MAS may cut Sydney frequency
By Presenna Nambiar
[email protected]
2012/01/11
ON the back of recently announced additional frequencies to several destinations in Asean, Malaysia Airlines (MAS) may be announcing that it will cut one of its flights to Sydney.
According to sources, MAS, which flies direct to Sydney twice a day now, is expected to reduce its frequency to one flight a day to the benefit of long-haul budget carrier AirAsia X.
MAS flies once in the morning at 9am using a Boeing 777-200 and again at 10.40pm with a Boeing 747-400.
People in the know said that one of the slots will instead be used by AirAsia X to fly into Sydney, a much sought-after route by the airline.
MAS neither confirmed nor denied the news, preferring to take a neutral stance.
"The national carrier's remaining network is continuously being reviewed and necessary measures are being taken to ensure the routes are operated profitably. Malaysia Airlines will make the necessary announcements if there are further updates on the network review," the airline told Business Times via e-mail.
According to the Register of Available Capacity for Australian International Airlines, from March 2009 Malaysia is allowed 29,100 seats each way each week to and from Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth.
It could not be immediately determined if the number of seats allowed is total capacity of the four destinations.
MAS' current flights into Sydney would account for less than 9,000 seats to and from the city weekly.
The registry entry was last amended on December 11 2008.
It is understood that AirAsia X has been given the green light from the local Transport Ministry to start flights to Sydney in April this year.
The carrier, however, has denied this.