Canned bookings, poor sales pummel MAS

[SINGAPORE] Malaysia Airline System is facing an influx of passenger cancellations after the carrier's second disaster this year, adding to the strains of a company that's bracing for a fourth consecutive annual loss.

Travel agents from Melbourne to Singapore, New Delhi and Malaysia Air's home country said that they've seen a spike in withdrawn reservations since MH17's downing this month - with cancellations climbing above 20 per cent in some places. The Samoan women's rugby team switched to Thai Airways International from Malaysia Air on July 27 for a flight to a world cup event in France.

The cancellations may add to the financial difficulties of an airline whose state-run parent, Khazanah Nasional Bhd, estimated that it only had enough cash to operate for a year even before the latest crash. The two Malaysia Air disasters have left 537 people dead t…