PETALING JAYA: Malaysia Aviation Group (MAG) will improve cooperation with its partners as well as employee remuneration in an effort to address recent issues plaguing its operations, says group managing director Datuk Capt Izham Ismail.
MAG operates Malaysia Airlines (MAS), Firefly, MASwings and Amal (the haj and umrah pilgrimage arm of MAS).
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Izham said global shortages due to a lack of resources are causing delays in the production of spare parts by manufacturers.
“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. This has resulted in a lack of engines for our operations,” he said, adding that MAG has maintained the quality of its maintenance work through more financially costly internal and external management.
He said the global shortage of parts has also affected the on-time delivery of MAG’s new aircraft.
“By 2024, MAG was scheduled to receive 17 new aircraft as part of our fleet modernisation programme to support our growth requirements.
“However, to date, MAG has only received four Boeing 737-8 aircraft out of the 13 contractually agreed to by 2024.
“MAG was also scheduled to receive four A330neo aircraft but is only expected to receive three by the end of the year as committed by Airbus,” he said in a statement yesterday.
Izham said MAG will work closely with its stakeholders, including regulators and original equipment manufacturers, to help deal with the operational challenges plaguing the industry.
He also acknowledged that MAG had experienced an attrition of its skilled workforce as new maintenance, repair and overhaul industry competitors, both local and international, entered the local market.
“To address this, we are collaborating with our partners to augment and increase our skilled engineering workforce while also improving our remuneration packages to sustain a strong talent pipeline for MAG,” he said.
Recognising the frustrations of MAG customers lately, Izham gave his assurance that the group will provide customers affected by service disruptions with the necessary compensation.
“This will include flight reallocations and full refunds without any penalty charges.
“We also encourage passengers to use the ‘My Booking’ feature on our website for quicker service and to check the status of their flights as our global contact centre is experiencing increased traffic,” he added.
