New beginnings but profit matters
TODAY marks an important chapter for Malaysia Airlines Bhd (MAS).
A homegrown talent in the form of Captain Izham Ismail is taking over as the airline’s new group CEO after the abrupt departures of two foreign CEOs ahead of their contract period. Although they left on personal grounds, the rumour mill linked the departures to possible “interference and the big plane order”.
To the fair, both Christoph Mueller and his successor Peter Bellew did put the airline on a better footing during their tenure.
That may be history now, but Izham is the third CEO appointed in three years and what really matters now is whether the airline under his leadership can deliver a profit next year as per the turnaround plan.
This is his biggest task even though he fits in well into the organisation after having spent 38 years of his life at the airline and knows its “inner workings”.
Where profits are concerned, he may need to make some adjustments.
Bellew was a natural salesman when the airline needed to win back customer confidence after the twin air disasters.
His efforts did yield results and the airline is carrying more passengers now than before. That effort needs to be continued and Izham cannot just leave it to his team. He needs to wear the salesman’s hat himself to sell seats and get the yields.
He also has to keep a lid on cost and procurement so that the problems of the past of “higher pricing for goods” do not creep in. Keeping a tight lid on cost, however, should not consist of a compromise on product and service quality since the competition is will- ing to spend to lure the traveller.
His rise to the top lends hope to others within the airline that they can also scale new heights, but the game needs to be fair and based on merit and not favouritism or cronyism.
The other thing he has to decide is whether MAS should remain a regional player or fly global, given the fact that it has ordered so many of the ultra-long-haul B787-900 jets. It would be a sheer waste to just fly regionally on these amazing machines.
Yesterday, MAS took delivery of the first of its six A350 jets, giving Izham “something nice” to start off with.
He can make it into a “star” if he so wishes and at the same time rework the rest of the fleet to be in sync with the competition or better.
In a nutshell, there are lots of expectations, but in the final analysis, what matters is profit. Taxpayers will be less forgiving if in three years’ time, there is yet another cry for funds to save the airline.
And it is not just one quarter or one year of profits. Sustainability is the name of the game.
In the past, the airline had reported a profit, but it was often short-lived. So, if Izham has taken on the challenge, then he has to prove his mettle. Period.