Beleaguered carrier Malaysia Airlines has some rare good news to shout about with a rebound in passenger traffic on its Australia routes – thanks in part to rising tennis star Nick Kyrgios.
MAS credits the turnaround to partnerships with the Aussie tennis player and MasterChef favourite Poh Ling Yeo.
Australia passenger traffic grew 7.8% in February compared to the previous year, before the MH370 tragedy.
A competition fronted by Kyrgios offering the chance to win a business class trip to the Wimbledon Men’s Grand Final has been well received, said MAS regional senior vice president PK Lee.
"We’ve seen a leap in bookings," he said.
"This is our main market outside of Malaysia and connecting our continents is our ultimate goal. We have been flying in and out of Australia for more than 40 years and are committed to helping this region build closer ties with Asia for mutual benefit," Lee added.
There are still big challenges and tough decisions ahead for the airline as new CEO Christoph Mueller mulls a restructuring programme that will likely see several thousand lay-offs and the downsizing of its fleet.
"MAS needs to operate and use its fleet at an optimum level besides maximising revenue on the route it flies." The market needs to give Malaysia Airlines room to explore various options in determining the most viable strategy," Mueller said this week.
