MALAYSIA AIRLINES
I REFER to your report “MAS having second thoughts about staff?” (Business Times, March 25). The story quotes MAS Employees Union (Maseu) president Alias Aziz as saying that it is in discussions with the company on whether there is really a need to downsize its workforce of 20,095.
It also indicates that Malaysia Airlines is short of pilots, cabin crew, aircraft engineers and ground operations staff. It is best left to Christoph Mueller, who comes on board MAS as the new chief executive officer on May 1, to decide on the course of action to be taken.
His appointment, which takes effect two months ahead of schedule, is, in itself, a move forward, a decision made by the MAS board and majority stakeholder Khazanah Nasional Berhad.
It will give Mueller more time for his task ahead. The move is not only seen as a matter of granting huge respect for the new boss, but also to give him time to understand better the airline’s financial standing, network, markets, potential and operational requirements — fleet and staff. What is even more important is the need for restructuring to turn the carrier around.
The accelerated leadership transition will enable Mueller to be involved in the overall restructuring of the airline. His wealth of experience in the European civil aviation industry is surely necessary here, and also on whether any of the MAS’ routes, Amsterdam, Frankfurt, Istanbul or Paris, should be axed. He should be given a free hand to run and manage the airline.
Mueller’s experience and knowledge of the complexities of the changing landscape of the aviation industry will surely contribute to the better management of MAS, strategically and operationally. It must be noted that MAS has, over the years, been over-staffed, and this has contributed significantly to its financial losses.
I hate to compare, but Singapore Airlines, with a massive global international network, has a fleet of 104 wide-body jetliners with a workforce of only 14,000. MAS has a similar size fleet comprising turboprops, narrow-body and 35 widebody aircraft, but with a workforce 1.5 times bigger.
This is the first time since MAS started operations on Oct 1, 1972, that a foreigner with experience in the civil aviation industry has been appointed to head it.
MAS has changed its CEO too frequently in the past and that, too, are those not from the aviation industry. The airline’s international network has shrunk considerably since 2000 with every restructuring exercise.
It is hoped that it will not shrink further.
William Dennis,
Subang Jaya, Selangor