MYAirline secures investor from the Middle East - Sources

KUALA LUMPUR - MYAirline Sdn Bhd has secured and signed a sale and purchase agreement (SPA) in late December 2023 with an investor from the Middle East, sources said.

Without citing the name of the investor, sources hoped MYAirline could now work towards resuming operations by the middle of this year.

"The first action item hopefully is the payment of salaries and refunding passengers,” a source told Bernama.

As the new investor is now on board, the airline is believed to have applied to the Malaysian Aviation Commission (Mavcom) for a conditional air service licence (ASL), thereafter uplifting the Air Operator Certificate (AOC) from the Civil Aviation Authority of Malaysia (CAAM) before obtaining a full ASL to operate.

Bernama contacted Mavcom about the airline’s ASL application and was told that Mavcom would only initiate the evaluation process upon receipt of a complete submission.

"Bernama may contact MYAirline directly for any further information,” it said.

According to Civil Aviation Directives 6004 -- Issuance and Renewal Requirements for Air Operator Certificate (AOC), a fleet shall consist of a minimum of two airplanes or helicopters for scheduled operations; the specification may, nevertheless, be reduced to one aircraft or helicopter for non-schedule operations.

Meanwhile, an application for an ASL will require a minimum of 90 days to process.

"They have to clear the debt as soon as possible to start operating like before,” a source said.

On whether the airline will be operated by an international or a home-grown company, the source said to take over an airline in Malaysia, it should have a 51 per cent Malaysian shareholding.

Despite securing the investor, it is still unclear how soon the salaries of about 900 employees and reimbursing 117,000 passengers will be carried out.

According to Mavcom, as at Jan 8, 2023, a total of 4,304 consumers were assisted with refunds through the chargeback process while some have started to receive refunds from their respective banks.

Mavcom encourages more affected consumers to submit their refund requests with their respective banks or to contact the commission should they require further assistance.

Mavcom is focused on assisting as many affected consumers as possible to get their refunds as a result of the suspension and to ensure that the air travel rights of consumers are protected, it said.

Bernama has also learned that the future of some of its employees remains a question mark.

"These employees have been with the airline since it started operations on Dec 1, 2022. The change of shareholders and management could however result in some significant changes.

To recap, MYAirline flew over one million passengers domestically on June 26, 2023, a few months after its inaugural flight as a low-cost carrier in Malaysia.

The airline had an average load factor of 91 per cent and flew eight Airbus A320-200 till Oct 12, delivering a healthy on-time performance beyond 90 per cent.

It started with two aircraft, and within its 11 months of operation, it had nine in its fleet.

On Oct 12, MYAirline made a sudden announcement that it had suspended its operations effective on the same day, citing financial pressure as the reason. - BERNAMA