Dersenish with Malaysia Airlines and Firefly cabin crews at the recent MATTA Fair
ABOUT a year ago, Malaysia Aviation Group Bhd (MAG) made a painful call to cut 20% of its network capacity.
Today, that same group is expanding routes, modernising its fleet, and rejuvenating its brand as it seeks to reclaim a spot among the world’s top airlines.
“It was a difficult but necessary step,” group managing director Captain Izham Ismail says of the cuts. He was speaking to the media during the group’s launching ceremony of four new routes.
At the centre of this transformation is its flagship carrier – Malaysia Airlines Bhd, which is driving the group’s “commercial elevation” strategy.
With a bold target to break into the top 10 global airlines by 2030, MAG is repositioning Malaysia Airlines from a company with a history of financial challenges to one competing on commercial strength, customer experience and brand power.
Chief commercial officer of airlines Dersenish Aresandiran, together with the commercial leadership team, is driving the group’s “Commercial Elevation” strategy.
Working alongside Captain Izham and the group’s senior leadership team, Dersenish is tasked with delivering commercial firepower to match the airline’s operational improvements.
As Captain Izham puts it: “Routes that the commercial team and the strategy team have picked up make a lot of sense.”
“The DNA in MAG today is that we must be ahead of the curve. We cannot afford to wait for change to happen.”
From crisis to recovery
Malaysia Airlines’ present journey is rooted in its restructuring, which started in 2020.
In 2021, MAG completed a recapitalisation that wiped out RM15bil in liabilities and secured RM3.6bil in new capital from sole shareholder Khazanah Nasional Bhd, committed through 2025.
Meanwhile, to navigate the pandemic, MAG cut up to 90% of capacity, deferred payments, and tightened cash conservation.
The group emerged leaner but fragile, with fuel price volatility and border uncertainty threatening recovery.
Still, the foundation was reset – debt pared down, cash flow improved, and a smaller fleet positioned for growth.
From this point, MAG began to shift its focus – from survival mode to growth mode.
Dersenish: We want to make Malaysia Airlines not just a carrier, but a symbol of Malaysia
Gateway to Asia and beyond
To lead this commercial revival, MAG strengthened its leadership team with experienced industry professionals. Rather than focusing on individual careers, the emphasis has been on building collective capability to deliver results.
“Captain Izham had this strong vision to transform commercial into a powerhouse and position Malaysia Airlines as a fully premium carrier to compete with the world’s top airlines. That vision united the team and shaped the way we built the commercial function together,” Dersenish tells StarBiz 7 in an exclusive interview.
Dersenish returned to MAG in 2023 as chief commercial officer of the airlines business, with over 17 years of experience in the industry. He began with Malaysia Airlines in 2007 before moving to AirAsia X Bhd
in 2011 and then Qatar Airways in 2015.
He returned to Malaysia Airlines in 2018 as head of revenue management and commercial planning, leading the airline to record commercial results in 2019.
He left in 2021 for Qatar Airways, serving as the vice-president of sales managing a US$9.1bil portfolio and helping to restart its Middle East operations.
This blend of experience – low-cost, premium, and global – is now being applied back home.
When Dersenish rejoined in 2023, MAG’s average load factor was around 78% to 79%. Today, it has climbed to 84%-85%.
It’s not just higher loads, the group has also rolled out 24 new routes in the past 24 months.
Malaysia Airlines introduced 10 of these, including Brisbane (inaugural flight on Nov 29) and Chengdu (Jan 9, 2026), while Firefly accounted for 14, with Krabi, Siem Reap and Cebu to begin on Nov 17, Nov 27 and Dec 2, respectively.
For MAG, every route decision must be both “commercially viable and supportive of nation-building.”
This thinking also shaped the decision to consolidate Firefly’s jet operations at KLIA Terminal 1, creating seamless connectivity between Malaysia Airlines’ international flights and Firefly’s regional network – positioning MAG as the “gateway to Asia and beyond.”
Case in point, a passenger arriving from London can now connect seamlessly to Krabi via KLIA, rather than facing the inconvenience of a transfer through the Subang airport.
Evidently, operational efficiency is also improving, with on-time performance rising from 71.9% at the start of the year to 87.3% by July.
The customer satisfaction index has also improved from 80% in 2024 to 83% year-to-date in 2025. Meanwhile, capacity – measured in available seat kilometres – grew 7% year-on-year, supported by fleet and network expansion.
“We’ve been on a strong financial footing in recent years, which allows us to grow. With new aircraft coming in, we’re expanding our network. The long-term plan is to double the fleet and grow beyond 100 destinations from about 70 today,” says Dersenish.
To note, MAG has a cash balance of RM3bil as of Dec 31, 2024.
Driving the “commercial elevation” journey
For MAG, Malaysia Airlines’ turnaround is not just about adding routes but also reshaping how the airline positions itself.
