Malaysia Airlines says revenue per available seat kilometre up 10%

[KUALA LUMPUR] Malaysia Airlines said on Friday its revenue per available seat kilometre, a measure of passenger capacity, improved by 10 per cent year-on-year for the quarter ended February, as the airline's restructuring made progress.

The national carrier of Malaysia also said it was"evaluating additional Airbus A350s in order to reach a critical fleet size". The airline already has four Airbus A350-900s aircraft on order.

Malaysia Airlines embarked on a restructuring process last year, after the loss of two jets in separate incidents in 2014.

Christoph Mueller, who turned around Aer Lingus during his tenure as CEO of the Irish carrier, was hired to boost the airline's fortunes after Malaysian national investment firm Khazanah took it private late last year.

"We are focused on building momentum with our restructuring in 2016," Mueller said in a statement.

"Diligent execution on efficiency and tighter cost controls has already produced results which have seen us emerging leaner and more focused." The carrier signed a deal to expand a partnership with Emirates airline in December, which will also saw it exit some loss-making European routes.

REUTERS