MASTER OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION

ONLINE DISTANCE LEARNING

MANAGEMENT INFORMATION SYSTEM

(MPIS7103)
ASSIGNMENT 1

PREPARED FOR
MRS.GODISWARY D/O PARAMASIVAM

PREPARED BY
Kamalanathan A/L Elangoban 201901D50010
Eveleen A/P Earthiam 201901D50007
Ayisha Thahirah Abdullah 201901D50006
Banumathi A/P Krishnan 201901D50009

SUBMISSION DATE
16TH JUNE 2019
 Table of Contents

1. Introduction......................................................................................................................................2
1.1 Business Background.............................................................................................................2
1.2 Current Situation...................................................................................................................3
1.3 SWOT Analysis.......................................................................................................................4
1.3.1 Strengths........................................................................................................................4
1.3.2 Weaknesses...................................................................................................................4
1.3.3 Opportunities.................................................................................................................5
1.3.4 Threat............................................................................................................................5
2. Key Areas to Improve / Change........................................................................................................6
2.1 Organization Framework & Structure....................................................................................6
2.2 Competitive Strategies...........................................................................................................7
2.3 Alliances.................................................................................................................................8
3. Improving the Business..................................................................................................................10
3.1 Adapting MIS.......................................................................................................................10
3.2 Decision Support System in Pricing Analysis........................................................................11
3.3 Edging the Promotional Measures.......................................................................................14
4. Conclusion......................................................................................................................................16
5. References......................................................................................................................................17

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1. Introduction

The requirement of this assignment is to evaluate an existing business towards improvement

by applying concepts and IS models into a real-life scenario. Malaysia Airlines Berhad has
been chosen for this assignment. The tool that used to evaluate the business is SWOT
analysis.

1.1 Business Background

Malaysia Airlines Berhad (MAB), formerly known as Malaysian Airline System (MAS),
branded as Malaysia Airlines, is an airline operating flights from Kuala Lumpur International
Airport and from secondary hubs in Kota Kinabalu and Kuching to destinations throughout
Asia, Oceania and Europe. Malaysia Airlines is the flag carrier of Malaysia and a member of
the Oneworld airline alliance. The company headquarters are located at Kuala Lumpur
International Airport. In August 2014, the Malaysian government's sovereign wealth fund
Khazanah Nasional which then owned 69.37% of the airline, announced its intention to
purchase remaining ownership from minority shareholders and de-list the airline from
Malaysia's stock exchange, thereby renationalising the airline. Malaysia Airlines owns two
subsidiary airlines: Firefly and MASwings. Firefly operates scheduled flights from its two
home bases Penang International Airport and Subang International Airport. The airline
focuses on tertiary cities. MASwings focuses on inter-Borneo flights. Malaysia Airlines has a
freighter fleet operated by sister company MASkargo, which manages freighter flights and
aircraft cargo-hold capacity for all Malaysia Airlines' passenger flights. Malaysia Airlines
traces its history to Malayan Airways Limited, which was founded in Singapore in the 1930s
and flew its first commercial flight in 1947. It was then renamed as Malaysian Airways after
the formation of the Federation of Malaysia in 1963. In 1966, after the Independence of
Singapore Agreement 1965, the airline was renamed Malaysia–Singapore Airlines (MSA),
before its assets were divided in 1972 to form two separate national airlines, Malaysian
Airline System (MAS, since renamed as Malaysia Airlines) and Singapore Airlines.
According to Malaysia Airline Annual Report on 2012, incredible loss of RM 481,457,000
was hit after the loss on 2011 which was two billion. This shows the in-capabilities of

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management in Malaysia Airlines to manage the company. Therefore, the management needs
to be rearranged and restructured. Besides financial struggles, Malaysia Airlines are facing
more competitors in the industry such as AirAsia. To overcome this challenge, Malaysia
Airlines tried to upkeep with their competitors by providing high quality of services in order
to win customer’s heart and loyalty so that they could have stable coming back customers.

1.2 Current Situation

According to an article by The Straits Times, Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad
told reporters he's studying whether to sell, shut down or refinance Malaysia Airlines Bhd,
the troubled national carrier.

"I love MAS. I want it to be a (great) national carrier. But it seems that we cannot
sustain it," Dr Mahathir

https://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2019/03/20/dr-m-i-love-mas-but-it-seems-like-we-
cant-afford-it/ – (APPENDIX 1)

The above statements clearly show the downfall of what was regarded the finest national
carrier in the region in the 90’s.

So where did it all start? Back in mid-1940, the establishment of the concept of a flag carrier
by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), a United Nations regulator.
Connections to major political and economic cities would enable the country to attract
attention, trade and foreign investment. In other words, it was literally to stamp one's country
on the map: Flying a successful airline with high standards of service was excellent
marketing for several emerging countries to boost their economy. Not all were profitable
though, and by the mid-1990s, problems had started to surface. A poorly executed plan to
privatize the airline resulted in the carrier with debt that became a crushing burden after the
Asian Financial Crisis.

Between 2001, when the Government reclaimed its ownership, and 2014, the year of the
MH370 and MH17 disasters, the government injected RM17.4 billion into the struggling
flagship carrier to cover its losses. The 2014 restructuring and privatization required an
additional RM6 billion which failed for one central reason: Malaysia Airlines remains a state-
owned flag carrier, slow-moving and burdened by political expectations.

