Ten years ago, Malaysia Airlines was devastated by the twin disasters of MH370 and MH17.
Flight MH370 from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing disappeared over the Indian Ocean on 8 March 2014 with 239 people on board. Despite millions of dollars spent on the largest search in aviation history the plane has still not been found.
The airline was still reeling from that tragedy when in July of the same year, MH17 was shot down by a Russian-controlled armed group above conflict-ridden Ukraine. All 283 passengers and 15 flight crew were killed.
There had been 160 planes flying over the war zone that day but it was MH17 that was hit.
An airline losing two passenger jets in five months was an event that remains unprecedented to this day.
Many saw it like a curse, on an airline which had operated for 70 years largely unscathed.
Malaysia Airlines had long enjoyed an excellent safety record and had even won awards for service. It had a huge fleet flying all over the world from its base in Kuala Lumpur.
But after the calamities in 2014, passengers got the jitters. Customers switched to other airlines and media reports from the time showed near-empty flights on longer routes.
Last year, though, its chief executive said the company was on track to see its first annual net profit in a decade.
The airline did not respond to the BBC’s questions but analysts say a slew of route cuts helped shore up its finances, while rebranding with an emphasis on safety has won back customers.
“It is now a leaner, more focused company – albeit one with somewhat reduced ambitions,” says aviation industry watcher Greg Waldron.
Today, Malaysia Airlines continues to cross the skies, transporting millions of passengers around the world each year. So how did it keep going?
Malaysia to the rescue
Immediately after the second disaster, the Malaysian government sprang into action. The airline was the national flag carrier with more than 20,000 employees and its stock market value had plunged.
The country’s sovereign wealth fund – Khazanah Nasional – stepped in. At that point, it already owned 69% of the company.
A month after the MH17 disaster, it bought out the airline’s other shareholders, delisted the firm from the stock exchange, created a new company and declared the old firm bankrupt.
Malaysia Airlines was fully nationalised – the first key step to saving the company.
Under the government’s recovery plan – named “Rebuilding a National Icon” – the cost of tickets was also slashed while accountants took a fine-toothed comb to the company’s operations.
Prior to 2014, the airline had already begun to cut long, unprofitable routes to places like North and South America and South Africa.
After 2014 it shed these routes in earnest, axing several established long-haul flights, including those to New York and Stockholm. It eventually cut all of its European destinations except for London.
Today, Heathrow remains Malaysia Airlines’ only European stop – and that has become a key money-making route, particularly in the wake of Covid.
