Flight MH370 from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing disappeared in the Indian Ocean on March 8, 2014 with 239 people on board. The search for MH370, which cost millions of dollars, was the largest search in aviation history. However, to date, the missing plane has not been found.
While Malaysia Airlines was still reeling from the MH370 tragedy, on July 17 of the same year, plane MH17 was shot down over fighting in Ukraine. All 283 passengers and 15 crew of Malaysia Airlines MH17 were killed. There were 160 planes flying over the war zone that day but MH17 was hit.
BBC points out that the loss of 2 passenger planes within 5 months for an airline is an unprecedented event. Many people consider this double disaster as a curse for the airline that has been operating for more than 70 years, with a huge fleet flying around the world from its headquarters in Kuala Lumpur.
After the MH370 and MH17 tragedies in 2014, passengers were worried and switched to other airlines. At that time, the media published images of almost empty flights of Malaysia Airlines.
However, in 2023, the Malaysia Airlines CEO said that the airline is on track to achieve its first annual net profit in a decade.
Analysts say that cutting a series of flight routes has helped strengthen the airline's finances, while repositioning the brand and emphasizing safety has helped Malaysia Airlines win back customers.
Immediately after the MH17 tragedy , the Malaysian government stepped in to save the national airline with more than 20,000 employees. One month after MH17 was shot down, national investment fund Khazanah Nasional, which owned 69% of Malaysia Airlines' shares, bought back shares from other shareholders, delisted from the stock exchange, and established a new company. , declared the old company bankrupt.
Malaysia Airlines is fully nationalized, the first important step to save this airline, according to BBC. According to the Malaysian government's "Rebuilding the National Symbol" plan, Malaysia Airlines' airfare prices also decreased while the accounting team applied strict intervention measures in the airline's operations.
After 2014, Malaysia Airlines seriously abandoned long-term, unprofitable routes to places like North and South America and South Africa, including flights to New York and Stockholm. Malaysia Airlines eventually cut all direct flights to European destinations, except London.
Today, London Heathrow Airport remains Malaysia Airlines' only European stopover. This route has become an important money-making route, especially after the COVID-19 pandemic. In recent years, Malaysia Airlines has been the only airline to operate a direct flight from Kuala Lumpur to London after British Airways canceled the route during the pandemic.
Malaysia Airlines also took advantage of the global aviation pause during the COVID-19 epidemic to restructure debt, while still keeping planes operating during this time. Malaysia Airlines is one of the key carriers operating repatriation flights from Europe to Asia.
While other airlines in Asia and Europe grounded their planes during the pandemic and were not ready when demand recovered post-pandemic, Malaysia Airlines was in a favorable starting position when the border reopened and the company has taken full advantage of this, analysts point out.
Currently, Malaysia Airlines is considered a "mid-range" carrier focusing on Oceania, Asia and the United Kingdom.
“From an air traffic perspective, MH370 and other tragedies are certainly not the first thing passengers think of when looking to buy tickets. They pay more attention to price and convenience," aviation industry watcher Greg Waldron shared with the BBC.