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In 2018, the perpetually money-losing airline accounted for about half of the US$1.5 billion
in losses suffered by its parent, Khazanah Nasional Bhd., Malaysia's sovereign wealth fund.
At a time when low-cost airlines offer a perfectly adequate and more competitive alternative,
the government has come to a point to rethink whether the country really needs a national
airline.

1.3 SWOT Analysis

1.3.1 Strengths

 Strong brand image (well-known airlines across the world)

 Strong backing from Malaysian Government. After filing the bankruptcy, Malaysia
Airlines was bailed out by Khazanah Nasional and rebuilt as Malaysia Airlines
Berhad (MAB)
 Strong workforce with more than 20,000 employees
 Cover more than 60 routes internationally and domestically with the fleet size of 97
aircrafts and have a broad network of destination
 Recognition – has won on a lot of prestigious awards for its cabin crew assistance
and in-flight experience
 Offer high quality services to their customers which also offers multiple range of
meal during the flight

1.3.2 Weaknesses

 High operating cost such as the landing cost and airport tax
 War price with AirAsia as they are dominating the low-cost carrier market
 Frequent change of business model and Senior Management with less Airline
experience
 Relying heavily on the international routes which are not revenue-making and
with low demand
 Limited market growth domestically, especially after AirAsia entered the market
 Weak financial status especially after having a loss of about RM 1.3 Billion in
2005
 MAB suffered trust issue after the crisis of MH370 and MH17

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  Strong employee union preventing change

1.3.3 Opportunities

 The launch of Firefly is to compete in the low-cost carrier market

 Expand their services in the Asia Pacific region as there is a trend of increasing
traveller from China and Japan
 Increase their cargo services
 Increase more international routes to highly demand destination
 Rejuvenated fleet
 Improved entertainment on-board

1.3.4 Threat

 Have no control on the highly fluctuating fuel price

 The fast emergence of low-cost airlines
 Highly intense competition with other airlines in the region such as Singapore
International Airways, Cathay Pacific Airways and Garuda Indonesia Airways
 Competing with other well-known airlines company such as Emirates and Etihad
Airways
 Changing government policies and regulation of regulatory bodies
 Terrorism activities and political unrest
 Political unrest could also have an adverse effect on airlines - in 2008, Thailand's
yellow shirts political demonstrators shut down the main international airport -
flights were not able to land in Bangkok - MAS were severely affected by this
event as Bangkok is one of its profitable routes in Asia

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2. Key Areas to Improve / Change

2.1 Organization Framework & Structure

There are several areas that need improvements within the organisational framework of MAS
in it. These organizational structures usually would enable organizations to have someone
accountable for decision making, creation of seamless operations between people of various
departments, create a chain of command and also to give the employees someone to be
answerable and responsible to. There are several types of organisations frameworks
entrepreneurial, bureaucratic, divisional, matrix namely and each have their own pros and
cons depending on the type of business and the way it is used effectively to ensure the whole
organizations benefits from the said structure.

In view of this MAS adopts the Bureaucratic or Hierarchical organisational structure,

whereby the board of directors have the highest level of authority is followed through or
down to the various departments and its employees, there are a many level of hierarchy
denoting the status and importance of personnel. Having a narrow organisation structure
means that most of the time information may not be able to disseminate effectively and on a
timely manner as there are too many layers to pass.

However, in an article dated 3rd July by The New Straits Times, MAS has taken a flatter
management structure approach by having 8 divisions, whereby previously they had eleven
divisions and the heads report directly to the CEO.
(https://www.thestar.com.my/business/business-news/2015/07/03/mueller-unveils-a-flat-mas-
structure/Friday, 3 Jul 2015; by B.K. Sidhu)

This is an advantage in the sense that decision making and accountability becomes more
transparent.

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2.2 Competitive Strategies

What can be improved in order for the company to stay in the market amongst its
competitors? Strategies to analyse and consider would be to focus more on what customer
wants and how that can be improvised from time to base on customers’ feedback. MAS
would need to take a new approach by identifying the factors that would attract new and
retain existing customers.

MAS need to either do better or at least try to be at par with its main rivals namely, Cathay
Pacific Airways, Singapore International Airlines and Garuda Indonesia Airlines, and in the
local market is Air Asia. Malaysian Airlines must first improve areas in personnel and
financial issue. Many low-cost airlines are in competition with MAS that tend to dominate
the local market as customers choose to travel at an affordable cost maybe due to the distance
and also that it is domestic, this is the reason why Air Asia dominates the domestic market.
This in turn created a competitive advantage for Air Asia that is beginning to cover more
routes across most Asian destinations such as China, India and other countries.

Improvement in terms of personnel also need to be looked into whereby each staff need to
contribute towards achieving the company objectives and goals and this must be a team effort
instead of having certain divisions concentrate towards goal achievements whilst the rest of
the divisions have minimal contribution or some aren’t even aware of an even of upcoming
plans that the company have lined up.

https://www.nst.com.my/news/2016/05/145836/malaysia-airlines-sticks-strategies; May 16,

2016 ; By CHERYL YVONNE ACHU

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2.3 Alliances

In line with its Business Turnaround Plan (BTP), there is around 220 projects that would be
executed for improvements to be seen in the organisation. The national carrier is looking
forward to implement its new passenger service system that will help cut cost and drive
revenue, as well as extend its customer reach. They also are considering to be re-listed on the
KLSE (Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange) once all possibilities and readiness of is carefully
planned and looked into.

