Yearender: Twin tragedies of MH370, MH17 deeply impact on Malaysia, world

ECONOMY SHOCKED

The two MAS disasters dealt a hard blow to the loss-making national carrier, which posted net losses of 576.11 million ringgit (about 181 million U.S. dollars) in the third quarter ended on Sept. 30, 2014, compared to net losses of 375.44 million ringgit (about 115 million dollars) made a year ago.

In the first nine months of 2014, MAS suffered net losses of 1. 324 billion ringgit (409 million dollars), widening from the net losses of 827 million ringgit (265 million dollars) in the same period of 2013.

As an aviation analyst at Maybank has said, no airline has gone through two tragedies of this magnitude in a span of four months in the history of aviation, which inevitably impacted its bookings. Facing the critical situation, Khazanah Nasional Bhd, MAS'largest shareholder, unveiled a 12-point recovery plan for the airline on Aug. 29, including the creation of a new company to take over its operation and the slash of its workforce.

Khazanah said on Dec. 5 that it appointed Christoph R. Mueller, the current CEO of Ireland's national airline Aer Lingus, as CEO- designate of MAS NewCo, effective on Jan. 1, 2015. The airline also entered a new phase after being delisted from Malaysia's stock exchange on Dec. 15, completing its privatization process. Under the plan, a comprehensive overhaul of the company will enable MAS to achieve sustainable profitability within three years of delisting by the end of 2017.

Special Coverage:

Malaysia Airlines Flight 370"ended" in sea

Updates:

Two more MH17 crash victims identified

7,000 sq km seafloor searched with no MH370 debris found

Key vessel rejoins MH370 search efforts in S Indian Ocean