Troubled Malaysia Airlines will launch "aggressive" marketing campaigns in key markets, including Australia, as it battles to reverse its ailing fortunes.
The carrier, which suffered a RM2.52 billion (A$812m) loss in 2011, outlined a five-point plan to restore profitability by the end of the 2014 financial year.
In its annual report published yesterday, MAS said winning back customers was among its core aims, a task it said will be aided by the delivery of 23 new aircraft in 2012, including the A380.
That will reduce the age of its fleet from 12.2 to 7.7 years with the improvement in product “matched by service improvements”.
“This will be further supported by aggressive marketing campaigns in Malaysia and key markets such as the UK and Australia,” the airline said.
MAS also identified a “relentless cost focus”, strategic partnerships and a more streamlined route network as key targets.
Revenue from its Australia and New Zealand operations climbed 13.5% to RM1.5 billion (A$513m) in 2011 which accounted for 16.5% of MAS’s total route revenue, up from 14.8% the previous year.
Load factors climbed 0.9 percentage points to 79.6%, the only region to see growth.
Writing in the report, chairman Tan Sri Md Nor Md Yusof told shareholders that addressing them after such a loss was “difficult”.
“[But] it will be many times harder to deliver the turnaround,” he wrote. “How soon that may be achieved shall depend on several key factors, a few of which are not exactly under our control. However we would consider we have failed in our mission if a return to operational profitability is not achieved by the conclusion of the financial year 2014.”