To remain in the market, MAS has to position themselves in a strategic position; neither a
low cost nor a luxurious carrier, hence they have to concentrate and focus on being a
premium airline. Addition of new routes to different countries could be an advantage
especially in huge potential countries in the aviation industry such as China and India (could
be secondary terminals/airports).

A collaboration with a great carrier or airline would be a good decision to think of as this
would help build all areas that MAS or currently known as Malaysia Airlines Berhad (MAB)
is currently lacking in as the other company would be able to chare best practices and how
they are dealing with their current operations. Since the collaboration with Air Asia may not
seem to be a wholesome one, another option would be a collaboration with Singapore
Airlines (SIA). Many years back they used to be a joint company called MSA (Malaysia-
Singapore Airlines) but ceased operations after each country decided to set up own carriers in
their countries. MAB would become more cost effective as the merger would help to remove
a lot of costs. In addition to this. The merger would also be an improvement toward the
scheduling, destinations routes, and also a relocation of assets can be optimised as well.
https://www.theedgemarkets.com/article/malaysia-airlines-and-singapore-airlines-should-
merge-says-maybank-aviation-analyst; May 10, 2019; Liew Jia Teng

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Why a merger with SIA, the answer would be that SIA is considered one of the most
innovative airlines today and is renowned not only with their great facilities and operations
and planning structures but also the fact of the lasting customer experience that is given to
their passengers. In this rapid development era, gone are the days of customer satisfaction,
but the experience and the WOW effect that the customer experienced throughput their
journey is one to be critically analysed. A great customer experience in itself would
definitely be a good marketing tool as the word of mouth is one the best marketing tools
currently.
Two main factors to consider SIA is that, they use the latest planes. They were the first to use
the Boeing 747 and have recently starting deploying the new A350-900ULR between
Singapore and New York. Usage of new planes give more comfort and confidence to
passengers also better in performance and technology. SIA tend to have a flexible and young
fleet (under 10 years) so they can buy or lease new planes hence increase their competitive
advantage in the market.

Secondly, a great and innovative customer experience – they were the first airline to have
satellite communications for passengers, on-demand seatback entertainment screens for
economy and business class suites on board their A380.

By being the first in many areas, there is also great potential that there are many more areas
that they can become number one in the future, hence a merger with MAB is worthwhile as
both companies would have benefit in respective areas. Although MAB is not doing so not,
they are still considered to be a full airline and they would able to share knowledge from the
Malaysian market with SIA. https://simpleflying.com/how-singapore-airlines-became-the-
worlds-best-airline/; November 25, 2018; by Nicholas Cummins &
https://www.nst.com.my/business/2018/02/339543/malaysia-airlines-reorganise-its-
corporate-structure; February 27, 2018; By Alzahrin Alias

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3. Improving the Business

3.1 Adapting MIS

Just like any other industry, the aviation industry could very much use the models of and
activities of MIS to utilise its functions to gain the economic advantages. discuss MIS
applications in first service and hospitality industries.

The main function of airlines is to transport people and goods from one location to the other
location safely on time. The expectations and perceptions about the unique service are
beyond the practical function of carrying people and property on time. The main factor that
contributes to good service are schedule, convenience, prices, seat comfort, meal quality,
treatment by the crew and the ground staff, the facilities at the airport, etc. Another set of
people has a perception of the unique service, which falls into before and after the traveling
period. A unique service means assistance in the travel arrangement, arranging the hotel
accommodation, surface transport to and from the airport, etc. While the other set of people
believes that a unique service means solving the passengers’ problems immediately at the
front desk with no hassle of moving from counter to counter or taking additional effort to get
the issue solved by the passengers themselves. The MIS applications in the airline’s industry
would be towards supporting all decisions, which affects the objective of offering a
distinctive service to the passenger having different expectations and perceptions. They
concentrate on the process and the outcome of the service. The service goals could be for
example; One complaint per 100,000 passengers or high percentage occupancy to conclude
that the schedules are convenient.

The MIS, therefore, will concentrate on the following information to make the managerial
and the operative decisions to achieve the service goals.

 Passenger Information and expectations on the service before and after the journey.
 The type, class, purpose of travel and the socio-economic group.

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 The duration of stay at the destination.
 The language and communication needs.
 The traffic flow between towns, cities, and countries, and the emerging/future pattern of
travel.
 Information as regards the flight schedules/punctuality records/fares/ add-on services for
competing airlines.

It has been seen that many airlines are doing constant research and development in the
technologies which have a prime aim to improve customer satisfaction and provide better
services to the customer. Huge investments are also being made in this area which has a lot of
scope of improvement.
Example of such service can be self- checking kiosks, in-flight entertainment and
connectivity, check-in via mobile phones, airport and baggage management services.
Currently what can be seen as the prime objective of the airlines is: Optimizing revenues
while maximizing customer relationships.

3.2 Decision Support System in Pricing Analysis

Data warehouse, as an element of MIS system, would incorporate historical, current, and
future airfare information such as price, rules, flight information, fare class, where the sale
originates, etc.

Modeling database would include profit management forecasting with the following
decisions:

 What price should be set for the next sold ticket; using marginal calculus models

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 What combination of prices will bring an optimal profit/revenue for each flight; using
optimization and simulation models

MIS itself uses all price changes as in input, and converts them – using all three supporting
elements (DW, MD, and KB) – into new airfares. A well-designed MIS allows for fast access
to relevant data, correct pricing decisions, and effective distribution of pricing changes to
travel agents, web sites, local airline offices, etc. All three elements are critical to a successful
pricing strategy and its implementation.

