Malaysia Airlines new network strategy: expansion to resume in 2017, with focus on China and India

Malaysia Airlines plans to resume network and capacity expansion in 2017, with a focus on medium haul routes to India and North Asia. The airline is considering several new routes - primarily to secondary cities in China and India - and may also add capacity to some existing North Asian destinations.

Capacity is projected to increase by 3.5% to 4% in 2017, generated by aircraft utilisation improvements. Malaysia Airlines expects significant utilisation improvements on the 737 fleet as new crew bases are opened in secondary cities throughout Malaysia.

The rate of capacity growth is relatively modest but follows a period of sharp cuts, and signifies that Malaysia Airlines is entering a new phase in its restructuring. The airline expects to carry approximately 13 million passengers in 2016, compared with a high of 17.2 million in 2013.