Or are they going to respond and blame it on the competence of the management team and board of Malaysia Airlines Group?
Or that as shareholder, they have no role as they leave it to the Board of Directors and management of Malaysia Airlines Group to decide and implement?
The announcement by Malaysia Airlines Group that starting 1 September 2023, Malaysia Airlines will be transiting to a new catering service and during this transition, they have initiated a robust business continuity plan to provide alternative food and beverage options while actively exploring a new service provider is not only embarrassing but a shame to the country.
When its predecessor was delisted from Bursa Malaysia in 2015, it already put into question the competence of the Board of Directors and the management team.
There was zero accountability for the losses racked up prior to the delisting.
Life goes on for all.
In the recent announcement, the board of directors and the management of Malaysia Airlines can’t even get things right with their vague and wishy-washy answers like affected passengers will receive revised meal offerings and pre-packed meals – depending on the class of travel and flight duration and the routes affected by the change in meal offerings include domestic and selected international routes operated by Malaysia Airlines.
Why can’t they reveal which class and duration and the domestic and international routes that are affected instead of just a general statement to save potential passengers the hassle of checking during the booking process instead of being made aware of no meals upon checking in?
The announcement that passengers may bring their own meals onboard except self-heating meals and non-halal meals which are strictly prohibited is really a lowdown.
Does this mean that crews are now tasked to perform an additional task of checking the meals of those passengers who brought their own food?
The nail in the coffin was the answer they themselves provided to Question 7 of its Frequently Asked Question.
Question 7 asked, ad verbatim, Why did Malaysia Airlines not proactively appoint a new in-flight caterer sooner?
The answer it provided did not even answer this question directly.
The answer, ad verbatim, was `To ensure minimal inconvenience to your comfort and overall journey, we have initiated a robust business continuity plan effective from 1 September 2023 to provide alternative food and beverage options while actively exploring a new service provider that aligns with our unwavering commitment to delivering premium customer experiences.
Please rest assured that our dedicated team is wholeheartedly focused on enhancing our offerings, and we genuinely appreciate your understanding and patience throughout this process
In a report dated 15 June 2023 by New Straits Times, Malaysia Aviation Group managing director Datuk Captain Izham Ismail, in an interview with the NST named Brahim who was also in PN17, a status accorded to companies listed on Bursa Malaysia who does not meet the requirements of capital adequacy as one of the vendors that provided poor service leading to Malaysia Airlines getting the blame.
In a subsequent report dated 17 June 2023 again by New Straits Times, a Malaysian Airline Group spokesperson told the paper that Malaysia Airlines has been served with a notice of service discontinuation by Brahim’s Food Services Sdn Bhd (BFS) and accordingly, all in-flight services provided by them to the airline will end on June 30, 2023.
In the same report, it was reported that Brahim and Malaysia Airlines started their discussions in November 2022 after BFS conditionally regained its license from the Malaysian Aviation Commission (Mavcom).
Effectively, it appears that Malaysia Aviation Group is truly aware and has been unhappy and dissatisfied with Brahim’s services for a long time.
And during the period when they started discussion with Brahim’s in Nov 2022, 10 months ago, didn’t they realize that the negotiations were not going anywhere?
Any Board member or CEO worth their salt and is really competent would have immediately put into place active measures to look and have a replacement or contingency plans in case the negotiations end abruptly as they do now.
Instead, based on the recent announcement, it appears that the robust business continuity plan to provide alternative food and beverage options was an afterthought and was initiated 3 months after the contract with Brahim’s ended on 30 June 2023.
No matter how many times the airline was voted the best hospitality in the world, this one decision would leave the airline’s reputation in complete tatters.
Maybe Malaysia Airlines should change its tagline from Malaysian Hospitality to the only full-fledged airline that allows its passenger to bring their own meals.
Everyone is well aware of the issues and competence of the people overseeing and managing Malaysia Airlines.
It is not anything new.
The government, the board of directors at Khazanah Nasional and Malaysia Aviation Group and the management in both entities should avoid issuing “rhetorical” statements on the matter and instead be honest with the ordinary rakyat.
If the board of directors and management of Khazanah and Malaysian Aviation Group do not take responsibility for this fiasco, maybe the PM, as Chairman of Khazanah should ask for all of them to resign voluntarily.
If the PM does not remove and replace them, any promises by him to instill and practice better governance in government-linked entities and agencies are merely plain talk only.
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