Pricing information in the airfare pricing process involves as both an input and an output. The
output decides the effectiveness of an airline’s pricing strategy. Is our price as per market
standard and is it competitive? This is the key question that pricing managers as well as
airline executives ask themselves every day. In case of MAS airlines, the economy ticket to
Langkawi is RM 209 compared to RM 118 by Air Asia for a 45 minutes flight from Kuala
Lumpur. This clearly shows the lack pricing analysis input in deciding the price. Online
websites such as Expedia have created a price transparency unlike the past. Every potential
passenger or traveler will browse the online pricing before deciding the ticketing source, be it
via agent or through 3rd party websites like Expedia itself which eventually makes
competition ac lick away. This environment punishes uncompetitive airlines that do not react
(i.e., analyze the changes, decide on pricing changes, implement the new pricing) very
quickly and requires them to adapt to market changes quickly and accurately. Without a
decision support system airline would have to employ a high number of pricing analysts
which is costly and that too with no guarantee that they could have accurate pricing changes
data, recommend the right decision, and distribute price changes to all sales channels.
Generally, it is understood that designing a pricing strategy (for both products and services)

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requires more research and creativity to approach the market. Changes in consumer market
trends, macroeconomic changes, market segmentation, airline revenue, and profit force
pricing analysts to constantly monitor the effectiveness of current pricing strategy and make
the timely adjustments. Consistent maintenance of effective pricing strategy is not an easy
task – with most common result could be a straight pricing competition that not only knocks
the individual airline but the industry as a whole. In addition, pricing analysts need to review
several hundred daily price changes using very primitive transactional applications just to
find out how is the market flow and expectations.

Below diagram could well explain the example of DSS approach that Malaysia Airlines could adapt
to.

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3.3 Edging the Promotional Measures

There are two ways MAS can approach in planning and uplifting their promotional activities
which in other words to be more aggressive in their marketing and advertising strategies.

1. Choose the Cathay Airlines way; focus and target to surpass the expectations of
customers who are less price sensitive and demand more quality in-flight services
2. Back to roots approach by focusing the demands of the market regionally; focusing on
home ground 1st and rebuild from there to go global

If we look at the real scenario now, MAS has indeed been on the 1st type approach for so long
now and couldn’t muster the same success like Cathay. So that’s leaves us with the 2nd option
and below we will look at set of promotional measurement that MAS can actively focus on to
uplift them in promotional war in the market.

Technology

From a survey recently, 10 out of 10 people have Air Asia mobile app in their mobile
compared to MAS app. The reason is MAS has never been rampant in promoting their app.
Focusing on high end customers MAS has relied too much on ticketing agents and other
booking sources and have lost a major share among the self-travelers who wants to access
pricing details on a go. MAS should rebuild their mobile app and online booking system to be
more user friendly and promote them more through social platforms such as Facebook and
Instagram. The fact that Air Asia has 300k more followers in Instagram shows the lack of
promotional activities that MAS has emphasized on the tech savvy market segments. They
should emphasize more on using these social platforms and technology availability to create a
stand in the market.

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Pricing Strategy

“Malaysian like it cheap!”. Understanding this phrase in re-assessing their pricing strategy
could give a boost in the home market before relaunching as a powerhouse again. Throughout
the years MAS participation in the budget travel events are very minimal and this is where
they fail to realize that other low fare carriers are winning the market. Reason, the price they
set have been classified as for higher end travelers which MAS should divert from. Listing
their price more often, re-assessing the price according to all class of travelers, enabling
students to fly with lower fares are some of the strategies MAS can uphold to boost their
existence in the market. Pricing would be a major factor shall MAS choose to be rampant in
their promotion activities because end of the day everyone wants to fly with lower cost.

Partnership

While we agree MAS do have its “Flight+Hotel” feature on its website, what we have noticed
is the partnership with hotels are not competitive with other airlines. For example, Air Asia
has collaborated with more hotels in Sydney than MAS does which allows Air Asia to give
its customers more choice and allows them to customize their traveling experiences. MAS
should provide or have all range of hotels; from 1-star to 5-star for the customers to choose.
This will give them the satisfaction of travelling the way they want. Apart from hotels, MAS
also has less brand collaboration with other industry players to stamp their identity in global
market. Partnering with other global players in various industries and sponsorships in
recognized events could also boost their market share.

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4. Conclusion

Before we talk about the conclusion, lets agree to the major problem that lands MAS in its
current lost in market share. The PRICE! Time and time again, we have come across article
and words from ppl agreeing to this; MAS is expensive. And it has taken many years for
MAS to open their eyes on the one key area that they can actually re-asses and improve. Let’s
put aside the political influences MAS had as a part of its downfall; that’s something we can
put aside. Pricing strategy is the “THAT” thing MAS should focus on as a part of their
operational activity to boost and uplift the carrier’s status again. Taking a step back wouldn’t
hurt. When we say step back is, forget the tag of national air carrier tag and skip the global
existence. Focus on what your home ground market demand is. If you can’t win at your
home, less chance you can win outside of it. MAS should take many steps, maybe few of
those we have discussed in the earlier part of this project paper simply to regain its status as
the prime choice in its home country or maybe region. They have lost the major part to the
low-cost carriers due to its pricing. A re-assessment is very much needed to be competitive
again and more importantly staying relevant to the market. A survey shows, if MAS is
somewhere 30-50 Ringgit more expensive than Air Asia, people don’t mind spending extra
and taking MAS as they still believe and have better opinion on its in-flight services and
conveniences. Yes, there are talks about mergers, privatization or even selling MAS to
private boards, but the core is not only the ownership. The core to reinstate MAS a s a major
player in the market is to make them be the choice of people when it comes to traveling in an
excellent in-flight hospitality with affordable price.

