Singapore and Malaysia airlines seek to strengthen ties

Singapore Airlines and Malaysia Airlines are seeking to step up co-operation and build on existing ties covering flights between Malaysia and Singapore. The companies announced Thursday they had signed a memorandum of understanding to explore “a wide-ranging strategic partnership” that could include a significant expansion of codeshare flights beyond Singapore-Malaysia as well as frequent flyer program enhancements. READ: WestJet-Delta deal clears Canadian hurdle. Other areas of potential co-operation include cargo as well as maintenance, repair, and overhaul services. They cautioned that the partnership was still subject to obtaining the necessary regulatory approvals but said the intention was to finalize a formal agreement in the coming months. The agreement would also include SIA subsidiaries SilkAir and Scoot, as well as Firefly, the sister airline of Malaysia Airlines (MAB). “SIA and MAB operate in a region with a rapidly growing air travel market, presenting significant growth opportunities for both carriers,’’ Singapore Airlines chief executive Goh Choon Phong said. “ Both airlines have extensive operations within ASEAN, as well as large networks that cover many other parts of the world.” Malaysia Airlines’ group chief executive  Captain Izham Ismail pointed the historic commercial and cultural links with Singapore Airlines. The two started life Malayan Airways, becoming Malaysian-Singapore Airlines in 1966 and splitting to become Singapore Airlines and Malaysian Airlines in 1972. “My team and I are extremely pleased to be able to build on that close relationship even further, this time across many areas of both airlines’ ecosystems,” he said. “The agreement will also, for the first time, involve all five airlines in total including subsidiaries Firefly, SilkAir and Scoot. “Via this partnership, we look forward to adding more value to the customer proposition.” The agreement comes an interesting time for loss-making Malaysia, with the national government pondering its future. Its future has been uncertain since Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad said in March the government was considering whether to shut down, sell or refinance the carrier.