A new digital strategy and commitment to the trade by Malaysia Airlines is to be ushered in over the next year under new chief executive Peter Bellew.
The former senior Ryanair executive, who took the helm this week, outlined plans to “stop doing things that lose money” as part of an ongoing turnaround plan.
He pledged to build relationships with the travel trade globally, including leading a worldwide marketing initiative promoting Malaysia.
“A new website, mobile app, trade reservations system and airport equipment will all be in place over the next 12 months,” he revealed.
“The digital experience when booking with Malaysian Airlines will see significant investment in 2016/17. From choice of seats to quality of the nasi lemak to time of travel, we need to ensure that the needs of each guest with different individual preferences are met.”
Routes from various Malaysian airports to new Asean destinations are also planned.
But an immediate focus will be on cutting airport costs by operating some leisure flights from Kuala Lumpur’s KLIA2 low-cost carrier terminal.
Here costs are $1,350 per flight lower giving $500,000 in savings a year on one daily flight, with savings passed on in lower fares Bellew outlined.
“Our costs are on track now however we cannot for one second take our eye off the ball,” he said.
“We have already seen fuel savings of 10,000 tonnes in the first quarter but more can be done. Saving money, does not mean compromising on safety or on our products and services.
“It simply means we need to increase productivity and efficiency, invest in modern technology, enter into mutually beneficial partnerships besides identifying and mitigating risks early.
“Each and every cost of everything we do will be minutely checked daily without changing any quality.”
He added: “A lot has been done, the profit seen in the last quarter shows that the financial gap between revenue and cost has significantly closed, which tells us that we are on the right trajectory.
“We need to move quicker and more aggressively to keep the momentum for a strong, sustainable future.”