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5. References

I. MAB Airlines Company Background

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malaysia_Airlines
https://www.malaysiaairlines.com/jp/en/about-us/malaysia-aviation-group.html
II. Marketing Plan of MAB
https://www.slideshare.net/SemputLa/marketing-plan-malaysia-airlines
III. Tarrence Tan, Hemananthani Sivanandam, Martin Carvalho, and Rahimy Rahim
(Wednesday, 20 Mar 2019). Dr M: I love MAS, but it seems like we can't afford it.
Retrieved from URL : https://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2019/03/20/dr-m-i-
love-mas-but-it-seems-like-we-cant-afford-it/ - APPENDIX 1
IV. B. K. Sidhu (Friday, 3 Jul 2015). Mueller unveils a flat MAS structure.
Retrieved from URL : https://www.thestar.com.my/business/business-
news/2015/07/03/mueller-unveils-a-flat-mas-structure/ - APPENDIX 2
V. Cheryl Yvonne Achu (May 16 2016). Malaysia Airlines sticks to strategies.
Retrieved from URL : https://www.nst.com.my/news/2016/05/145836/malaysia-
airlines-sticks-strategies - APPENDIX 3
VI. Liew Jia Teng (May 10 2019). Malaysia Airlines and Singapore Airlines should
merge, says aviation analyst.
Retrieved from URL : https://www.theedgemarkets.com/article/malaysia-airlines-and-
singapore-airlines-should-merge-says-maybank-aviation-analyst - APPENDIX 4
VII. Nicholas Cummins (November 25 2018). How Singapore Airlines Became The
World’s Best Airline.
Retrieved from URL : https://simpleflying.com/how-singapore-airlines-became-the-
worlds-best-airline/ - APPENDIX 5

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VIII. Alzahrin Alias (February 27 2018). Malaysia Airlines to reorganise its corporate
structure.
Retrieved from URL : https://www.nst.com.my/business/2018/02/339543/malaysia-
airlines-reorganise-its-corporate-structure - APPENDIX 6

https://588869726586985066.weebly.com/restructuring-of-mas.html
https://www.nst.com.my/business/2018/02/339543/malaysia-airlines-reorganise-its-
corporate-structure
https://www.theedgemarkets.com/article/malaysia-airlines-and-singapore-airlines-should-
merge-says-maybank-aviation-analyst
https://www.nst.com.my/news/2016/05/145836/malaysia-airlines-sticks-strategies
https://www.academia.edu/31622987/MALAYSIAN_AIRLINES_MAS_LEADING_STRATEGI
CALLY_THROUGH_TIME
https://www.thestar.com.my/business/business-news/2019/05/10/mas-and-sia-should-merge-
says-analyst/
https://simpleflying.com/how-singapore-airlines-became-the-worlds-best-airline/
https://www.theedgemarkets.com/article/malaysia-airlines-and-singapore-airlines-should-
merge-says-maybank-aviation-analyst; May 10, 2019; Liew Jia Teng
https://simpleflying.com/how-singapore-airlines-became-the-worlds-best-airline/; November
25, 2018; by Nicholas Cummins
https://www.nst.com.my/business/2018/02/339543/malaysia-airlines-reorganise-its-
corporate-structure; February 27, 2018; By Alzahrin Alias
https://www.nst.com.my/news/2016/05/145836/malaysia-airlines-sticks-strategies; May 16,
2016 ; By CHERYL YVONNE ACHU
https://www.thestar.com.my/business/business-news/2015/07/03/mueller-unveils-a-flat-mas-
structure/Friday, 3 Jul 2015; by B.K. Sidhu)

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APPENDIX 1

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20
21
 APPENDIX 2

Mueller unveils a flat MAS structure

AIRLINES

Friday, 3 Jul 2015

By B.K. Sidhu

Out of the eight divisions, the top positions in four are still vacant, meaning that the new airline is still
undertaking the search to fill up the slots. The four positions are the head of commercial, chief financial
officer, executive counsel and head of strategy and PMO, according to documents sighted by StarBiz.

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PETALING JAYA: Malaysia Airlines Bhd unveiled a structure that is at and having several new faces at
the apex management team.

Christoph Mueller (pic), the current Malaysia Airlines (MAS) chief executive of cer and CEO designate
of the new airline has broken the operations of the loss-making airline into eight divisions.

Out of the eight divisions, the top positions in four are still vacant, meaning that the new airline is
still undertaking the search to ll up the slots.

The four positions are the head of commercial, chief nancial of cer, executive counsel and head of
strategy and PMO, according to documents sighted by StarBiz.

Of the four positions that have been lled, three are new to the airline. They are chief operations of
cer Peter Bellew, chief information of cer Tan Kok Meng, interim chief human resources of cer
Claudia Maria Cadena Tarazona.

The head of corporate safety oversight Datuk Capt Badrul Hisham Yusoff is from the old MAS.

This is also the rst time the airline will have a chief operations of cer in Bellew, formerly of Ryanair.

Apart from the eight divisions the new airline will have four subsidiaries which are FireFly,
MasWings, Mas Ground Handling Sdn Bhd and MAB Engineering Sdn Bhd.

