Malaysia Aviation Group (MAG) managing director Izham Ismail is a man with a mission. This was clear when he spoke at the launch of the Malaysia Airlines MATTA Fair, running until Sunday 7th September 2025 at MITEC, Kuala Lumpur. Like other Malaysian carriers, the Group has faced five years of headwinds during the pandemic with border closures and supply chain issues being close to the top of causes. Sourcing new aircraft and parts for servicing have been major dampeners as well as the increasing need for staff at all levels, where poaching has been an issue. There is light at the end of the tunnel, however, with the latest report from Malaysia’s Civil Aviation Authority (CAAM) indicating that the local industry has almost reached full recovery.
New aircraft to increase routes
Izham Ismail was pleased to confirm that has Malaysia Airlines Bhd has regained its three-year air operator certificate, which was reduced to one year in 2024 as a result of on-going operational difficulties largely attributable to supply chain issues.
…. We have already taken delivery of six A330neos and 14 Boeing 737-8s as part of our fleet modernisation programme.
…. These aircraft will strengthen our competitiveness and deliver a more consistent experience for our customers.
He added that with the new Boeing 737 MAX8 aircraft and the Airbus 330 aircraft, Malaysia Airlines will operate a modern fleet of 116 aircraft to service 106 existing, new and returning destinations across Asia, the Middle East, Europe and beyond by 2035. On-time performance has also improved considerably.
These new aircraft will reduce the fleet’s average age to seven years, a sharp improvement from the current average of twelve years, enabling the airline to compete with leading premium airlines in the Asia Pacific region, serving high-demand regional routes and key global corridors.
With Chengdu rejoining the network lineup next January and flights to Brisbane due to begin on 27th November, using the current and new aircraft the airline will be operating 310 flights a day by the last quarter of this year. Izham confirmed that Australian routes will be serviced by the new A330neo aircraft.
Izham tempered his positivity, noting that while MAG recorded positive financial momentum in the first half of 2025, with net income after tax improving by 39% compared with the same period last year, there is a need to temper expectations.
…. We have huge ambitions but we must be careful in managing our funds. We can’t splash all our money to end up where we were 10 years ago.
…… This was driven by a stronger ringgit, favourable fuel prices, and the efficiency of our new aircraft.
Firefly adds three more routes
Following the move of Firefly B737 services to KLIA earlier this year, the sister airline will add three new destinations, Siem Reap, Cebu and Krabi in November. This will streamline connections for Malaysia Airlines passengers wishing to connect through to these destinations.
Both Malaysia Airlines and Firefly will increase flight frequencies to several international destinations. These include domestic destinations, as well as Australia and New Zealand, China, South Asia and Singapore.
Izham also noted that the expansion to Chengdu was supported by the recent introduction of mutual visa-free entry between Malaysia and China, and that they have already sold 20,000 seats for Chengdu. This suggests they can hope for a strong load factor of approximately 90%.
However, the expansion plans do not foresee Malaysia Airlines resuming flights to North America for the next five years because of financial constraints and the region remains connected for their customers through its code-sharing network.
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