Malaysia Airlines warns of further losses because of tragedies

PanARMENIAN.Net - Malaysia Airlines has warned of further losses in the second half of the year because of the two tragedies to hit the airline in recent months, according to BBC News.

In a statement it said it had seen "a sharp decline" in weekly bookings.

It comes as the airline reported a second quarter net loss of 307mln Malaysian ringgit ($97.4mln) for the three months to June.

The airline has been affected by the crash of flight MH17 in Ukraine and the disappearance of flight MH370.

"We expected the impact of MH370 on the performance in Quarter 2," said chief executive Ahmad Jauhari Yahya.

"Given that, our team put in much hard work and effort to regain market confidence and rebuild sales. Tragically, just as we were beginning to see signs of recovery in all regions, we were dealt the blow of MH17. The full financial impact of the double tragedies of MH370 and MH17 is expected to hit Malaysia Airlines in the second half of the year," he added.

Flight MH370 disappeared on March 8 while MH17 crashed in Ukraine on July 17.

Malaysia Airlines is being taken private by Malaysia's state investment firm Khazanah Nasional. A restructuring announcement from the company is expected on Friday, Aug 29.

The company said it operated in a "harsh business environment of stiff competition" and that even before the two tragedies it was "acutely aware" of the need to restructure.