Malaysia Airlines Plans to Add 11 New Routes by Year-End

8th May 2017

According to Malaysia Airlines Bhd Chief Executive Officer Peter Bellew, the flag carrier is planning to add 11 new routes to its schedule and bolster its ranks with some fresh faces by the end of this year.

This is good news for the carrier, which had to sack around 6,000 people as a part of overall restructuring following two accidents involving its planes, MH370 from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing and MH17 from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur. The first one mysteriously disappeared presumably over the Indian Ocean in March, while MH17 was shot down by a ground-to-air BUK missile over Ukraine.

Now, however, things are looking much better and the worst is behind MAB. Bellew confirmed this saying:

Business is very good at the moment... business on the international front is extremely strong. We need more pilots, more crew, engineers and everything.

However, Bellew didn’t disclose how many new people Malaysia Airlines intends to hire.

As for aircraft, MAB also plans to add some more wide-body planes to its fleet and the company has already revealed plans in April to lease six to eight Airbus A330s or Boeing 777s next year and seven to nine aircrafts in the year after.

MAB Joins the “Negaraku Initiative”

Meanwhile, MAB confirms its place as the “Malaysian national airline” by joining the Negaraku Initiative and helping spread the spirit of patriotism.

Peter Bellew, MAB CEO said Malaysia Airlines is proud to be a part of the Negaraku Initiative as the only 100% Malaysian-owned carrier. He also said:

It (Negaraku) speaks volume of the pride and love Malaysians have for each other and their wonderful nation. And we, the national airline, are proud to be part of that as we bear the "Negaraku" logo on behalf of each and every Malaysian we represent, worldwide.

Malaysia Airlines symbolically joined the Negaraku Initiative by handing over the boarding pass and an aircraft model with special livery to Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak at the ceremony held at Perdana Putra.

Apart from the Prime Minister, Transport Minister Liow Tiong Lai and Communications and Multimedia Minister Dr. Salleh Said Keruak were also present at the ceremony.