Latest developments:

Satellite companies start battling for tracking projects
Drone spare parts to arrive on Sunday
MAS to release quarterly earnings this evening
Underwater search on hold due to Bluefin damage
A bathymetric survey will be done before the next phase to determine ocean depth.

7.45pm: Acting Transport Minister Hishammuddin Hussein holds a press conference. Below are some of the salient points:

The government is not providing MAS with any financial assistance to MAS, despite its worsening financial performance.

The search effort - often touted as the largest and most expensive in aviation history - has cost Malaysia ‘hardly anything’ so far due to generosity of other countries.

The scope of the next phase of search has yet to be determined, hence no cost estimate is available.

A bathymetric survey will be carried out prior to the next phase of search to obtain more accurate depth measurements at the search area, so that rare and expensive deep-water search equipment can be deployed safely.

On calls from victim’s families to release Inmarsat’s data for independent analysis, Hishammuddin says only Inmarsat has that data and hence the calls should be directed to the British satellite company.

Beginning May 19, representatives from Australia, Malaysia and China will be holding weekly video conferences to discuss the search operation.

A new Communication, Coordination, and Media Committee headed by Deputy Communications and Multimedia Minister Jailani Johari has been formed.

Its purpose is to streamline communications between China, Australia, and Malaysia, families of those onboard MH370, and other stakeholders.

Negotiation over the details of the search operation is expected to last one to two months, and a team of senior officials are in Canberra to represent Malaysia and help coordinate the search.

Satellite companies start battling for tracking projects

2pm: As the International Air Transport Association (IATA) and the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) begin their push for global aircraft tracking, satellite companies are battling one another for a slice of the business.

Reuters reports that rivals to the British satellite communications company Inmarsat are claiming that Inmarsat’s offer of free tracking service is misleading, because the required equipment costs over US$100,000 (RM322,700) per aircraft.

“If it was mandated that satellite data links need to be on every aircraft, I think we're going to get the primary benefit of that, not Inmarsat.

"Their system is extremely expensive compared with ours,” Iridium’s CEO Matthew Desch is quoted saying.

Iridium currently has 66 communications satellites in low-earth orbit, whereas Inmarsat operates 11 satellites on a much higher, geostationary orbit. Another company also is the running, the report says, is the Swedish-based ViaSat.

However, the report notes that these systems can be disconnected by a pilot or hijacker in mid-air, since aircraft are normally equipped with circuit breakers to prevent electrical fires.

Thus far, IATA had said it will be recommending a set of tracking solutions in September that airlines can voluntarily choose to adopt according to their needs, whereas ICAO said it will only be pushing for ‘performance-based standards’ for airlines to meet, and it will be up to them on to choose the technologies used to meet the requirements.

Drone parts to arrive on Sunday

1pm: Spare parts for the damaged Bluefin-21 underwater drone will arrive in Western Australia from the UK on Sunday, says the Joint Agency Coordination Centre (JACC).

“(The Australian vessel ADV) Ocean Shield is currently en route to Dampier, Western Australia, to receive the transponder parts,” it says in a statement today adding the journey is anticipated to take a number of days.

MAS quarterly report to reveal MH370 losses

11.50am: Acting minister Hishammuddin Hussein will be holding a press conference at the Royale Chulan Hotel, Kuala Lumpur, on the MH370 issue at 5.30pm today says his ministry.

Meanwhile, Reuters reports that MAS will be releasing its first-quarter earnings today after the stock market closes at 5pm.

It is set to reveal the extent of the airline’s losses following the MH370 incident, the report says. Full report

Separately, Bloomberg reports that MAS is undergoing a “thorough review” of its business plan to ensure it is sustainable, and this plan will be revealed to relevant stakeholders once it has the necessary approvals.

“Winning back customers and a relentless cost focus will be part of the airline’s recovery plan, and these two exercises are critical enablers to energise its recovery,” the report quoted a statement from the airline as saying.

Another B luefin setback: search on hold for days

11.30am: The underwater search for MH370 is on hold for at least four to five days - possibly more - due to malfunctioning parts on the bluefin-21 underwater drone, CNN reports this morning.

While repairs had been done to the drone after it struck the Australian vessel ADV Ocean Shield while being hoisted aboard the ship on Tuesday, subsequent tests found that its navigation transponder and acoustic communications link malfunctioned, the US Navy deputy director of ocean engineering Michael Dean was quoted saying.

The report says these parts are not normally expected to fail, hence no spares were carried on aboard Ocean Shield.

The ship is currently leaving the search area and heading towards the Australian coast, although Dean is unsure whether it is heading back to port or just within the helicopter range from Australia.

Meanwhile, Bloomberg reports that MAS is undergoing a “thorough review” of its business plan to ensure it is sustainable, and this plan will be revealed to relevant stakeholders once it has the necessary approvals.

“Winning back customers and a relentless cost focus will be part of the airlines’ recovery plan, and these two exercises are critical enablers to energise its recovery,” the report quotes a MAS statement saying.

Background:

The Beijing-bound Boeing 777-200ER aircraft went missing not long after taking off from KL International Airport in the early hours of March 8, with 12 crew members and 227 passengers.

Authorities have determined that the plane intentionally turned back and altered its course for unknown reasons shortly after cutting communications with tower controllers, and based on satellite data, have estimated its last position to be in the south Indian Ocean.

Australia leads the search in the south Indian Ocean. As of March 30, the Joint Agency Coordination Centre (JACC) is tasked with overseeing the operations, led by retired air marshal and former defence chief Angus Houston.

The autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) Bluefin-21 was deployed on April 14 to conduct an undersea search where the Australia defence vessel Ocean Shield had picked up two pings said to be similar to that of black boxes on April 5 and two more on April 8, and all signals were subsequently lost..

However, by April 28, with no sign of the wreckage, authorities announced that the search will move on the next phase, which will focus on a larger and deeper area of the sea floor, while the aerial search will cease as it is highly unlikely any floating debris will be found at this stage.