Dersenish identifies three commercial pillars – expanding the network with depth and partnerships, elevating the brand, and building an agile, tech-driven commercial team to strengthen the bottom line.
“When we embarked on this commercial elevation journey 24 months ago, we looked at a few things. One was marketing – how do we market our product better?” he says.
“Heavy marketing is a strategy we’re embarking on to bring back Malaysia Airlines brand to the market, not just in Malaysia but abroad as well.”
That rethink gave birth to the “Time For” campaign in 2025.
Beyond a marketing campaign, “Time For” has seen strong on-ground activations in international markets.
These included Malaysia Airlines’ presence at global trade fairs across China, Japan, as well as high-visibility branding through double-decker buses and taxi wraps in the United Kingdom, tram wraps in Australia, and mall activations in India.
Malaysia Airlines tram wraps in Australia and taxi wraps in London
As Dersenish puts it, it wasn’t just a commercial exercise, but a collective effort across MAG’s 13,000 employees – from the in-flight experience and catering to customer service – all aligned to elevate the brand.
The effort has paid off. Brand Finance last year ranked Malaysia Airlines the fastest-growing airline brand globally, with a 206% increase in brand value.
Strategic partnerships are also key, Dersenish says.
For instance, Malaysia Airlines signed a deal with Manchester United Football Club to be its official commercial airline partner, tapping into the club’s more than 500 million fans in Asia and boosting visibility in core markets.
Trade fair participation has also been effective – with its Matta 2024 participation delivering a 74 times return on investment, Dersenish says.
“We want to make Malaysia Airlines not just a carrier, but a symbol of Malaysia,” he says.
Beyond marketing, the airline has been reshaping its products.
Dersenish says MHcorporate, its corporate travel product, is recording double-digit growth with dedicated account managers for business clients.
He adds that the airline is integrating rail and cruise packages into its booking system to create seamless travel experiences.
Digital transformation is another key pillar.
“We are working with our tech partners to design a booking journey that can be completed in just three clicks,” Dersenish says, noting that the goal is to make the process faster and simpler.
On network expansion, he says “it’s not just about reach, but also about depth.”
“Partnerships also extend reach into markets where the airline does not fly directly,” he says, pointing to alliance and codesharing benefits.
Fleet modernisation
MAG currently operates 117 aircraft across its passenger, regional and cargo operations.
Malaysia Airlines forms the backbone with 86 aircraft – 54 narrowbodies and 32 widebodies.
These include 40 Boeing 737-800s, 14 Boeing 737-8s, 15 Airbus A330-300s, four Airbus A330-200s, seven Airbus A350-900s, and six Airbus A330neos.
As part of its fleet modernisation, the airline has begun taking delivery of new-generation aircraft – the 14 Boeing 737-8s and six Airbus A330neos – with three more A330neos to arrive by end-2025.
By 2030, the plan is to operate 55 narrowbodies, including 32 737-8s and 12 737-10s, alongside 40 A330neos on the widebody side.
The long-term ambition is a modern mainline fleet of 116 aircraft by 2035, with an average age of just seven years, compared to 10 today.
Meanwhile, Firefly currently operates 14 aircraft – five Boeing 737-800s and nine ATR turboprops.
MASwings flies 14 turboprops, comprising eight ATRs and six Twin Otters, serving rural connectivity in East Malaysia, while MASkargo operates three dedicated Airbus A330-200 freighters.
Looking ahead, Dersenish projects double-digit passenger growth in 2026 as capacity ramps up.
“We’ve added triple-daily flights to Sydney, three daily to Melbourne, increased Trivandrum to daily, and are introducing Adelaide and Brisbane. All this additional capacity should translate into double-digit passenger growth next year.”
By the fourth quarter of 2025, Malaysia Airlines will increase its daily departures from 260 to over 310 flights.
As a premium carrier, Dersenish notes, about 90% of revenue still comes from ticket sales, with 10% from ancillary income.
Malaysia Airlines, the Malaysian pride
Overall, Malaysia Airlines has been through turbulence before – financial crises, restructuring exercises, and a pandemic that nearly grounded it.
But with Captain Izham’s leadership, together with the collective strength of senior management, and supported by the commercial firepower driven by Dersenish, MAG is aiming high – for Malaysia Airlines “to be a top 10 global airline by 2030, with a modern fleet, stronger brand, and a customer-first approach.”
For Malaysians, this turnaround is more than just corporate achievement. It is about seeing their national carrier fly with pride again – carrying not just passengers, but the spirit of the nation.
As Dersenish notes, the expansion goes beyond connecting prime cities.
“We’re building markets where Malaysia was not known. Once you fly to these places, what does it open? It opens up trade. It opens up investment. Ultimately, it opens up the country.”
