Turbulent times for Malaysia Airlines as flight U-turns, talent troubles soar

For self-confessed “superfan” Amiruddin Ramli, Malaysia Airlines used to epitomise hope for the future. He remembers growing up in the flag carrier’s 1990s heyday when national pride soared alongside Asia’s burgeoning aviation industry. A recent string of troubling incidents, however, has shaken that faith to its core. “Malaysia Airlines has been my go-to for a long time, but when looking for tickets for my upcoming trip to Jakarta, I told my wife that maybe we should fly with someone else,” he told This Week in Asia. Fresh from announcing its return to profitability after a decade of losses, Malaysia Airlines now faces renewed scrutiny. A series of aircraft problems has forced the airline to slash flights and routes, dampening its plans to reopen European services. The latest setback came on September 11, when a Boeing 737 bound for Bali had to return to Kuala Lumpur shortly after take-off. This marked the sixth such incident since August, raising alarms about the airline’s safety record, already tarnished by the tragic losses of flights MH370 and MH17 in 2014, which together claimed 537 lives. Recounting a recent domestic flight from Penang to Kuala Lumpur with Malaysia Airlines, Amiruddin expressed new-found anxiety – particularly when he learned that he would be aboard a Boeing 737 Max 8. This model was grounded worldwide for more than 600 days from 2019 due to two fatal crashes linked to a software issue that together killed 346 people. The weight of past tragedies, combined with ongoing engineering troubles, has darkened his once-bright nostalgia for the airline. “It’s the pitfalls of being an aviation geek; you know too much and you’re spooked,” he said. On August 26, the airline announced a temporary 20 per cent reduction in flights, cutting popular routes to destinations including Bangkok, Bali, Jakarta, Osaka, Shanghai and Singapore. In the face of criticism, Izham Ismail, group managing director of parent organisation Malaysia Aviation Group, defended the airline’s actions, emphasising that passenger safety must come first. In a September 16 interview with The Business Times, he attributed the airline’s troubles to original-equipment manufacturers, who he claimed were responsible for the shortages of crucial aircraft components. “Do I wait until the engine collapses? I don’t,” Izham, a former pilot for the airline, told the newspaper. “So I have to put a hard stop. When I put a hard stop, the aircraft cannot fly.” Since taking the helm in 2016, Izham has faced numerous challenges, including troubling trends in aircraft performance. He noted that engines that are designed for up to 21,000 on-off cycles are now exhibiting premature wear and signs of fatigue as early as 18,000 cycles. Global demand for aircraft maintenance has also created a shortage of available slots at maintenance, repair and overhaul facilities, exacerbating the airline’s difficulties, he said – adding that it was unfair for him to be criticised for taking proactive measures. The challenges facing the airline are not unique. Its code-sharing partner, Cathay Pacific, recently grounded all of its Airbus A350 planes after an engine component failure was identified on a flight to Zurich. Engineers wanted Malaysia Airlines has garnered some sympathy for its swift handling of recent issues, even as its bottom line inevitably took a hit from the culling of a quarter of its routes. But according to aviation analyst Shukor Yusof of Endau Analytics, many of the airline’s struggles are self-inflicted. “Prior to 2017, there were five CEOs in 15 years,” he told This Week in Asia, contrasting this instability with the steady leadership seen at successful carriers Emirates, Qatar Airways and Singapore Airlines, which “had the same bosses for over a decade”. The airline’s turbulent history includes the brief but impactful tenure of Christoph Mueller, who joined in 2015. Under his leadership, Malaysia Airlines slashed one-third of its 20,000-strong workforce – including many skilled engineers – and sold off strategic assets before he departed after just 17 months, citing “changing personal circumstances”. The repercussions of these decisions are still being felt today, industry insiders told This Week in Asia. Former Malaysia Airlines engineer Xavier* described the snowball effect of workforce reductions on the engineering sector. “Although all apprenticeship programmes across the industry were interrupted by Covid, creating a backlog, Malaysian aviation experienced double the effect because no large company like Malaysia Airlines could accept and train new engineers,” he said. “Smaller companies have no capacity to accept, supervise and train quality engineers.” This Week in Asia has reached out to Malaysia Airlines for comment. Many former engineers from Malaysia Airlines have sought opportunities abroad, finding positions with Gulf carriers such as Etihad, Emirates, Kuwait Airways, Saudia, and Oman Air. Others have relocated to Indonesia, Singapore and Hong Kong, expanding their horizons in an increasingly competitive market. Back home, competition has intensified as companies like AirFrance Industrie and KLM Engineering and Maintenance have rehired former Malaysia Airlines engineers. The recent entry of Singapore Airlines Engineering Company (SIAEC) into the Malaysian market has also drawn public criticism for actively recruiting Malaysia Airlines talent. Former minister Khairy Jamaluddin, now a prominent government critic through his podcast Keluar Sekejap, described Malaysia Airlines as a casualty of “unintended circumstances” amid the government’s push to attract maintenance companies to the country. Increased competition had directly led to the airlines losing licensed aircraft engineers, he said on his podcast in early September, adding: “When SIAEC comes in, what do you think will happen? They will offer higher salaries because their income is in Singapore dollars.” Other lawmakers have gone further, accusing the government of undermining Malaysia Airlines by permitting its rivals to operate within the nation’s borders. Opposition lawmaker Wan Ahmad Fayhsal said Malaysian Transport Minister Anthony Loke “should have defended Malaysia Airlines first by imposing strict conditions on SIAEC”. “However, the opposite happened,” he wrote on Facebook. “Is he the minister of transport of Malaysia or Singapore?” Both Malaysia Airlines and Singapore Airlines trace their roots back to Malayan Airways, which was founded in 1946. When Singapore separated from Malaysia in 1963, the airlines evolved into Malaysia–Singapore Airlines before eventually becoming two distinct entities. Analysts argue that talent poaching is a standard industry practice and should not serve as an excuse for the weaknesses within the country’s aviation ecosystem. Although Malaysia’s aviation industry is often seen as one of the strongest in Southeast Asia, analyst Shukor highlighted a troubling culture of complacency, incompetence and inconsistency. “These attributes can be found in many places in the industry, especially with the regulators and flag carriers,” he said. “The government must ensure that people who are impartial, have integrity and have international experience are in key positions, including on the board of the national airline, transport ministry and regulatory agencies.” *Name changed to protect interviewee’s identity

Turbulent times for Malaysia Airlines as flight U-turns, talent troubles soar

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}With competition heating up, the airline’s efforts to rebound have been hindered by mechanical failures and an exodus of engineers

With competition heating up, the airline’s efforts to rebound have been hindered by mechanical failures and an exodus of engineers