Malaysia Airlines (MAS) is planning to raise fares and sell assets as part of a strategy to turn the troubled national carrier around, a report said Wednesday.

The New Straits Times quoted Deputy Transport Minister Douglas Uggah Embas as saying that the price hike across all its routes will "be done carefully so as to remain competitive and attractive to travellers.

"The management is also looking at selling some of its assets but this will be done without affecting its operations," Embas said.

Other measures include reviewing the capacity and frequency of its routes, reducing its operating costs and introducing a fuel hedge to combat high global oil prices, he added.

Since announcing one of its worst ever quarterly losses of RM280.66 million in the three months to June after a profit of RM26.58 million a year earlier, Malaysia Airlines has said it will undertake a five-year plan to boost profits by up to RM1 billion.

The airline also appointed a new chief executive - Idris Jala, who will take over next month - and recently announced its third hike in fuel surcharges within the last two months.

Newspaper reports have said the airline plans to slash the pay of top managers from December 1 and reduce the size of its overall workforce.