After Much Turbulence Malaysian Aviation Looks to Calmer Skies

Something strange is happening to the world’s airlines that have taken delivery of the Airbus A380. Suddenly their passengers, who have never before taken an interest in what aircraft they board, are asking at the time of booking whether they will be flying on the world’s largest passenger plane.

The A380 is becoming an object of desire just as the Boeing 747 did when it took to the air 40 years ago.

For embattled Malaysian Airlines the A380, which starts flights to London next month and Sydney in September, could prove to be a symbol of its changing fortunes.

No-one is suggesting the national carrier is out of the woods or that a new aircraft will be a panacea, but the airline last month reported a first quarter 2012 after tax loss of RM171 million which is a 29 per cent improvement on the same period last year.

It was encouraging news measured against the fact that fuel costs are still rising and industry experts viewed the improvement as the first green shoots from the turnaround plan introduced by Chief Executive Ahmad Jauhari Yahya last year.

That plan involved off-loading loss making parts of the business and axing under-booked long haul routes where fuel is a large component of the fare.

This is again where the A380 can help because it is around 15 percent more fuel efficient per passenger than the 747.

Fuel was also one reason cited by Malaysia’s low cost success story AirAsia for axing its long haul routes to Europe, India and New Zealand earlier this year but now it too is spreading its wing again.

This week AirAsia Japan, a joint venture between All Nippon Airways and AirAsia Bhd, received its first aircraft.

It joins Thai AirAsia, Indonesia AirAsia and AirAsia Philippines in the skies above south-east Asia but the company’s high-profile Chief Executive Officer Tan Sri Tony Fernandes is making no secret of the fact his ultimate ambition is to see his aircraft above the world’s two most populous nations – China and India.

Right now he says Indian law stops him forming the joint-venture he needs to roll out his brand in that country, but there are signs that things could change in his favour and that could certainly help the ailing Indian industry.

The aviation sector there is struggling with mounting debts and pilot strikes. Of the six major airline operators in the country of 1.2 billion people, five are in the red.

It seems at least one lucky airline is set to benefit from Fernandes’ golden touch.

At home, Malaysian aviation is finally emerging from a long period of painful turbulence.

There are certainly more bumps ahead but there are also good signs that the ride is set to become smoother.