Azahar Hamid and Nur Shaffik Haris
Contributors are not employed, compensated or governed by TD, opinions and statements are from the contributor directly
The recommencement of Malaysia Airlines services from Dubai, highlights the airline’s strategy for the region. Travel Daily Middle East talks to Azahar Hamid, regional senior vice president – South Asia and Middle East and Nur Shaffik Haris, general manager – UAE & Gulf about the plans ahead…
Having recommenced operations from Dubai, what are the plans for the coming months?
Our focus having recommence operations will be not just Dubai but also other regions. Our options are open to expand into others markets too. We would like to capitalise in potential markets considering our network to the Far East and Australia. We are of the opinion that it is a good opportunity and time to start now. We are also optimistic of making the current daily to a double daily in due time.
What is going to be your strategy to boost awareness?
The industry is aware of the Malaysian Airlines. Our main objective now will be to highlight the new offerings. We have a much more superior product than before and our network is very vast. We would also like to promote our alliance with OneWorld which provides more connectivity options for travellers. Our fleet has also expanded, we now have six A380s flying the European route. We will be using the Boeing 777 for the Middle East route until the end of this year. This aircraft will then be replaced with a new and bigger model.
How is Malaysia Airlines looking at marketing the product?
We would have a direct approach with the trade and have already begun working on it. Our online medium has also witnessed some growth. However, the stronger markets for online bookings is Malaysia receiving more than 30% directly, followed by India which is 10-12%. We are certainly witnessing a shift in booking patterns, wherein people are now booking online directly. This would primarily be the younger generation who prefer a direct approach. Nonetheless, the trade will always remain vital to our marketing strategy.
What is the airline’s passenger mix?
We have yet to analyse traveller mix from the Middle East. The India market has a higher percentage of leisure travellers which amounts to around 50-60%. This is further supported by a good MICE movement too from the region. Business traffic is also doing well. Cities such as Mumbai and Bangalore are doing well while also have a lot of VFR (Visiting Friends and Relatives) traffic from Chennai.
Do we see a boost in frequencies?
Our plan and focus for the next couple of months is Dubai and Kochi. As we get new aircraft, we will be looking at new routes within the India and Middle East market. Our aim is to increasing capacities instead of deploying bigger aircraft. Malaysia has a good appeal from the Arab countries. We would also like to promote our connectivity and frequencies within the ASEAN region.
Could you elaborate on your fleet expansion?
We have replaced the A330 and the Boeing 777 is also being phased out gradually. We target that by 2016, the average age of our aircraft will be around 5.5 years. We are looking at a good mix of both Airbus and Boeing aircraft.
Which are the airline’s top performing markets globally?
In terms of revenue generation, it would be the trunk routes which go right from Australia to Europe. However, in terms of numbers, the growing markets are China and India. The Indian market is growing very fast so also is the South Asian region. There is huge traffic from India to Kuala Lumpur and further to Sydney. India for us is a key market and we have also seen a lot of growth of passengers traveling to Australia.
Comments are closed.