Malaysia Airlines eyes greater reach in China with new routes, fleet revamp
Malaysia Aviation Group, parent company of Malaysia Airlines, plans to expand its presence in China by ramping up frequencies on core routes and launching direct services to second-tier cities over the next three years, said its top executive.
"Our Destination 2030 fleet plan will power this expansion," said Datuk Captain Izham Ismail, group managing director of MAG, adding that the group will continue to evaluate its future fleet options, including aircraft from Commercial Aircraft Corp of China Ltd, manufacturer of narrowbody aircraft C909 regional jet and C919.
As part of its fleet modernisation plan, the group recently acquired an additional 18 Boeing 737-8 aircraft, in addition to 12 Boeing 737-10 as part of phase two of its narrowbody fleet renewal.
MAG will gradually phase out the older generation Boeing 737-800 aircraft, aiming for a modernised narrowbody fleet of 55 Boeing 737-8 and 737-10 aircraft by 2030.
With MAG introducing new aircraft for regional sectors and deploying wide-body aircraft on longer sectors, he said these new generation jets will deliver superior fuel efficiency, enhanced reliability and greater comfort, enabling the company to serve more Chinese destinations at optimal frequency.
Malaysia Airlines currently operates to four cities in the Chinese mainland, namely Beijing; Shanghai; Guangzhou in Guangdong province; and Xiamen in Fujian province. The consistent demand from both inbound and outbound travelers has supported a robust 80 percent load factor across China routes in the first quarter, signaling a strong recovery in traffic and business momentum.
Highlighting that the new visa waiver policy between China and Malaysia has further unlocked significant travel demand, he said that MAG will scale its mainline network to key markets across the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, Australia, New Zealand and South Asia, solidifying Kuala Lumpur's role as a gateway to Asia and beyond, facilitating effortless one-stop transit.
To seize more market share, the company has strengthened its customer service teams by adding more Chinese-speaking staff and enhancing its presence in China through strategic partnerships.
"By leveraging the strength of our partners, we are able to provide our passengers with greater flexibility, convenience and reach across the region," he added.
For instance, MAG has expanded its codeshare agreement with China Southern Airlines, offering broader access to key cities across China. Its long-standing partnership with China's Xiamen Airlines also continues to provide passengers with convenient, single-ticket access to a wider domestic network, including second and third-tier cities.
Driven by the goal of meeting Chinese travelers' preferences, MAG has embarked on a wide-ranging digital transformation, combining technology and enhanced services, the executive said.
For example, Malaysia Airlines has been actively engaging with existing and potential clients on popular Chinese social media platforms such as WeChat, Weibo and RedNote, also known in China as Xiaohongshu.
Despite industry headwinds in 2024, MAG posted a profit of $12.35 million last year, showing enhanced financial resilience.
The group currently operates a fleet of 114 aircraft. It has an existing order for 25 Boeing 737-8 aircraft through a long-term lease with Air Lease Corp, with 11 already delivered and the rest scheduled for delivery by 2027. In addition, the company is advancing its widebody renewal with an order for 20 Airbus A330neo aircraft, three of which have already been delivered to date.
