MASkargo becomes MABkargo, to operate on own AOC next year

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The Malaysia Aviation Group (MAG) – an entity which pools subsidiary Malaysia Airlines Bhd, other related companies and equity investments into four distinct business segments – has established a new, stand-alone cargo unit named MABkargo (formerly MASkargo), outgoing CEO, Christoph Mueller, has announced.

Unveiling the holding firm’s structure, Mueller said MABkargo is expected to secure its own AOC from the Malaysian Department of Civil Aviation (DCA) next year and operate separately from the main carrier. The carrier will then operate alongside Malaysia Airlines, Firefly (based out of Penang) and MASwings (operating out of East Malaysia’s Kota Kinabalu), under the Air Transportation Services division of MAG.

“We are very pleased to announce the new group structure into separate and distinct companies,” Mueller said. “This will align structures and processes more consistently to the needs of our customer groups and raise the Group’s overall efficiency and focus, reduce complexity and increase decision-making speeds. Looking forward the new structure will support every business unit’s capability to access the capital market with its own value proposition.”

Malaysia Airlines’ current cargo set-up entails its MASkargo operation plying a fleet of four A330-200Fs and two B747-400Fs (now parked) on its parent’s AOC.

MASkargo CEO Ahmad Luqman Mohd Azmi told Payload Asia in February this year that the freight division was turning its own freighter operations away from the longhaul market towards that of Southeast Asia while relying on partnerships for its longhaul cargo capacity needs. This was followed shortly after by the announcement it had tied up with Baku-based Silk Way Airlines on certain routes.

luqman
Ahmad Luqman Mohd Azmi

As for MAG’s other divisions they include: Ground services, which includes the engineering division, comprised of AeroDarat Services Sdn Bhd and MAB Engineering, while the aircraft leasing segment has MAB Leasing and MAB Pesawat. MAB Academy has been placed under the talent development division.

The largest contributing business segment in MAG will be the air transportation services segment. It is projected to generate combined revenue of RM10.6 billion (US$2.6 billion) this year, with the bulk of it — RM8.6 billion — to come from Malaysia Airlines.