Former head of MAS restructuring Mohd Nadzir Mohd Basir is the CEO of the new MAB Ground
Handing while Azhari Mohd Dahlan (now head of engineering services) is CEO of MAB Engineering
Services Sdn Bhd.

Fire y and MAS Wings remains headed by Ignatius Ong and Capt Ritzerwan Rashid respectively.

Since the ground operations and engineering units have been spun into subsidiaries, they will now
be cost and pro t centres of their own.

Under the previous structure, the airline used to have 11 key divisions where the heads report direct
to the CEO and 210 business units.

Though several foreign talent have been hired to manage the main functions of the airline, the
search for more talent is ongoing, despite MAS having terminated over 6,000 employees.

Yesterday, a memo dated June 30 was send out to the staff telling them about the interim
organisation chart for the new airline, Malaysia Airlines Bhd, which takes off on Sept 1, taking over
the operations of MAS.

At a glance, some staff expressed disappointment as they had expected massive changes at the
second and third levels.

“We had expected lots of changes but we are seeing some of old faces returning to manage the new
airline at the second levels though there has been some juggling here and there,” said a staff who
requested anonymity.

But there is also a view that Mueller may have his reasons for keeping old faces.

“Perhaps Mueller may have his reasons to seek continuity and he may have kept the same team at
the second and third levels for some reasons,” said an airline executive.

In trying to create the new organisational chart, Mueller has cut layers and layers of hierarchy, so
that decision making and accountability becomes more transparent.

23
The airline is also on the look out for head of marketing, though Laurent Recoura (formerly from
Philippines AirAsia) had been appointed head of sales.

Among the other new appointments are company secretary Datuk Sabrina Albakri, and head of
corporate communications Faridah Hashim.

The other changes include Datuk Merina Abu Tahir, the current director of corporate services is
going back to her earlier job as chief internal audit, while David Renny formerly from audit is now
head of ethics and compliance.

Under the new structure, all light operations will come under Bellew, and all to do with ticket pricing
and selling of air tickets would fall under the purview of the chief commercial head.

APPENDIX 3

7/8/2019 Malaysia Airlines sticks to strategies | New Straits Times | Malaysia General Business Sports and Lifestyle News

Home (Https://Www.Nst.Com.My) › News (Https://Www.Nst.Com.My/News) › 2016

(Https://Www.Nst.Com.My/News/2016)
5 minute read

Malaysia Airlines sticks to strategies

24
 Outgoing Malaysia Airlines Bhd chief executive officer Christoph Mueller says the carrier’s strategy boils down to serving customers with very individualised offerings. Pic by Nur
Adibah Ahmad
Izam

By CHERYL YVONNE ACHU (/authors/cheryl-yvonne-achu) - May 16, 2016 @ 11:00am

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia Airlines Bhd’s (MAB) main priority in the next six months is to implement
and stick to strategies laid out in its turnaround plan.

“Every turnaround plan has a lot of moving parts. It is really to follow through on the plan,” said
outgoing chief executive officer Christoph Mueller.

He said there were about 220 projects taking place under the Malaysia Airlines restructuring plan.

“Some (of the projects) are ahead of the plan, some are exactly on plan and some are delayed,
suspended or postponed. It would be unnatural if everything is on track, right? But on the better
part, we are in the green. I review (the progress on the projects) every week with my programme
manager,” he told Business Times in an interview recently.

The national carrier is looking forward to implement its new passenger service system that will help
cut cost and drive revenue, as well as extend its customer reach.

It has signed some deals, followed through on its fuel conservation programme and implemented
new material management system in maintenance and engineering.

Without disclosing details, Mueller said Malaysia Airlines had devised a new strategy in September
last year.

“Of course, I cannot explain it in detail because our competitors desperately want to know my
strategy. But I believe it all boils down to serving the customers, and to serve particularly different
groups with very individualised offerings.

“It’s a long list of things but it’s important that each of our 14,000 professionals knows exactly
where the place is and how he or she can contribute to the strategy.

“And that requires from my side a lot of communication, a lot of talking to the people to explain
the overall plan and how they fit into the picture.

“Because it is important and it is like a soccer team, you know. It’s not about a single person, it’s
about the team and if you want to play a good game you need to know your counterpart in the
organisation and that requires me to really explain and lead from the front.”

In terms of pricing, he said: “We do not lower our prices because it so much fun to lower our costs.

“We do lower our costs so that we can offer cheaper tickets and that will make travelling with
Malaysia Airlines more attractive because on top of that, we offer better services than our
competitor. That’s basically our strategy,” said the corporate restructuring specialist.

Mueller, who has helped turn around Ireland’s loss-making Aer Lingus within a year, said Malaysia
Airlines would serve markets where Malaysian businesses had counterparts as part of its strategies
to boost the economy.

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 “This is important to bring tourists into the country.”

He, however, expressed his disappointment on the two-year contract awarded by the Tourism and
Culture Ministry to Singapore Airlines instead of the national carrier.

“I’m sad that the government has awarded the tourism contract to Singapore Airlines, and so are
my 14,000 colleagues.

