankan Airlines has taken delivery of the first of 6 Airbus A320/321neo family aircraft, which will be used to expand services to Asia and the Middle East. The carrier has 6 Airbus neo family aircraft on order. It will take delivery of its second A320neo in April, 2 A321neos in Q2, 1 A321neo in Q4 and the final A321neo in Q1 of 2018. The aircraft will deployed on the airline's expanding route network connecting Colombo with destinations in India, Middle East and Far East. SriLankan Airlines chairman Ajith Dias said: “Our airline realigned its strategic focus during the last quarter of 2016 to capitalise on market opportunities in the rapidly growing travel and tourism industry in Asia, which included the launch of services to 11 new destinations throughout the Indian Ocean and Middle East regions.” <br/>
Qatar Airways has reached an agreement with LATAM Airlines Group to lease 4 A350-900s for a period of 6-12 months. The first of the 4 A350s will be put into service on the Doha-Munich route March 2, Qatar Airways said. The aircraft will retain LATAM’s livery and seating configuration, but will be staffed with by Qatar Airways pilots and cabin crew. Qatar Airways owns a 10% stake in LATAM. Qatar Airways CE Akbar Al Baker said the LATAM A350s will allow the carrier “to meet increasing customer demand in the short term in an innovative way.” Qatar Airways has 14 A350-900s of its own. There is a contrast in seating configuration between the two airlines’ A350-900s: LATAM A350s have 339 seats, including 30 in business class, while Qatar Airways A350s have 283 seats, including 36 in business class. <br/>