KUALA LUMPUR: The government is open to suggestions on the recovery strategies for Malaysia Airlines, either a complete takeover with the airline's name changed, or an acquisition but have its name retained, the Dewan Rakyat was told today.
Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad said despite successes and improvement in services and customer satisfaction, the national carrier was still recording losses due to external and internal factors.
He added that the government is also looking at other ways, including forging strategic cooperation with other airlines, as part of efforts to save Malaysia Airlines.
One such cooperation was the memorandum of understanding (MoU) signing between Malaysia Airlines and Japan Airlines, as part of efforts to improve passenger services, Dr Mahathir said in reply to a question by Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamed (PH-Jeli) on the government's plan to revive Malaysia Airlines Bhd's (MAB) performance.
The MoU was signed in May, and the collaboration will start in 2020.
"Japan Airlines had also previously faced similar problems due to competition from low-cost carriers, but it had since managed to recover.
"We are also looking at a wider scope including sharing of best practices, cargo services and cooperation in tourism," he added.