KUALA LUMPUR (Aug 29): Malaysia Aviation Group Bhd (MAG) said the reduction in its network, following multiple disruptions to its services that took place in recent weeks, involves 20% of its capacity.

This involves services across the routes of its three airlines - Malaysia Airlines, Firefly and Amal - within Malaysia, as well as Asean, North Asia, Australia, New Zealand, Greater China, South Asia and the Middle East.

MAG group managing director Datuk Captain Izham Ismail said the global shortage of aircraft parts has affected the on-time delivery of its new aircraft orders, which, in turn, has impacted its fleet planning.

"In 2024, MAG was scheduled to receive 17 new aircraft orders as part of our fleet modernisation programme and support our growth requirements. However, to date, MAG has only received four Boeing 737-8 aircraft out of the 13 contractually agreed by 2024.

"For the Airbus A330neo, MAG was scheduled to receive four aircraft but is now expected to receive three by the end of the year as committed by Airbus," he said in a statement on Thursday.

The first A330neo - which is expected to be a game-changer for the airline - is due for delivery next month.

MAG's current fleet comprises 42 737-800 NGs, four 737-800s, 21 A330s and seven A350s. MAG also operates a fleet of 17 ATR 72-500s and 72-600s through Firefly and MASwings.

Izham also said that the group has experienced attrition of a skilled workforce as new maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) players, both local and international, have entered the Malaysian market.

"To address this, we are collaborating with partners to augment our manpower and increase our skilled engineering workforce and we have improved remuneration packages to sustain a strong talent pipeline for MAG," he added.

Izham said the group's operational difficulties have been compounded by global shortages due to a lack of resources that are causing delays in the production of spare parts by aircraft and parts manufacturers (OEMs).

"This has led to longer turnaround times for engine overhauls and repairs, including for the MAG fleet, which relies on external partners for these services, resulting in lack of engines for our operations."

MAG is now working closely with its stakeholders, including regulators and OEMs, to effectively address operational challenges and ensure timely and reliable delivery of spare parts - encompassing adequate and high-quality spares and a robust aircraft maintenance programme.

"We apologise and understand the frustration this has brought to our customers, and wish to assure that our team is working diligently to provide affected customers with compensation options available which include flight reallocations, and full refunds without any penalty charges. Due to the increased traffic we are experiencing at our global contact centre, we encourage passengers to use the ‘My Booking’ feature on our website for quicker service and to check the status of their flights," said Izham.

He added that the group is fully committed to ensuring safe and reliable operations and remains steadfast in focusing its efforts towards stabilising its operations, amid backlash over flight cuts it has made following multiple disruptions to its services that took place in recent weeks.

On Wednesday, Transport Minister Anthony Loke announced that CAAM had cut the validity of national carrier Malaysia Airlines’ air operator's certificate (AOC) from three years to one year after a probe into the technical issues the state-owned carrier faced recently.

The move was to ensure that the airline complies with the mitigation plan that was announced by MAG on Saturday to address flight disruption issues that was identified by CAAM during its June 24-28 audit, he had said.

MAG's mitigation plan includes enhancing aircraft security, aggressive  recruitment of skilled workers, reducing reliance on third-party maintenance, repair and overhaul or MRO services, and securing a reliable supply of engine spare parts from original equipment manufacturers.

This after Malaysia Airlines hit a series of technical issues affecting hundreds of passengers and raising safety concerns, with the latest taking place on Aug 21, when a flight from Kuala Lumpur to Shanghai was reportedly forced to turn back to home base shortly after taking off, due to cabin pressure issues.

On Aug 19, a Malaysia Airlines flight from Melbourne to Kuala Lumpur diverted to Alice Springs Airport in Australia due to a technical issue.

Earlier this month, a Malaysia Airlines flight en route from London to Kuala Lumpur was diverted to Doha, Qatar, due to a technical issue encountered during cruising. The carrier also encountered technical issues with its flight en route to Jeddah before that, which resulted in the aircraft having to turn back to Kuala Lumpur.

"While it (reduction in capacity) is a difficult decision, our focus is to prioritise customers first, ensuring we can deliver credible flight schedules and ensure the best possible customer experience moving forward," said Izham.

"As air travel returned to normalcy with airlines globally restoring capacity into the market, we had been managing our schedules proactively to mitigate post-pandemic challenges including supply chain disruptions. We made the decision to carefully restore our capacity taking into consideration the speed of supply chain support," he said.

"I wish to reiterate that these steps, while difficult, are necessary to ensure safe and reliable operations moving forward. We thank our customers and seek their understanding and patience while we resolve the issues. We look forward to serving you better," he added. 

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