“But we still try our best to be the leading inbound tourism carrier for Malaysia and to remain as
the leading inbound carrier,” added Mueller.

https://www.nst.com.my/news/2016/05/145836/malaysia-airlines-sticks-strategies

APPENDIX 4

Malaysia Airlines and Singapore

Airlines should merge, says aviation
analyst
Liew Jia Teng /
theedgemarkets.com May 10,
2019 14:53 pm +08

26
https://www.theedgemarkets.com/article/malaysia-airlines-and-singapore-airlines-should-merge-says-maybank-aviation-analyst
1/5 7/8/2019 Malaysia Airlines and Singapore Airlines should merge, says aviation analyst | The Edge Markets

SINGAPORE (May 10): Given the challenging business environment and the downcycle
in the aviation sector, Malaysia Airlines Bhd and Singapore Airlines Ltd should be
merged, according to Maybank Kim Eng Holdings Ltd regional aviation analyst Mohshin
Aziz.

“(The solution is) very simple — merge. Forget the national identity crisis, and they can
be merged. It will be able to remove a lot of costs, and make themselves more e
cient,” he said in a Q&A session at Invest Asia 2019 here today.

Mohshin, who is also associate director of Maybank Kim Eng Securities, pointed out that
Malaysia-Singapore Airlines was once the ag carrier of Malaysia and Singapore, before it
broke up in 1972.

“If they were to merge, there will be a lot of improvements in terms of scheduling.
Besides, relocation of assets can also be optimised,” he says.

“If the full-service carriers can get away from the mentality that 'I am representing my
country', it will bring very good bene ts for their businesses. That’s my rm view,”
Mohshin stressed.

Maybank Kim Eng clari ed that his views did not represent its position and house view.

27
 RELATED NEWS
https://www.theedgemarkets.com/article/malaysia-airlines-and-singapore-airlines-should-merge-says-maybank-aviation-analyst

APPENDIX 5

How Singapore Airlines

Became The World’s Best
Airline
by Nicholas Cummins · November 25, 2018 ·

Singapore was recently awarded the coveted #1 spot in the Startracks airline awards, adding another
feather to their already brimming cap.

28
But how did they become the world best airline? And what can other airlines learn from them?

4 1947 – Founding a new airline

Singapore Airlines has one of the more interesting beginnings than say the way most airlines are
founded these days. They were founded by a consortium made up of two steamship companies and
old Imperial Airways (Founded on 1 May 1947, by the Ocean Steamship Company of Liverpool, the
Straits Steamship Company of Singapore and Imperial Airways), as a way to capture the growing
‘airline’ business.

They called this new airline Malayan Airways Limited and would focus on the straight of Malacca and
the nearby British colonies.

Their first plane was an ex-royal air force plane, an Airspeed Consul, that flew between Singapore
and Kuala Lumpur once a week. Naturally, as it was a British colony at the time, the airline had
plenty of technical support from other commonwealth (Or colonies as it was back then) airlines,
such as Qantas.

5 1957 – Start-up growth

From 1947 to 1957, Malayan Airways underwent a rapid expansion, creating new routes across the
region, to Indonesia and to Borneo. They also went public at this time and began to trade on the
local stock market (to help raise capital).

In 1963, when the territories of Malaya, Singapore, Sabah, and

Sarawak combined to form the Federation of Malaysia, the airline changed its name from Malayan
Airways to Malaysian Airways. This, of course, is very similar to the actual Malaysian Airlines we
know today.

The livery of the new airline.

29
But only three years later when Singapore (the country) left the federation, that they rebranded yet
again to Malaysia-Singapore Airlines (MSA).

This was also when they bought their first Boeing aircraft, a 707. They loved it so much that they
bought a variety of Boeing 737s afterward.

 

The silver and yellow livery of the airline.

1972 – The great split and rapid expansion.

In 1972, there was a decision to make. Either focus on domestic routes in Mayalsia or expand
international routes from Singapore. Neither could be decided so both were chosen, and MSA shut
down to form two new airlines, Singapore Airlines and Malaysian Airlines System (Which would then
go on to form the national flag carrier of Malaysia).

With the name finally sorted and their new mission in play, Singapore was able to rapidly expand to
dominate the local area. In the summer of 1973, their first two Boeing 747 jumbos arrived, which
were put to work on the very profitable Singapore to Hong Kong route.

They were also the first airline to run the ‘capital’ route, Singapore, Canberra then onto Wellington.

30
6 1977 – Concorde

Singapore operated a concord with British Airways. One side was painted in BA livery, the other
side was Singapore livery.

A little unknown piece of history was that Singapore actually ran a Concorde flight partnered with
British Airways, between Singapore and London. Concorde services at British Airways were originally
supposed to go to Australia, routing London-Bahrain-Singapore-Sydney, but was fully realized.

The service only ran three times and had to be discontinued after Malaysia and India forbid the
plane flying through their airspace (Due to the noise). They tried trading slots at Heathrow to the
governments of these two countries, but they did not come to an agreement.

The airline continued to expand, opening up routes to Europe and America during this time. Their
747’s were now being run direct from Singapore to the US West Coast.

1989 – Singapore enters the short-haul market.

In 1989, Singapore launched SilkAir, their short-haul carrier. This airline would focus on short-haul
 
routes to feed Singapore’s international routes.

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In 2004, Singapore started a new service to fly from Singapore to New York with an A340, the
longest air route in the world. They used the Airbus A340 with their four engines. They also
experimented with creating all business class planes, as it was uncomfortable for such long flights to
be in an economy seat (tell that to Qantas with their 16 hour London to Perth route!)

A Singapore A340

This was not without controversy, however, as many countries objected to Singapore running fifth
freedom flights through their airports. Australia wanted to protect Qantas, Indonesia to protect
Garuda and Canada to protect Air Canada respectively.

