oneworld

As Malaysia Airlines’ parent Malaysian Aviation Group (MAG) turns in a glowing financial report, it is keen to prove it is no one-trick pony and that it has changed for the better. As group managing director Izham Ismail puts it: “2024 is an important year for us, it is a year of credibility for us… and we don’t want to be seen as just riding the wave”. He was speaking on the sidelines of the group’s annual financial results briefing in Kuala Lumpur. For the year ended 31 December 2023, MAG – which also comprises regional units Firefly and MASWings – reported an operating profit of close to MYR890m ($188m), up 64% year on year on 2022’s MYR540m figure. It also swung to its first net profit in over a decade, reporting a figure after interest and tax of MYR766m, compared with 2022’s MYR344m net loss. In some ways, the 2023 financial performance – helped in part by strong passenger yields – could be seen as the group’s well-publicised restructuring finally bearing fruit. Izham, who led the efforts through the early days of the Covid-19 pandemic, hails the “pivotal moment in our historical journey” and says it represented a “profound shift in our approach and strategy”. Still, and ever the pragmatist, Izham is well aware this set of “excellent” results may not be a regular occurrence, and that the group’s future performance will be closely watched. This is why he believes that this year – what he calls “the year of credibility” – will be more crucial than the last. <br/>

Cathay Pacific Airways' budget airline, HK Express, aims to double the number of flights to mainland China over the next two years and increase its overall capacity by the end of 2024 as it seeks to expand its global presence. HK Express CEO Jeanette Mao offered an upbeat assessment of the carrier's outlook, saying she expected capacity to grow 20% to 30% by the end of this year, reaching 170% of pre-pandemic levels from the present 140%. She also revealed plans to increase the low-cost carrier's fleet from 35 aircraft to 40 this year and to 60 by 2028, as well as expand the number of destinations from the current 24 to 30 by the end of 2024. "Based on the number of flights, Northeast Asia - such as Japan, Korea and Taiwan - accounts for 70% of our total flights while Southeast Asia accounts for around 25%, with the remaining 5% to mainland China," she said on Tuesday. "So we expect in the next two years, our number of flights to mainland China can increase from 5% to maybe 10% of the total network." HK Express returned to profitability last year for the first time since it was acquired by Cathay Pacific in 2019, making HK$433m (US$55.3m) compared with a HK$1.36b loss in 2022, owing to high demand for short-haul flights. Cathay acquired HK Express for HK$4.93b. Mao said the company was going to announce its third mainland destination very soon as part of its plans to expand its presence in the nation.<br/>