KUALA LUMPUR: Any financial aid given to struggling carriers such as AirAsia Group Bhd should be made available to other airlines to keep competition fair, the head of Malaysia Airlines Bhd says.
“It has to be a fair playing field,” group chief executive officer (CEO) Captain Nasaruddin A Bakar said in an interview on the sidelines of the Association of Asia-Pacific Airlines’ annual meeting in Kuala Lumpur.
“If it’s given to one airline, it should be given to all other airlines as well.”
Nasaruddin also said his airline is willing to step in to grow aggressively if its low-cost rival faces deeper operational problems, citing the need to maintain connectivity across the country as the national carrier.
AirAsia’s shares tumbled in September on a report the government had sounded out rival local carriers, including Malaysia Airlines, about stepping up in case AirAsia had to stop flying routes if its financial challenges worsened.
In late October, national news agency Bernama reported that the Transport Ministry and Finance Ministry were reviewing proposals to assist AirAsia.
However, the government hasn’t yet agreed to any commitment for financial aid for the struggling airline. Malaysia Airlines “had a duty” to maintain connectivity across the country, Nasaruddin said.
The airline would need to ensure it had additional aircraft and crew, he said, adding it would only increase capacity if it was sustainable to do so safely and financially.
Separately, Nasaruddin said delayed aircraft deliveries plaguing the industry are threatening the carrier’s expansion plans.
“We are seeing aircraft deliveries being delayed. Not by years, but by months,” he said.
For Malaysia’s national carrier, the delays present a risk that it won’t be able to capture what the CEO described as a “very strong” outlook for demand, despite high oil prices driving up airfares.
Carriers from Emirates to Lufthansa and Singapore Airlines Ltd have been waiting for years for some aircraft as makers of planes and engines struggle to ramp up production. Malaysia Airlines has been planning to increase its passenger-carrying capacity by 8% next year and add as many as three destinations.
Any delayed deliveries could force the company to find more spare parts than usual or cut capacity, he said.
Separately, Malaysia Airlines is closing in on a multi-billion-dollar order for Boeing Co 787 Dreamliners, sources said.
Asked about an update on the deal, Nasaruddin said the company plans to finalise an order for 20 widebody planes by as early as this month. — Bloomberg