Singapore with their huge fleet of 747’s and many other high capacity aircraft could simply beat out
the local competition.

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7 2007 – Arrival of the A380

 

Singapore A380

Singapore wanted to change the airline game again, and this time they did it by becoming the launch
customer of the A380. They now have the 2nd largest fleet of A380s behind Emirates. With the
added room on board, Singapore started to experiment with true luxury first class suites (Not like
the rather embarrassing first class found on Air France).

They have used the A380 to phase out their 747 fleet, and with the added capacity to dominate
traffic between major cities.

8 2018 – Onwards to the future

Singapore Airlines has recently launched their new direct service Singapore to New York using the
Airbus A350-900 long-range aircraft.

33
 

Singapore’s A350-ULRs have a modified fuel system for longer range. Photo: Airbus

They now plan to use these aircraft to open other long-haul routes, Singapore to Seattle, Chicago
and more.

What can we learn from Singapore?

There are several lessons that airlines can learn from Singapore’s journey.

Embracing the latest planes. Singapore was the launch customer of the A380, the first to use
the Boeing 747 across the Pacific from South East Asia and have recently started deploying
the new A350-900ULR between Singapore and New York. New planes allow new route
opportunities. Additionally, they have realized that newer planes are better performing and
create a better customer experience. By ensuring that they have a flexible and young fleet
(under 10 years) they can buy or lease the newest planes and take advantage of features
other airlines only dream about.

Innovative with customer experience. Singapore has always been very

34
 
innovative when it comes to customer experience. They were the first airline to have satellite
communications for passengers, on-demand seatback entertainment screens for economy
and first-class suites on board their A380.

It’s because of these things that Singapore is truly one of the most innovative airlines in the sky
today. That and their rich history of taking advantage of their geographical location, have made their
awards justly deserved.

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 APPENDIX 6

7/8/2019 Malaysia Airlines to reorganise its corporate structure | New Straits Times | Malaysia General Business Sports and
Lifestyle News

Home (Https://Www.Nst.Com.My) › Business (Https://Www.Nst.Com.My/Business)

5 minute read

9 Malaysia Airlines to reorganise its corporate structure

Deputy Home Minister Datuk Nur Jazlan Mohamed (second from left), Malaysia Aviation Group Bhd (MAG) chairman , Tan Sri Md Nor Md Yusof (second from right)
witnessed the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) between MAG and the National Anti-Drugs Agency (AADK) of which Malaysia Airlines Bhd (MAB) is
represented by its chief executive officer Captain Izham Ismail (third from right) dan AADK by the agency director general Datuk Dr Abd Halim Mohd Hussin (third from left).
NSTP photo by SYARAFIQ ABD SAMAD

By Alzahrin Alias (/authors/alzahrin-alias) - February 27, 2018 @ 6:09pm

KELANA JAYA: National carrier Malaysia Airlines Bhd (MAB) will reorganise its corporate structure
to strengthen operations as part of its turnaround plan.

Chief executive officer Izham Ismail said the plan, which is part of its five-year Malaysia Airlines
Recovery Plan (MRP), is currently being reviewed as there are many issues that has to be
addressed before it can be implemented.

He said MAB will also decide on the re-listing of the national carrier on the local stock exchange
after the second quarter of this year.

36
 "We will look back whether MAB is ready for re-listing. We do not want to make an initial public
offering (IPO) if the company is not fully prepared.

"There is a lot of tasks to handle and much scrutiny needs to be done. The second quarter of this
year is the real potential indicator of Malaysia Airlines," he said after the signing of a memorandum
of understanding (MoU) between parent Malaysian Aviation Group (MAG) and the National Anti-
Drugs Agency (AADK) in Kuala Lumpur today.

Also present were Deputy Home Minister Datuk Nur Jazlan Mohamed, MAG chairman Tan Sri Md
Nor Md Yusof and AADK director-general Datuk Dr Abd Halim Mohd Hussin.

Apart from the restructuring exercise, Izham said MAS would also rebrand itself. This exercise will
basically retain existing brands and logos, but our product and service delivery will be distinctive.

"We know that in order to remain relevant in the marketplace, we must know how to price our
products. It is clear that we are not a budget airline, neither a luxurious one – but we are in the
premium category," he said.

In order for MAB to remain relevant, it needs to strengthen its brand marketing to be in line with
its premium status. The airline expects to turn around its operations by the first half of 2019.

To further enhance the position of MAB as an international airline, Izham said the company also
plans to launch two new route destinations this year.

The carrier is monitoring the development of the aviation sector in China and India as these two
countries present huge potential for the company.

"China and India have great potential in the aviation sector and our focus is not only on the main
terminals, but also the second terminals or the secondary airports.

"In addition, we also want to seriously develop a flight destination to Perth, Australia as the current
challenge that we are facing is the lack of capacity – which demands for new assets.

"It is expected to be strengthened and ensured sustainable growth through the addition of six
Airbus A330-200 wide body planes.

"The new aircraft can help MAB to further expand our routes to Perth and some other major
destinations," he said.

Among other routes that will use the aircrafts are Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai, Bangalore, Dhaka,
Kathmandu, Shanghai, Denpasar and Auckland.

On November 30 2017, MAB received the first Airbus 350-900 aircraft from Air Lease Corp.

https://www.nst.commy/business/2018/02/339543/malaysia-airlines-reorganise-its-corporate-structure

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