MALAYSIA AIRLINES SAFETY

Is Malaysia an airline to avoid?

Two total aircraft losses, along with all on board, within four months are frightening to say the least. Airline passengers are avoiding Malaysia Airlines like the plague, but is that a reasonable and logical response?

Let’s look at some facts about Malaysia’s national carrier.

The seeds for a national airline in Malaysia were sown in 1937 when two Australian brothers, the Wearnes, started an air service between Singapore and Penang using an eight-seat de Havilland Dragon Rapide aircraft. Within a short time they were using a second Rapide to operate other routes. However, WWII and the Japanese occupation meant that WAS, as it was known, was forced to cease operations.

A Malaya Airways Airspeed Consul

Along with the rest of the world, Malaysia was gaining experience in airline operations, and at the same time that Wearnes Air Service was operating bigger things were in the making. The Ocean Steamship Company, Straits Steamship Company and Imperial Airways registered Malaya Airways on October 12, 1937, but again due to the war, the first Malaya passengers could not be carried until 1947.

The first flight was from the British Straits Settlement (now Singapore) to Kuala Lumpur in Malaya using an Airspeed Consul twin engine aircraft.

The airline continued to grow throughout the 1940s and 1950s with co-operation and assistance from BOAC and Qantas. The airline joined IATA and went public in 1957. They operated DC-3s, DC-4s, Vickers Viscounts, Bristol Britannias, Lockheed L-1049 Super Constellations and de Havilland Comet 4s. This was no fly-by-night (pardon the pun) operator. Malaya was a serious airline. The route network included domestic and short haul international flights.

In the 1960s Singapore became a part of the Malaysian Federation and Malaya Airways became Malaysia Singapore Airlines (MSA) and established a strong international brand and continued to grow, adding new jet aircraft and long haul destinations.

When Singapore left the federation in 1972 the national airline was divided up with Singapore taking the international assets and Malaysia taking the domestic assets. That made sense at the time because all flights from Singapore would be international while Malaysia had a large number of domestic flights. But Malaysia quickly expanded with the introduction of international flights.

Over the years Malaysia faced strong competition from neighboring airlines including their former partner Singapore as well as Qantas, Thai and British Airways, which all had strong brands. Malaysian became a poor cousin to these other airlines, but only in terms of marketing and route network strategies. Operationally, it was a sound airline with an excellent safety record.

Along with most airlines, Malaysian has had its good and bad years economically over the years including the most recent recession. But it continued to grow from the 1970s to the present day and the aircraft types have included B-707s, B-737s, DC-10-30s, B-747s, B-777s, Airbus A-330s, and A-380s. The current fleet size is 93 jets.

A Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777 taking-off

To return to the two flights that were lost this year, I can understand how most people would feel about flying with an airline in the situation that Malaysia finds itself in today. I had that same feeling in September 2001 when I flew from London to Los Angeles with American Airlines on their first trans Atlantic flight on the day that international flights resumed after 9/11. Constantly on my mind was the fact that this airline, five days earlier (yesterday, if you discount the days they were grounded) had lost two aircraft to terrorists. And terrorism was almost certainly on the minds of many passengers when I was asked to leave the aircraft at Heathrow so that my checked luggage could be examined. As I walked from the back of the aircraft to the front I could feel hundreds of eyeballs piercing the back of my skull. But it was all a false alarm and I was allowed to board the aircraft again for an uneventful flight. (I have told this story in more detail in my book Highway America)

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Several years ago I had six flights with Malaysia Airlines on six different aircraft with six different crews and I became a Malaysia supporter. All the aircraft, inside and out, were immaculate, the crews utterly professional and the service equal to the best.

But what about safety, you ask. Well, let’s look at the record. Prior to 2014 Malaysia had had just two flights that ended fatally. In 1977 a Malaysia Boeing 737 was hijacked and later crashed with loss of 100 lives. That can happen with any airline. In 1995 a Malaysia Fokker 50 overshot a runway and 33 people died. That was pilot error and travelers should remember that all airlines employ pilots.

Until 2014 that was the record of fatal flights for this airline – just two. From small beginnings in 1947 and later with millions of miles flown every day that is an outstanding record of safety.

2014 Makes all the difference of course, but is the airline to blame for the two most recent tragedies? Well, the jury is still out on the March loss, but so far there is no evidence that pins anything on the airline. With the Ukraine tragedy, I think we can safely assume that the airline did not fire the missile.

Would I fly again with Malaysia? I would probably take Malaysia in preference to any other operator, because I think it would be a great shame to see such a good airline disappear from the skies and Malaysia cannot survive without passengers.