Malaysia Airlines calls for level playing field if AirAsia gets aid

Any financial aid given to struggling carriers such as AirAsia Group Bhd should be made available to other airlines to keep competition fair, the head of Malaysia Airlines Bhd says.

“It has to be a fair playing field,” Malaysia Airlines Group CEO Nasaruddin Bakar said in an interview on the sidelines of the Association of Asia-Pacific Airlines’ annual meeting in Kuala Lumpur.

“If it’s given to one airline, it should be given to all other airlines as well.”

Nasaruddin also said his airline is willing to step in to grow aggressively if its low-cost rival faces deeper operational problems, citing the national carrier’s need to maintain connectivity across the country.

Malaysian authorities have been mulling a range of measures to help AirAsia, which is facing growing challenges in the face of high jet fuel costs. The US-Iran war has roiled the global aviation industry, hitting weaker airlines, particularly those operating in the low-fare segment.

The budget carrier’s shares tumbled in September on a report that the government had sounded out rival local carriers, including Malaysia Airlines, about stepping up in case AirAsia had to stop flying routes if its financial challenges worsened.

The government said in recent weeks that it had not yet agreed to any commitment for financial aid for the struggling airline.

Malaysia Airlines “had a duty” to maintain connectivity across the country, Nasaruddin said. The airline would need to ensure it had additional aircraft and crew, he said, adding it would only increase capacity if it was sustainable to do so safely and financially.