On October 30, 2019, Singapore Airlines announced that it has signed a new partnership agreement with Malaysia Airlines based on a Memorandum of Understanding signed between the two back in June.
Under the new partnership, the two airlines are planning to increase the number of codeshare flights, and even share revenue on flights between the two countries.
Singapore Airlines and Malaysia Airlines’ New Agreement
The partnership, which come at a time when Malaysia Airlines is still struggling to recover its financial performance, will see the airlines cooperate in a variety of ways.
Besides the two carriers themselves, it also includes Singapore Airlines’ subsidiaries SilkAir and Scoot, and Malaysia Airlines’ subsidiary Firefly.
Perhaps the most interesting part of the new partnership is that the two airlines plan to turn their flights between Singapore and Malaysia into a joint venture. While still subject to government approvals, they plan on sharing revenues on those routes as well as coordinating their flight schedules.
The other significant part of the agreement is the two airlines’ plan to expand their codesharing arrangements. Today, the airlines codeshare on their flights between Singapore and:
- Kuala Lumpur (operated by both Singapore Airlines and Malaysia Airlines)
- Kota Kinabalu (operated by SilkAir, to be transferred to Scoot from December 3, 2019)
- Kuching (operated by Malaysia Airlines)
- Penang (operated by SilkAir)
As part of the new agreement, Singapore Airlines and SilkAir flight numbers are expected to be added to Malaysia Airlines’ domestic flights, allowing the two Singaporean Airlines to serve twelve additional destinations in Malaysia.
Upon signing the agreement, Goh Choon Phong, Singapore Airlines’ CEO, said that:
We are very pleased to take our partnership with Malaysia Airlines to a new level. This will be a win-win for both our airline groups, and provide new benefits for our customers.
On the other side, Malaysia Airlines plans to gradually expand its portfolio of codeshare flights operated by Singapore Airlines. Among other regions, it plans to codeshare on flights to Europe and South Africa.
The codeshares are expected to be rolled out gradually as the necessary governmental approvals are gained.
Izham Ismail, Malaysia Airlines’ CEO, stressed the importance of the partnership for the airline:
This is in line with Malaysia Airlines’ long-term business plan goal of engaging in deep partnerships to extend our reach and presence globally. This partnership is more than a conventional partnership and we believe in the mutual benefits for both airline groups and countries.
Besides the above, the airlines also plan to work together on boosting long-haul tourism to their two home countries. One tool that they are exploring for that are airpasses designed to let travelers conveniently explore the two countries.
Summary
I find this to be an interesting partnership considering that prior to each of the two airlines commencing operations in 1972, they operated together as Malaysia-Singapore Airlines.
While since then, the airlines have gone their separate ways with Singapore Airlines joining Star Alliance and Malaysia Airlines joining oneworld, it is great to see them expanding their partnership.
It’s also another case that shows the growing importance of individual partnerships between two airlines regardless of the alliances they belong to.
