Malaysia Airlines (MAS) stands to benefit from the decision by budget long-haul airline, AirAsia X, to axe services to Mumbai, New Delhi, London and Paris.

In a research note today, OSK Research Sdn Bhd said the withdrawal of these routes would be positive for MAS.

“The competition from the only low-cost carrier has been removed, thus allowing the national carrier to boost its yields,” it said.

A newspaper report yesterday said these routes had been loss-making since inception.

The Kuala Lumpur-London route lost RM56.9 million, the KL-Paris route RM43.5 million and the KL-Delhi and the KL-Mumbai route recorded losses of RM29.1 million and RM21.3 million, respectively, the newspaper said.

OSK said MAS, however, would continue to face stiff competition from other full-service carriers which continued to offer competitively attractive fares, although MAS still has the advantage of offering a direct flight to the UK.

It said AirAsia X’s decision could be deemed positive for AirAsia as the passengers would turn away from the high airfares on long-haul routes, leading to a shift in leisure travel to the cheaper low-cost mid-short-haul segment in which AirAsia has exposure.    

“In the immediate term, the flight cancellations and refunds will also boost AirAsia’s load factor this year as consumers opt for other routes,” it said.

- Bernama