Speaking at the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with major Malaysian tour operators, MAB chief commercial officer Paul Simmons said there is “strong demand” for more charter capacity on the China-Malaysia route to Sabah.
Malaysia Airlines Berhad (MAB) will put its existing Airbus A380 fleet to work on charter services.
Speaking at the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with major Malaysian tour operators, MAB chief commercial officer Paul Simmons said there is “strong demand” for more charter capacity on the China-Malaysia route to Sabah.
He added there is also good potential for religious travel charters to Middle East destinations.
“The great thing about using an A380 for chartered business is that our cost per seat is very effective as it provides 500 seats that will be fully taken up,” Simmons said.
Simmons said the carrier already has 53 charter flights scheduled over the seven months from November 2016 to July 2017, offering 24,150 seats on religious routes including to Medina and Jeddah in Saudi Arabia.
With the signing of the MOU with Andalusia Travel & Tours and Rayhar Travels, Simmons said the collaboration would present an opportunity for the airline to continue developing its chartered business for the religious market segment.
“We are not projected to make a profit until 2018 but we are off to a good start because the charter business will help (with improving the company’s financial performance).”
Andalusia managing director Ibrahim Mat Sin said the chartering of the A380 aircraft was crucial considering the growing number of umrah pilgrims year-on-year.