Boosted by deepening political and business ties, visa-free policy and the tangible growth of the Belt and Road Initiative, China and Malaysia will accelerate collaboration across both emerging and traditional sectors, including people-to-people exchanges, green technology and infrastructure connectivity in the years ahead, said Zhang Jianping, deputy director of the academic committee at the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation in Beijing. - China Daily/ANN
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Star
3 hours ago
- The Star
No love for Paris as Europe parties on
IN a year that's all about Europe, there's one key market missing out on all the investor love: France. The aftermath of President Emmanuel Macron's surprise decision last June to hold elections is still being felt in French assets. For stocks, the picture is made worse by anaemic demand for French luxury goods from previously high-spending Chinese shoppers. Billed as RM9.73 for the 1st month then RM13.90 thereafters. RM12.33/month RM8.63/month Billed as RM103.60 for the 1st year then RM148 thereafters. Free Trial For new subscribers only
The Star
6 hours ago
- The Star
Singapore's Lawrence Wong heads to China for first official visit as PM
This will be Prime Minister Lawrence Wong's first trip to China since taking office in May 2024. - Photo: ST file BEIJING: Prime Minister Lawrence Wong will make a five-day official visit to China from Sunday (June 22), where he will seek to chart the strategic direction of bilateral ties with Chinese leaders. This will be his first trip to China since taking office in May 2024. In Beijing, he is scheduled to meet the country's top three leaders — President Xi Jinping, Premier Li Qiang and National People's Congress chairman Zhao Leji. The trip will allow both sides to reaffirm their commitment to strengthening ties and is 'an opportunity for leaders to discuss bilateral issues as well as regional and global developments', the Prime Minister's Office said on June 22. The visit comes as Singapore and China mark the 35th anniversary of diplomatic relations. In 2023, they upgraded ties to an 'All Round High Quality Future Oriented Partnership'. PM Wong will also travel to Tianjin – a port city about 1.5 hours south-east of Beijing by car – to attend an event commonly known as 'Summer Davos'. He will take part in a dialogue with World Economic Forum (WEF) president Børge Brende. The official name for 'Summer Davos' is the WEF Annual Meeting of the New Champions. Although this is PM Wong's introductory visit to China in his new capacity as head of Singapore's fourth-generation leadership, he is returning to familiar ground. Since entering politics in 2011, he has visited China almost every year except during the Covid-19 pandemic. His previous China-related roles included co-chairing the Singapore-Sichuan Trade and Investment Committee and overseeing the Tianjin Eco-City when he was Minister for National Development. He last visited China in December 2023, when as Deputy Prime Minister he co-chaired the Joint Council for Bilateral Cooperation with Vice-Premier Ding Xuexiang. Following his appointment as Prime Minister in 2024, DPM Gan Kim Yong took over that role. Singapore has prioritised keeping ties with China warm through regular high-level engagements. Senior Minister Lee Hsien Loong visited China in November 2024 and met President Xi. Economic links between the two countries remain strong and mutually beneficial. China has been Singapore's largest goods trading partner for over a decade, accounting for about 13 per cent of the Republic's global goods trade in 2024. Singapore is China's largest foreign investor. For this trip to China, PM Wong will be joined by a new member of his Cabinet – Acting Minister for Transport and Senior Minister of State for Finance Jeffrey Siow – who entered politics in the May 2025 General Election. Another new face is Dr Syed Harun Alhabsyi, a former Nominated Member of Parliament who contested the 2025 GE as a People's Action Party candidate. He was appointed in May as Senior Parliamentary Secretary in the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of National Development, and will be sworn in later in 2025. Other members of PM Wong's delegation include Minister for Foreign Affairs Dr Vivian Balakrishnan, Minister for Sustainability and the Environment and Minister-in-charge of Trade Relations Grace Fu, and Senior Minister of State for Foreign Affairs and Home Affairs Sim Ann. After the official visit, PM Wong will be on leave on June 27, his office said. While he is away, DPM Gan, who is also Minister for Trade and Industry, will serve as Acting Prime Minister from June 22 to 25. Coordinating Minister for National Security and Minister for Home Affairs K. Shanmugam will take over from June 26 to 27. - The Straits Times/ANN
The Star
6 hours ago
- The Star
China urges US to ‘look at the whole picture' on tariffs to see true trade ties
The envoys of the world's two leading powers painted starkly different pictures of US-China ties, each offering a competing assessment of the state of their economic relations – as a recently agreed framework to ease trade tensions hung in limbo. Speaking at the US-China Business Council in Washington on Wednesday, Chinese ambassador Xie Feng called the trade relationship 'generally balanced' and tariffs on Chinese imports 'still unreasonably high', warning that the US goods deficit would not shrink while export controls, visa denials, and barriers to Chinese firms persist. 'We are willing to buy more from America,' Xie said, adding that 'unfortunately' the US had imposed 'strict restrictions on the exports of its most competitive products, such as semiconductors, and shut the door on Chinese enterprises, buyers, tourists and students who want to invest and spend in the US'. 