Malaysia Airlines may offer cheaper business class seats, so what’s the catch?

BUSINESS class is set to get cheaper if this airline has its way.
The newly appointed chief executive officer of struggling Malaysia Airlines, Christoph Mueller, has hinted at a new offering to passengers that would allow them to book cheaper business class tickets if they forgo lounge access and frequent flyer points.
He has also suggested making it easier to book flexible itineraries so that a passenger could more easily fly economy one way, and business on return.
Speaking to Aviation Week at the recent International Air Transport Association in Miami, Mueller said he hopes to see the airline become a “value carrier” offering basic products with the option of premium perks for those willing to fork out extra cash.
The “unbundling” of airfares is not a new model, but to date it has been mostly confined to economy-class fares on low-cost carriers, including Air Asia X and Scoot.
Malaysia Airlines is in the throes of a massive restructure, adopting a new name from September 1 (Malaysia Airlines Berhard), cutting unprofitable routes, selling (or leasing) two of its new Airbus A380s and cutting about 6000 staff.
“We want to go modular so that people can build their own product,” Mueller says.
“Customers might book a business-class seat, but opt out of the miles or lounge access. Or they could take a day flight in economy to Australia and return in business overnight. Our current systems cannot deliver that.”
Muller says that investment in information technology will be the critical factor in turning around the troubled airline.
The first step, according to Mueller, would be to introduce a new IT infrastructure that brings with it an improved booking engine.
The platform would enable “people [to] build their own product — [something] our current systems cannot deliver”, he said.
Malaysia Airlines will rely predominantly on direct distribution, selling tickets directly to consumers rather than through travel agents.
The already debt-ridden airline was hit by further troubles last year after the tragic disappearance of flight MH370 and the shooting down of MH17.
In response to its financial woes, the airline was nationalised in 2014 by Malaysia’s government-owned investment arm Khazanah Nasional after debts reached $1.5 billion with aims to have the airline back in profitability by 2017.