'If one is reluctant to sell others what they want, how can it ever get its deficit reduced by exporting only products like soybeans and beef?' Since 2022, the US has steadily tightened restrictions on China's access to American technology over concerns it could fuel military advancements. These curbs intensified under US President Donald Trump's second term. However, earlier this month, the US agreed to ease some restrictions and allow Chinese students unhindered access to American universities in exchange for increased exports of critical minerals from China. Talks between the two sides in London produced a framework to implement the trade consensus reached in May in Geneva regarding Trump's new tariffs on Chinese imports – now reduced from 125 per cent to 55 per cent. Xie said the current US tariffs on China were 'still unreasonably high, will severely constrain and undercut bilateral trade and should be removed completely'. He added that it was 'unrealistic to try to block the flow of capital, technology and talents in a globalised world, if any country builds up barriers, these resources will naturally flow elsewhere'. Since June last year, the China-US trade has dropped by 8 per cent, while China's trade with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and EU countries grew by 9 per cent and 3 per cent, respectively compared to the same period last year. Meanwhile, David Perdue, America's newly posted ambassador to Beijing, said that trade should be a means by which sovereign nations provide benefits to their citizens, 'not an ideological goal to be pursued in favour of transforming the world'. He added that Trump's vision was to have a trading relationship with China based on reciprocity, fairness and respect, 'one of which the United States puts the American people first, just as China does for its own people'. 'Our mission in China is to do everything we can to make that vision happen and to make America safer, stronger and more prosperous,' Perdue emphasised, blaming unfettered globalisation for making US business 'overly dependent' on China for components, inputs, intermediate goods and even entire supply chains. 'Our economy cannot be so dependent on foreign supply chains that can be severed at any moment,' he said. Addressing US businesses' concerns about losing the Chinese market due to strained bilateral relations, Perdue said that the administration understands the 'risk of change' and 'we will be there to support you and protect you from unfair practices'. However, Xie urged the US to 'look at the whole picture' to see that 'the benefits our two countries have taken from bilateral trade are generally balanced'. 'Any selective reading of the statistics would be misleading,' he added. Xie said that focusing only on goods trade overlooked the US surplus in services, American firms' strong revenues in China, the heavy environmental and resource costs China has borne, and the fact that the 'Chinese people have chosen to spend much of the trade gains buying a large amount of US Treasury bonds'. After Japan and Britain, China is the third-largest holder of US Treasuries – government debt securities used to finance federal spending. In December last year, China's holdings fell to US$759 billion, the lowest level since February 2009, when they stood at US$744.2 billion. By March, China had slightly reduced its holdings again, to US$765.4 billion. The senior officials' remarks came weeks after the latest US-China trade talks in London. The meeting was believed to focus on semiconductors and critical minerals, areas in which Washington and Beijing hold significant leverage over each other, respectively. Yet neither Beijing nor Washington has released an official readout of the dialogue since the negotiations ended, hinting at considerable uncertainty. Delegations from both sides said the trade agreement would require approval from their leaders, US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping. Shortly after the negotiations, Trump on social media said a deal with Beijing was 'done', adding that China would supply full magnets and any necessary rare earths 'up front'. Beijing has yet to issue a comprehensive response regarding its take on the talks, nor has Xi commented on them publicly. Meanwhile, US investor sentiment towards China has declined sharply. According to a survey last month by the China General Chamber of Commerce-USA, nearly half of the more than 100 Chinese companies who responded said they planned to reduce their investment in the US. The shift was also evident last month at the Commerce Department-backed SelectUSA Investment Summit, where only about 50 Chinese delegates attended, down from roughly 180 in 2018. Xie's remarks also came against the backdrop of escalating tensions between Israel and Iran. The Jewish state last week launched air strikes on the Islamic Republic, targeting Iranian nuclear facilities amid ongoing nuclear talks between Washington and Tehran. Israel's strikes have led to the deaths of multiple Iranian army heads and nuclear professionals. In retaliation, Iran carried out air strikes against Israel, causing casualties in Tel Aviv. Trump has issued ambiguous messages about whether the US would join Israel in striking Iran, a prospect that has stirred divisions in Washington and among his own supporters. On social media, Trump claimed the US knew the exact location of Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, hinting at a possible assassination and calling on Tehran to surrender unconditionally. Tehran responded that it would not surrender. In China, Xi affirmed Beijing's willingness to mediate the crisis in a development anticipated by many as the country seeks greater visibility and sway in the Middle East. Foreign Minister Wang Yi has reached out to regional stakeholders, including his counterparts in Israel, Iran, Egypt and Oman. Wang has called for peace and condemned Israel's attacks. -- SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST
